Genesis 1-11 marks the end of the Creation part of the Bible. We will know move into Abraham and his line, and this is one of my favorite parts of the Bible.
In the beginning, every human spoke the same language. Then, they began to build the Tower of Babel that would reach the heavens and make a name for themselves. The Lord came down to see what they were up to. Instead, the Lord scattered them and confused their languages so they couldn’t come together and do this building again.
13) They were building the tower to make a name for themselves, not make a name for God.
14a) Power, greed, self-worth, acknowledgement, and to be equal with God.
b) Personal Question. My answer: Everywhere.
15) God redirects, like a parent would. He doesn’t destory mankind, but He does what is best for them and that is in this instance to break them up so they would be more likely to rely on Him rather than themselves.
16) Personal Question. My answer: That man would not be about self-aggrandisement, but instead seek God and credit God in all things. God wants us to work together for His glory, not for ours.
God scatters the people for their own good. Our culture always talks about brining everyone together; yet, here we see what happens when we do come together in such a manner. Perhaps God knows what’s good for us after all and maybe separate is not such a bad thing.
God commanded everyone to spread out and populate the land in Genesis 9:1 Instead, they build a city in Shinar (Babylon) in this passage.
Brick making was a common building material in ancient times. Tar was and still is used for waterproofing, such as in Noah’s ark an Moses’ basket (Exodus 2:3). Some scholars believe that the tar indicates the people still thought they would be killed again by another flood. However, this is speculation as tar is a common building product.
Bible Scholars believe they were trying to reach the heavens, and most believe this tower was real.
God may have came down to earth as Jesus. The “us” is the Holy Trinity. God scattered the people for our good out of mercy. He could have killed us all again if He had wanted.
I find it interesting that God acknowledges that man can do anythien when they come together. This is powerful for us today. Although we’re divided, it appears God wants it so.
Language is unique to man that it can only be explained as a gift from God. As man scattered, differences in the people slowly developed due to the limited gene pool. Yet, the world is incredibly diverse — just as God wanted it to be.
Man is still man — a sinner at heart. Only a perfect man, Jesus, can save.
Genealogy of Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Noah’s sons).
The sons of Japheth were maritime peoples and spread out with their own language.
Cush was the son of Ham who was the father of Nimrod who grew to be a mighty warrior and hunter on earth. The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in Shinar. Then Cush went to Assyria to build Ninevah, Rehoboth, Ir, Calah, and Resen.
Later, the Canaanites scattered, pushing out the borders from Sidon to Gaza and Lasha.
Shem’s ancestors lived in the eastern hill country from Mesha to Sephar.
10a) Personal Question. My answer: We’re seeing the nations as they spread out over the earth. Jonah was called to preach to Ninevah but ignored God instead and got swallowed by the whale. Babylon, of course, will enslave all of Israel. The Tower of Babel was supposed to have been erected in Babylon as well.
b) They are all interconnected.
11) A mighty hunter on earth before the Lord. He was power hunger. It is widely believed that Nimrod was the leader of those who built the Tower of Babel in the land of Shinar, although the Bible never outright says this. Nimrod’s kingdom included many cities, including Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh.
12) Personal Question. My answer: Nothing.
I got nothing here.
Like most lists of names and genealogies in the Bible, it is used to chronicle the line of Jesus and collaborate God’s words to man (who always seems to need evidence). Also, it explains how the world was re-populated after the flood and who and how founded the nations of the earth.
Fun fact: Nimrod’s name means “let us rebel.”
Fun fact: This is the first use of the word “kingdom” in the bible.
Map of Table of Nations Here
In general:
Japheth-Europe
Ham-Africa
Shem-Asia
Good map of Fertile Crescent, showing Nimrod’s kingdom here
Noah cursed his youngest son, Ham, after he found out what has been done to him (whatever that was). He curses Canaan ot be a slave to his brothers. He blesses God and asks for Japheth’s terrritory to be extended and may Japheth live in the tents of Shem. Noah lived to be 950 years old and then he died.
7) “May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend the territory of Japheth. May Japheth live in the tents of Shem, may Canaan be his slave.”
8 ) Part personal question. My answer: God is in control. Unsure about when I learned this.
9) Personal question. My answer: Since we are all descended from Noah, he’s responsible for our existence. Unsure on the rest.
As you can tell from my answers, I’m not gleaning a whole lot out of these lessons. I apologize in advance if I’m not all that helpful. Please leave your answers in the comment to help others.
Apparently something had happened to Noah that warranted a curse for all of eternity and posterity.
Ham sinned by Canaan, Ham’s son, was cursed. This is the prophecy Noah reveals. We know God does not punish the son for the sins of the father (although we are all punished by Adam’s sin). We each are personally responsible for our sins and will stand before God to answer for them one day.
Apparently nothing is noteworthy after this incident in Noah’s life to record. Still, Noah is a man of faith by the Hebrew writer in Hebrews 11:7.
Noah had three sons with him in the Ark: Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Ham was the father of Canaan) who then populated the earth. Noah became drunk from wine one day, and he was naked in his tent. Ham told his two brothers of their father’s nakedness, both of whom covered up his father’s nakedness.
3) Noah became drunk from wine one day, and he was naked in his tent. Ham told his two brothers of their father’s nakedness, both of whom covered up his father’s nakedness.
4) Personal question. My answer: Sin is pervasive.
5) Personal question. My answer: Avoid sin.
6a) Personal question. My answer: I’d say we’ve all been affected by our parents in some way. We learn from them how to be successful, or sometimes we repeat their mistakes.
b) Personal Question. My answer: It’s hard to say since it’s probably just my children who are affected. I’d like to think they don’t repeat my faults and they learn from my successes, but who knows. It’s hard to teach what only experience can teach you. In truth, it’s hard to say how anyone is being affected, even the persom themselves, without hindsight.
I’m not totally sure I see the big deal in this passage. This happens all the time where people get drunk and others walk in on them. I’m also not sure about these questions either.
We see the world being repopulated from the three sons mentioned here. For a complete list of descendants, stay tuned. It’s coming up in Genesis 10.
Fun Fact: We see the first recorded person drunk here — Noah, a giant of the Bible.
So what’s the big deal here? For me, it was hard to see since the Bible gives very little information but the facts. We’ll see in our next lesson that something was a big deal because Noah curses his youngest son, Ham, the land of Canaan.
In truth, there is so little information here that we just don’t know. It’s up to interpretation. I find it strange the other two brothers walked in backwards. Being naked is nothing to be ashamed of. This is weird to me.
Summary of passage: God sends a wind to recede the waters and at the end of 150 days the ark came to a rest in the mountains of Ararat. The waters still hadn’t finished receding. In 73 more days the tops of the mountains became visible. 40 more days Noah opened a window and sent a raven to seek dry land. Then he sent a dove still with no luck.
He waited 7 more days and sent the dove out again. The dove returned with an olive leaf. Then Noah knew the water had receded. After waiting one more week he sent the dove out and it did not return.
Finally, when Noah was 601 years old, the earth had dried up. God told Noah to come out and bring every living creature so they can multiply. Noah obeyed and all exited.
Questions:
11) God turned His attention back to Noah. God never forgets as this implies. During the flooded earth God was probably active in other areas and then turned back to mankind when the time was right.
12a) Around one year or perhaps a bit more. We are told Noah was 600 years old when the flood waters came (Genesis 7:6) and he’s 601 when the waters dry up. Doing the math, we are close to a year but the Bible skips some specific days (like the raven and the dove flying around).
b) God told them to come out.
13) Personal Question. My answer: Not sure. It’s been a challenging week of little things that I hope I do God’s way. That’s the prayer and desire of my heart at least.
Conclusions: Not sure how question 13 has to do with Noah floating around in the ark. It’s just thrown in there.
I like how it wasn’t the dove that many of us think of as the sign it was okay to leave the ark. It was God telling Noah (going back to yesterday’s lesson of how God helped Noah) it was okay to leave and bring the animals with him several weeks after the dove brought the olive branch back. Again, God is in control; He cares for us and Noah; He will never lead us astray.
Summary of passages: Genesis 6:7-7:24: God said He will wipe mankind and everything He has created from the face of the earth for He is grieved He made them. Except for Noah and his family. He tells Noah He is going to destroy the world and he needs to build an ark. God enters a covenant with Noah. He tells Noah he will need to bring in two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive and every kind of food for him and for the animals.
Noah did everything God commanded.
Genesis 7: God tells Noah to enter the ark with the animals for in seven days He will send rain for 40 days and nights. Noah obeys. Noah was 600 years old when the flood happened. All the animals came to him. Then the Lord shut them in and the waters came. Everything perished. After the rain stopped, the earth remained flooded for 150 days.
Matthew 24:36-42: Jesus says to keep watch because even he (only the Father) knows when the Second Coming will be. Jesus compares his Second Coming to the days before the flood where everyone was living their life like they always had and no one suspected they were about to die. Jesus says only half will be saved for every two men and women only one each will be left.
Luke 17:26-27: Same speech but recorded by Luke. Jesus says here the days of the Son of Man will be just like in the days of Noah. People were going about their daily lives up until Noah entered the ark. Then the flood destroyed them all.
Questions:
9a) He spared Noah and his family from His judgment of the world. He spoke directly to Noah and told him what He was going to do. He gave him detailed instructions about what to do and what will happen. He reminded Noah to bring food. He gave Noah a week’s warning before He sent the flood. The Lord shut them in the ark. Only Noah was left and God cared for him, giving him everything he needed in order to survive.
b) God told Noah the exact size to make the ark to fit everything. God brought the animals to Noah. Noah didn’t have to track them all down.
c) Personal Question. My answer: God has always kept me safe when I’ve done stupid stunts and provided for my every need. I’ve never been homeless or hungry. I’m always had food, clothing, and shelter. He has forgiven me for all my sins, even the ones I repeatedly make. He has given me a purpose to do for Him. In every aspect of my life, God is there whether I acknowledge Him or not or what Him there or not. Deep down I know this. And so does He.
10a) Genesis tells us the people were evil and every inclination of their hearts were evil; they were corrupt and violent. Matthew and Luke tells us the people were eating, drinking, and marrying up until the day the flood happened and they knew nothing about their impending death.
It’s hard to interpret Matthew and Luke with so little detail given. I see this as people living their daily lives up until the flood and I see this as Jesus’ point: you must be ready for no one knows when I will come. You must lead godly lives for any day I could show up and judge you. You could read this as “partying” but that’s pure speculation.
Genesis however leaves no doubt the people were evil; hence, God’s judgment.
Fascinating. In all the movies you see all the people mocking Noah for building an ark and laughing at him. No where is this recorded in scripture (that I can find at least). I would say the people were so evil in Genesis that they probably didn’t care what some guy named Noah was doing. They were too busy doing the devil’s work.
b) Prayer and God.
c) That he could come at any time so you must be ready.
d) Just that scoffers will come who follow their own evil desires to cast doubt on the End Times. All it takes is one word from God and it is done.
I see nothing special here. This applied in Peter’s time (1st century AD) as it does in the 21st century AD. There will always be scoffers, doubters, people of the devil.
Conclusions: God’s message is timeless and it doesn’t change despite the days that have passed since Jesus: Jesus is coming so be ready. There are evil people who won’t make the cut. Do not be lured in by the ways of the world. God’s grace is sufficient. He provides all our needs. We require nor lack anything if we have Him. Hold onto that truth and reject the lies of the world.
Summary of passages: Genesis 6:7-7:24: God said He will wipe mankind and everything He has created from the face of the earth for He is grieved He made them. Except for Noah and his family. He tells Noah He is going to destroy the world and he needs to build an ark. God enters a covenant with Noah. He tells Noah he will need to bring in two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive and every kind of food for him and for the animals.
Noah did everything God commanded.
Genesis 7: God tells Noah to enter the ark with the animals for in seven days He will send rain for 40 days and nights. Noah obeys. Noah was 600 years old when the flood happened. All the animals came to him. Then the Lord shut them in and the waters came. Everything perished. After the rain stopped, the earth remained flooded for 150 days.
Hebrews 11:7: By faith Noah obeyed God and built the ark, becoming heir of the righteous.
Questions:
6a) Noah was righteous, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.
b) Personal Question. My answer: Personally, I’ve never found this very hard. I don’t really care what others think of me and I do my own thing. I don’t keep up with the Jones’ (nor do I read about them). Don’t be of this world but of God’s world. Put God as your center and He will do the rest.
7) God told Noah he was going to end all people and destroy the world. He told Noah to make an ark to exact specifications. He told Noah how He was going to destroy the world (through a flood). But He promised to establish His covenant with him and He will save him and his family along with two of every living creature. He instructed Noah to bring along food for both him and the animals.
8a) The Bible says all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered (7:19). Every living thing on the earth perished, which would have to be a worldwide flood. An ark would be unnecessary if Noah could have merely traveled to a different location.
b) If you read ancient myths from every culture, almost every culture has a flood myth (from the Ancient Egyptians to the Babylonians to the Native Americans). Before writing, myths were passed on by word of mouth from generation to generation so somewhere this flood happened.
Since the beginning of written records there have been writings by the ancients of an ark (or an ancient ship) found. Various people have claimed to have found and/or seen the ark on the mount of Ararat and elsewhere.
Many people believe fossils are a result of the flood. Did you know there is actually a branch of geology called flood geology? These people write books and spend their time researching and searching the earth for evidence of a massive flood. Fascinating. There is definitely evidence in the fossil record of a flood.
c) I don’t see any phrases that support upheavals of the earth’s crust or tsunamis (notice the word probably in the question). All I see is the rain and how for 40 days it kept coming down and the mountains were covered. In my mind, that’s all that happened. Water covered everything. The ark floated. I see no mention of earthquakes which cause tsunamis anywhere.
Conclusions: Baffled by the last question, its significance, and what it has to do with the flood. God created the land as He wanted it. I see no reason He would change its landscape. He just wanted to rid the world of the inhabitants.
Not sure why Hebrews was stuck in here either. The questions did not refer to it (except maybe how Noah was faithful in building the ark) but Genesis tells us that. If you obey God, you have faith.
I have to admit I have read most of these ancient flood myths to my kids when we study these cultures and they are all strikingly similar to the account of the flood in Genesis. In my mind, that’s the strongest evidence of all since these stories are the heart of how ancient people preserved their history and explained the world around them.
Summary of passages: Genesis 6:1-12: The sons of God married any daughters they chose. The Lord said His Spirit will not contend with (be with) man forever for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years. The Nephilim were the heroes of old, men of renown and were on earth during this time when the sons of God were as well.
God saw how men’s hearts had become only evil and He was filled with pain. God said he would wipe mankind from the face of the earth for He is grieved (regretted) He created them. Except for Noah who was a righteous man and walked with God. Noah had 3 sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
The earth was corrupt and the people were violent.
1 Peter 3:20: God only saved 8 people in the ark. He waited patiently while the ark was being built for others to repent but none did.
2 Peter 2:4-9: God punished the wicked: He sent angels to hell when they sinned. He brought the flood but saved Noah. He burned Sodom and Gomorrah but rescued Lot, a righteous man. The Lord rescues godly men but condemned the unrighteous.
2 Peter 3:1-10: The writer is imploring the people to wholesome thinking. In the last days, scoffers will come, skeptical and evil, questioning God, forgetting the creation. The world was destroyed in the flood and the day of judgment will come when the world will be destroyed by fire.
The Lord’s time is not our time; He is patient, giving everyone a chance to repent. But the Day of Judgment will come and everything will be destroyed.
Jude 5-7: The Lord delivered His people out of Egypt but later destroyed those who didn’t believe. He bound angels who did not keep their positions of authority. Sodom and Gomorrah were burned as punishment for sin.
Questions:
3) There are two main ideas about who the sons of God and the daughters of men were. Some say the sons of God were from the line of Seth and the daughters of men were from the line of Cain, which would represent a mixing of godly with ungodly which the Bible later does not permit (Deuteronomy 7:1-4 and 2 Corinthians 6:14).
The more popular theory is the sons of God are fallen angels or demons or demon-possessed men and the daughters of men are human women. This is supported by other passages in the Old Testament that refer to the sons of God as angels (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7).
Jude seems to support this claim as well, saying the angels in a similar way committed sexual immorality and thus God kept them in darkness and bounded them in chains.
1 Peter 18-20 tells us Jesus went and preached to these spirits in prison.
Scholars refute this angel idea with Matthew 22:30 where Jesus says angels do not marry. However, he is speaking of obeying angels not disobeying/Fallen angels.
The idea is Satan tried to thwart God’s plan for the Messiah by polluting the Seed of the woman where the Savior will come from (Genesis 3:15). This could be a reason for the flood. Man was so corrupt and polluted God had to start over with Noah.
4a) Morals are the principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human character.
How great man’s wickedness had become and how every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil.
b) Well, if you believe the sons of God are demons and they mixed with humans than the flood succeeds in purifying the human race again. God started over with Noah, ridding the world of all the violence and beginning anew.
c) Personal Question. My answer: That God will punish evil and evil-doers but He will show grace to the righteous.
5a) Personal Question. My answer: Sin. Every sin I commit causes God grief and pain.
b) Personal Question. My answer: Speculation since God hasn’t spoken to me directly but I believe I have found favor by seeking Him, repenting from sin, asking for forgiveness, striving to be more like Jesus every day, learning from my mistakes, reading God’s word, doing His call on my life, praying, putting Him center, following His commandments, etc.
Conclusions: The Nephilim were believed to be the offspring of the sons of God and the daughters of men. Of course, this is debated as well, depending upon which theory you believe the sons of God to be. So they are either the offspring of Seth or of angels. You can read a good explanation of both theories HERE
If you did the study of Isaiah, you will remember me saying how the whole book was how bad and evil man was and how God was going to judge all. And it was depressing due to man’s sin.
Here, we see God again (as we see Him often in the Old Testament) judging the evils of man and exercising punishment. But we also see God’s goodness in preserving a remnant with Noah. Preserving the righteous. In rewarding those who do good.
God could have wiped us all out and been done with man. Fed up with us and given up. Ended His grief and pain over His creation. But He didn’t.
God is always good even when He is exercising justice in this world.
All sin grieves God. I saw no need to be specific in 5a. We all know what we do to cause God grief as He knows. The key is recognizing it, repenting, asking for forgiveness, accepting His forgiveness, and making changes in your life to do better. That’s all Fallen Man can do.
Remember when we fall, God will pick us up. Again and again and again.
