Wednesday, July 27, 2011

After the Flood: Return of Sin

1. Did God spare humanity from total destruction because Noah and his three sons were righteous or because Noah was righteous? Because Noah was righteous. Not his sons. Noah’s wife, his three sons (Shem, Ham, Japheth), and their wives were saved because Noah lived a life pleasing to God. We do not know for sure what the lifestyles of Noah’s sons were prior to the flood. We do know they were well up in age by the time the flood hit. They were not children. They were not teenagers. They were grown men old enough to make their own decisions … their own choices – good or evil.

2. Noah raised three sons in a culture of evil prior to the Flood. What do you think the odds were that all three would grow up being righteous like him? Children are not born saints. Noah’s children were raised in a Godly home. He passed on to them a knowledge of God that his father, grandfather, great-grandfather, passed on to him. But, Noah’s three sons lived in a world of evil that offered a lot of temptations. At some point, Noah’s three sons would be put in a position to make a choice – follow God or follow the world. Given the spiritual environment of the world, Noah would be lucky if one of his sons chose Godliness. Today, I’m going to make the argument that prior to the flood, two sons chose Godliness and one did not. This son was spared from death by the Flood, not because of his conduct, but because of his father Noah’s relationship with God. This son experienced God’s salvation. Not unusual for God to do this. Ex. Abraham and Lot; Moses and children of Israel. After the Flood, this son of Noah had an opportunity at a second chance at life. To put away the old (sin), and start anew (Godliness). Read Genesis 9:1. God blessed him.

Read Genesis 9:18-28

3. What was Noah’s occupation after the Flood? Farmer and wine producer. Raised a vineyard for eating and drinking.

4. What happens to Noah in verse 21? He gets drunk from the wine. Goes to his tent where he lays down without any clothes on. How far Noah has fallen from the man who was described in Genesis 6:9 as a righteous man, blameless in his time.

5. Why did Noah do this? Possibilities - 1) A post-Flood celebration that got out of hand. 2) The negative effects of fermented wine were not known until after the Flood. Noah suffered the innocent results of something he was not aware of. (Weak argument given that people got drunk prior to the flood.) 3) Noah experiencing survivor’s guilt - a mental condition that occurs when a person perceives him- or herself to have done wrong by surviving a traumatic event when others did not. The impact of the Flood event - the deaths of thousands – began to sink in. Noah may have become depressed. Turned to alcohol to numb the emotional pain. Whatever the reason, it was not proper behavior. A drunken person exhibits embarrassing behavior.

Moses, the author of Genesis, does not focus anymore on Noah’s shortcoming. Reason - once Noah entered his tent that should have been the end of the story. Why? The tent was a place of privacy. No one was to enter into a man’s tent uninvited. Not even family.

6. What happens in verse 22? Ham entered the tent and saw his father lying inside drunk and naked. He left the tent and told his two brothers standing outside what he saw.

7. What did Shem and Japheth do in verse 23? They entered the tent walking backwards so that they would look upon their father’s nakedness and covered him with a garment.

8. What did Ham do that was so wrong? The three brothers were probably aware that their father was drunk before he entered his tent. All three standing outside tent. Ham chose to violate his father’s privacy. Ham entered the tent uninvited and saw his father in an undignified state. Ham was not ashamed by what he saw. He did nothing to preserve the dignity of his father. Apparently, Ham was amused by what he saw. Noah – the great man of God now a nude drunk. He walked out of the tent and told his brothers standing outside. “You two need to go inside and check out the old man. Ha, ha, ha. He’s a sight to behold.” Disrespectful behavior on the part of Ham towards his father. Not respecting his father's privacy and the disrespectful behavior showed a lack of honor by Ham for his father. “Honor your father and mother.” Honor – to revere; high respect (heavy, weighty.) Even though Noah was acting like an embarrassing fool, he was still Ham’s father and deserving of honor. On the other hand, Shem and Japheth honored/respected their father. They took a garment Noah should have been wearing, placed it on their shoulders, walked backwards into the tent, covered Noah without looking, and left the tent.

9. How does one honor their parents? It’s not just by saying “yes sir” or “no sir.” Honor can be expressed by how the children lead their lives.

Ham – dishonored his father; Shem and Japheth – honored their father. Do you think this was the only time that Ham dishonored his father? I don’t. I would argue (even though I have no evidence to support my argument; pure speculation) that Ham had a pattern of dishonoring his father going back to the pre-Flood years. He did not respect his father’s teachings concerning God and Godliness. After the Flood, Ham’s dishonor for his father continued. Shem and Japheth honored their father pre- and post-Flood.

10. After Noah woke up from his drunken stupor and realized what Ham had done, what did Noah proceed to do? Proclaim curses and blessings. 1) Curses Canaan – one of the sons of Ham. Canaan will be a servant his brothers (other sons of Ham) 2) Blesses God of Shem. Identifies the close relationship between God and Shem and his descendants (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the nation of Israel, David, Jesus.) Noah adds “let Canaan serve Shem.” 3) God would enlarge Japheth (his descendants? his lands?) Noah identifies the close bond that Shem and Japheth and their descendants will share. Japheth will live in Shem’s tents. Canaan will serve Japheth and his descendants.

11. Whose name does Noah not say? Ham. Why? This is a big deal. To be denied a blessing by your father in Old Testament days was like being cut out of the will. Essentially, these verses are Noah’s last will and testament. By denying Ham his blessing, Noah cut him out of the will. What Ham did was so egregious, so dishonorable, so disrespectful, so sinful, Noah chose not to acknowledge his son’s existence. It was as if Ham had never been born.

12. Ham had four sons. Why did Noah curse Canaan and not his brothers as well? Noah lived long enough to see his grandsons become adults. He got to see they type of men they became. Followers of God or followers of evil. Noah saw in Canaan the same moral flaws that he saw in Ham. Noah saw in Canaan the same dishonorable/sinful traits that his father Ham had. Indeed, Canaan learned these traits from his father. There are consequences to sin. For Ham, he did not receive the blessing of his father. For Canaan, it would be servitude to his brothers and uncles. Unfortunately, the legacy of sin did not stop with Canaan. It continued through his descendants. Read Genesis 10:15-19. Canaan’s descendants may have founded Sodom and Gomorrah. Because of their sinfulness, they would be cursed.

Application:

In your family (parent, child, aunt, uncle, cousin, nephew, niece), are you living a life that is spiritually honorable?

Parents – do your children honor/respect you as a Christian parent? Are you living a lifestyle that is worthy of their honor/respect?

Friday, July 15, 2011

The Flood

Read Genesis 7:1-16

1. What types of animals entered the ark and how many of each? One pair of unclean animals; seven pairs of clean animals; seven pairs of birds. Why more clean animals and birds than unclean animals? See at end of chapter 8. God defined clean and unclean animals in Leviticus 11. Pass out handout on clean and unclean animals.

Clean animal - Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed (split-toed) and chews the cud. An animal that "chews the cud" simply re-chews plant foods that it has already partially digested in some way. This method of nutrient absorption extracts the ultimate benefit from nutrient-poor vegetation like grass and leaves.

Unclean animal – a) chews the cud but does not part the hoof. One solid hoof one each foot. b) parts the hoof and is cloven-footed (split toed) but does not chew the cud. c) All that walk on their paws, among the animals that go on all fours

Clean animals

Antelope, Bison (buffalo), Caribou, Cattle (beef, veal), Deer (venison), Elk, Gazelle, Giraffe, Goat, Hart, Ibex, Moose, Ox, Reindeer, Sheep (lamb, mutton)

Unclean animals

Swine, Boar, Pig (hog, bacon, ham, lard, pork, most sausage and pepperoni), Coyote, Dog, Fox, Hyena, Jackal, Wolf, Cat, Cheetah, Leopard, Lion, Panther, Tiger, Donkey, Horse, Mule, Zebra, Armadillo, Badger, Bat, Bear, Beaver, Camel, Elephant, Gorilla,
Groundhog, Hippopotamus, Kangaroo, Llama (alpaca), Mole, Monkey, Mouse, Muskrat
Opossum, Porcupine, Rabbit (hare), Raccoon, Rat, Rhinoceros, Skunk, Slug, Snail, Squirrel, Weasel, Wolverine, Worm

2. How did God bring about the flood? Opened up the waters below ground; Rain from the sky.

3. Who shut the door to the ark? God. Noah could not open or shut the door to the ark. God did not give him instructions on how to shut or open the door. Noah’s sons may have thought that was strange. Why is it significant that only God could open or shut the door to the ark? Think about it. Once the flood waters start to climb, who will want to get in the ark? Everyone outside. They will be screaming for Noah to let them in. He couldn’t save them if he wanted to. Only God could open or shut the door. The people’s opportunity for salvation had passed. They had their chance while Noah was building the ark. Too late now. See Luke 16 – Story of rich man and Lazarus. Also, there was no windows on the side of the ark. The only window was a skylight on the roof of the ark. Why? Perhaps to spare Noah from seeing the death and destruction around him.

Matthew 24:36-39 - But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

4. What do you think Noah’s neighbors were thinking/doing as the rain came down and the waters rose? Japan and tsunami; New Orleans and Katrina. People were standing on the tops of their homes, hilltops, trees, screaming for Noah to let them in the ark. Some probably swam to the ark, scratched the sides with their fingernails in failed attempts to get inside.

5. How long did the rain fall and the waters rise? 40 days and nights.

Read Genesis 7:17-24; 8:1-5

6. How high did the flood waters get? Covered the highest mountains. Fossilized marine life have been discovered near the summit of Mt. Everest. It was underwater at some point in the past.

7. How long was it before the waters began to recede? 150 days.

8. What must life have been like for Noah and his family on the ark during that time? Bobbing up and down of the ark; the smell and noise of the animals; no way to see the world outside; claustrophobic

9. Where did the ark come to rest? Mountains of Arat in present day eastern Turkey. Show map.

Read Genesis 8:6-19

10. How did Noah determine if there was dry land outside the ark? He opened up the window on top of the ark and released a raven. He kept flying back and forth. Some interpret the Hebrew phrasing to mean that the raven would fly around a while and then land on the ark; fly and land on the ark; fly and land on the ark. Kept up this pattern until the waters were gone. Noah decided to send a dove next. Dove found no place to land and returned to Noah. After seven days, he sent out the dove again. The dove returned with an olive leaf. Confirmation for Noah that waters had receded. Vegetation had returned to the earth.

11. What was the total length of time Noah and his family was in the ark? About eleven months. See Genesis 7:11

12. What must Noah and his family felt when they were able to leave the ark?

Read Genesis 8:20-22

13. What did Noah do after he left the ark? Worshipped God. Built an altar and offered sacrifices. What did Noah sacrifice to God? Some of every clean animal and some of every bird who were on the ark. Not so bad to be an unclean animal.

14. What was God’s response to Noah’s act of worship? Pleased. God promised never again to curse the ground or kill the animals of the earth for man’s evil. Notice he did not say anything about never punishing humanity again for their evil.