What About The Flood? How To Approach God The humans' ever present sin kept them from talking directly with God. But, God did not abandon His own. In God's genius, He made a way for humans to approach Him that also satisfied His righteousness. The sin of the one seeking God could be covered if a substitute would pay the judgment price. The substitute offered by the human must meet three requirements: 1. The substitute must die. Death is the penalty for sin. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). 2. The substitute's blood must be shed. God said, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul" (Leviticus 17:11). Also in Hebrews 9:22, "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission." 3. The substitute must be sinless. Because we are descendants of Adam and Eve, we are not sinless. Sacrificing ourselves would not work. As a substitute, God instructed them to sacrifice animals. When they did so, God accepted the seeker's faith and covered his sin. Though animals could not pay for human sins, they could picture the sinlessness required by being free from defect, "Your lamb shall be without blemish..." (Exodus 12:5). The first sacrifice was offered by God. We read in Genesis 3:20-21, "And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them." God showed Adam and Eve how to approach Him by sacrificing the animal (probably a lamb). He then used its skin to clothe them. Unfortunately, an animal sacrifice only temporarily covered sin. A new sacrifice was needed every time a human approached God. The animal sacrifices could not remove sin. "And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:" (Hebrews 10:11). "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins" (Hebrews 10:4). God had yet to reveal His plan to remove sin and make possible complete fellowship between humans and their Maker. The Cycle of Disobedience Continues Shortly after leaving the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve's first child was born. They named him Cain, and seemed to hope that he was the one God had told them would bruise the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15). After Cain's birth, they had a son named Abel. The boys grew to maturity and helped their father. Cain excelled at farming and was apparently proud of how he could get crops to grow. Abel became the herdsman, tending the flocks from which they would make their sacrifices and approach God. "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell" (Genesis 4:3-5). Cain wanted to approach God his own way, with what his hands caused to grow. He disobeyed God. Instead of approaching God on God's terms, he wanted to approach God on his own terms. That never works. We have no right to dictate terms to God. God graciously offered Cain the opportunity to repent: "And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him" (Genesis 4:6-7). God patiently instructs Cain to do right. He also reminds Cain of his future as the head of the family. But, sin boiled in Cain's heart until it consumed him with jealousy and hatred. "And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth" (Genesis 4:8-12). The sin of murder begins with Cain. Today, many cities around the world see a murder a day. Sin brings horrible results! God punished Cain by making his life even harder. Cain refused to turn from his disobedience, jealousy, and murder. So in exile, Cain apparently marries one of his sisters (who probably shared Cain's selfishness) and wandered off to the east. Adam and Eve had another son named Seth. He led people to seek God and obey Him. "And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD" (Genesis 4:25-26). Adam and Eve had many other sons and daughters. As their sons and daughters intermarried a great civilization arose. At first, most followed God, approached Him by blood sacrifice, and tried to obey. But over time, more and more chose Cain's path of selfishness and disobedience. As the centuries passed, the Cainites would outnumber the Sethites. 1,500 years later, only eight people still followed God. A World Full of Violence Disobedience to God was rampant. Sin had caused living conditions to become almost unbearable. After over a millennium of this disobedience, God decided it was time to destroy humanity. Consider what God said: "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them" (Genesis 6:5-7). God had given humans a chance to walk with Him, in spite of Adam and Eve's disobedience. Because Adam and Eve sinned, all of their children inherited a disposition to disobey. As their descendents, so do we. Until we conquer our own selfishness and submit to God, we naturally disobey God. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Only one man and his family still followed God amidst the teeming millions on earth at that time. "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD... The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth" (Genesis 6:8, 12-13). Noah remained faithful to God, approached God as God required, and lived a life obedient to God. He was able to persuade his wife, sons, and their wives to obey God. So, God used Noah and his family to preserve the animal kingdom as well as humanity. Noah's Ark-A Barge, Not A Cute Little Boat Probably, you have heard of Noah's Ark since you were a child. You have seen many pictures of what some think the Ark looked like, but nearly all of them are wrong. The Ark was not a small cute boat with giraffe heads sticking out of the top. "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it" (Genesis 6:13-16). The Ark was a huge barge. According to Genesis 6:15 the Ark measured 300 cubits long by 50 cubits wide by 30 cubits tall. A cubit measures about 18 inches. So the Ark was roughly 450 feet long, by 75 feet wide, by 45 feet tall. God's design was wide and low so that it would not tip or capsize. God commanded Noah to seal it inside and out, so that it would be watertight. Noah's Barge contained a volume of 1.52 million cubic feet. This was no rowboat! It held at least a pair of each animal, as well as eight humans and enough supplies for a year. After Noah built the Ark, a process that might have taken 120 years, God told Noah how the earth and its inhabitants would be destroyed. "And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him" (Genesis 7:1-5). God's judgment on humanity for disobedience was a worldwide flood. The rain fell for forty days, and apparently the underground waters were released as well. The water covered the highest mountains by 15 cubits, or 22.5 feet. "And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. "And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days" (Genesis 7:17-24). It took 150 days for the water to evaporate and drain off. Noah's Ark settled on a mountain in present day Turkey. The seeds and trees and plants began to grow again. The animals and humans left the ark and set out to repopulate the Earth. Results of The Flood 1. Fossils-Millions of dead animals were rapidly buried in the falling sediment during the flood. These fossils were scattered worldwide. This explains why tropical animal fossils are found in arctic dig sites, why fish fossils are found on land areas, and why many fossils are so well preserved. The fossils themselves do not demand an age of millions of years. Those ages are assigned by radiometric dating calculations based on faulty assumptions. 2. Changes in Climate-The flood probably caused an Ice Age. Furthermore, conditions before the flood, when much more water was in the atmosphere were probably much warmer. Some animals requiring a warm climate would began to die out. Humans would not enjoy the incredibly long life-spans they did before the flood. In Genesis 6:3 God said, "My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years." Today it is rare to see someone even approach that even with the help of modern medical technology. 3. Changes in God's Dealings With Humanity-Up to this point, God ruled humanity directly by giving instruction and executing judgment. Now God commands humans to rule each other and gives some guidelines in Genesis chapter 9. God also establishes the rule that governments must put murderers to death.

Lesson #6 Review

1.After the Fall into sin, how could humans approach God?

2.What was required of the substitute?

3.How could human sins be permanently removed?

4.Why did God decide to destroy the world?

5.Which animals were brought onto the Ark in 7s, not pairs?

6.Why are fossils scattered all over the world?

7.Read Genesis 9:1-7. What instruction did God give Noah?

8.Read Genesis 9:8-16. What sign did God give Noah with the promise there would never be another worldwide flood? What do we call that today?