What we learn about God from the Flood. 1) Our God Cares Deeply. 2) Our God Waits Patiently

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1 Fallen Int Judgment (Genesis 6-9) Peple assume that Genesis 6-9 is all abut a fld, an ark, a guy named Nah, and a bunch f animals marching tw-by-tw. N. It s really abut a Gd wh cares deeply abut humanity, wh waits patiently fr mankind t repent, wh, when He must judge, always judges fairly, and wh always prefers t give grace t sinners like us. What we learn abut Gd frm the Fld 1) Our Gd Cares Deeply Genesis 6:1-7 Humanity has fallen deeply int sin Sns f Gd lusted after daughters f men; married and gave birth t mighty men men f renwn 3 legitimate ptins: intermarriage between righteus line f Seth and unrighteus line f Cain, mighty kings building harems, demn pssessed men fathering unusually pwerful, crrupt ffspring Nt sure which is crrect - desn t matter! Pint: humanity has becme entirely crrupt - v5 mighty men = men famus fr vilence (e.g. Jesse James, Gdfather) Hw des Gd respnd? Feels grief and incredible srrw Gd is mniscient; humanity s fall was nt a surprise But Gd is nt unaffected by human chices nt impassable (i.e. cnstant state f happiness unaffected by ur decisins) Prdigal Sn Luke 15 - passinate, emtinally invested When we sin, Gd grieves Gd didn t have t care, He chse t care Gd cares abut what yu d! A pwerful reasn nt t sin. 2) Our Gd Waits Patiently v3 - best ptin: 120 years till judgment cmes Gd is ding what He will d again much later t the city f Nineveh If all Gd wanted t d was destry, there d be n warning! Gd gives Nah s generatin 120 years t repent & escape! Sme see this stry and accuse Gd f being a vindictive, angry tyrant That s NOT the picture f Gd Genesis 6 presents Gd s desire: nt destructin but salvatin - that s why He warned & waited 1 Peter 3:20 During which Nah was a preacher f righteusness (2 Pet 2:5) Gd mercifully gives every chance t repent (1 Timthy 2:4) Our Gd is nt a Gd wh celebrates death and destructin - Ezekiel 33:11 Yur Gd is nt cruel and vindictive! He is merciful, patient, kind, and gd Grace Bible Church 1

2 Humanity rejected Nah s warning and cntinued their vilent ways 3) Our Gd Judges Fairly Read 6:11-13 Hebrew verb sahat, meaning t crrupt, ruin, destry, repeated 4 times! Humanity ruined the earth s Gd wuld ruin them The fld was nt evil, it was FAIR! After 120 years f patient waiting, Gd brught the fld - Read 7:19-22 Biggest interpretive issue: glbal r lcal fld? Hebrew wrd eretz can refer t either the whle planet r just the land peple lived n Ultimately desn t matter! Whether lcal r glbal, ALL HUMAN LIFE was wiped ut, except fr Nah s family This frces us t ask was that fair f Gd? Yes it was! Gd warns humanity in Genesis 2: If yu sin, yu will surely die. Rmans 3:23 Rmans 6:23 Gd s judgments are ALWAYS fair Smetimes we think we want life t be fair. N we dn t!! If Gd was nly fair then all f us wuld die NOW and spend eternity in hell Gd is nt merely fair, He is gracius! 4) Gd Delivers Graciusly Read 6:8-9 That s what we want, nt just a fair Gd, but a gracius Gd v8: Nah fund favr favr Hebrew wrd fr grace, first use in the Bible Grace is when yu get smething gd yu dn t deserve The nly reasn Nah was a righteus man was because Gd gave him grace Salvatin is never by ur wrks Salvatin is always by grace That grace transfrms him and grws him int an bedient man One particular act f bedience dminates ur stry - Read 6:14-15 Incmprehensibly big task - tk a century! Gd s grace wrked a miracle in Nah s life: made him a man f incredible bedience and endurance Nah had n prf the fld was cming. Year after year he cntinued t wrk by faith alne in the prmise f Gd. Gd s grace delivered everyne in the ark - Read 8:1 Then, in grace, Gd began t rebuild what humanity had destryed Grace Bible Church 2

3 Read 9:1 same task: fill the earth Read 9:6 same identity: made in the image f Gd Read 9:11-13 a new cvenant prmise Gd wes nthing t humanity, but in grace, He makes a prmise In this stry yu see a LOT f sin and death, but als a LOT f GRACE! Lessn fr us: If Gd s grace is pwerful enugh t save and rebuild humanity after Genesis 6, then it s pwerful enugh t save yu frm any strm and rebuild yu after any fall The same grace that saved Nah is available t yu tday Nah was saved because he was in the ark We are saved if we are in Christ - Rmans 5:8 Hw d yu get in Christ - Rmans 6:23 - It s a free gift! Just say yes t Gd s ffer. Grace Bible Church 3

4 Genesis Sermn Reflectin Questins Sermn 11. Fallen int Judgment Genesis 6-9 These questins are designed t help individuals, families, and small grups dig deeper int ur Genesis Sermn Series. Leaders: dn t limit yurself t these questins r feel that yu need t answer all f them. Pick and chse and create yur wn based n the needs f yur grup. Observe & interpret the passages: Read Genesis 6:1-7, Why did Gd send the fld? T the secular persn, a Gd wh wuld drwn the majrity f humanity sunds cruel and vindictive. Is Gd cruel and vindictive in this stry? Hw can yu tell? Read Genesis 6:8-9. Why did Gd save Nah? Apply it t yur life: Read 2 Peter 3:3-15. Just like Nah s cntempraries, we are living in a perid between Gd s warning and Gd s judgment. Hw shuld that realizatin affect hw we act and what we value? If Gd s grace can deliver and rebuild humanity after the sins f Genesis 6, it can deliver and rebuild yu after any fall. Spend a few minutes in prayer thanking Gd fr His all-pwerful grace and asking Him t grw yu in hliness. Memrize: 2 Peter 3:9 The Lrd is nt slw abut His prmise, as sme cunt slwness, but is patient tward yu, nt wishing fr any t perish but fr all t cme t repentance. Grace Bible Church 4

5 Additinal Questins: Accrding t Hebrews 11:7, what led Nah t such astunding bedience? Read Genesis 9 What similarities d yu see between this passage and Genesis 1-2 (repeated wrds r ideas)? What d these similarities tell yu abut Gd s plan fr mankind after the fld? Grace Bible Church 5