Noah Leaves the Ark (Gen 8:15-22)

Then God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it.” So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his son’s wives. All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on the earth—came out of the ark, one kind after another. Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart. “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, will never cease.”

1.?????? God directed Noah about the time and manner of his departure from the ark. God is the initiator and man is the responder. He is sovereign and we are servants. How has sin affected our thinking and behavior towards God?

2.????? The ark represented salvation and God’s mercy towards Noah and his family. Noah acknowledges this by worshipping God as his first act after leaving the ark. Worship is a fundamental and continual response for those who have experienced the mercy of God. How is this like the response of born-again Christians?

3.????? Part of worship is the acknowledgement of sin and the need for a sacrifice. Noah offered some clean animals as a sacrifice of worship. By choosing clean animals he is acknowledging that worship must follow what God commands. How does this compare to the sacrifices of Cain and Abel?

4.????? Sin requires sacrificial death to satisfy the penalty of rebellion against God. Therefore, death and mercy are both present in reconciliation to God and in worship. God was pleased by Noah’s sacrifices and worship. What was God's response?

5.????? Jesus said that his return and the final judgment would come when conditions on the earth were like the days of Noah leading up to the flood. (Mt 24:36-41) What are the signs of these days? Do you think that the conditions are right for the return of Jesus?

God will create a new heaven and earth following his return. How is this consistent with his promise regarding the days and seasons of the earth? What does the Bible say about the conditions of the new earth? (Rev 21-22)