title page. lesson one genesis 6:6-8 6 and it repented the l ord that he had made man on the earth,...

Title Page

Lesson One

Genesis 6:6-8

Genesis 6:6-86 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 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. 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Genesis 7:1-3

Genesis 7:1-31 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. 2 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. 3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

Genesis 7:4-5

Genesis 7:4-54 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. 5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.

Genesis 8:1

Genesis 8:11 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged.

Genesis 9:1

Genesis 9:11 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

Focus Verse

Hebrews 11:7

By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear,

prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the

world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Focus Thought

Fearing God is always reflected in obedience to Him, and He always

rewards obedience.

IntroductionIntroductionNoah, far from being a mariner, began building a strange-looking boat with one small window. Moreover, as he built it, he proclaimed to all who would listen that God told him a flood was coming to destroy civilization. Couple this strange scenario with the fact that in the history of the world it had never rained, and a person has the plot for a very interesting story.

IntroductionBut this story is not from the library of ancient Hebrew folklore. The true story of Noah and the ark has leaped from the Bible to capture the imagination of young and old alike in every generation for nearly forty centuries.

IntroductionWhen God told Noah it was going to rain, he believed it. When God told Noah to build an ark, he responded by beginning to build. But when Noah relayed this message to the people of his day, they did not believe it. Still, their refusal to believe the message did nothing to deter him from his determination to build an ark. He whom Peter called “a preacher of righteousness” (II Peter 2:5) kept hammering and heralding.

IntroductionMan’s wickedness caused God to resort to a destructive flood, and it was Noah’s godly fear and righteousness that caused God to warn him and to give him and others an opportunity to escape. Although Noah escaped the judgment of the Flood, he was able to save only his own family.

IntroductionThe Bible records only 769 words spoken by God to Noah during his 950-year life. The Bible records 392 words that God spoke to him before the Flood and 377 words that He spoke to Noah after the Flood. We who feel a need to receive reassurance from God regularly should learn a lesson from Noah. God told him to build the ark; and as far as we know, He did not speak to him again until after the flood when He told Noah to leave the ark. It is no wonder the Bible speaks of Noah as an heir of righteousness.

IntroductionA man of less faith probably would have built the ark near a body of water so that if it did not rain he could launch the craft and charge a fee to visit the floating zoo. But a man of faith provides for no alternative to the commands of God; he simply obeys.

IntroductionWhat a great challenge Noah provided for us today by his exemplary life of faith and fear (godly respect)! May we always fear the Lord, for it is the “beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).

I. God Warned of Destruction A

God Warned of Destruction

The antediluvian civilization was more wicked than we can imagine. We believe our world is wicked today, but the Bible says of Noah’s day that “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).


It also adds that “the earth . . . was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth” (Genesis 6:12). The four words “every,” “only,” “all,” and “continually” define the degree to which the people had degenerated.

I. God Warned of Destruction AWe can be thankful that there is still a

moral thread that runs through the fabric of North America. We face numerous challenges in our contemporary culture, but many of our schools and communities still retain a respect for God and moral values. In Noah’s day, however, he and his family were the only ones who feared God.


A. God Warned Noah

“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 6:13).

I. God Warned of Destruction AGod has always had people of righteousness

to whom He could relate and through whom He could communicate with mankind. In every dispensation God has had someone to whom He could talk and convey His messages so that they in turn would relay His words to the people. Noah was God’s man in what many often refer to as the second dispensation, or the dispensation of conscience.

I. God Warned of Destruction ANoah, who was a part of the godly line

descending from Seth (as opposed to the godless line of Cain), was the grandson of Methuselah and the great grandson of Enoch, a patriarch known for his walk with God and his translation into heaven.

Genesis 6:8II Timothy 2:2

“Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8).

I. God Warned of Destruction AThe Bible also describes Noah as “a just

man,” “perfect,” and that he “walked with God.” It is commendable that Noah maintained his integrity in spite of being surrounded by sin. This proves that we can live for God in a wicked world—at home, at work, at school, or wherever we may be exposed to iniquity.

I. God Warned of Destruction B

B. Noah Warned His World

“Noah . . . a preacher of righteousness” (II Peter 2:5).

I. God Warned of Destruction BThe Bible does not tell us how Noah

evangelized his world, but it does call him “a preacher of righteousness.” How discouraging it must have been to have preached for over a century and still not have any converts except seven family members. Although this seems like a failure in the field of evangelism, he did save his family. Unfortunately, not all Christians today have achieved even that measure of success.

I. God Warned of Destruction BThough Noah was a preacher of

righteousness, it is interesting that the Bible does not record one incident where he tried to get anyone into the ark. God told him to build an ark to save his family and the animals. It is not recorded that God told him to invite anyone else into the ark or to preach that they needed to get into the ark.

I. God Warned of Destruction BThe Bible says that he “moved with fear,

prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world” (Hebrews 11:7). It seems that it was the presence of the ark that condemned the world and not necessarily his preaching. He was a preacher of righteousness, not condemnation.

I. God Warned of Destruction BJesus did not condemn the world; He

preached righteousness. Those who did not believe were already condemned. (See John 3:17-21.)

I. God Warned of Destruction BWhether the people got into the ark was not

the only deciding factor relative to their salvation. The people were lost because they would not repent of their wickedness, not merely because they failed to get into the ark. If they had been righteous, they would have gotten into the ark, but since they were wicked, they did not even consider it.

I. God Warned of Destruction BApparently, Noah did not preach, “Get into

the ark,” for the people needed to repent of their wickedness and obtain righteousness. Then they would have gone into the ark. Noah, sensing that need, preached righteousness.

I. God Warned of Destruction C

C. God Gives Warning for Today

“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking,

marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the

coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37-39).

I. God Warned of Destruction CJesus warned that the time preceding His

second coming would be similar to the days before the Flood. He said that there would be a time of eating, drinking, marrying, and divorce, and moreover there would be a lack of knowledge (“and knew not until the flood came”).

I. God Warned of Destruction CThe lack of knowledge Christ predicted will

not be a lack of education, for another of the prophecies of the last days indicates that “knowledge shall be increased” (Daniel 12:4). Still, while there will be an increase of education in the last days there also will be an ignorance of the things of God.


There are many indications of a sad lack of spiritual knowledge in our day. In a recent Gallup poll it was stated that one-third of the young people of the United States do not know the meaning of Easter. The same is probably true of many nations of the world. Recently, after seeing a Christmas presentation, a twelve-year-old girl asked repeatedly, “Who is this Jesus that the choir was singing about?” It is difficult to imagine such spiritual ignorance could exist in North America, yet it does.

I. God Warned of Destruction C“Eating and drinking” seems to imply a

preoccupation with pleasure. It is evident that our present world is pleasure-hungry. Many people today expend much time and effort in the pursuit of personal pleasures.

I. God Warned of Destruction CJesus’ prophecy concerning the last days

harmonizes with Paul’s warning to Timothy, his son in the gospel.

II Timothy 3:1-4II Timothy 2:2“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves,

covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,

unthankful, unholy . . . traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of

pleasures more than lovers of God” (II Timothy 3:1-4).


Many things today reflect the time of moral decadence of which both Jesus and Paul warned. Many people possess a casual attitude toward marriage and divorce, and often there is little or no commitment between married individuals. The lyrics of the popular songs over the past century displayed a gradual decline in morals. Compared to the songs of today the popular tunes of the fifties seem like hymns. The lyrics of some popular songs are so bad that they have been banned in many areas.

I. God Warned of Destruction CMuch like a tree that decays inwardly and

eventually falls heavily to the forest floor, North America is deteriorating morally, and its strength to stand is diminishing greatly. If America is to remain “upright,” the people must return to the basic morals and virtues on which the nation was founded. Otherwise, America will, like the antediluvian civilization, realize sudden destruction.

II. Godly Fear Activates Obedience A

Godly Fear Activates Obedience

A. The Fear of God InitiatesInnumerable Blessings

Seven verses in Proverbs begin with the words “The fear of the LORD.”


1. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7). 2. “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil” (Proverbs 8:13). 3. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). 4. “The fear of the LORD prolongeth days” (Proverbs 10:27). 5. “The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life” (Proverbs 14:27). 6. “The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom” (Proverbs 15:33). 7. “The fear of the LORD tendeth to life” (Proverbs 19:23).


Scofield defines “fear of the LORD” as “a phrase of the Old Testament piety, meaning reverential trust, with hatred of evil.” It is not “a feeling of anxiety and agitation caused by the presence or nearness of danger, evil, pain, etc.,” which is the usual definition of fear, but it is reverence and respect.


The Scriptures state that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom, and before a person can believe God he must revere God. To revere is “to regard with deep respect.” To regard is “to observe or look at with a firm, steady gaze.” Before any person believes God, he must behold God. Looking always precedes loving.


“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil” (Proverbs 8:13). No one can truly respect God and love evil, for evil and God are incompatible. Consequently, respect for God and respect for evil are incompatible.


The fear of the Lord prolongs a person’s days (Proverbs 10:27), for he becomes the benefactor of many blessings that may include health (Proverbs 3:8), protection (Proverbs 3:33), and prosperity (Proverbs 3:9-10). These are benefits that naturally encourage longevity.


To fear the Lord is to tap into the fountain of abundant life. Springing forth from God are all kinds of blessings that enhance life. Anyone wanting to really enjoy life must seriously consider serving the Lord.

II. Godly Fear Activates Obedience ATo have the fountain of life is to enjoy a

continual source of life. It is an artesian fountain of joy, peace, and righteousness.

II. Godly Fear Activates Obedience A“The fear of the Lord is the instruction of

wisdom” (Proverbs 15:33). Revering the Lord enrolls a person in the school of wisdom where instruction comes in many ways. To fear the Lord is not only to “register,” however, but also to “graduate” eventually.

II. Godly Fear Activates Obedience A“The fear of the Lord tendeth to life”

(Proverbs 19:23), for the Lord is life. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Fearing the Lord causes a person to seek out and receive the abundant life afforded only by Jesus Christ. The life that Jesus Christ gives ultimately leads a person to eternal life.

II. Godly Fear Activates Obedience B

B. Godly Fear Precedes Hearing and Obeying

When God told Noah, “Make thee an ark of gopher wood” (Genesis 6:14), he made it. There is no indication that he questioned or argued with God. Further, he did not say, “I will pitch it without, but why within?” Noah obeyed God explicitly and completely.


The ark was to be Noah’s way to escape judgment, and the pitch on the inside as well as the outside made the vehicle safe and ensured his salvation. Today the plan of salvation as given in Acts 2:38 is our way to escape the judgment that is coming upon the world.


We have been careful to demonstrate Christianity outwardly, which is important, but we must not neglect the inward aspects of true Christianity. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their emphasis on the exterior to the neglect of the interior. We must not neglect either.


As respect without response is not truly respect, so reverence without obedience is not truly reverence. Jesus said, “If a man love me, he will keep my words” (John 14:23).


Hearing is only a function of the ear, a mere auditory stimulus, but obedience is a response of the heart. People must not hear the gospel only with their ears; they also must hear the gospel with their heart and respond obediently to it.


Once there lived in a remote area a poor family that had never owned or even seen a mirror. One day the husband found a broken piece of a mirror. Not knowing what it was, he said, “Well, I have found a picture of my dear old dad.” Not wanting anyone to bother his newly found treasure, he hid it between the mattresses of their crude iron-frame bed. Frequently he would slip into the bedroom when he thought no one was watching, pull the “picture” out, and admire it.

II. Godly Fear Activates Obedience BHis wife, observing his strange behavior,

saw him one day as he pulled the piece of mirror out and looked at it. Waiting until he was absent from the house, she hurried to the bedroom to see what was interesting him there. When she pulled the mirror out and looked at it, she said, “So that’s the old hussy that he has been looking at.”

II. Godly Fear Activates Obedience BBoth husband and wife were seeing

themselves, but neither recognized their image. How true this is of the mirror of the Word! But if we are honest, we can all see our image and do something about it.

II. Godly Fear Activates Obedience C

C. Godly Fear MotivatedNoah to Build an Altar

The first thing Noah did when he left the ark was to build an altar and offer to God an offering. This act underscored the importance that Noah placed on his relationship with God.

II. Godly Fear Activates Obedience CA trip to the altar is a good way to begin a

new life in a new world. Whether we are beginning a new job, a marriage, the rearing of children, or just a new day, we need to “build an altar.” “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

II. Godly Fear Activates Obedience CThe altar represented a place where Noah

met with God and God met with Noah. A meeting place with God is vital to our victory. As Noah could not have made it in the new world without an experience at the altar, neither can we expect to live for God in this world without a regular and consistent “altar” experience.

II. Becoming Heirs of Righteousness A

Becoming Heirsof Righteousness

A. Noah Found Grace

In the Old Testament the word grace comes from the Hebrew word chen meaning “graciousness, kindness, favor,” having the meaning of “bending or stooping in kindness to an inferior.” Figuratively, God stooped to warn Noah of pending doom, giving him a way of escape from the judgment that He was soon to bring upon the world.


God was not obligated to warn Noah, nor was Noah worthy to receive a warning despite his righteousness. If Noah had merited that kind of treatment, it would not have been grace. It would have been merely the payment of a debt.


Whatever we receive from God, it is because of His grace. There is no way that we can earn or deserve any recognition from God.

II. Becoming Heirs of Righteousness AThe knowledge of this should do away with self-righteousness, but it does not. Unfortunately, it is easy for a person to lapse into legalism and feel that he deserves what he receives from God because of his righteous lifestyle. Nevertheless, we have no righteousness except that which God gives us by Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:9II Timothy 2:2

“And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of

the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness

which is of God by faith” (Philippians 3:9).

II. Becoming Heirs of Righteousness ANoah’s walk with God not only attracted the attention of God but it also saved him. By being righteous, he was separated from the evil masses that aroused the wrath of God. By being righteous, he received a remedy for wrath. By being righteous, he saved his house. (See Hebrews 11:7; I Peter 3:20.)

II. Becoming Heirs of Righteousness B

B. Noah Was Prosperous in God

“And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be

fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. . . . And you, be

ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and

multiply therein” (Genesis 9:1, 7).

II. Becoming Heirs of Righteousness BIt was God’s will for Noah and his family to prosper in their new world. God had cleansed the world with the Flood making it a more livable habitat. It was only fitting that Noah and his family enjoy a fresh, new start in their pristine world.

II. Becoming Heirs of Righteousness BAs Noah prospered and was fruitful in the newly purged world, it is God’s will that we enjoy a fruitful life with a spiritual prosperity that is commensurate with Christ’s teachings. It is not a violation of Christian principles to be successful. It is God’s promise and will that we prosper spiritually as we recognize and obey the principles of the Scriptures.

III John 2II Timothy 2:2

“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in

health, even as thy soul prospereth” (III John 2).

II. Becoming Heirs of Righteousness BThe word prosper in III John 2 is translated from two Greek words meaning “to help on the road.” Combine this with the meaning of the Greek word from which comforter is translated, “one called alongside to help,” and a person has an encouraging scenario. When we give our life to the Lord, He comes not only to live within but also to walk alongside to assist us on the road of life.

II. Becoming Heirs of Righteousness C

C. Noah Became the Heir of Righteousness

Hebrews 11:7 from the Amplified Bible offers an interesting insight to Noah’s righteous relationship with God: “[Prompted] by faith Noah, being forewarned by God concerning events of which as yet there was no visible sign, took heed and diligently and reverently constructed and prepared an ark for the deliverance of his own family.

II. Becoming Heirs of Righteousness CBy this [his faith which relied on God] he passed judgment and sentence on the world’s unbelief and became an heir and possessor of righteousness, (that relation of being right into which God puts the person who has faith).”

II. Becoming Heirs of Righteousness CRighteousness is not just being right, correct, or accurate. Righteousness is a relationship with God in which we are believing and He is imputing. The righteousness that God imputes, or credits to our spiritual account, is His righteousness, not our righteousness. Yet it makes us right, or just.

II. Becoming Heirs of Righteousness CWhen Noah believed God, it was accounted to him, as it was to Abraham, for righteousness. Thus Noah became the heir of righteousness.

II. Becoming Heirs of Righteousness D

D. God Has Heirs of Righteousness Today

“And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and

heirs according to the promise”

(Galatians 3:29).

II. Becoming Heirs of Righteousness DObedience to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ establishes a relationship wherein the believer is counted righteous with God. It is not an attribute of the believer, but of God. It is His righteousness with which He clothes us.

Romans 10:3-4II Timothy 2:2

“For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness,

have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ

is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that

believeth” (Romans 10:3-4).

I Corinthians 1:30II Timothy 2:2

“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,

and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (I

Corinthians 1:30).

Reflections

The story of Noah and the ark, though difficult for some modern theologians to believe, provides not only an interesting story of what really happened, but also a narrative teaching the rewards of proper respect for God. Noah, who lived in a wicked society, feared God; and if we really want to have eternal life, we will fear the Lord.

Reflections

Our lesson today gave us the account of Noah warning his world of judgment after God told him He was going to destroy the world with a flood. We are reminded that Jesus said there is a parallel between Noah’s day and our day, therefore serving as a warning to us today.

Reflections

The Book of Proverbs reveals in seven different verses what the fear of God really is and what it will accomplish in our lives. It was his fear of the Lord that caused Noah to hear and obey God by building an ark and an altar to Him. Fearing God is always reflected in obedience to Him, and God always rewards obedience.

ReflectionsTo be righteous is to be in right standing or relation to God. It is not a matter of achieving our own state of righteousness, for our righteousness is as filthy rags to God. Rather, it is being endowed with the righteousness of God on the basis of our faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to Him. The righteousness of God is awarded to us not on the basis of our goodness or state of deserving it, but by the grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ.

ReflectionsAs Noah was an heir of righteousness in his day, so are we heirs of righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ. By God’s grace He has allowed us to partake of the righteousness of Jesus Christ through the endowment of His Holy Spirit in our lives.

title page. lesson one genesis 6:6-8 6 and it repented the l ord that he had made man on the earth,...

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