Noah Builds an Ark

June 8, 2025 Background Scripture: Genesis 6:1 - 9:17 Lesson Passage: Genesis 8:13 - 22; 9:11 - 13 Building the ark is one of the greatest acts of faith recorded in the bible. Even with the availability of hardware stores and lumber yards today, this would be a monumental task for an individual, or group, to undertake. Of course, there were no hardware stores to buy tools or materials available for Noah. Furthermore, there is no record of anyone building seaworthy vessels prior to the time in the Background Scripture. That does not mean that people had no ingenuity at that point in human hist01'Y. Cain's descendants were noted as teachers in metallurgy in Genesis 4. The bible reveals that technology was more advanced than recorded human history outside the bible would suggest. God instructed Noah to build a very large boat called an ark, which means box. God gave Noah the dimensions for the ark and the materials to use to construct it. The dimensions of the ark are truly awe inspiring. It was roughly 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet tall. It was constructed with three decks: lower, middle, and upper. Altogether, that's about 100,000 square feet of living and storage space. It was large enough to accommodate a family of eight adults, a multitude of animals, and enough food to sustain all for up to one year. That would be a huge undertaking if it were a house, or hotel. It is nothing less than a miracle that one family could build a seaworthy vessel that size regardless of how much time was used to build it! It is only through faith that one would dare to undertake such a monumental task. Noah did something that was impossible for a person to do at that time. He is an example of how we should respond to receiving instructions from God: "Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did." Noah followed God's instructions and did as he was told to do. The true test of the results of Noah's obedience to God came when the rain started, and the ark floated. One year later the water had dried up and the ark rested on land. When Noah saw that the ground was dry, he, his family, and the animals remained on the ark until the Lord spoke and told him to go out along with all that were on the ark with him. The first thing recorded about Noah after he left the ark is that he built an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings on it. After one year of quarantine on the ark, Noah worshiped the God who had kept him and his family safe. God was pleased with Noah before the great flood, and God was still pleased with Noah after the great flood. Noah's worship was a sweet aroma to God. The bible records that Noah was chosen because God extended His grace to him. Noah was a just person among his wicked peer group, or generation. He was not sinless, but he chose to have fellowship with God. God warned Noah that He was sending a great flood to destroy all land- dwelling life in the world. God gave Noah the assignment of building a boat to preserve a remnant of mankind through his family. The boat would prevent his family from experiencing the devastation of the worldwide flood. If Noah had not obediently followed the Lord's instructions, we would not exist today, Every single person born after the great flood descended from the family of Noah. All other families perished in the flood. Noah's family of eight survived because he found grace in God's eyes. Noah walked with God, i.e., had an ongoing fellowship with Him. Noah's relationship with God was genuine compared to the others of his time. By faith Noah obeyed God and built the ark. As descendants of Noah, today we celebrate Noah's faith and God's faithfulness. Robert C. Hudson May 24, 2025

The Offerings of Cain and Abel

June 1, 2025 Background Scripture: Genesis 4:1 - 25 Lesson Passage: Genesis 4:1 - 16 Mature Christians know when we have crossed the line. We know when our thoughts have transformed into motives that spur us to act. We are very aware when our actions are directly opposed to the will of God as expressed in His word and placed in our hearts. But where is the line that separates obedience from disobedience? We cross it long before we begin to act. Somewhere between our thoughts and motives is an almost imperceptible transition against the will of God. Today's lesson can help us understand this. Sin today is just as awful as sin during Cain's life; all unrighteousness is sin. All sin opposes the holiness of God. Today's lesson is a tragic account of what can happen within human relationships when sin is allowed to surface. Today's account is the first occasion in the Bible where people are bringing to God offerings based on the fruit of their labors. There is no record of when offerings to God staffed or if God required it. When God placed Adam in the garden, He told Adam to take care of it, and he could eat of the fruit it produced, There is no record that Adam was told to bring a portion of the fruit to God as an offering. The only hint of an offering occurred after Adam sinned and God made clothing of skins to cover Adam and Eve's bodies. Those skins came from some animal, but we are not told what happened to the animal(s). After the sin incident, Eve conceived and gave birth to two boys. After they matured, they were not idle; Cain became a farmer and Abel became a shepherd. They both brought offerings to God based on the fruit of their labor. It should be noted that grain offerings were encoded in the Law God gave through Moses thousands of years later. However, God's response to Cain and Abel is very telling in that He responded to them before He responded concerning their offerings. The scripture says, "the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering". The Lord considered the individual before He considered what they brought as an offering. There was something God saw in Abel that caused Him to respect Abel and his offering. Contrariwise, there was something God saw in Cain, or did not see, that caused Him to not respect Cain or his offering. God's reaction was not about the offering, but towards the person bringing the offering. God looks inside before He considers what we are presenting on the outside. After God's response to the two brothers, jealousy reared its head in Cain. Whatever was in Cain's heart after his offering was there before his offering. God's response to Cain and Abel did not cause anything to enter Cain's heart. God's response likely stirred up what was already in Cain's heart. God appealed to Cain as a loving Father to master the sin that was within him. God warned Cain that either Cain would rule over his sin, or his sin would rule over him. Cain ignored God's warning and allowed his jealousy to fester. Why was Cain jealous of Abel? The New Testament teaches that Abel had the right relationship with God because of his faith. That is not to suggest that his faith was based on the type of offering because God encoded both types of offerings in the Law. Cain's jealousy and lack of faith in God led him to commit the first murder in human history because he was jealous of his brother's relationship with God. Nevertheless, killing his brother did not solve anything. Abel's absence did not improve Cain's relationship with God. When it's time for us to bring an offering, let us first look within ourselves, and then give with a sincere heart and attitude of righteousness. We should remember that every good and perfect gift comes from God. We can only offer to God what He has graciously entrusted us with as stewards. Robert C. Hudson May 24, 2025