“Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”

Genesis 6:9 (KJV)

The story

When men multiplied on the earth, God saw that the wickedness of man was great and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. It repented the LORD that he had made man, and it grieved him at his heart, so he purposed to bring judgment. Yet in the middle of a corrupt and violent world, one man stood out: Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. Genesis 6:5-8

Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations, who walked with God, and he had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. God told Noah that the end of all flesh had come and that he would establish his covenant with him. Noah was to build an ark of gopher wood, three hundred cubits by fifty by thirty, pitched within and without, with a window, a door in the side, and three stories. Genesis 6:9-16

God commanded Noah to bring two of every living thing into the ark, male and female, and of clean beasts and fowls by sevens, to keep them alive. Noah did all that God commanded him. Then the LORD said to enter, and in the selfsame day Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives went in, eight souls in all, and the LORD shut him in (Genesis 7:16). Genesis 6:19-7:13

In the six hundredth year of Noah's life the fountains of the great deep broke up and the windows of heaven were opened, and the rain fell forty days and forty nights. The waters prevailed and bore up the ark above the earth for a hundred and fifty days, and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him (Genesis 7:23). Then God remembered Noah, sent a wind, and the waters began to go down until the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat. Genesis 7:11-8:4

Noah sent out a raven, then a dove three times; the second time the dove returned with an olive leaf, and the third time she did not return, so Noah knew the earth was dry. When they went forth, Noah built an altar and offered burnt offerings, and the LORD smelled a sweet savour. God blessed Noah, promised never again to destroy all living things by a flood, and set his bow in the cloud as the token of that everlasting covenant. Genesis 8:7-9:15

Quiz

1. According to Genesis 6:5, how was the imagination of man's heart described?

   • Divided between good and evil
   • Only evil continually
   • Slow to turn
   • Weak but hopeful

2. How did the LORD feel about having made man on the earth?

   • It pleased him greatly
   • It confused him
   • It grieved him at his heart
   • It made no difference

3. How is Noah described in Genesis 6:9?

   • A mighty man of war
   • A just man, perfect in his generations
   • A wealthy prince
   • A wandering shepherd

4. What did God say he would establish with Noah?

   • His kingdom
   • His covenant
   • His temple
   • His throne

5. On what day and month were the fountains of the great deep broken up?

   • First month, first day
   • Second month, seventeenth day
   • Seventh month, tenth day
   • Tenth month, first day

6. How high did the waters prevail above the mountains?

   • Five cubits
   • Ten cubits
   • Fifteen cubits
   • Fifty cubits

7. How many days did the waters prevail upon the earth?

   • Forty days
   • Seventy days
   • One hundred days
   • A hundred and fifty days

8. What did God do so that the waters would go down?

   • He made a wind pass over the earth
   • He opened a great pit
   • He sent an angel
   • He commanded the sun

9. In what month and day did the ark come to rest on Ararat?

   • First month, first day
   • Second month, twenty-seventh day
   • Seventh month, seventeenth day
   • Tenth month, first day

10. What did Noah know when the dove returned with the olive leaf?

    • That the rain would start again
    • That the waters were abated from the earth
    • That the ark was sinking
    • That winter had come

11. What did the LORD smell when Noah offered burnt offerings?

    • A sweet savour
    • A cloud of incense
    • Nothing at all
    • A bitter smoke

12. For how many perpetual generations did God make the covenant of the bow?

    • For seven generations
    • For forty generations
    • For a thousand years
    • For perpetual generations

Discussion

1. Noah 'found grace in the eyes of the LORD' and 'walked with God' while the whole world around him was corrupt (6:8-9). What does it look like to walk with God faithfully when everyone around you is going a different direction?
2. Genesis 6:22 says Noah did 'according to all that God commanded him,' even building a massive ark before a single drop of rain fell. Where is God asking you to obey before you can see the full reason why?
3. God set his bow in the cloud as a lasting sign of his promise (9:13-16). Why do you think God gives visible reminders of his promises, and what reminders of his faithfulness help you trust him?