Jacob awakes the next day, declaring that this place is the house of God. He poured oil on top of the stone he was sleeping on and called the place Bethel, which means House of God. Jacob vows the Lord will be his God if God is with him and watches over him and gives him food and clothes so that he can return safely home. He declares he will give God a tenth as well.
BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 5: Genesis 28:16-22
12) It’s as if Jacob finally realized that God is with him here. I don’t like how it seems like God will be God to Jacob only if God is with him and watches over him and gives him food and clothes so that he can return safely home. It seems like Jacob’s promise is conditional; whereas, God’s promises are not.
13) Every day.
14) Just to trust that I am where I need to be at this time in my life and doing what He wants me to do even though I’d like to be doing something else.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 5: Genesis 28:16-22
I like how Jacob has completely changed after this encounter with God. So it is for Christians, but we need to hold onto that when life does get us down.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 5: Genesis 28:16-22
Fun Fact: Bethel is mentioned more times in the Old Testament than any other place except Jerusalem.
God grasps its significance to Jacob by calling himself the God of Bethel. (Genesis 31:13).
You can translate this as “Since God is will be with me.” However, most Bible scholars believe if is accurate. Jacob is still not confident God will be with him, which is why he puts condition on God being His God. He had to see God do what he said he would before he would believe. Sadly, many are like this instead of just believing God. (Philippians 4:19) (Nahum 1:7).
Laban will help teach Jacob submission.
God did not back down from His promises despite Jacob’s response. He still is the God of Jacob (Exodus 3:6).
God’s promises were not good enough for Jacob. Are His promises good enough for you?
When Jacob stopped to sleep, he had a dream of a stairway to heaven that angels traversed. God appeared and told Jacob He would give him the land on which he was lying. His descendents will be numerous and fill the earth. All people will be blessed through him. God is with him and will watch over him no matter where he goes. God will bring him back and not leave until He has done what He has promised He will do.
BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 4: Genesis 28:12-15
9) When Jacob stopped to sleep, he had a dream of a stairway to heaven that angels traversed. God appeared and told Jacob He would give him the land on which he was lying. His descendents will be numerous and fill the earth. All people will be blessed through him. God is with him and will watch over him no matter where he goes. God will bring him back and not leave until He has done what He has promised He will do. John 14:6 is where Jesus says he is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to God except through him. Hebrews 10:19-20 tells us that we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus. The stairwell is the way to heaven, namely Jesus, a descendent of Jacob’s. Jesus is the stairway.
10a) God would give him the land on which he was lying
b) His descendents will be numerous and fill the earth.
c) All people will be blessed through him
d) God is with him and will watch over him no matter where he goes. God will bring him back and not leave until He has done what He has promised He will do.
11) I love how God tells Jacob He is with him and will watch over him no matter where he goes. God will not leave him until His work has been completed. This is very comforting to know God is with you always as I still struggle to follow His will for me.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 4: Genesis 28:12-15
Love how God appears here and promises never to leave. I think He does this for us in subtle ways every day that we need to capture and hold on to when life does not go our way.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 4: Genesis 28:12-15
(John 1:51) is where we see Jesus speak of the angels going back and forth on the Son of Man. Jesus is the only way to heaven. Jacob sees access to Heaven but not yet that it is Jesus.
God is repeating the covenant to Jacob that He gave to Abraham and Isaac before him. (Genesis 12:1-3) (Genesis 26:2-5). See the promise here: Philippians 1:6: God completes His work in us.
God is with Jacob, He will be with Jacob, He is faithful, and He will continue His work after you are gone.(Genesis 31:3) (Genesis 31:5) (Genesis 48:21)
BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 3: Genesis 28:10-11
7) He was leaving his family for the first time. I’m sure he was scared. After all, travel was hard and scary in a time when no one traveled. He was leaving all he knew.
8a) Every time we’ve had to move.
b) James tells us to consider trials as joy because they produce perseverence, which then grows our faith. 1 Peter tells us to submit to rulers and masters for God’s sake. We must endure suffering as Christ suffered for us. You are blessed for suffering and doing what is right. Jesus cleansed us with his suffering and death. Pain allows us to grow in our walk with God. God can and will use our pain and suffering for His glory and for good.
BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 3: Genesis 28:10-11
Very short passage where we see how even when we move, God moves with us.
BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 3: Genesis 28:10-11
Isaac blesses Jacob and tells him to find a wife amongst the house of his mother in Paddan Aram (Northern Mesopotamia) among the daughters of Laban, Abraham’s brother. He blesses Jacob, giving him the blessing of Abraham to inhabit the land and increase in number. Esau learned that Isaac had been sent to find a wife that was not a Canaanite. So he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath in addition to his current wives.
BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 2: Genesis 28:1-9
3) This blessing was to become fruitful and multiply so that they could inherit the Promised land. Previously, the blessing had consisted of blessing the land with richness, having nations serve him, and being lord over his brothers. He also cursed those who cursed him and blessed those who blessed him. (Genesis 27:27:29)
4) Isaac encouraged him to find a wife that was not a Canaanite.
5) Haven’t recently.
6) Esau learned that Isaac had been sent to find a wife that was not a Canaanite. So he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath in addition to his current wives. This doesn’t make sense. It’s an act that is too little, too late. Esau should have sought God to avoid all these mistakes in the first place.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 2: Genesis 28:1-9
We see how little amount of godly people actually exist since Jacob has to go to the same place Isaac did to find a wife.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 18, Day 2: Genesis 28:1-9
Since Jacob was the one who would inherit the birthright, he had to have a godly wife.
God Almighty here is El Shaddai, first used in Genesis 17:1 where God was talking to Abraham. This shows the blessing of God and the covenant being passed.
We see this blessing being passed to Jacob (Genesis 12:7, 15:8, 17:7-8). Jacob was promised a land, a nation, and a blessing like Abraham was. (Genesis 12:1-3)
Here we see God’s sovereignty play out with the choice of Jacob who was chosen by God’s grace alone. He would not see Isaac again for 20 years.
Esau went to marry women that weren’t Canaanite, too. I say this is too little, too late.
Esau returns, saying the same words as Jacob, asking his father to sit up, eat, and bless him. Isaac realizes he had been tricked with Esau’s arrival. Esau wants his father’s blessing, but Isaac says it is too late.
Esau is angry how Jacob tricked him into taking his birthright and his blessing. Isaac tells Esau that Jacob will be lord over him and everything and then tells him the future that he will dwell away from the earth’s riches and the dew of the heavens. He will live by the sword and serve his brother. But he will throw off his yoke. Esau plans to murder Jacob once Isaac has passed.
BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 17, Day 4: Genesis 27:30-41
10) Esau does not respect the birthright by giving it to Jacob for a bowl of stew (Genesis 25:31). He marries pagan women who were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 26:35). Esau is angry and keeps demanding Isaac’s blessing in Genesis 27, which truly only God can give.
11a) Regret means,”feel sad, repentant, or disappointed over (something that has happened or been done, especially a loss or missed opportunity).” You wish you had not done whatever you are regretting. Repentance means, “the action of repenting; sincere regret or remorse.” You look at your actions and feel regret for what you did wrong. According to Wikipedia, repetance means: Repentance is the activity of reviewing one’s actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In Judaism and Christianity it is often defined as an action, turning away from self-serving activities and turning to God, to walk in his ways.
b) Esau shows regret over selling his birthright and missing out on the blessing (Genesis 27:36). Isaac shows regret that he blessed Jacob instead of Esau (Genesis 27:33), but repentance when he realizes that God’s will is done (Genesis 27:37-40).
2 Corinthians 7:10 says, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
12) Everything works together for my good (Romans 8:28). That God is in control. He has this; I don’t. It is as God has meant it to be.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 17, Day 4: Genesis 27:30-41
Esau reacts out of anger and vows to kill Jacob instead of accepting God’s ulimate authority and will. Isaac realizes God’s will has been done, and he accepts it.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 17, Day 4: Genesis 27:30-41
Isaac’s trembling could be because he realizes that God is in control no matter what he tries to do. He also realizes he was wrong in trying to circumvent God and does not try to retract his blessing. He knows God’s will has been done and tells Esau this as well.
Esau is angry (rightfully so). However, he knows God’s words from His revelation to Rebekah, yet he fights against them. Now that he’s older, he understands that the birthright brings material advantages as well. Here, he cares about it for the first time and wants it back, blaming Jacob when God had already chosen.
Esau wept not out of a sense of wrongdoing or repentance, but out of sense of what he had lost in material wealth and privilege. (Hebrews 12:15-17) shows how Esau was rejected despite his tears and plea here.
Isaac Blesses Esau
These comforting words from Isaac about Esau’s future were not bad and could be considered a blessing. Many Bible scholars believe that “your dwelling will be away from the earth’s presence” should read “from” without the away. This means he will be a nomad, he will have to fight to live, but he won’t be under Jacob his entire life.
We’ll see later that Esau was blessed, indeed. (Genesis 33:9)
Esau was jealous of Jacob and wanted to kill him when Isaac died. Little did he know this would be decades down the road.
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.
BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 5, Day 5: Genesis 7
13) Personal Question. My answer: God always has hope, even though He knows what will happen. He created man, knowing that one day He would destroy them. He gave man 120 years to repent, and still nothing but evil. God’s judgement is swift, it’s absolute, and you are powerless beneath it. No questions are raised for me.
14) Personal Question. My answer: God is always faithful to His word, and if we have faith in the Word, we have faith in God.
15) Personal Question. My answer: It’s an encouragement because it shows there is retribution for all the wrongs done in the world. It’s a warning that God can judge whenever He wants. It’s both for me, to follow His ways always. I know God will punish and destroy the wicked one day. I know He will judge. And I need to be as prepared as I can be for when He judges me.
16) Personal Question. My answer: It shows how every day could be your last and that you should live each life — treating others as if it is your last.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 5, Day 5: Genesis 7
I love the story of Noah. Here’s a guy of faith who is told to build a big boat and save his entire family by God. How awesome and scary is that! Yet, he does it without fail, without question, showing us what a walk with God truly is.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 5, Day 5: Genesis 7
Genesis 7:
God was in the ark and would be with Noah in the ark, so He called Noah to come into the ark with Him.
“Notice that the Lord did not say to Noah, ‘Go into the ark,’ but ‘Come,”
In Genesis 6:20 God said the animals would come to Noah by migration.
Noah, the animals, and his family had to wait in the ark seven days for the rain to come. They had never seen rain up to this time. This was a real test of faith – to wait a week after more than 100 years of preparation.
The heavens containing the great waters that were above the firmament (Genesis 1:7) opened up. These waters formed the huge so-called blanket of water in the upper part of the earth’s atmosphere since creation. Waters came up from under the earth, too.
The Number 40 in the Bible
Here we see the first use of the number 40 in the Bible. It has become associated with testing and purification, especially before entering into something new and significant.
Note that God shuts the door. God has the final say in judgement. God shuts people out.
God kept the door open until the last possible minute, but there came a time when the door had to shut. Jesus is He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens (Revelation 3:7).
Of the more than 200 cultures that have their own account of the flood the following aspects of the story are common:
88% describe a favored family.
70% attribute survival to a boat.
95% say the sole cause of the catastrophe is a flood.
66% say that the disaster is due to man’s wickedness.
67% record that animals are also saved.
57% describe that the survivors end up on a mountain.
Many of the accounts also specifically mention birds being sent out, a rainbow, and eight persons being saved.
The water from the flood is collected in oceans today.
The Bible says that only the animals that had the breath of the spirit of life. The fish did not die in the flood; only animals with the breath of life in them died, the animals on dry land.
God may have put some or many of these animals into a period of hibernation for this period, meaning that less food, space, and supervision was be needed.
God provides many animals today with an amazing instinct for hibernation. It would be no difficulty for Him to miraculously impart a unique instinct for these particular animals.
Fun Fact: The flood is given more words in Scripture than Creation or the Fall.
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.
God 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.
Summary of 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.
BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 5, Day 4: Genesis 6-7
10) Noah did everything just as God commanded him. God told Noah exactly what to do, including the size and dimensions of the ark, so Noah knew what to do. God revealed information to Noah as needed, telling him to build the ark before telling him why.
11a) Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
b) Personal Question. My answer: We only exist by God’s grace, so when He decides to end life, there is nothing we can do about it and should be grateful for what life God has given us.
12) Personal Question. My answer: Unsure. We are about to move again. I’m homeschooling my son again. I’m working, living life the best I can. Praying as I go along.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 5, Day 4: Genesis 6-7
I love the story of Noah. Here’s a guy of faith who is told to build a big boat and save his entire family by God. How awesome and scary is that! Yet, he does it without fail, without question, showing us what a walk with God truly is.
Last go around, we had a lot of other Bible passage readings with Genesis 6 & 7: Hebrews 11:7, 1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:4-9; 3:1-10; Jude 5-7; Matthew 24:36-42; Luke 17:26-27. Matthew and Luke talk specifically how the people were eating, drinking, and marrying up until the day of the flood. This tells us that no one had a clue what God was doing, and if they were Godless, they didn’t care. They lived their lives day-by-day, which is how we are supposed to live, expect with an eye towards Jesus.
These are the extra readings I wish BSF would still include for those of us who crave more of God.
1 Peter 3:20 is a gem, describing how God waited patiently for His people to come to Him, like he does today. Instead of millions being saved, it was only 8.
One of the saddest parts of life is how all of Creation has to suffer the consequences of our sin, including animals, plants, and our beloved pets. If you’ve been alive long enough, you’ve experienced the death of a pet. Along with the death of loved ones, it’s one of lives’ hardest moments, especially once you know that it’s all your fault.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 5, Day 4: Genesis 6-7
Genesis 6:
Who Were the Sons of God and the Daughters of Men?
Many have believed the sons of God were those from the line of Seth, and the daughters of men were from the line of Cain, and this describes an intermarriage between the godly and the ungodly, something God specifically prohibits (Deuteronomy 7:1-4, 2 Corinthians 6:14).
Some believe that sons of God are either demons (angels in rebellion against God) or uniquely demon-possessed men, and the daughters of men are human women.
The phrase sons of God clearly refers to angelic creatures when it is used the three other times in the Old Testament (Job 1:6, 2:1, and 38:7). The translators of the Septuagint translated sons of God as angels. Those ancient translators clearly thought sons of God referred to angelic beings, not to people descended from Seth.
Jude 6 tells us of the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own habitation. Jude goes on (Jude 7) to tell us they sinned in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh. Here in Genesis 6, as in Sodom and Gomorrah, there was an unnatural sexual union. Jude 6 also makes it clear what God did with these wicked angels. They are reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day for not keeping their proper place. Their sinful pursuit of freedom has put them in bondage.
In Matthew 22:30, we see where Jesus said angels neither marry nor are given in marriage; but Jesus never said angels were sexless, and He was also speaking about faithful angelic beings (angels of God in heaven), not rebellious ones.
In sum, no one knows exactly who the sons of God and the daughters of men are referring to.
Satan could have sent his angels to intermarry in an effort to ensure the promised seed of Jesus was never born. And Satan almost succeeded. The race was so polluted that God found it necessary to start again with Noah and his sons, and to imprison the demons that did this so they could never do this again.
Take away from the flood: there is a point of sin where God will say “enough is enough.” Turn to God now because no other days are promised to us.
God said He would flood the earth 120 years before He did. Perhaps He is hoping some will turn to Him.
Giants on earth refers to the unnatural offspring of the union between the sons of God and the daughters of men, though there were people of unusual size on the earth both before and after the flood (and also afterward). These ones before the flood were unique because of the demonic element of their parentage. They were the mighty men of old, men of renown.
Jesus said, as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be (Matthew 24:37). In other words, the conditions of the world before the coming of Jesus will be like the conditions of the world before the flood:
Widespread corruption and violence (Genesis 6:11).
Even though God knew He would destroy mankind, He still felt grieved.
Noah
Noah found grace; he did not earn it. Noah had the righteousness that is of faith because as soon as the floodwaters had dried up and he left the ark, he offered sacrifices (Genesis 8:20). Noah’s three sons will figure into the account in a significant way. God will use them as a foundation for the rest of the human race.
Since the fall in Genesis 3, every human being has a death sentence. The timing and method of that death are completely in the hands of God.
Instead of wiping out the entire race, God preserved a remnant.
The Ark
The ark was as long as a 30-story building is high (about 450 feet or 150 meters)
75 feet (25 meters) wide
45 feet (15 meters) high.
The ark is meant to float, like a barge, not sail.
Was the shape of a shoebox, was plenty large enough (about the size of the Titanic)
Had a cubit-wide opening (18 inches, one-half meter) all the way around the top.
It was not until 1858 that a boat bigger than the ark was built. The ark was certainly big enough to do the job. If the ark carried two of every family of animals, there were around 700 pairs of animals; but if the ark carried two of every species of animals, there were around 35,000 pairs of animals.
The average size of a land animal is smaller than a sheep. The ark could carry 136,560 sheep in half of its capacity, leaving plenty of room for people, food, water, and whatever other provisions were needed.
Noah was not told why he was making this ark in the beginning; just to make it.
Throughout history, many people have reported seeing the ark and/or finding the ark. The pitch worked to waterproof the wood. God told Noah to cover it with pitch inside and outside, which makes it possible that the ark was preserved for a long time. It is possible God still has a purpose for the ark, to use it to remind the world of a past judgment shortly before a future judgment.
Fun Fact: Because of this mention of pitch (a petroleum product) in what most people think is the Middle East, it is said that John D. Rockefeller looked for (and found) oil in that region based on this verse.
Despite the dramatic judgment coming, God will make a covenant with Noah, and he and his family will be saved. God will also use Noah to save a remnant of each animal so the earth could be populated with people and animals after the flood.
The Bible presents Noah as a great hero of God. He was an outstanding example of righteousness (Ezekiel 14:14), a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5), and Noah condemned the world by offering salvation in the ark that the whole world rejected (Hebrews 11:7).
Noah was a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5), yet in his 120-year ministry, it seems that no one was saved.
Genesis 7:
God was in the ark and would be with Noah in the ark, so He called Noah to come into the ark with Him.
“Notice that the Lord did not say to Noah, ‘Go into the ark,’ but ‘Come,”
In Genesis 6:20 God said the animals would come to Noah by migration.
Noah, the animals, and his family had to wait in the ark seven days for the rain to come. They had never seen rain up to this time. This was a real test of faith – to wait a week after more than 100 years of preparation.
The heavens containing the great waters that were above the firmament (Genesis 1:7) opened up. These waters formed the huge so-called blanket of water in the upper part of the earth’s atmosphere since creation. Waters came up from under the earth, too.
The Number 40 in the Bible
Here we see the first use of the number 40 in the Bible. It has become associated with testing and purification, especially before entering into something new and significant.
Note that God shuts the door. God has the final say in judgement. God shuts people out.
God kept the door open until the last possible minute, but there came a time when the door had to shut. Jesus is He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens (Revelation 3:7).
Of the more than 200 cultures that have their own account of the flood the following aspects of the story are common:
88% describe a favored family.
70% attribute survival to a boat.
95% say the sole cause of the catastrophe is a flood.
66% say that the disaster is due to man’s wickedness.
67% record that animals are also saved.
57% describe that the survivors end up on a mountain.
Many of the accounts also specifically mention birds being sent out, a rainbow, and eight persons being saved.
The water from the flood is collected in oceans today.
The Bible says that only the animals that had the breath of the spirit of life. The fish did not die in the flood; only animals with the breath of life in them died, the animals on dry land.
God may have put some or many of these animals into a period of hibernation for this period, meaning that less food, space, and supervision was be needed.
God provides many animals today with an amazing instinct for hibernation. It would be no difficulty for Him to miraculously impart a unique instinct for these particular animals.
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.
God 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.
Summary of 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.
BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 5, Day 3: Genesis 6-7
7) Man’s wickedness was great, and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart were only evil. The Lord was grieved that he had made man, and his heart was filled with pain. God decides to wipe his entire creation out because He is so grieved He made them.
8 ) Noah was righteous, blameless among the people, and he walked faithfully with God.
9a) Noah obeyed every command given to him from God without question. He 100% trusted God when He spoke to him although the request probably seemed outlandish at the time.
b) Personal Question. My answer: Too many things to list! Serving God unquestionably is challenging, even in the little things, let alone the big things.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 5, Day 3: Genesis 6-7
I love the story of Noah. Here’s a guy of faith who is told to build a big boat and save his entire family by God. How awesome and scary is that! Yet, he does it without fail, without question, showing us what a walk with God truly is.
Last go around in the study of Genesis, we were asked who the sons of God and the daughters of men were. Nehilim is explained HERE
We were also asked what we do to cause God grief and have we found favor in God’s eyes.
God could just have snapped His fingers, and Noah and his family could have been saved. Instead, He had Noah build an ark. God does the same thing to us. He doesn’t wave His magic wand and make our problems go away, but He does provide a way out and through that is most likely not our way.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 5, Day 3: Genesis 6-7
Genesis 6:
Who Were the Sons of God and the Daughters of Men?
Many have believed the sons of God were those from the line of Seth, and the daughters of men were from the line of Cain, and this describes an intermarriage between the godly and the ungodly, something God specifically prohibits (Deuteronomy 7:1-4, 2 Corinthians 6:14).
Some believe that sons of God are either demons (angels in rebellion against God) or uniquely demon-possessed men, and the daughters of men are human women.
The phrase sons of God clearly refers to angelic creatures when it is used the three other times in the Old Testament (Job 1:6, 2:1, and 38:7). The translators of the Septuagint translated sons of God as angels. Those ancient translators clearly thought sons of God referred to angelic beings, not to people descended from Seth.
Jude 6 tells us of the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own habitation. Jude goes on (Jude 7) to tell us they sinned in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh. Here in Genesis 6, as in Sodom and Gomorrah, there was an unnatural sexual union. Jude 6 also makes it clear what God did with these wicked angels. They are reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day for not keeping their proper place. Their sinful pursuit of freedom has put them in bondage.
In Matthew 22:30, we see where Jesus said angels neither marry nor are given in marriage; but Jesus never said angels were sexless, and He was also speaking about faithful angelic beings (angels of God in heaven), not rebellious ones.
In sum, no one knows exactly who the sons of God and the daughters of men are referring to.
Satan could have sent his angels to intermarry in an effort to ensure the promised seed of Jesus was never born. And Satan almost succeeded. The race was so polluted that God found it necessary to start again with Noah and his sons, and to imprison the demons that did this so they could never do this again.
Take away from the flood: there is a point of sin where God will say “enough is enough.” Turn to God now because no other days are promised to us.
God said He would flood the earth 120 years before He did. Perhaps He is hoping some will turn to Him.
Giants on earth refers to the unnatural offspring of the union between the sons of God and the daughters of men, though there were people of unusual size on the earth both before and after the flood (and also afterward). These ones before the flood were unique because of the demonic element of their parentage. They were the mighty men of old, men of renown.
Jesus said, as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be (Matthew 24:37). In other words, the conditions of the world before the coming of Jesus will be like the conditions of the world before the flood:
Widespread corruption and violence (Genesis 6:11).
Even though God knew He would destroy mankind, He still felt grieved.
Noah
Noah found grace; he did not earn it. Noah had the righteousness that is of faith because as soon as the floodwaters had dried up and he left the ark, he offered sacrifices (Genesis 8:20). Noah’s three sons will figure into the account in a significant way. God will use them as a foundation for the rest of the human race.
Since the fall in Genesis 3, every human being has a death sentence. The timing and method of that death are completely in the hands of God.
Instead of wiping out the entire race, God preserved a remnant.
The Ark
The ark was as long as a 30-story building is high (about 450 feet or 150 meters)
75 feet (25 meters) wide
45 feet (15 meters) high.
The ark is meant to float, like a barge, not sail.
Was the shape of a shoebox, was plenty large enough (about the size of the Titanic)
Had a cubit-wide opening (18 inches, one-half meter) all the way around the top.
It was not until 1858 that a boat bigger than the ark was built. The ark was certainly big enough to do the job. If the ark carried two of every family of animals, there were around 700 pairs of animals; but if the ark carried two of every species of animals, there were around 35,000 pairs of animals.
The average size of a land animal is smaller than a sheep. The ark could carry 136,560 sheep in half of its capacity, leaving plenty of room for people, food, water, and whatever other provisions were needed.
Noah was not told why he was making this ark in the beginning; just to make it.
Throughout history, many people have reported seeing the ark and/or finding the ark. The pitch worked to waterproof the wood. God told Noah to cover it with pitch inside and outside, which makes it possible that the ark was preserved for a long time. It is possible God still has a purpose for the ark, to use it to remind the world of a past judgment shortly before a future judgment.
Fun Fact: Because of this mention of pitch (a petroleum product) in what most people think is the Middle East, it is said that John D. Rockefeller looked for (and found) oil in that region based on this verse.
Despite the dramatic judgment coming, God will make a covenant with Noah, and he and his family will be saved. God will also use Noah to save a remnant of each animal so the earth could be populated with people and animals after the flood.
The Bible presents Noah as a great hero of God. He was an outstanding example of righteousness (Ezekiel 14:14), a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5), and Noah condemned the world by offering salvation in the ark that the whole world rejected (Hebrews 11:7).
Noah was a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5), yet in his 120-year ministry, it seems that no one was saved.
Genesis 7:
God was in the ark and would be with Noah in the ark, so He called Noah to come into the ark with Him.
“Notice that the Lord did not say to Noah, ‘Go into the ark,’ but ‘Come,”
In Genesis 6:20 God said the animals would come to Noah by migration.
Noah, the animals, and his family had to wait in the ark seven days for the rain to come. They had never seen rain up to this time. This was a real test of faith – to wait a week after more than 100 years of preparation.
The heavens containing the great waters that were above the firmament (Genesis 1:7) opened up. These waters formed the huge so-called blanket of water in the upper part of the earth’s atmosphere since creation. Waters came up from under the earth, too.
The Number 40 in the Bible
Here we see the first use of the number 40 in the Bible. It has become associated with testing and purification, especially before entering into something new and significant.
Note that God shuts the door. God has the final say in judgement. God shuts people out.
God kept the door open until the last possible minute, but there came a time when the door had to shut. Jesus is He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens (Revelation 3:7).
Of the more than 200 cultures that have their own account of the flood the following aspects of the story are common:
88% describe a favored family.
70% attribute survival to a boat.
95% say the sole cause of the catastrophe is a flood.
66% say that the disaster is due to man’s wickedness.
67% record that animals are also saved.
57% describe that the survivors end up on a mountain.
Many of the accounts also specifically mention birds being sent out, a rainbow, and eight persons being saved.
The water from the flood is collected in oceans today.
The Bible says that only the animals that had the breath of the spirit of life. The fish did not die in the flood; only animals with the breath of life in them died, the animals on dry land.
God may have put some or many of these animals into a period of hibernation for this period, meaning that less food, space, and supervision was be needed.
God provides many animals today with an amazing instinct for hibernation. It would be no difficulty for Him to miraculously impart a unique instinct for these particular animals.
A written account of Adam’s line. God created man (Adam) in His likeness. Then Adam had a son, Seth, in his likeness instead of God’s since Adam had ushered sin into this world. Seth had Enosh. Enosh had Kenan. Kenan had Mahalalel. Mahalalel had Jared. Jared had Enoch. Enoch had Methuselah. Methuselah had Lamech. Lamech had Noah. Noah had Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Enoch walked with God so he did not die we are told.
BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 5, Day 2: Genesis 5
3) Everyone lived, had kids, and then died. This set the pattern for all of mankind.
John 3:6-8: You must be born again in the Spirit
John 8:24: If you don’t believe in Jesus, you will die in your sins
Romans 5:14: Death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses. Adam was the pattern of the one to come.
Romans 6:23: The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus
4) Enoch was the only one who didn’t die. He was just taken by God. Hebrews tells us that “without faith, it’s impossible to please God” and to be with God, he has to please him. So Enoch was a man of faith. Jude tells us he was the seventh from Adam. Because his prophesy is recorded, one could infer that Enoch was special as being of faith and many others were wicked, meaning God’s judgement (the flood) was coming soon.
5a) To follow God’s commands in the Bible; to put God first in all that you do. To walk in friendship, love, and companionship.
b) Personal Question. My answer: Faithful. Not the best, most certainly. Sometimes He’s first; other times, He’s not.
6) Personal Question. My answer: It’s normal. If you are a believer, there is nothing scary about death.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 5, Day 2: Genesis 5
Here’s the first of the many lists of tracing Jesus’ descendents from Adam that are in the Bible. Dull reading, but super important.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 5, Day 2: Genesis 5
Bible scholars note that this is probably the end of Adam’s account and the rest of the book of Genesis is Moses’ writings. Adam wrote down the account of Creation, presumably given to him by God. From Genesis 2:4 to here is Adam’s writings.
Mankind is the name God gave humanity. There is nothing sexist in this.
Time Frame
If no one was left out, this tells us that it was between 4,000 and 5,000 years from the Creation of Adam and Eve to Jesus, which varies significantly with history. Many people believe humans did live that long pre-flood due to the fact mankind was “new” with no frailities yet and that a blanket of water vapor still surrounded the earth (Genesis 1:6-8).
If Adam had a lot of kids, there very well could have been one million people on the earth by the time he died, putting billions on earth by the time of the flood.
Every person has been born in Adam’s image and likeness except Jesus.
Enoch began to walk with God in a special way after the birth of Methuselah. The name Methuselah means, when he is dead, it shall come. Enoch had a special awareness from God that judgment was coming, and this was one of the things that got him closer in his walk with God.
Jude 14 also tells us Enoch was a prophet and that he could see the second coming of Jesus.
Noah was born only 14 years after the death of Seth, Adam’s son (Genesis 5:7-8). Seth died in year 1042 from creation and Noah was born in year 1056 from creation, if the genealogies are consecutive and without gaps.
Noah could have known and spoken with Adam’s grandson, Enosh, and his other grandchildren. Since Adam and Eve had sons and daughters after Cain, Abel, and Seth (Genesis 5:3-4), it is possible that Noah spoke with one of the unnamed sons or daughters of Adam and Eve.
In Genesis 5 we see that all these men died. They were all under sin and all subject to death. Some of them were great men, but none of them was the deliverer God had promised.
