Genesis 1-11: Obedience - Following the Will of God
INTRODUCTION.
A. From the beginning, God has been gracious to man.
1. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" and prepared a place for man to dwell. (Chart 1)
2. God created man and gave him everything he would ever need. (Chart 2)
B. From the beginning God has desired that man obey Him and follow His will. Unfortunately, obedience has not always been the will of man as we will see in this lesson.
C. From Genesis 1 to 11, we see four different examples of God wanting man to obey and man choosing not to obey.
I. GOD'S WILL FOR ADAM AND EVE WAS OBEDIENCE.
A. In the instructions God gave to Adam and Eve (2:15-17), there was one instruction (command) which involved them making a choice. (chart 3)
1. Adam and Eve could eat of the trees in the garden.
2. Adam and Eve could not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
3. The consequence for making the wrong choice was death, separation from God.
B. Despite God's will for them, Adam and Eve chose to eat of the forbidden tree. (3:1-7) (chart 3)
1. The serpent deceived Eve and she ate of the tree.
2. Eve gave the fruit to her husband and he ate of the fruit.
C. As promised by God, there were consequences for their disobedience. (3:8-19) (chart 3)
1. The serpent was cursed to crawl upon the face of the ground.
2. The woman's pain in child birth would be multiplied and she would have to be in subjection to her husband.
3. God told man that he would have to work by the sweat of his brow to provide food until the day he dies.
4. As a final consequence, God drove Adam and Eve from the garden.
D. God did not ask much of Adam and Eve. God wanted their obedience. When making the only true choice, Adam and Eve decided to follow the will of the serpent.
E. In this tragic scene of disobedience, there is seen a glimmer of hope in a reference to the coming savior. (3:15) (chart 3)
II. GOD'S WILL FOR CAIN AND ABLE WAS BROTHERLY LOVE.
A. Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. (4:1-2) (chart 4)
1. Cain was a tiller of the ground.
2. Abel was a keeper of sheep.
B. In the process of time, Cain and Abel brought a sacrifice to the Lord. (4:3-7) (chart 4)
1. Cain brought an offering from the fruit of the ground. The Lord did not have respect for Cain's offering.
2. Abel brought an offering from the firstlings of his flock and of their fat. The Lord had respect for Abel's offering.
3. Cain became upset with God's reaction and God challenged him.
C. In anger, Cain rose up against Abel and killed him. (4:8) (chart 4)
D. God punished Cain for his sin. (4:9-15) (chart 4)
E. In this relationship of two brothers who set out to serve God by offering sacrifices to Him, we see one brother choosing not to abide by God's will. Cain violated the will of God when he killed his brother Abel.
III. GOD'S WILL WAS FOR MAN TO CALL UPON HIS NAME.
A. The Lord wanted man to follow Him and to obey Him.
1. According to 4:26, after Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, was born, men began to call on the name of the Lord.
2. In the genealogy of Adam listed in Genesis 5, we see at least two righteous men, Enoch and Noah. (cf. 5:24) (chart 5) Note: Other men such as Seth and Enoch very well may have been faithful. However, the immediate text definitely points out Enoch and Noah as having been faithful.
B. In the process of time, as "men began to multiply on the face of the earth," men began to stray from the will of the Lord. (chart 6)
1. The reason for man's sinfulness seems to be blamed on bad influence. (6:1-3)
2. The extent of man's wicked was this: Every thought of man was wicked. (6:5)
3. The Lord decided to destroy man off the face of the earth. (6:6-7)
4. In all of the great wickedness seen upon the earth, one man stood out as being righteous. This man was Noah. (6:8-10)
C. Because of man's exceedingly wickedness, the Lord decided to destroy the earth and every living thing on it. (6:11-13) (chart 6)
D. The Lord chose to use a flood to destroy man and all the animals from off the face of the earth. (vs 14-7:24) (chart 6)
1. The Lord gave Noah instructions on how to build the ark and what to take on the ark.
a. The ark was to be built out of gopher wood and was to be 450 feet long, 75 feet deep, and 45 feet wide. (6:14-16)
b. Noah was to take 7 pairs of clean (male and female per pair) and 1 pair of unclean (male and female per pair). Noah was also to take food on the ark. (6:17-7:5)
2. In the 600th year of Noah's life, in the 2nd month and the 17th day, the Lord broke open the fountains of the deep and the windows of heavens were opened. (7:11)
3. In the 601st year of Noah's life, in the 2nd month and the 27th day, one year and 10 days later, the earth was dried. (8:14)
E. The Lord gave Noah instructions and then made a covenant with him. (9:1-17) (chart 6)
1. The Lord promised to never cut off all flesh by the waters of the flood.
2. The Lord used His rainbow as a sign of this covenant.
F. Thankfully, Noah was a man of righteousness, a preacher of righteousness. (cf. II Pet. 2:5) Noah chose to abide by the Lord's will for him. Because of Noah's faithfulness, Noah and his family was saved.
CONCLUSION.
A. After the flood, when Noah and his family had the responsibility of repopulating the earth, one might think that man would have decided to follow God. He did not.
1. Consider the incident with Noah and his son Ham. (9:18-27)
2. Consider also the will of the people with the building of the tower of Babel. (11:1-9) (chart 7)
a. The Lord had told Noah to "be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth." (cf. 9:1)
b. The descendants of Noah chose to do otherwise. As a result, God confused their language so that they would be forced scatter abroad over the face of all the earth.
B. Man's sinfulness continued throughout history as a study of the Old and New Testament would show. The only way for man to be redeemed was for God to send His Son, Jesus, to be the perfect sacrifice for man. This Jesus would be born of a woman and He would be from the lineage of Noah. (11:10-32) (chart 8)
C. In the next lesson, we will consider the righteousness of Abraham and his descendants and God's promise to them.
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Genesis 1-11: Obedience - Following the Will of God (Old Testament Series) - January 3, 1999
by John M. Duvall -- Lawton, OK