Genesis: First Faith Chapters 4-11

Lesson: Noah and the Flood Genesis 4-6

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Cain and Abel 4:1-15

What do you think Eve might have been thinking about when she named Cain?

(The Prophesy of Gen. 3:15. The seed of woman.)

What is the interpretation of Cain and Abel’s names?

(Cain means possession and Abel means breath.)

Why was Cain’s sacrifice rejected?

(Perhaps due to the nature of the sacrifice.  One the shedding of blood the other not or perhaps due to the attitude of the heart of each man.  Abel believing in God, Cain just performing a ritual.)

What was Cain’s curse?

(That the earth would no longer tolerate him.  He would be a wanderer and a nomad, no longer a farmer who could till his own ground.)

What was Cain’s mark?

(The word probably refers to the action not an actual physical mark.  Cain was marked not to suffer man’s vengeance for the death of Abel.)

With Seth’s son, Enos, men began to call upon the name of the Lord.   This was the beginning of what?

(Worship in the sense of prayer, and praise.  Perhaps because God no longer walked openly with men after the first generation of Adam.)

The Flood

Who were the sons of God and the daughters of men?

(Some believe angels were the sons of God procreating with the men.  More likely it was the godly line of Seth intermarrying with the line of Cain.)

What is an ark?

(The word means box or chest.)

 

What would be the modern measurements of the ark?

(450 ft long x 75 wide x 45 high)

Could the Ark carry all the animals?

(The ark has the same cargo capacity of a modern cargo ship. The above figure shows a comparison with a 550 ft long cargo ship. The ark had a volume of 1.4 million cubic feet and a gross tonnage of 14,000 tons. This is the equivalent of 522 railroad box cars. The Ark could have carried over 125,000 sheep size animals. Interestingly, there are less than 18,000 species of land animals alive today. Also, the average size of most animals is less than that of a sheep.)

How many of the animals was Noah to bring on board?

(Of clean animals 7 pairs, of unclean animals 2 pair.)

How long did it take to build the ark?

(Genesis 6:3 120 years were pronounced upon man.  If Noah started building when God told him to then this was about the time it took to build the ark.) 

How long did it rain and how long was Noah and his family in the ark?

(from Halley’s Bible Handbook.  Noah went into the Ark 7 days before it began to rain (7:4, 10).  It began to rain 17th day of 2nd month of Noah’s 600th year (7:11).  It rained 40 days (7:12), the waters prevailed 150 days (7:24, 8:3).  The Ark rested on the 17th day of 7th month (8:4).  Removed Arks covering 1st day of 1st month in Noah’s 601st year (8:13) Went out of the Ark 27 day of 2nd month (8:14-19).   In the Ark 1 year 17 days: 5 months floating, 7 months sitting.)

How is the Ark a type of Jesus Christ?

(Noah was safe in the ark, we are safe in Christ.) 

1 Peter 3:20-21 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.  The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

The Creation of Nations and Tower of Babel

After the Flood Genesis 8 & 9

What was the first thing Noah did once he left the ark?

(Offered up a burnt sacrifice, a thanksgiving offering.)

What changes in man’s relationship to the animals seems to be implied in Genesis 9:2-3

(Animals would fear man, animals could be eaten now by men.  Animals would kill man.)

What was God’s token, sign of his covenant with Noah?

(The rainbow in the clouds.)

Why did Noah curse Ham’s son Canaan?

(It appears Ham took pleasure in his father’s shame.  Some believe it was sexual pleasure, others that it was rebellion against authority.)

What was the curse?

(Canaan, and his descendants would be the servant of Shem and Japeth and their descendants.)

Was this curse fulfilled?

Yes, by Moses and the Israelites when they took the land of (Canaan.  Later by the Greeks and Romans and others who have possessed the same land.)

What were the blessings upon Japeth and Shem?

(To Shem was the blessing of Jehovah.  God would continue his blessings through the line of Shem.  Japeth would be a wanderer and conqueror (enlarge) and He would come to share in the spiritual blessings of Shem.)

What are the three families of man that stem from the three sons of Noah?

(Ham: Settled South of Palestine, Egyptians, Abyssinians, Canaanites, Ethiopians.

Shem: Settled in Palestine, Semitic peoples, Jews, Arabic, Sabeans, Hittites,

Japeth: Aryans, Settled North and West of Palestine, Greeks, Italians, Spanish, German, English, Asiatic.

Exact identification of Noah’s descendants is very difficult. Most are guesses beyond the first few generation of Noah’s sons.)

Why is Nimrod specially mentioned in the midst of the genealogies?

(Nimrod by is the founder of Babylon and Nineveh.  He is the supposed architect of the Tower of Babel and the originator of the pagan religions of the world which flourished after the division of language and the dividing of the land.)

Vs. 25 What occurred during the life of Peleg that warranted special mention in the genealogies of chapter 10?

(The earth was divided.)

What could this division refer to?

(The separating of the earth into different languages or some believe the splitting of the earth into different continents.)

Tower of Babel   Genesis 11

Why did they want the top to reach to heaven?

(This was a ziggurat, a pyramid shaped temple, like the Mayans and Aztecs built.  It’s purpose would be for the worship of pagan gods, thus it’s top would “reach heaven.”)

What was the purpose of building the tower?

(To make a name for themselves, to prevent being scattered.)

Why did God oppose the building of the tower?

(Man was not obeying God’s command to fill the earth after the flood.  Instead he would stay in one place and because of his unity would become very wicked and powerful.)

Conclusion

From the end of the world by the flood, until the sin and rebellion of Nimrod and the tower of Babel is only 4 generations, Noah, Ham, Cush, Nimrod.

The speed of the corruption is a testament to the danger of a unified mankind being led by one powerful leader into sin and godlessness.

The event is a foreshadowing of what will happen in the future when once again mankind is united and under the leadership of the Anti-Christ. Who will lead them in rebellion against God during the tribulation as Nimrod did in the age after the flood.

Both are a lesson in the danger of mankind’s willingness to devolve into sin and debauchery when under the influence of worldwide pressure and influence from all mankind.