Confirmation: The Flood

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Work through the confirmation Lesson below.  Do the best you can on your own.  If you need help, or if you get stuck send me an email, (revrichm@gmail.com), text or call me (610-401-5602).  When you're done, post your answers at the bottom.  When we meet next I will go over this and we'll do an exercise to have some fun with it.  

The Flood

My Faith Story

The Big Question: What does an old covenant have to do with me?

The word covenant translates roughly to "promise." In more legal terms, a covenant is similar to a contract—if you do this, I promise to do that.  Think of the concept of covenant/promise as it relates to keeping (or breaking) a confidence, such as, "Promise not to tell anyone."    Friendship is often contingent on promise-keeping.  God's promise to Noah helps us understand how God keeps a promise unconditionally, even when humans cannot live by the rules and maintain faithfulness to God.

Open the Bible

Noah "walked with God" (Genesis 6:9) before the flood. However, God was very displeased with the wickedness of the rest of humankind (Genesis 6:5, 11–13). God found Noah's family to be the only righteous people left in creation. 

  

Read Genesis 9:8–11. After keeping Noah, his family, and the animals safe during the flood, God made a covenant.  A covenant is a promise between two unequal parties. God made a promise to Noah and his descendants to never destroy the earth again. There is no mention of Noah's part in this covenant. As is always the case with God's grace, the promise does not depend on anything humans do. God cared enough about Noah and his family, and all humanity that was to come after them, to give them good news for the future.

Read Genesis 9:13 about the rainbow.   Remember, unlike us today, the biblical people lived outside. No one would miss spotting a rainbow! This verse states that the rainbow would be a sign. Throughout the Bible God gives signs to people to help them remember who God is.  Can you think of some other images from nature that God used to teach people in the Bible?  

Open the Catechism

Student Book page 299: Read the first article of The Apostles' Creed. This part of the Creed states what we believe about God the creator.  God promises to care for us and for all of creation.   How does God care for us through other people, giving us what we need, protecting us each day, and enabling us to believe in God as our continuous creator.

Student Book pages 96–97: Read the introduction of "A Brief History of God's Covenant with the People" and the first selection "Covenant with Noah."  God's covenant with Noah was really a promise with all people who would follow him. In that one covenant, God's grace was given to all humankind.

Student Book page 111: Check out the "Noah's Ark" text and illustration. That's one BIG ARK!  

How many feet are there in a cubit. Then measure the height, width, and length of your bedroom (in cubits) and determine how many rooms that size would fit into the ark. Remember that just like the rules and formulas of math, there are rules for humans to follow in order to live together. Fortunately, there is God's unconditional love and mercy that we need when we have trouble living by the rules.

Cartoon Connection
Why is this a couple's cruise?

The cruise promises to be 40 days.  Is that promise too good to be true?
Would 40 days together on a boat be a good thing or a bad thing for your family?  Why? or Why not?

Life Connection

"I promise..." is something we say and hear a lot.  But many people take promises lightly and think nothing of breaking them.  Think of a time when someone broke a promise with you.  How did that make you feel?  In the next week, make an important promise to a friend or family member.  Make a point of keeping it.  How do kept promises make you feel? 

Quiz

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The point of the flood was to . . .

     a. show the effects of global warming.

     b. restore God's creation. 

     c. sell more arks.

     d. freshen up creation.

2. God chose to save Noah because . . .

     a. he already had a lot of pets.

     b. Noah "walked with God." 

     c. he was the best carpenter God could find.

     d. he had a large family that could repopulate the earth.

3. God decided not to destroy the world again with a flood because . . .

     a. people are imperfect and will always need rules and love. 

     b. another 40 days and nights of rain was too much to bear.

     c. new generations of people would be more God-fearing.

     d. it's not possible with people spread out in so many places.

4. A cubit is a measure of the distance roughly equal to . . .

     a. your ear to your big toe.

     b. your molars to your front teeth.

     c. your knee to your ankle.

     d. your elbow to your fingertip. 

True or False Questions

5. God told Noah to find a pair of every animal with the exception of the snake because it was cursed by God.

6. God's judgment returned creation to the watery chaos out of which it first arose.

7. The ark was built of gopher wood, a hardwood that no longer exists.

8. Mount Ararat, where some scholars say the ark probably landed, is in the country of Italy.

Use Genesis 6-9 to help you unscramble these words:

9.   IBWRAON

Reminds God not to flood the earth again.

10.  NNETCAVO

God made this with Noah

11.  RYFOT

It rained this many days and nights.

12.  MLSBASEEL

God considered Noah the last_________man on earth.

13.  SEWENCKIDS

God sent the flood because humankind was this.

14.  BTSICU

The ark was measured in these.

15.  GTIHE

This is how many people were on the ark.

16.  EIOVL

The dove came back with this leaf.

In Your Own Words

17.  God spared Noah and his family during the flood, but what happens to them after the flood? Read Genesis 9:18–28.

18.  The flood did not rid the world of sin, but it cleansed the world and allowed God and humanity a fresh start.   How can God's covenant keep you positive when you realize that you will always be a sinner?

19.  Besides the rainbow in this story, what other signs can you think of in Old Testament and New Testament stories?

20.  God didn't just save humans. Animals were included on the ark, too. What does God's commitment to saving animals mean for us?