Noah and the Flood
Genesis 6-8
This week our children are learning about Noah and the flood. Though this story is very familiar, it holds some very important truths about God and introduces those truths to our children, perhaps for the first time. In this story God’s justice and wrath are on display next to his mercy and his grace. We are told that the earth had become so corrupted by evil and violence that God needed to cleanse the world through judgement. But he also still loved his creation and the men and women created in his image. So he chose to save the one man who still loved and listened to God and his family. It is important to remember that God did not save Noah because he was better than the other people around him. Noah had faith in God and trusted God. He was rescued by grace, just as any of us are saved. He wasn’t better than others but he was different. Below are some questions and themes to help you discuss the Bible lesson with your children.
- What was the world like after Adam and Eve disobeyed? It had become full of evil, death, disease, and destruction. It was full of all the things that God hates because they are the things that hurt and unmake all the things that he made good. They are the opposites of goodness, life, health, and creation.
- Why did God tell Noah to make the ark? Since Noah listened to God, God knew that he would obey God and follow the instructions of how to build the ark. He knew Noah would be obedient to find 2 of every animal to take on the ark. Noah wanted to follow God and he would not care if other people did not understand what he was doing.
- After the flood, what did God do? God made a promise to never destroy the world again. As a sign of this promise he put a bow in the sky (his rainbow) just as a warrior would hang up his bow used to shoot arrows at the end of a battle. It meant God would not attack the world again. But one day he would endure the judgement for sin on the behalf of the creation he loved.
Character Trait: Discernment
I know the difference between right and wrong.
Memory Verse:
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Colossians 3:2
