This week’s class will focus on Genesis chapter eight. We will take a deeper look at the evidence of the “Flood” and its effects worldwide. In this class we will focus on what the Bible teaches, and then discuss how we see that play out in our world, and in humans, still today.

Defending our faith and developing a Biblical worldview based on our understanding of God’s Word takes time and practice, and must be part of a lifetime commitment we make to the LORD. It should form our purpose and identity in everyday life as we grow closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, modeling Him to our family, friends and neighbors. As Christians, it is more important than ever to know what we believe, and why we believe it, and then apply that to who we are on a consistent basis, and this can only be done if we know Jesus and what His Word teaches.

All class sessions include a time for prayer and reflection, a presentation, and a Bible study section. You will find the presentation overview and Bible study questions at the truthfaithandreason.com website with basic answers for your review and, or to use as a leader’s guide.

Watch this week’s presentation here:

Presentation

Foundations Bible Study, Session Nine: Genesis Chapter Eight – The Remnants of the Flood

Review and Reflection

1. Prayer cards: Take a minute and write your name on the index card provided, and add any special prayer request you might have. Exchange cards at the end of the class.
2. Review from last week’s class: What are some important things to remember about the actual flood; and is there modern-day evidence to support that account?

FOCUS VERSE

Genesis 3:15 Promise
(begins the Scarlet Thread)

“And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall ^[d]bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.” (NASB)

From Genesis through Revelation, the Bible is all about Jesus!

SHARING THE GOSPEL:

THE SEED IS HE

– HE IS THE SEED!

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  John 3:16

“And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.””  Genesis 3:15

“So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.”  John 8:28

“From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He.”  John 13:19

Bible Study

Each week, we are encouraging you to take some dedicated time and spend it in God’s Word. Always remember to pray before you study and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you into the truth found in God’s Word – pray for protection from the evil one who will try to discourage, distract and deceive us when we commit to growing closer to the LORD.

Take-aways from Genesis chapters 6-7

• The ”Flood” was intended to wipe out the wickedness of humankind (and picture God’s future plan through Jesus, and His ultimate victory over evil)
• God gave His covenant to Noah so that the ”seed line” could be carried through beyond the Flood
• God’s sovereignty is seen throughout this story, and His love for Noah and his family displays God’s hesed for them
• God Himself closed the door behind them as they entered the Ark
• God gave specific directions to Noah for the building of the Ark and it was built with the same dimensions as modern ship builders use today!
• There was more than enough room on the Ark for the “Kinds” of living things God required Noah to bring – these “Kinds” could carry all the genetic information needed to produce the variety with the “Kinds” we have today – no genetic barriers can be, or ever have been, crossed (i.e. cats to dog; horses to hippos; mice to humans etc.)
• The language of Scripture screams catastrophe they had never seen before
• Every major culture has a “flood legend” that contains similarities to the Biblical account
• Pangea demonstrates the separating of the continents by water
• The geological layers laid down by the flood are found worldwide
  • The geological layers (like those found in the Grand Canyon) do not have the expected erosion between them if they were laid down over long periods of time, instead it shows that they were laid down quickly
  • The layers do not have fossils in the expected evolutionary order, they are grouped and scattered, and there are no transitional forms found in any of the layers
  • Bent geological strata and compressed limestone can only happen in a catastrophic flood and this is evidenced worldwide

Modern evidences to consider for the effects of a worldwide flood

• Catastrophic aftermath of local floods and debris therein
• Water laid sediment forming coal
• Water compressed trees that run through the layers
• Marine fossils in inland areas and at the highest altitudes, including Mount Everest
• Agate Springs, Nebraska: Over 9000 animal bones piled up
• Death poses in the fossils indicating quick burial and fossilization

Chapter Reading for Step #3: Context – What does it say?

Chapter Eight

• 8:1-5
• 8:6-12
• 8:13-19
• 8:20-22

Discuss (summarize) the chapter

Genesis Chapter Eight – Step #4 Interpretation Questions – What does it mean?

1. What does the Scripture say about how and when God stopped the flood? Going Deeper: How long was it between the start of the flood (go back to chapter 7) and when Noah left the Ark? Write out your timeline/calculations.

“But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided. 2 Also the fountains of the deep and the [a]floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained; 3 and the water receded steadily from the earth, and at the end of one hundred and fifty days the water decreased. 4 In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat. 5 The water decreased steadily until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible.”  Genesis 8:1-5 (NASB)

• “God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. He also closed the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky, and restrained the rain.
• The waters then receded steadily, and at the end of 150 days the water decreased.
• In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat.
• The water decreased steadily until the tenth month.”
• 220 days for the tops of the mountains to appear; 364 days for Noah to leave the Ark.
• Note: The language indicates that the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky was something different than just regular rain – a catastrophe never seen before, and never again.

Bible	Length of time mentioned	(Date on the lunar calendar) Events and activities	Running total of days
7:6– 10	7 days	Noah gathered the animals onto the Ark and waited.	0 days on board
7:11– 16	Heavy rain for 40 days	(2nd month, 17th day) Rain began to fall, so Noah entered the Ark with his family.	40 days on board the Ark
7:17– 24	150 days	The waters swelled on the earth until all of the mountains were covered and all the land creatures and people had died.	150 days on the Ark
8:1–4	The end of 150 days	(7th month, 17th day) God sends a wind and stops the water and rain. The Ark runs aground at Ararat.	150 days (same as above)
8:5	No length of time mentioned	(10th month, 1st day) The waters keep receding and the mountain tops appear.	220 days (29.53 x 8 – 16)
8:6 9	40 days	Noah sent out a raven and then a dove, but both return to the Ark unsuccessful.	260 days
8:10– 11	7 days later	Noah sends out the dove again and it brings back an olive branch.	267 days
8:12	7 days later	Noah sent out the dove and it did not return to the Ark.	274 days
8:13	No length of time mentioned	(1st month, 1st day) Noah removed the Ark’s covering and saw dry ground.	309 days (29.53 x 11 – 16)
8:14– 20	No length of time mentioned	(2nd month, 27th day) The earth had dried out sufficiently and Noah left the Ark with all of the animals.	A total of 364 days on board (29.53 x 12 + 10)

A Biblical model for the phases of the Flood:

1. Eruptive – 40 days
2. Ascending – 50 days
3. Zenithic – 60 days
4. Abative – 110 days
5. Dispersive – 110 days

Post Flood

1. Residual – 500 years
2. Modern – 3600 years

Essential points of the Abative Phase

• The Flood ceases
• Wind passed over the earth and the water subsided
• The fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky were closed
• The rain from the sky was restrained
• The waters receded steadily from the earth
• The water decreased
• Land appeared

Essential points of the “Dispersive Phase”

• During this period of time the water would still be settling and drying
• Scholars believe that there were many lakes formed during this time that were dammed up, and the water would eventually break through causing residual flooding, in some cases still catastrophic for that area
• Many believe that is what happened in the formation of the Grand Canyon as there is evidence of this at the top of the Grand Staircase
• We have evidence of this still today with great inland Seas and Lakes
• Modern research and evidence from Mount St. Helen’s supports the Biblical account

2.  What did God tell Noah when they exited the Ark; what did Noah do to honor God and how did God respond?

• God told Noah to go out from the Ark, him, his family and all the animals, and be fruitful and multiply.
• In 9:7 God specifically said to “populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.” This was important as it designated a specific purpose for males and females and the importance of having offspring, not only to continue the species, but for humans to continue the legacy of God’s truth.
• The “next generation” of humans are always important, not just for survival and continuation of a species, but for “knowing” the story of God, His plan and purpose.
• “Noah built an alter to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the alter.”
• God accepted Noah’s offering and said “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

DISCUSS

• Step #5 Application for chapter 8: How do I use what I learned? Based on the context and interpretation of chapter 8, we can now discuss how to apply what we have read to our lives and the culture we live in today, including our witness to others.
• The Shelf: Do you have any questions from your shelf?

(Have a place in your notebook or journal to write down questions that arise. This will help avoid rabbit trails or distractions, and you can return to them later on).