Lesson #4. Genesis 6-9

    After leaving the garden, Adam and Eve began to have children. Their first son, Cain, killed his brother Abel because of jealousy. The third son was named Seth. Their descendants also disobeyed God, and they became very evil.  

     We do not know where the sons found wives, but we do know that God provided a way to populate the earth. During the early days of the earth, many people married relatives. Nevertheless, the world began to fill with people, and they developed land, invented tools, crafted musical instruments and lived full lives just as we do. Unfortunately, most of the people on the earth were evil and corrupt, and the scriptures reveal that God became sorrowful that He had created man.

     God saw one man, Noah, who was good and upright. Noah had a wife and three married sons. God said, “I will destroy the earth, but I will save Noah and his family.”

     God told Noah to build a huge boat which was called an ark. Noah was given specific instructions as to how the boat was to be built. It had to be made with wood known as gopher wood. It had to be as long as 1 1/2 football fields! God said, “It’s going to flood. You will need a place to preserve yourselves and enough animals to repopulate the earth after the flood.”

     Imagine how Noah’s neighbors laughed at him as he built the large boat. It required over 100 years to build. When that job was completed, Noah had to bring the animals into the ark. God said, “Bring in two of every unclean animal (such as pigs), the male and his female. Bring in seven of every clean animal (such as sheep), the male and his female.” The ark needed to be big to accommodate such a crowd of animals and people. It was large enough. God designed it.

     How awful it must have been for those people who had lived evil lives! When the rain started, those outside of the ark began to sink, flounder and drown as the flood waters rose. God was purging the earth of its wickedness. 

     When the flood waters finally dried (150 days), Noah and his family came out of the ark with all the animals and started life in a world free of violence and corruption.

     How wonderful it would be if life had remained pure and good, but temptation soon overcame man again and the earth began to fill itself with evil deeds. Many years after the flood, God provided a cure for broken, sinful lives. We will begin to talk of God’s plan of mercy and grace as we work our way through the Bible.