NASHVILLE (BP) — This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups.
This week’s Bible study is adapted from The Gospel Project curriculum.
Bible Passages: Genesis 6:5-7; 6:8-22; 9:1-11
Discussion Questions: Compare Genesis 9:1-11 to the original mandate God gave Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:26-28. What similarities do you see? What are the differences? Noah is described in the New Testament as “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Pet. 2:5). In what ways does our mission to call people to repentance and faith resemble Noah’s example?
Food for Thought:
The story of the flood doesn’t end with Noah’s rescue but with God making a covenant with Noah and then commissioning his family to fulfill the original mandate He gave to Adam and Eve.
1. God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2. The fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed under your authority. 3. Every living creature will be food for you; as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything. 4. However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it. 5. I will require the life of every animal and every man for your life and your blood. I will require the life of each man’s brother for a man’s life.
6. Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in His image. 7. But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.” 8. Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, 9. “Understand that I am confirming My covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10. and with every living creature that is with you — birds, livestock, and all wildlife of the earth that are with you — all the animals of the earth that came out of the ark. 11. I confirm My covenant with you that never again will every creature be wiped out by the waters of a flood; there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.”
We see clearly through God’s words to Noah and his family that the flood did not fix everything and restore everything back to its proper order and place. The flood’s inability to solve the sin problem points us back to Genesis 6:5-7. The sin of man has spread wide and deep. How wide and how deep? So wide and deep that even the destruction of most of the world and starting over with one righteous man and his family was not sufficient to redeem and restore humanity back to God.
A greater solution than the flood was needed. And the good news of the Gospel is that a greater solution was given to us at the cross. At the cross we see the true extent to which God was willing to be grieved so that we might be saved. The Son of God was willing to drink the cup of God’s judgment in order that we might be spared eternal death.
And just as Noah’s story ends with a reaffirmation of God’s covenant with humanity and a commissioning to follow God in obedience, so also our salvation is not an end in itself but what precedes our own obedience. God has commissioned us not only to be fruitful and multiply but also to take the good news of this holy and merciful God to the rest of the world. Noah could only save seven members of his family, but God has given to Jesus people from every tribe, tongue and nation.
Just as Noah spent his life in faith building an ark while the world rejected his message (Heb. 11:7; 2 Pet. 2:5), we should spend our lives faithfully telling people about the coming judgment and the good news of the provision God has made for our salvation — Jesus Christ.
The Gospel Project
The Gospel Project is a Christ-centered curriculum that examines the grand narrative of Scripture and how the Gospel transforms the lives of those it touches. Through a three-year study plan, participants are immersed in the Gospel through stories, theological concepts, and calls to missions from Genesis to Revelation. Separate study plans for kids and students/adults ensure the proper focus and depth. The Gospel Project is designed to unify an entire church under a single Christ-centered curriculum. More information, free samples, and The Gospel Project blog can be found at gospelproject.com.
Other ongoing Bible study options for all ages offered by LifeWay can be found at www.LifeWay.com/SundaySchool.
