Following are
some notes from week 4 of our Sunday school study of "Creation as
Foundational Truth."
2:21-25 Creation of Woman
God took the material for making Eve from Adam’s side. “Woman was not taken from man’s head to rule over him, nor was she taken from his feet that he might walk all over her. She was taken from his side to be his equal, from under his arm to be protected, and from near his heart to be loved.” (Author Unknown)
“Woman is the crowning jewel of all creation.”
God established marriage as one man and one woman. "What God has defined, let not man redefine."
The Fall of Man (3:1-13)
When God’s six-day work of creation was complete, everything in the world was “very good.” There was nothing out of order, no pain, no suffering, no disease, no struggle for existence, no disharmony, no sin, and no death.
But things are not “very good” in the world now. All those things listed above do exist now.
How did sin come into the world? “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
3:1-3 The serpent cast doubt on the Word of God
3:4-5 The serpent denied the Word of God.
3:6-7 Adam and Eve disobeyed the Word of God.
3:8-10 God desires the fellowship of man, but sin breaks fellowship with God. They were afraid of God after they sinned.
3:11-13 Man departed from God and denied his guilt.
3:12 Adam blamed Eve, or actually God Himself.
3:13 Eve blamed the serpent. Every individual must accept responsibility for his or her own actions.
3:14-19 God’s Plan for Their Future
The serpent was cursed. The Redeemer was promised. Humanity was cursed. The earth was cursed.
The Doctrine of Redemption Introduced (3:20-24)
Eve was the “mother of all the living,” including the Redeemer. A blood sacrifice was necessary for forgiveness of sins. Man was driven from the Garden of Eden.
Section 3: The Great Flood (Genesis 6-8)
The flood is a very significant piece of the whole creation account.
Men deny the flood, because it destroys the “millions of years” part of their evolution story.
“Uniformitarian geology” is an obvious outcome of denial of the flood. Charles Lyell, a lawyer, was an early proponent of uniformitarian geology. He influenced Darwin.
The flood means that if God judged once, He can judge again. Men deny this.
Peter predicted this. “… knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’ For this they willfully forget (“…they willingly are ignorant…” or “they are dumb on purpose…”) that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly” (2 Peter 3:3-7).
The Days of Noah (Genesis 6)
Cause of the Flood (6:1-7) – (See Matthew 24:37-39) The earth was “filled with violence” (6:11). Man’s thoughts were only “evil continually” (6:5).
God said there was an end to His patience. He gave man 120 years.
2:21-25 Creation of Woman
God took the material for making Eve from Adam’s side. “Woman was not taken from man’s head to rule over him, nor was she taken from his feet that he might walk all over her. She was taken from his side to be his equal, from under his arm to be protected, and from near his heart to be loved.” (Author Unknown)
“Woman is the crowning jewel of all creation.”
God established marriage as one man and one woman. "What God has defined, let not man redefine."
The Fall of Man (3:1-13)
When God’s six-day work of creation was complete, everything in the world was “very good.” There was nothing out of order, no pain, no suffering, no disease, no struggle for existence, no disharmony, no sin, and no death.
But things are not “very good” in the world now. All those things listed above do exist now.
How did sin come into the world? “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
3:1-3 The serpent cast doubt on the Word of God
3:4-5 The serpent denied the Word of God.
3:6-7 Adam and Eve disobeyed the Word of God.
3:8-10 God desires the fellowship of man, but sin breaks fellowship with God. They were afraid of God after they sinned.
3:11-13 Man departed from God and denied his guilt.
3:12 Adam blamed Eve, or actually God Himself.
3:13 Eve blamed the serpent. Every individual must accept responsibility for his or her own actions.
3:14-19 God’s Plan for Their Future
The serpent was cursed. The Redeemer was promised. Humanity was cursed. The earth was cursed.
The Doctrine of Redemption Introduced (3:20-24)
Eve was the “mother of all the living,” including the Redeemer. A blood sacrifice was necessary for forgiveness of sins. Man was driven from the Garden of Eden.
Section 3: The Great Flood (Genesis 6-8)
The flood is a very significant piece of the whole creation account.
Men deny the flood, because it destroys the “millions of years” part of their evolution story.
“Uniformitarian geology” is an obvious outcome of denial of the flood. Charles Lyell, a lawyer, was an early proponent of uniformitarian geology. He influenced Darwin.
The flood means that if God judged once, He can judge again. Men deny this.
Peter predicted this. “… knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’ For this they willfully forget (“…they willingly are ignorant…” or “they are dumb on purpose…”) that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly” (2 Peter 3:3-7).
The Days of Noah (Genesis 6)
Cause of the Flood (6:1-7) – (See Matthew 24:37-39) The earth was “filled with violence” (6:11). Man’s thoughts were only “evil continually” (6:5).
God said there was an end to His patience. He gave man 120 years.
God was grieved
that He had made man. God stated His intention to destroy man.
God’s deliverance from the judgment of the Flood (6:8-14).
God’s deliverance from the judgment of the Flood (6:8-14).
Noah found
grace in God’s eyes. Noah was a godly man, but he was saved by grace.
Like Enoch, Noah walked with God. He was a “preacher of righteousness.” (2 Peter 2:5)
The grace of God: “But I will establish My covenant with you…” (6:18).
God’s grace extended even to the animals: Noah took every KIND of animal alive at the time. Dinosaurs would not have been left out.
Reptiles continue to grow, and pre-flood life spans were very long. How did they fit on the ark? Noah would not have taken the oldest ones. The average dinosaur would have been small, about the size of a sheep or large dog. Some were as small as chickens.
Were there dinosaurs after the flood? Did men ever see them
1) There were references to “dragons” in history.
2) Job was familiar with very large animals.
“Look now at the behemoth, which I made along with you; He eats grass like an ox. See now, his strength is in his hips, and his power is in his stomach muscles. He moves his tail like a cedar. The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. His bones are like beams of bronze. His ribs like bars of iron (Job 40:15-18).
Obviously, this animal was created on Day 6, the same day as man.
A note in some Bible versions says this may have been a hippopotamus. The tail is a dead giveaway on that idea. Is a hippo tail really like a cedar?
Like Enoch, Noah walked with God. He was a “preacher of righteousness.” (2 Peter 2:5)
The grace of God: “But I will establish My covenant with you…” (6:18).
God’s grace extended even to the animals: Noah took every KIND of animal alive at the time. Dinosaurs would not have been left out.
Reptiles continue to grow, and pre-flood life spans were very long. How did they fit on the ark? Noah would not have taken the oldest ones. The average dinosaur would have been small, about the size of a sheep or large dog. Some were as small as chickens.
Were there dinosaurs after the flood? Did men ever see them
1) There were references to “dragons” in history.
2) Job was familiar with very large animals.
“Look now at the behemoth, which I made along with you; He eats grass like an ox. See now, his strength is in his hips, and his power is in his stomach muscles. He moves his tail like a cedar. The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. His bones are like beams of bronze. His ribs like bars of iron (Job 40:15-18).
Obviously, this animal was created on Day 6, the same day as man.
A note in some Bible versions says this may have been a hippopotamus. The tail is a dead giveaway on that idea. Is a hippo tail really like a cedar?
Possible
answers as to what happened to the dinosaurs: They died out after the
flood for a variety of reasons, such as harsh conditions, not enough food,
hunting, breathing issues, etc. We don’t have to explain it.
6:20 Noah did not have to go find the animals. They came to him. God brought them.
Noah obeyed the Lord completely. “Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did” (6:22). This is how we ought to obey the Lord.
The Flood (Genesis 7-8)
7:1-10 Eight people went aboard. Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their wives.
There were two of every KIND of animal, but seven of every clean animal. These were the animals used for sacrifices.
Destruction of all flesh and the salvation of those in the ark (7:11-24)
The “fountains of the great deep broke open.” This likely indicated volcanic activity which released tremendous amounts of underground water.
“The windows of heaven were opened.” The water from above turned to rain. (May have been the collapse of the vapor canopy.) The rain fell for forty days and forty nights.
The Lord closed the door behind them. They were secure because the Lord closed them in.
Was the flood universal or local? (7:19-20)
(1) “And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.”
(2) God’s promise to never do this again would have been meaningless if the flood was local.
(3) Noah would not have needed an ark to escape a local flood. He could just have moved.
(4) During this flood and its aftermath is when billions of fossils were buried. It explains why there are fossils of sea life on high mountains, etc. Darwin saw this and concluded it was evidence for evolution.
(5) All animal life and all human life outside the ark died. In the same way, those who are outside the safety of Christ today will perish.
(6) “…only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.” (7:23) This is the grace of God. He could have destroyed everyone and everything, but He chose not to.
God’s Promise:
(1) “I will never again curse the ground.” (8:21)
(2) “I will never again destroy every living thing.” (8:21)
(3) “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.” (8:22) This certainly shoots a hole in the "man-caused global warming" / "climate change" idea, which clearly illustrates the arrogance of man. Even very "smart" people are not immune to believing very foolish things.
(4) “…never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” (The Rainbow Covenant, Genesis 9:8-17).
Continued in two weeks with “After the Flood” and then on to Section 4, “Progressive Creationism.” … There is no Sunday school next week due to an all-church meeting.
6:20 Noah did not have to go find the animals. They came to him. God brought them.
Noah obeyed the Lord completely. “Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did” (6:22). This is how we ought to obey the Lord.
The Flood (Genesis 7-8)
7:1-10 Eight people went aboard. Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their wives.
There were two of every KIND of animal, but seven of every clean animal. These were the animals used for sacrifices.
Destruction of all flesh and the salvation of those in the ark (7:11-24)
The “fountains of the great deep broke open.” This likely indicated volcanic activity which released tremendous amounts of underground water.
“The windows of heaven were opened.” The water from above turned to rain. (May have been the collapse of the vapor canopy.) The rain fell for forty days and forty nights.
The Lord closed the door behind them. They were secure because the Lord closed them in.
Was the flood universal or local? (7:19-20)
(1) “And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.”
(2) God’s promise to never do this again would have been meaningless if the flood was local.
(3) Noah would not have needed an ark to escape a local flood. He could just have moved.
(4) During this flood and its aftermath is when billions of fossils were buried. It explains why there are fossils of sea life on high mountains, etc. Darwin saw this and concluded it was evidence for evolution.
(5) All animal life and all human life outside the ark died. In the same way, those who are outside the safety of Christ today will perish.
(6) “…only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.” (7:23) This is the grace of God. He could have destroyed everyone and everything, but He chose not to.
God’s Promise:
(1) “I will never again curse the ground.” (8:21)
(2) “I will never again destroy every living thing.” (8:21)
(3) “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.” (8:22) This certainly shoots a hole in the "man-caused global warming" / "climate change" idea, which clearly illustrates the arrogance of man. Even very "smart" people are not immune to believing very foolish things.
(4) “…never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” (The Rainbow Covenant, Genesis 9:8-17).
Continued in two weeks with “After the Flood” and then on to Section 4, “Progressive Creationism.” … There is no Sunday school next week due to an all-church meeting.
