Term 1 – Week 3
Big Idea – God punished the world because of their sin, but God has not abandoned his promise to fix the problem of sin!!!
Genesis 6:1-9:17
Lesson Background
This unit of work is an overview of the Old Testament from creation in Genesis 1 up to God’s promise to King David in 2 Samuel 7. The theme for the unit is: God always keeps His Promises.
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: I establish my covenant with you: never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth…… This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9:11-13
In Genesis 6:5-6 shows us the awful state the world had become and the Lord’s regret at the creation of humanity. What a tragic scene, as humans, the ‘very good’ pinnacle of the Lord’s creation in Genesis 1-2 become the pinnacle of wickedness. The sin of Adam and Eve has spread to a worldwide scale (see Gen 6:12).
Genesis 6:6-7 shows us the LORD’s intention to wipe out humanity from the face of the earth. Not just humanity, however, but all of the living creatures. The sin of humanity infects a world that needed a total cleanse. The world is broken, both people and nature. God promises that one day he will judge the world again just like in the days of Noah (2 Peter 3:5-7).
Yet, right in the middle of the story we see a break of light. One man who was righteous, who “walked faithfully with God.” Through this man came a worldwide salvation. Noah knew of the God who made all things, and knew enough of him through creation and what God had already told his ancestors to live a “blameless” life. In the righteous actions of this one man his entire family are saved. Noah obeys the commands of the Lord, building a massive ark. He believed in the judgement to come and faithfully built the ark for the remnant God is saving. God is good on his word, and they are saved, while the rest of the world perishes. Genesis 9-10 shows how this family rebuilds the human population and saves the human race.
In a similar way we are saved through belonging to the family of the righteous, blameless man. Noah points us to Christ, the one with whom God was “well pleased.” Through faith in Jesus, we are grafted into his family, and therefore into the salvation won by Christ. Outside of Jesus, just like outside of the ark, we have no hope of escaping the judgement to come. In Christ we are safe, because of his righteousness.
Along with this worldwide salvation comes a worldwide promise. Genesis 9:8-17 details the covenant (promise) made to Noah and to the whole world. In the rainbow God gives the sign for the world to remember this covenant – never again would God destroy the world by flood. In the same way we have the promise of God to all who have faith in Jesus through his resurrection from the dead. This is the mark and confirmation to us that all who trust in Jesus will be raised as he was (1 Corinthians 15:21-23).
In summary God punishes the world because of their sin, but has not abandoned his promise to fix the problem of sin. How do we know this to be true? 1. Through one man (Noah, who walked faithfully with God), God saves a remnant, through whom the serpent crusher will come and 2. God promises to never send a worldwide flood again and sends the rainbow as a sign of this promise.
Outcomes
The children will understand that all people are sinners just like the people in Genesis and therefore all people deserve punishment for their sin – but promised to never again to send a world-wide flood.
The children will know that God promised to keep Noah and his family safe inside the ark.
The children will give thanks to God that he has not abandoned his promises to fix the problem of sin.
Songs
Hello Song (Emu music)
Very, Very, Very Big God (EMU Music – Very, Very, Very Big God)
Memory Verse
God said to Abraham: “I will make you into a great nation. And I will bless you.
Genesis 12:1-2, 3b
I will make your name great. You will be a blessing to others.
All nations on earth will be blessed because of you.”
Leaders PDF
this has been put together using purchased external material and therefore this resource may only be used by Dundonald Church. For more information please contact natasha.small@dundonald.org
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