Genesis Chapter 9

  

In this chapter we continue to learn about Noah and his sons after the flood.

Verses 1-7

God told Noah and his sons to have children and repopulate the earth.

Verses 2-3 is similar to the Covenant God gave Adam in Genesis 1:26 & 28 when he gave man dominion over all the animals. But in these verses it’s a bit more forceful using the words in verse 2 that animals are going to have fear and dread of man. God did that for the animals preservation. It’s a God given fear. Verse 3 God gives the animals to us for food. Before this man ate plants.

God told them not to eat meat that contained blood. Blood was to be respected because it gave life to humans and to animals.

In verse 6 murder was forbidden and a serious crime because God made humans in His image. This is where capital punishment originated.

Verses 8-17

God’s Covenant (a promise) to all people is in verses 8-9 I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you.

 We are all descendants of either Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s three sons. 

God promised never to flood the earth again and destroy every living creature.

Noah is not Jewish. The Jewish people will not begin for hundreds of years in the future. This Covenant is given before the Law of Moses and this Covenant is in effect for all time and for all generations.  Verse 16 says, everlasting Covenant. In verse 17, The sign of this Covenant is a rainbow.

Verses 18-29

Noah became drunk on the wine  and lay naked in his tent. Ham saw his father naked and told his two brothers. Shem and Japheth took a garment and covered their father without looking at him.

Noah woke up realizing what his son Ham did and cursed Ham’s son Canaan. The ancient Hebrew says that Ham “told with delight” what he saw undermining his authority as a man from God. 

He said that Ham’s offspring would be servants to his brother’s offspring. He blessed Japheth and Shem for covering him up.

Noah’s son Shem will become the ancestor to the Jewish nation. The Jewish people will come from Shem. Shem is a follower of God.

Ham will live a life of evil and it will get worse because he had seen the wickedness of those before the flood.

I have a difficult time watching the news because it is a reminder of the corruption and evil of this world. We always say or think that the corruption and evil of this world is getting worse but according to these scriptures it has always been this way since the beginning of time. God doesn’t have to watch the news to see what is going on in this world because He can see it all. God’s Covenant with Noah shows his mercy and grace all these thousands of years. Instead of obliterating this evil world God extends love and forgiveness to all who will take it. Now that is Amazing Grace!

Genesis Chapter 8

 

In this chapter we are continuing the story of Noah and his family. Only 8 people exist at this time, Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives.

Verses 1-5

God began to remove the flood waters by creating a wind which stopped the water level from increasing and began to decrease. 

The ark came to rest on the top of the mountains of Ararat. Some believe that because the ark was made with pitch (which is a sealer) on the inside and the outside that it is well preserved somewhere in the snow and ice of those mountains.

In the 10th month on the ark, the tops of the mountains became visible.

Verses 6-12

Noah releases a raven and it went to and fro until the waters dried up from the earth. Then Noah sent a dove, but it returned. 7 more days and it returned with an olive leaf. 7 more days and it did not return.

Verses 13-22

Noah and his family were on the ark 377 days according to verse 14. God told Noah, his family and the animals that they could leave the ark. 

Noah worshiped God. God promised Noah that He would never again strike down every living creature.

There is still judgement just like in the day of Noah but Revelation 3:20 says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me. 

Everything that God does is for His purpose and according to I Peter 5:10, we serve the God of all grace.

God gave grace to Noah and his family and he continues to give grace to us as well.

Genesis Chapter 6

  

In this chapter we will study how wicked the world had become. Noah, his wife Namath, their sons and their wives were the only ones on the ark during the flood. 

Verses 1-7

The “sons of God” and the “daughters of men.”

What does sons of God mean? Are these men or some other being?

Verse 5 says that God saw the wickedness of man on earth was great. It doesn’t say God saw the wickedness of any type of being was great. 

Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. 

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the spirit of God, these are sons of God.

In the family generations we studied in chapter 5 we see the line of Seth being the line of the faithful which I believe are the sons of God. They were marrying the line of Cain from chapter 4, who rebelled against God. 

Their children were known as the Nephilim

The blending of these two lines caused wickedness to run rampant here on earth. Only 8 people were being faithful to God. Noah and his family.

Verses 8-22

God told Noah he was going to destroy man and beast in a global flood and for him to build an ark.

God told him the exact materials to use: gopher wood and covered with pitch. 

God also told Noah the exact dimensions that Noah would need to get his family and all the animals on this ark. (A pair of every kind of animal) 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. Make a roof for it and finish the ark within 18 inches of the top. Put a door inside of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. The ark was the equivalent of 500 to 550 boxcars on a train.

Noah was instructed to begin gathering food for his family and the animals.

Noah obeyed God. 

In the previous chapters we have seen that obedience brings blessings and disobedience brings a cursed life. 

God was merciful to Noah and his family because of their faithfulness. The ark was God’s plan for their salvation.

God has been merciful to us as well not only in our obedience but even when we have let Him, ourselves and others down because of His goodness towards us. 

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

This scripture tells us that just as God provided for Noah and his family to be rescued then. God has continued to provide a way of salvation for us today.