(Reading) Genesis 5-10: Noah, the Ark, and God’s Covenent
(Reading) Genesis 5-10: Noah, the Ark, and God's Covenent
The story of Noah and the ark is probably one of the most known and well loved stories in the bible. It is also one with several points of debate and confusion. Hopefully this lesson will clear up some of the confusion for all of us.
The Ark Encounter: A life-sized replica of the ark built in Williamstown, Kentucky. They give tours of the ark.
Note: We must be careful what bible version we use. Many easy to read versions actually say something completely different that the KJV. For instance The Message Bible – The Lord's Prayer/King James Version – The Lord's Prayer. Another example is God repented creating man – KJV/God was sorry that he made man. The meaning of the last two links is completely different as I will show later.
Study:
Who were the sons of God?
a. Some believe the sons of God were the Nephilim (referred to in the KJV as giants). Genesis 6:4 clearly refers to the two as separate entities. It is also unlikely the Nephilim were the offspring of the sons of God since Genesis 6:4 and Numbers 13:32-33 refer to them as separate beings.
b. Another school of thought is the sons of God were angels. Many discount this theory because Matthew 22:30 and Mark 12:25 state do not marry or reproduce. Some say it doesn't say whether this is true for fallen angels as well. We can assume the statement covers all angels, but can we be so cure as to say it is fact?
c. It is possible the sons of God were simply religious leaders who had fallen from grace do to lust. Think of it this way, we are all considered the sons and daughters of God at least as early in the bible as Psalms 82:6. It makes perfect sense religious leaders would be considered sons of God since they were God's spokesmen. Whatever the answer is, we are unlikely to know for sure until we can as our King and Savior in person.
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Did God feel he had made a mistake in creating man?
There are two Hebrew words which translate into the English word repent:
i. Nahum – to lament, to grieve. This word is describing the emotions aroused when motivated to take a different action. Like when a child does something wrong and we must discipline them. We feel horrible we have to do so. We are saddened we have to take the action.
ii. Shub – This word expresses the radical change of mind toward sin and implies a conscious separation from sin and agree with God. Since God cannot sin, it is unlikely this would be the definition used in Genesis 6:6, especially with the words "grieved in his heart" as part of the verse in question.
Deuteronomy 32:36 is another example where repent means the same as nahum.
Genesis 6:19 and Genesis 7:2 seem to contradict each other. How many of each animal did Noah take on the ark?
Noah took 7 pairs of each clean animal and 1 pair of each unclean animal. If you consider Genesis 8:20, if Noah had only taken 2 of each clean animal, and used them for his sacrifice to the Lord, there wouldn't have been a pair left to reproduce. He only took 1 pair of each unclean animal because they were unfit for sacrifice.
Should we be vegans since God created us that way? Is eating meat a sin?
a. Genesis 1:29 describes God giving seeds, herbs and fruit for man and animal to eat. Genesis 9:3 and Exodus 12:8 show man is given permission to eat meat.
b. In 1 Corinthians 6:19 we are told our bodies are temples for the for the Holy Spirit. If we eat a well-balanced, well-portioned meal, whether vegan or non-vegan we are going to have a healthy temple for the Holy Spirit to reside.
c. God would not have told us meat was for us to eat if it was a sin. Genetic modification, pesticides, and our own gluttony are what make meat and other foods bad for us.
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