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he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart" (6:6). Does this mean that God had changed His mind? No. Of Himself God says, “I am the LORD,,I change not” (Mai. 3:6). In our text we have figurative language. In reality, the difference in His attitude toward sinners and the saved is an evidence of His unchange able sinless nature which cannot re act in the same manner toward sin and righteousness. When man sins, God, because He is holy, must as sume a different attitude toward him than He did before. But His own na ture and purpose undergo no alter ation. 3. “And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord" (8:20). This was the first thing Noah did upon coming out of the ark. He acted wisely. He put first things first, This act indicated three things: First, Noah was grateful to God. - The words “offered” and “ burnt offerings” in the latter part of this verse are derivatives of a Hebrew word meaning “to go up” (alah). This suggests that Noah’s thoughts at this time were turned God-ward. He want ed the smoke rising from his offering and ascending heavenward to express the profound gratitude that was in his heart for His deliverance. Second, Noah wanted to rededicate his life wholly to the Lord. The burnt offer ing throughout the Old Testament symbolized such dedication. It spoke first of the Son of God who offered Himself fully for a world’s redemp tion. Then it also spoke of the dedi cation of those who identify them: selves with Him. Third, Noah recog nized his need of sacrifice in ap proaching God. This presupposes in struction in such matters before this time. Noah acted in obedience to these Instructions. The first need of every life and of every home is the “ altar.” The altar is the Cross. By the Cross men live spiritually and find hope that is eter nal. To the conscientious Bible student, it becomes increasingly clear that the Old Testament saints realized the spiritual significance of the sacrifices they made. No doubt Noah under stood that his offering was only a foreshadowing of that offering to be made “once for all” in the person of the-Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross.
LESSON FOR JULY 8 Man’ s Failures and God's Promises
(v. 18). These eight persons repre sented another trial of man by God. He was teaching the race that re covery does not lie in outward reform, but in inward change affecting the de sires of the heart of man. III. T h e , P rom ise from G od (8:20-22) Noah made a splendid start by erecting an altar unto the Lord (v. 20). He had acceptable sacrifices in' the clean beasts taken into the ark by sevens; the unclean had been taken by twos. Noah’s sacrifices were "a savour of rest” (marg.) to the Lord. God prom ised that He would not again curse the ground as He had done (v. 21). The question might be asked, “How was it known to man what the Lord said in His heart?” Certainly no hu man being could look within His heart and tell what was there; it must have been, as is the entire Bible, a revelation from God Himself (2 Pet. 1:21; 1 Cor. 2:11). Then God gave the promise con cerning the supply of foodstuffs for the human race (v. 22). Should the Lord forget this promise, or fail to keep it for just one season, the race would starve to death irrespective of all its efforts. But God has never for gotten. this promise and always there is enough food on e a r t h to feed every human being. It is man’s sel fishness, as well as his ignorance concerning distribution, that causes famines. Man talks of failure of crops, but. in the final analysis it is man’s own inability to either govern himself or control what God freely gives that makes for famines any where. Points and Problems 1. “And God saw that the wicked ness of man was great in the earth" (Gen. 6:5). Note the contrast between what God saw in this instance and what He saw as recorded in Gen. 1:31. In-the latter reference He saw “every thing that He had made, and, behold, i t ,was very good.” But sin entered the human race. It permeated the whole being of man until God saw “that every i m a g i n a t i o n of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Today .God sees men in two conditions: Out of Christ He sees them, utterly depraved and sinful, having nothing by which to commend themselves to'God; in Christ He sees them as “very good,” yes, even per fect “in Him.” See 2 Cor,, 5:21, Col. 1:28. In His eyes, every man is in one or the other of these two -states. 2. "And it repented the Lord that
C E SSO N MATERIALI Genesis 6:5-7| 8:1, 4, 18, 20-22. GOLDEN TEXTl "While the earth re- malneth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease’’ (Gen. 8:22). Outline and Exposition L T hb F ailure of the R ace .. (G en . 6:5-7) B Y the influx of “giants,” or Ne- man was great.” (The margin reads, “The whole imagination. Thé Hebrew word signifieth not only the imagina tion, but also the purposes and desires of the heart was only evil every day.” ) There was departure - from God In body, mind, and heart. The result was that God, being righteous and holy, “repented that he had made man on the earth” (v. 6). God’s person and purpose remain the same; God never changes (Jas. 1:17), but man by his sin produces what ap pears to be a change of mind in God. It is only in this sense that God repents. The corrupt condition of the race became incurable. If the purposes of God for the human race were to be fulfilled, this wickedness must be swept away, a new beginning in grace must be made. . II- T he S afety in the A rk (8 :1 ,4 , 18) After the flood had done its work, àt the end of the days “God made a wind to pass over the earth and the waters assuaged” (v. 1). Noah and his family had found grace in the eyes of the Lord and were protected from the flood by their presence in the ark. It was not Noah’s goodness, but his faith, that provided preservation in the ark (Heb. 11:7). The ark, the only means of safety fr6m the judgment of the flood, fi nally rested on Ararat (V. 4). Thus Noah and his family were saved, not because of what they , were, but be cause of where they were. Though one might be good, outside of the ark he Would have been lost With the worst. So salvation belongs only to those who are in the ark of God’s salvation, (even Christ); it is; the ark alone that saves, not the goodness of those in it (John 10:9). After the waters receded fully, God commanded Noah to come forth. He and his family stepped into a new world, a cleansed earth, with a new opportunity to fulfill God’s purpose
philim, the race, already sin ful, had been wholly corrupted (vs. 4, 5). God saw "the wickedness of
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