Lesson 3: Grace Under Pressure – Noah and Job (Genesis 6-7)

by | Feb 9, 2022 | Topical Studies

Introduction: Do you feel pressure in your life? Does that pressure
come from obedience to God? Or, do
you just seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong
people around you? The
stories of Noah and Job show these kinds of problems have been with us for
a very long time. Although
both Noah and Job are excellent examples of grace under pressure, because
we devoted an entire week
to Job only three months ago, we will discuss only Noah’s story this week.
(A link to allow you to
review the recent study of Job is provided below.) Let’s “dive” into
Noah’s story!

  1. Humanity on the Skids



    1. Read Genesis 5:32. Genesis chapter 3 reveals the story about the
      fall of man. Genesis chapter
      4 tells us about how the first man born, Cain, killed the second man born,
      Abel. A big gap in
      time then takes place in recorded history (see the genealogies of chapter
      5) until we come to
      the story of a man named Noah. From God’s point of view, how are things
      going with His
      creation?



    2. Let’s read on: Genesis 6:1-3. What do
      these verses tell us about God’s view of His creation?
      (They confirm God is unhappy with His creation.)



      1. What does God mean when He says, “My Spirit will not contend
        with man forever?”
        (He is getting tired of “wrestling” with the conscience of humans.)



      2. Do you feel that God’s Spirit is
        wrestling with you? If so, do you think it is wise to
        continue on this course?



      3. When God says “his days will be 120
        years,” does He mean that the life span of man
        would now be shortened to 120? (According to Barnes’ Notes, “his days”
        refers to “the
        days of man, not the individual, but the race with whom the Lord still
        strives.” So
        mankind is being given a 120 year probation period!)



  2. God’s Regret



    1. Let’s skip down a verse and read Genesis 6:5-7. Have you ever
      regretting doing something?
      Can you imagine that a perfect God could have the same feelings?



      1. Our text tells us that God’s heart was filled with pain. What do
        you think caused that
        pain? (Our sinful thinking.)



        1. Is that the same today? Does our sinful thinking pain God?



          1. If you say, “yes,” tell my why you think God cares about our
            sins and our
            thoughts?



      2. The animals are included in verse 7. Why do you think God
        decided to wipe out the
        animals too? Are animals capable of causing grief to God? (This is a
        strange concept. It
        seems that all of creation had “gone amuck.”)



      3. Had God failed? If you look at the
        Bible as a record of the battle between good and
        evil, how would you judge the battle to be going?



  1. Noah and God’s Intervention



    1. Read Genesis 6:8-13. A hero is found! Would you like to find favor
      in God’s eyes? If so, what
      is the formula? (Righteousness and “walking with God.”)



      1. What does it mean to “walk” with God? Why not say “be with God,”
        “think like God,”
        “agree with God?” (The idea of walking is one of progress. It shows the
        life that pleases
        God is one that is moving towards God’s ideal.)



      2. What part do our thoughts play in
        “walking” with God? Remember that (v.5) told us
        that God’s regret about the rest of mankind was that the “thoughts of the
        heart” were
        evil all the time.



      3. The text also says that Noah was
        “blameless among the people of his time.” I was
        always taught that we were not to compare ourselves to others, but only
        compare
        ourselves to Jesus. Does this suggest that Noah was “pretty good” –
        considering the evil
        people of his generation? (I think the text is saying something else. It
        highlights Noah’s
        loyalty because the people who lived around him were so bad. It is
        difficult to remain
        untainted by our surroundings.)



      4. Let’s go back to the “battle theme”
        for a minute. How important is Noah to the battle
        between good and evil?



        1. How important is your loyalty to God in this battle today?



        2. Can one person, allied with God,
          make a difference?



      5. Going back to my previous question about the animals, does verse
        13 give us a clue as
        to why the animals were destroyed? (Yes, man had corrupted the animal
        kingdom with
        violence. God decided to wipe the slate clean.)



      6. Verse 13 says God intended to destroy
        the earth. What does that mean? Did He do
        that? (This strongly suggests that the earth we know is the “destroyed
        version” of the
        earth God originally created. Since the other version was the “original
        creation” it was
        undoubtedly much better.)



        1. What could be God’s motive for destroying the earth? Is there
          a link between sin
          and easy living? (There is an old saying (so old I do not remember it
          correctly)
          about idle hands being the Devil’s tools. If we look at the world around
          us, we
          see that the countries with the nicest climates have the least industry.
          You
          generally do not have heavy manufacturing in the middle of palm trees. It
          seems
          there is some weather-related/ hardship-related link to the activities of
          humans.)



        2. By making the world worse, is God
          re-writing the rules of the battle between
          good and evil?



          1. Has your personal world worsened because of sin? (God is not
            obliged to
            bless us in our rebellion. The result of rebellion is often a less
            pleasant life.
            More difficult circumstances may end up being a tool that helps turn us to
            God.)



    2. Read Genesis 6:14, 17-19. What do we learn about God so far?(That
      He loves those who
      walk with Him, but He is willing to execute judgment (after a long
      probation) on the wicked.)



      1. Imagine you are Noah. Tell me your thoughts after you hear what
        God said in this text?



      2. Notice the reference to a covenant
        (contract) between God and Noah. What is that
        about? There are a number of covenants mentioned in the Bible, but let’s
        look at
        Ephesians 2:12-13. What is our current “deal” (covenant) with God?



    3. Read Genesis 6:22 and Hebrews 11:7. What did Noah do?



      1. What does Hebrews suggest about Noah’s covenant with God?



      2. How do you think the people reacted
        when they heard Noah’s “condemnation” of the
        world?



      3. Had the people ever seen a flood
        before? How about rain? (The Bible is not clear on
        this, but Genesis suggests that it had not rained before. If you look at
        Genesis 2:4-6 it
        appears that God had a subterranean watering system. The first time rain
        is mentioned
        as falling is in Genesis 7 in connection with the flood account.)



        1. If we are right that the people had not seen even rain before,
          how do you think
          the scientific community, the intellectuals, treated Noah? What about the
          New
          York Times? The Washington Post? The LA Times? What would they have
          said?



        2. Assuming Noah started building right
          away, he had 120 years of harassment. Is
          harassment just part of being a soldier in the battle between good and
          evil?






    1. Read Genesis 7:7-10. Why did God wait seven days to send the rain
      after they boarded the
      ark?



      1. What would it feel like to be outside?



      2. What would it feel like to be
        inside?



        1. How would your answers to the forgoing two questions change
          after it started
          raining?



      3. What is Noah thinking about his life after 120 years of
        preaching and fidelity to God
        and not a single convert outside his own family?



      4. I deliberately skipped over a very
        important point on this seven day delay. Read Genesis
        7:1&4. Does this completely change things (the 7 day wait problem) in
        your mind?
        (Yes! God has shared with Noah the exact timing of events. He is not
        simply sitting in
        the ark, with the whole world howling and mocking outside, wondering when
        (and if)
        God is going to keep His word.)



        1. What does this tell us about God? (This confirms Amos 3:7
          which tells us:
          “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plan to His
          servants the prophets.”)



          1. Does this make you think you should look at Revelation
            again?



          2. Has God revealed the future to you
            when you are suffering because of the
            conflict between good and evil?



    2. How is Noah’s life after the flood compared to before the
      flood?



      1. Would it feel good to know that all of your antagonists are
        dead?



      2. Would it be great to be one of only 8
        people alive on the earth? (While I am sure Noah
        was grateful he was no longer the subject of attacks and jokes, he no
        doubt preferred
        his antagonists converted, instead of killed. The entire structure of
        civilization that he
        had lived in for the first 600 years of his life ( Genesis 9:28-29) was now
        gone. I would
        think this would be difficult.)



      3. Is there a lesson in Noah’s post-flood
        situation for us today? (Evil “wounds” us – even
        when we are not at fault. Bad things happen to good people today. God’s
        solutions to
        evil are temporary, interim solutions until He completely destroys our
        earth and gives
        the saints an earth made new. (See Isaiah 65:17, 2 Peter 3:13 and
        Revelation 21:1)



  1. Job



    1. You may recall that just three months ago our entire study was
      devoted to Job. (If you want to
      review that study, go to www.GoBible.org and
      locate the archived Bible studies of the week
      under the topic of prayer, and then find the study on “Prayers of Despair:
      Job.” Or, click on:
      www.GoBible.org/study.php3?pid=116
      )



    2. Friend, do you want to be part of God’s
      final solution to sin and suffering? He offers you a
      spot in the “Ark.” Will you accept?



  2. Next week: Wives as Advisers