Genesis 9:18-29; 10-11:1-9

 

 Genesis 9:18-29 – The Curse

Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth.  Ham was the father of Canaan.  From these three sons came the nations as we know it.  Their descendants are listed in the table of nations in Genesis 10. 

After the flood, Noah became a farmer.  He planted a vineyard and drank some wine.  He became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.  He was probably not use to drinking wine and didn’t intend to get drunk.  His son, Ham saw his nakedness and told his brothers, Shem and Japheth.  Ham probably made fun of Noah.  He gossiped and stirred up distention instead of promoting love as mentioned in Proverbs 6:16-19 and 17:9.  These passages in Proverbs apply to us, too.  We should not stir up distention with gossip.  We should not be quick to point out the faults of others.  Shem and Japheth had more love for their father than Ham.  They covered Noah so others would not see his nakedness.  “Honor your father and your mother” – Ex.20:12.  They did just that.  They honored their father.

It seems our culture loves to ridicule, gossip and call each other degrading names.  Sometime the gossip is unintentional.  Some Christians gossip calling it a prayer request.  We need to check our motives. 

 Do you participate in gossip at work or at church?

Are you quick to point out the fault of others?

When Noah found out what they had done, he cursed Canaan.  Canaan was the son of Ham.  He said Canaan would be the lowest of slaves to Shem.  He blessed Japheth saying God would extent his territory and would live in the tents of Shem meaning he would share in the all blessings of Shem.  Shem’s descendants were the people that God chose.  Abraham and the people of Israel were among his descendants.  Jesus would come from this line. 

Did you notice that Noah blessed God for what Shem did, instead of Shem?  “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem!” – Gen. 9:26.  This is a great lesson for us.  We should give God the credit and praise not the person who did the good works.  God is the author of our good works.

Canaan did nothing wrong so why didn’t Noah curse Ham instead of his son Canaan?  We are not told what actually happened, but it must have been pretty bad.  The words “Noah found out what they had done to him” may indicate more happened that what we are told.  Maybe Canaan was involved in some way.  Perhaps the curse was not directed to Canaan personally, but rather to his descendants.  The incident must have been bad enough for his line to be cursed.  If you are a loving parent, wouldn’t it be much harder to see your child suffer for something you’ve done? 

Noah’s actions show the foolishness of drunkenness.  There are several scriptures warning against drunkenness.   Here are just a few.  “Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.” – Prov. 20:1.  “Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.” – Prov. 23:20-21.

Drinking is not a sin in itself, but drunkenness is clearly a sin.  Alcohol is a depressant.  It loosens people and they lose self-control, wisdom, balance, judgment and even consciousness.  Many drunks become victims of abuse.  Many are involved in date-rape situations.  Statistics say half of all rapes involve alcohol.  

Principles:

Avoid drunkenness and gossip which can lead to sin.

Show honor to your parents.

Give God the credit for the good works you do. 

Genesis 10 – Table of Nations

Chapter 10 tells the origin of the nations of the world.  We see that God is a God of details.  He is sovereign over all the nations.  It shows everyone on earth is descended from Noah and his wife.  God made us one big family.  It provides us with the knowledge of who we are and where we came from.  It provides us with an understanding of the relationship between Israel and all the people of the world.  We are different in languages, cultures, and locations, but we still are the image of God.  It shows that God never intended for there to be a one world government.  Verse 25 tells us the earth was divided.  How did it become divided?  That’s where chapter 11 comes in.  

In chapter 9 we learned about Ham and how he dishonored his father Noah and how God punished Ham’s son Canaan for Ham’s sin.  In chapter 10 we see the birth of a troublemaker, Nimrod.  Nimrod was the grandson of Ham.  “He was a mighty hunter before the Lord” - Gen. 10:9, meaning he was “against the Lord”.  His name means “rebel”.  He was a mighty warrior and hunter.  He wasn’t a hunter of animals, but a hunter of men.  His kingdoms were Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh.  We learn in Revelation 17-19 that Babylon was a government powered by Satan.  Nimrod was associated with the Towel of Babel, maybe even was the leader.  1 Chron. 1:10 says he was a mighty warrior on the earth. 

Genesis 11 –Tower of Babel 

After the flood God told Noah and his family to replenish the earth.  Their descendants spoke one language and migrated eastward to Shinar which is also known as Babylon. (Gen. 11:2)  They became proud and decided to build a city and a tower to heaven so they could make a name for themselves and not be scattered over the earth. – Gen 11:4.  This was probably headed up by Nimrod.  This was pride at its fullest!   

Today people continue to disobey God in many ways.  They are full of pride and love themselves.  They don’t love God.  They don’t think of others.   They are selfish and unforgiving.  They have no self-control.  They are lustful, liars, murders, and thieves.  They use others to get what they want.  They want power and fame at all costs.  They simply don’t obey God’s commandments found in Exodus 20. 

“People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, of lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power.  Have nothing to do with them.  They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” – 1 Tim. 3:2-7.

God saw what they were doing and said, “Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” – Gen. 11:7.  Notice the “us” in this verse which is a reference to the Trinity.  The people were building this city and this tower to bring honor to themselves, not to honor God.  Maybe they didn’t trust God’s promise never destroy the earth by water again.  God judges those who rebel against Him.  He put a stop to this.  He confused their language so they wouldn’t understand each other.  The word Babel means confused.  God scattered them all over the earth and they stopped building the tower. – Gen. 11:8 

God came down and inspected their work and He will inspect our work as well.  He will inspect our motives behind our service for Him.  He looks at our hearts.  He’s concerned why we do what we do.  Is it to gain praise of men?  Are you doing it for the glory of God or yourself?  “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” – 1 Peter 5:5.

What “tower” are you building?

Do you think you know better than God?

Are you a prideful person?

What is your attitude towards God?

Do you trust in His promises?

Do you rebel against God and what He says in His Word?

Are things in your life confusing?  

Decide right now to follow God and obey Him.  It’s OK to have possessions, but we should not use them to give us a sense of worth or even identity.  We can enjoy the blessings God has given us, but we should always give the credit to God.

People can’t make themselves great.  Only God can make people great.  People think they are great and powerful, but God is in control.  God showed how great He is by stopping the towel.  People try to reach God through many ways - the giving of their money, their good works, or by church attendance.  There is only one way to God and that is through Jesus. “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.’” – John 14:6.  “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” – Acts 4:12 

How are you trying to reach God?

Are you trying to reach Him in your own way and not the way He has given you?  

 

Principles:

The desire for personal recognition fuels disobedience to God.

God sets a limit on wickedness. 

Join me here next week as we continue our study of Genesis -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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Genesis 8 - 9:1-17

 

Genesis 8 – God Remembered Noah

The flood swept away every living person on the earth except Noah and his family, who were remembered by the Lord.  Because of Noah’s obedient, he and his family were saved.  God was in control when the rain started and when it stopped.  It had been 40 days from the time the rains began.  God remembered Noah and all the animals in the ark and sent a wind over the earth and the waters receded.  First Noah sent out a raven which kept flying back and forth.  Then Noah sent out a dove to see if there flood had receded, but the dove could not find a place to land so it returned.  After seven days Noah sent out a dove again and it returned with an olive leaf.  He knew then the waters were receding.  He waited another seven days and sent a dove again but it did not return. (Gen. 8:11-12).

Did God forget Noah?  When the Bible said “God remembered Noah”, it means that He acknowledged Noah’s faithfulness.  God cannot forget anything.  It’s like remembering a birthday.  It doesn’t mean we have forgotten a birthday, but we acknowledge and remember it each year.  There are other examples in Bible when “God remembered”.  He remembered Abraham, Hannah, His covenant, etc.  He didn’t forget, but acknowledged them.

Do you need assurance that God hasn’t forgotten you?  When you feel this way, stop and think about the salvation God has granted you in Jesus Christ.  Your salvation is not based on anything in you or what you do or don’t do.  God remembered Noah and He remembers you.

Why do you think he sent a dove?  Perhaps God told him to or maybe Noah knew doves ate only plants and if the land and vegetation had surfaced, the dove would fine it.  Then God told Noah in Gen. 8:15-19 – “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives.   Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you – the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground – so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it.”  Noah, his family, and the animals were in the ark for one year.

Don’t you think after a year on the ark Noah wanted to get off immediately?  But he waited until God told him it was ok. – Gen. 8:15.  He was more obedient to God than his own feelings.  God provided for him again by making him wait until the destruction of the land had healed so there would be food for Noah and the animals.

Where are you waiting patiently for God?

How is God providing for you as you wait?

One day God will judge the earth as He did the earth in Noah’s day.  He has plans and purposes and He will bring about His perfect plan.  All those who are against God will be judged, when Jesus returns.  He alone judges justly, but extends saving grace.  He may delay judgment because of His patience and mercy, but He will judge.  God is perfect and loving.  He cannot tolerate sin.  He loved us even though we were sinners.  He loved us enough that He sent His son, Jesus to die in our place and for our sins.

When will Jesus return?  We don’t know, but He will come when we least expect it.  He is waiting as long as He can.  He wants no one to perish, but time is running out.  God’s judgment will inevitably fall and will separate those who trust in Jesus from those who have rejected Him.  God has provided a way of escape for you just as He did for Noah.  That way is through Jesus. 

Are you ready to be judged? 

Are you ready for Jesus to return?

The first thing Noah did after leaving the ark was to build an altar to God.  Noah was thankful to God’s provision and for sparing him and his family.  He responded to God by sacrificing burnt offerings on the altar.  Being a man of God, Noah had probably done this before.  In Genesis 4 Abel’s offering was a fat portion from some of the firstborn of his flock so this was not something new.  This was so pleasing to God that He said He would never again destroy all living creatures as He had done.  “And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.  As long as the earth endures seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” – Gen 8:21b-22.

Are you thankful for God’s provision?

How do you show your thankfulness?

What sacrifices can you offer in response to God?

Genesis 9 – The Covenant

Noah was now living in a new world.  God was so pleased with Noah’s burnt offerings that He blessed him and his sons and told them to be fruitful and to multiply and fill the earth.  God told Noah that every living thing will be food for him just as He had given him greet plants.  He must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. (Gen. 9:1-4). 

Why did God forbid man to eat the blood of animals?   The life of a creature is in the blood.  Animal blood was used as a sacrifice for the atonement for man’s sins.  Now that Christ shed His blood, we have a new covenant and His blood is the atonement for our sins.

The idea of blood is used often in the Bible.  It represents the life of the being, whether animal or human.  When blood is poured out, life is poured out.  Blood was the sign of mercy for Israel at the first Passover.  Blood was used as a sacrifice at the altar.  Blood made atonement for God’s people.  Blood justifies us and brings redemption.  It brings peace with God.  It cleanses and sanctifies us.  Blood enables us to overcome Satan.

God also said, “I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.  Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God has God made man.” – Gen. 9:5-6.  I think here God is giving man the right and responsibility of capital punishment.

Murder carries with it a sentence of death.  Capital punishment is not murder.  It is the punishment for the crime of murder.  Life is valuable so God requires a life, when a person takes another’s life.  This punishment has been placed into the hands of the State. – Rom. 13:4-5.  Why does God punish by death?  It is because man is the image of God.  Man belongs to God and we are accountable for taking what belongs to Him.

God values all human life, even the life of the unborn.  The Bible is clear on how God values life – Numbers 5:27-28; Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 6:16-10; Genesis 1:27; Psalm 22:10; Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139:13-18. 

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” – Jer. 1:5 

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” – Ps. 139:13-18

God made a covenant with Noah.  He made a rainbow as a sign of this covenant. (Gen. 9:1-13).  Today the symbolism of the rainbow has been corrupted by the world.  It is used to symbolize other things.  It is used as pointing to a treasure with a pot of gold at the end, a peace movement, homosexual rights, etc.  But the rainbow’s purpose is so we remember the faithfulness of God and His promises.

Did you know there is a rainbow in heaven?  Read Rev. 4:3.

What is a covenant?  It is an agreement or contract between two people or two groups that involve promises on each other’s part.  A covenant today has an end date, while a covenant in the Bible is a permanent arrangement.  Covenants in the Bible are still in effect today – snakes still slither on the ground, women still give birth in pain, man hast to work to eat, we all turn to dust when we die, all nations are blessed through Abraham because of Christ, and the land of Israel still belongs to the Jewish people.  Jesus made a covenant with the believers at the Last Supper.  “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” – Luke 22:20.

Because of sin the image of God is blurred and for it to become clear again, you must be born again.  We must be born of the Spirit.  “I tell you the truth no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” – John 3:1.  “You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” – Eph. 4:22-24

If we focused on God’s image in other Christians, it would affect our relationships with them.  We wouldn’t be so critical and see their shortcomings and faults.  We need to be more like Christ - more loving, forgiving, and compassionate.  When we believe in Him, the veil of ignorance is lifted and we see the truth.  We are changed and can then be more like Christ. – 2 Cor. 3:15-18.

Principles and Lessons:

God remembers the righteous.

God is powerful and His power controlled the flood waters.

God is the God of new starts.

God promised to never again destroy the earth by water.

God is a Promise Keeper.

Man is of higher order than animals.

Animals are resources as man’s food.

Man is forbidden to eat an animal with the life blood still in it.

God values human life.

Join me here next week as we continue our study of Genesis -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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Genesis 5-7

 

 

Genesis 5 – Genealogy of Adam

God warned Adam to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil or he would die.  Since Adam and Eve disobeyed and fell to sin, man no longer could eat from the tree of life and therefore no longer would live forever.  Death was now in man’s future.  Chapter 5 shows the genealogy of Adam.  In these verses there are repeated phrases – “he lived” “and then he died”. 

The following scriptures talk about death.

Gen. 2:16-17, James 1:14-15 – sin gives birth to death and always has.

John 3:6-8 – flesh gives birth to flesh – since we are born of Adam and he dies, we also will die.

John 8:24 – you will die in your sins if you don’t believe in Jesus.

Rom. 5:12, 17 – sin and death came through Adam to all.

Romans 5:14 – we all die a physical death because of Adam’s sin.

Romans 6:23 – the wages of sin is death, but through Jesus we can have eternal life.

1 Cor. 15:21-26, 2 Tim.1:8-11 – death is destroyed by Jesus Christ.

Gen. 5:1 tells us the first man was made “in the likeness of God”.  Gen 5:3 tell us Adam’s son was made” in his own likeness” and “in his own image”.  This means when God created man, he was made righteous and made in God’s perfect image and was not born.  Now since Adam brought sin into the world we are made or born in Adam’s likeness and in his imperfect image.  We are sinners and we will see death, because of sin.

Some of Adam’s descendants were faithful to God.  Gen. 5:21-24 – One of these men was Enoch.  We are told that he lived and walked with God for 300 years and then he was no more, because God took him away.  This is the first mention of life after death in the Bible.  He didn’t die like the others.  This shows how one day believers will be taken away (raptured) before Jesus returns.  Heb. 11 tells us Enoch pleased God.  Jude says Enoch prophesied of Jesus’ 2nd coming.

What does it mean to walk faithfully with God?  When the Bible speaks of “walking”, it usually refers to a lifestyle.  Enoch modeled God’s action by obeying His commands and instructions.  He made a relationship with God in his everyday life.  He talked with God and listened to Him.  He was God’s friend.  Walking with God is making Him the most important thing in your life.  You want to talk with Him, you seek Him, and you want to please Him in everything you do.

How are you walking with God?

Are you walking before Him, after Him and with Him?

How could you improve your walk?

The oldest man in history was Methuselah, father of Lamech.  He lived 969 years.  There are differences in the life span between Seth’s descendants in Gen. 5, Shem’s in Gen. 11, the people after Abraham in Gen 12-50 and the life span of people today.  This is probably due to the environmental changes after the flood.  Also the longer men live the more people there are.  There are more pollutants, more hazards and more diseases.  There is more sin and sin is destructive.  Life gets shorter, because of sin.  There is more and more of excessive alcohol use, drug abuse, more murder, smoking, less exercising, poor diet, use of pesticides and fertilizers, etc.  All contribute to our life span.  The average life span now of a man is near 70 and 75 for a woman.

History shows 2 types of people – those who moved away from God and those who called on God.  Lamech was the 7th from Adam in the line of Cain.  He was evil.  Enoch was the 7th from Adam in the line of Seth.  He worshiped God.

Which group are you in?

Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

Do you trust God and His promises?

If you knew you were going to live 900 or more years, would you do things differently?

How would this affect your relationship with God?

Another man of faith mentioned in this chapter is Noah.  He and his family lived in a culture that was indifferent to God. 

Genesis 6-7 – The Flood  

“When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and they married any of them they chose.” – Gen. 6:1-2.  Who were the “sons of God”?  These were angels created God, but were fallen angels - angels who rebelled against God and became loyal to Satan.  We know this because Job 1:6 says the angels presented themselves to the Lord and Satan was with them.  Jude 6 says angels did not keep their own domain and are kept in darkness until judgment.   2 Peter 2:4 says God does not spare the angels when they sin, but cast them to hell. 

These fallen angels took on masculine human-like form and took human wives, “daughters of men” and had children with them.  Of course this was not allowed by God.  The resulted offspring were the Nephilim.  The Nephilim were giants with physical superiority and had a demonic element.  Nephilim are also referenced in Numbers 13:33.

What was the purpose of these fallen angels?  Satan tried to pollute the genetic pool of mankind to make the human race unfit to bring the Seed of the woman, the promised Messiah into the world.  He wanted to infect the entire race so the perfect Savior would not come.  He almost succeeded, but God stepped in and started again with Noah and his sons.

God was upset with men and the world.  Marriage and sensuality was taken lightly, inclination and thoughts of man’s heart was evil all the time and there was much violence.  This grieved God so that He decided he would wipe man off the face of the earth. (Gen. 6:5-6)  This judgment ultimately was a good thing for the human race, because it cleared the earth of all evil.

In these passages we learn that God is filled with pain in His heart for mankind.  He is deeply grieved.  He was so sorry of all the evil men were doing that He was willing to destroy everything on the earth - even the animals.  God has a firm commitment to accomplish His righteous purposes and does what was necessary. 

Does God make mistakes?  God does not make mistakes.  This doesn’t mean God made a mistake or that He wished He had done things differently.  God didn’t make a mistake in creating humans.  Instead, He was grieving because of the mistakes humans were making.  It’s possible to experience grief and regret without implying error.  Think of it as any parent who grieves and gets upset with a child when the child does something wrong.   The parent feels pain, but not wishing the child had not been born.  God was simply unhappy with the current state of mankind.

What evil do you see in our world today?  It sounds like Noah’s day was a lot like ours.   There is so much violence on TV and in movies with sex, marriage being degraded, the collapse of the family, shootings, murders, drug abuse, riots, hate and division among people, acceptance of homosexuality, widespread pornography, and the rebelling against God.  We see so much of this type of lifestyle that it seems normal.  We see those who call evil good and good evil.  Can you imagine how God’s heart is grieving?

Why is there so much sin in the world?  Satan is behind it all.  He knows his time is running out so he’s working harder and harder to deceive people.  People are consumed by their desires.  They see all this evil behavior and think it’s ok since others are doing it.  When things go wrong, people want to blame God for it.  Satan loves this thinking.  He knows if people blame God, they will reject Him.  God allows this because He didn’t create us to be puppets.  He allows us to have free choice.  He lets us make the decisions to do right or wrong.

Lamech had a son and named him Noah, which means “rest” or “to comfort”.  Maybe Lamech thought Noah would bring comfort to the world, but he was wrong.  Noah brought comfort to God.  Noah walked with God like his grandfather, Enoch.  Enoch was alive during Noah’s first 69 years of his life.  He probably had a great influence on Noah.  Noah found favor with God in Gen. 6:8.   

Noah was a preacher of the Gospel.  Gen 6:9 – “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time and he walked with God.”  Noah was not perfect, because we know in Rom. 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.  We know Noah was righteous, because he did everything God commanded him to do.

Who influences you?

Are you setting a good example for others, for your children?

Since the earth was full of violence and evil, God told Noah He was going to destroy the earth and everything in it and for Noah to build an ark.  God gave Noah all the instructions that were needed on how to make the ark.  It took him 100 years to build it.   

God made a covenant with Noah that he and his family would be spared.  This is the first covenant in the Bible.  “But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark – you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.” - Gen. 6:18.  He was to enter the ark along with 2 of every kind of creature, male and female and he was to keep them alive.  He was to take every kind of food and store it away for food for his family and the animals.  Where did Noah get these creatures?  God sent them to him.  When God asks us to do something, He always provides.

Just as God said, the rains came and it flooded the earth.  On the 2nd month and the 17th day the rains began and Noah and his family entered the ark.  It rained for 40 days and 40 nights.  Noah was in the ark for 1 year and 10 days.  We know this because Gen. 8:14 says the 2nd month and 27th day the earth was completely dry and Noah came out of the ark.  That’s 1 year and 10 days.  Every living thing – birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures over the earth and all mankind perished.  The waters flooded the earth for 150 days.  (Gen 7:24).

I am sure God’s revelation to Noah and his family might have seemed unbelievable, since it had never flooded before, the size of the ark, every kind of animal on earth was to be saved, the feeding of those animals, Noah’s in-laws would perish, his daughter-in-law’s family would perish, and just the magnitude of the event itself.  Noah’s family was probably convinced because of Noah’s faith and his living example, the evil in the world and the evil of those living around them, the animals coming to them and it raining for 40 days.

I thought it was interesting that it rained for 40 days and 40 nights.  The number 40 is mentioned 146 times in the Bible.  It symbolizes a period of testing or trial.  It means something as it brings repentance, newness, self-examination, transformation, escape from bondage, nourishment, growth, and new life.  Below are some examples of the number 40:

Moses lived 40 years in Egypt and 40 years in the desert.

Moses was on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights on 2 occasions.

Manna rained down on the Israelites for 40 years.

Jonah warned Nineveh for 40 days.

Elijah went 40 days without food or water.

Israel wandered in the desert for 40 years.

Ezekiel laid on his right side for 40 days for Judea’s sins.

Jesus was tempted many times during His 40 days of fasting.

Jesus appeared for 40 days after His resurrection before His ascension.

Saul, David and Solomon each ruled for 40 years.

Abraham tried to bargain with God for Sodom and Gomorrah if 40 righteous people were found.

The Bible was written by 40 different people.

40 is used in counts and measures – forty cows, forty camels, 40 shekels, etc.

Jesus received 40 blows of whip.

The Lent season is 40 days.

The human gestation period for new life is around 40 weeks.

What convinces you the flood was real? – The alleged discovery of the Ark in Iran; the fact that there are stories of a great flood in the ancient traditions of the Egyptian, Indian, Chinese, American Indian, and Babylonian cultures; geological evidence of a flood; rainbows; your faith in God’s Word.

Noah made no excuses and was obedient, are you? 

What if God told you today there would be a worldwide flood and for you to build an ark, would you?

What excuses do you make when God asked you to do something?

How can you be godly when others around you are not?

Principles and Lessons from these chapters:

God rewards those who faithfully walk with Him. – Gen. 5:24  

Marriage between the righteous and the unrighteous is not wise. – Gen 6:1-2 

God is patient, but his grace will eventually end. – Gen. 6:3   

Evil originates in the heart and can take over your life. – Gen. 6:5 

God holds the power of life and death. – Gen 6:7

It is possible to not live as the world lives. – Gen. 6:8

God will bless those who follow the example of Noah and Enoch. – Gen. 6:9, 24

God will judge evil. – Gen. 6:13

God keeps His promise in Gen. 6:17. – Gen. 7:10-12

God’s judgment is inescapable. – Gen. 7:21-23

Join me here next week as we continue our study of Genesis -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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