How did Noah acknowledge his need of forgiveness?
(Genesis 6:5-17; 8:18-22; 9:1-17 ) Blog Apr. 11-17, 2021
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: Present Truth PO Box 700, Fallbrook CA 92088-0700 USA
REVIEW: In order to establish an intimate relationship with his people God makes a covenant with them. This was true in Eden before the fall and was renewed or modified throughout history. Behind all of God’s covenants with humanity lies the covenant that God the Father and the Son made before the foundation of the world. In it the Father promised a perfect bride for the Son and the Son promised to be substitute and surety for the bride should she fall from perfection. When sin entered this earth Jesus immediately stepped in between humanity and eternal annihilation.
Righteousness Lost (Genesis 3:1-13; 4:10-11; 6:5-7)
1. In Eden, on what subject did the serpent engage Eve’s attention? On the subject of the Word of God – what God had said about the food they could eat.
2. How did the serpent describe the forbidden fruit? As beneficial to one’s existence bringing wisdom & enlightenment.
3. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit what did they experience? They lost their garments of righteousness, they became afraid of God, & they began blaming each other — for love was lost.
4. Even after God promised Adam and Eve a new covenant of grace and forgave their sin what condition did they pass on to their children? They passed on, at that very time, to all their descendants a nature bent towards evil, a propensity to sin.
5. When Cain refused God’s forgiveness and produced a race of rebels what was the result? Within a few generations the earth was so filled with sin & corruption that God thought to terminate the human race with a flood.
Righteousness Preserved (Genesis 6:17-22; 2 Peter 2:5)
6. Because God is gracious and merciful what plan did he establish for the preservation of a godly seed through whom humanity could be redeemed? He chose Noah to build an ark into which believers & representatives of the animal creation could be saved from the worldwide flood.
7. What are we told about Noah’s character and relationship with God? That he was a righteous man who trusted in God’s covenant of a future Redeemer for he considered himself a sinner who needed God’s grace.
8. What do the words of Genesis 6:18 constitute? In Genesis 6:18 God is making a proposal concerning a future covenant that he desires to make with Noah.
9. When God promised to establish a covenant with Noah and gave instructions for how to prepare for that day, what did Noah do? He followed God’s instructions by building an ark & preaching to all who would listen that the righteousness of the promised Seed was humanity’s only hope.
God’s Covenant with Noah (Gen. 7:23; 8:18-22; 9:1-17; Phil. 3:9-11; Col. 2:10; 2 Pet. 3:6-7)
10. Before God established his covenant with Noah what deliverance had he wrought? God had preserved Noah & his family in the ark for over a year & delivered them from the devastating, worldwide flood.
11. After the flood how did Noah acknowledge his need of forgiveness and mercy from God? He built an altar & offered an animal sacrifice of each of the clean animals from the ark.
12. What promise did God make when he smelled Noah’s sacrifices? God promised that although humans still had sinful natures, he would never again curse the ground nor destroy every living thing & that seedtime & harvest (summer & winter) would remain as long as the earth should last.
13. In order to establish his promise to Noah what else did God do? God blessed Noah & his family, repeated words from the covenant with Adam, provided their food, promised never again to destroy the earth with a flood, & gave a sign as a token of his covenant promise.
14. What elements of making a covenant appear in the story of Noah? A preamble showing God’s deliverance & care of the other party, stipulations for Noah and his descendants to carry out, the death of a sacrifice, a covenant “meal”, a promise from God stating the duration of the covenant, animal sacrifices, & a perpetual sign.
15. What stipulations did God ask Noah to fulfill when making a covenant with him? God asked Noah to be fruitful & multiply, to not eat meat whose blood has not been drained out, & to punish murder with death.
16. What covenant elements are not present in God’s covenant with Noah? Noah made no promises to God & as in most divine covenants God was the initiator (it was unilateral in origin) & the guaranteed Fulfiller of the promises.
17. On what basis did God make the Noahic covenant? On the basis of grace as provided in Jesus’ pre-creation promise to the Father.
18. In the story of the flood what does the ark represent? The ark represents Jesus our mercy seat & all who are found in him by faith will be saved when he comes to destroy the earth by fire.
19. What should we learn from the fact that only eight people were saved out of the massive population of the pre-flood world? That also in the last days only a remnant will be saved for as Jesus said: “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”