Genesis Lesson 5

Acknowledgments
Living Logos was the heart-work of Bro
Dale Starks and Sis Josephine Starks,
missionaries to Singapore in the early
1980s. As the original authors of this
devotionals, the Starks meant for
these self-study materials to help new converts
(and matured saints alike) get a hold of an
understanding of God’s written Word. Since Sis
Stark’s passing in 2013, the couple had graciously
entrusted Tabernacle of Joy with its copyright.
Therefore, with every print run, we would like to
honour their life work and sacrifice in bringing the
gospel to Singapore. This copy is an updated and
revised version. Be blessed as you immerse yourself
in the Word and allow God to transform you into
the likeness of Jesus Christ.
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Lesson
Five
GENESIS
Genesis
SAVED BY THE WATER
THE CORRUPTION OF THE PEOPLE
After Cain killed his brother Abel, we read of no sincere
repentance - no desire on his part to choose the way of God.
Instead, we read:
And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord...
— GEnEsis 4:16
We can only take this to mean that Cain stopped all religious
practices. That means that the children he raised were not
taught to fear and love God. Through Cain’s bad example
and through the children’s lack of religious training, the bad
character of the father was passed on to his children. The
offspring (descendants) of Cain came to be called “the sons
and daughters of men.”
Meanwhile, God gave Eve another son in the place of Abel,
whom Cain had murdered. Seth grew up to be a God-fearing,
obedient son. Seth produced such men as Enoch, who lived
such a godly life that he was too good for this world. God took
him unto Himself, not by death, but by translation. Enoch
was one of two men (the other one was Elijah) who had never
tasted death, but was lifted up from this world and received
into heaven (Genesis 5:24, Hebrews 11:5).
These two men are a type of the saints who will be present on
earth when Jesus comes back for His church:
Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the
other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall
be taken, and the other left
— maTThEw 24:40, 41
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For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with
the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the
dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain

shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:
and so shall we ever be we be with the Lord.
— i ThEssalonians 4:16, 17
Noah was also of the seed of Seth. Enoch was his great-grandfather. The
Bible says of Noah that he was “...a just man and perfect in his generations,
and... walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). This was in great contrast to those
around him.
As long as the descendants of Cain (the daughters of men) and the
descendants of Seth (the sons of God) did not mix and mingle, the earth
was not entirely polluted by sin. The God-fearing seed of Seth acted as
“the salt of the earth” to preserve the earth from God’s judgements. But
eventually, these two groups did begin to intermarry, and this resulted in the
total corruption of the earth - except for Noah and his family.
This was the spiritual and moral condition of the earth before God sent the
great flood:
1. The wickedness of man was great, and the imagination of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5).
2. The earth was corrupt before God, and filled with violence (Genesis
6:11).
3. The people were involved in excessive eating, drinking, marrying and
divorcing (Matthew 24:37-38).
THE ONLY POSSIBLE SOLUTION
Since Noah and his family were the only ones who still feared God and
walked uprightly, God decided to send His judgement upon the earth and
cleanse it from all ungodliness, corruption, and violence. The result would
be a “new earth”. This was the purpose of the great flood.
God spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of
righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly
— ii PETEr 2:5
Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished
— ii PETEr 3:6
God’s plan was to replenish the earth with the seed of Noah.
God never sends judgement without providing an opportunity for people
to repent (turn from their sins and get right with God). Notice that Noah
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was called a preacher of righteousness. God warned Noah that He was going
to destroy the world by a great flood. He told him to build an ark, and gave
him the exact instructions for building it, including what size it was to be
(Genesis 6:14-16). While Noah was building, he was also preaching to the
people and warning them to turn from their sins, so that they could escape
the coming flood.
THE PLAN OF SALVATION REVEALED
There are several spiritual types found in this historical event:
1. The aRk is a Type of The chuRch of Jesus chRisT.
2. The aRk had ThRee sToRies (levels). These sToRies RepResenT The
gospel of Jesus chRisT and The RequiRemenTs foR obeying iT:
The Gospel is:
(I Corinthians 15:1-4)
The death of Jesus Christ for
our sins
The burial of Jesus Christ
The resurrection of Jesus
Christ
The Gospel Obeyed:
(Acts 2:38)
Repentance (dying out to sin)
Water Baptism (We are buried with
Christ, Romans 6:3-4)
We are filled with the Holy Spirit which
“resurrects” us to a new life.
3. The flood was a Type of waTeR bapTism:
... the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a
preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure
whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the
filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ
— i PETEr 3:20, 21
Take note that the above verses teach that baptism is essential for salvation!
4. Despite the size of the ark, there was only one door. This is because the
ark was a type of the church (God’s spiritual body), and the church has
only one door - one way to enter. Jesus said, “I am the door...” (John
10:9).
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THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST
The word “gospel” comes from the Greek word “euaggelion” and literally
means “a good message”, or “good news”. The good news is that God
became man and came into the world in the person of Jesus Christ to die
for our sins on the cross. He did not remain in the grave, but rose from the
dead three days later to become the living head of the church. The Christian
church is not founded upon the teachings of a good, but dead man. Our
founder is alive and well. He is Jesus Christ, the true God! Jesus said in the
book of Revelation:
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen;
and have the keys of hell and of death
— rEvElaTion 1:18
Hell is a terrible place of torment that God originally prepared for the
devil and his angels. However, after man’s fall in the Garden of Eden,
hell became the eternal dwelling-place for all who die without a right
relationship with God. Jesus tells us that He has the keys of hell and death.
This means that He has authority over hell and death. Don’t you want to be
friends with the One who has such authority?
NOAH’S FAITH IN GOD
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear,
prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the
world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith
— hEbrEws 11:7
According to Genesis 2:5-6, God had not yet caused it to rain upon the
earth. The earth was watered by a mist that came from the ground. As
far as we know, the first rain to fall was during the great flood. God told
Noah that He would cause it to rain for forty days and forty nights (Genesis
7:4). He would destroy “all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under
heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die” (Genesis 6:17).
To believe that such a flood was possible took great faith. It required even
greater faith for Noah to build the huge ark that he was instructed to make.
This huge boat was said to have been about 600 feet long, 100 feet wide and
60 feet high.
The reason the ark was so large was because it had to carry some of
every species of animals that were upon the face of the earth. Noah was
commanded to bring into the ark seven pairs (male and female) of every
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clean animal, and two (male and female) of every unclean animal. (The Jews
considered certain animals unfit to eat and offer as sacrifices. These were
called “unclean”).
Most of the animals were for the purpose of replenishing the earth after the
flood. The additional clean animals were for the offering of sacrifices and
for food, after the flood was over. Only after the great flood did God permit
the eating of animal flesh (Genesis 9:2-3).
When the ark was finished, God said:
Come thou and all thy house into the ark...
— GEnEsis 7:1
After Noah and his household entered into the ark, God shut the door.
Then:
...the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the
windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and
forty nights
— GEnEsis 7:11-12
Remember that the ark is a type of the church of Jesus Christ. Hundreds
of years after the great flood, Jesus issued an invitation to all to come unto
Him:
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden (have heavy burdens - sin,
sickness, sorrow), and I will give you rest
— maTThEw 11:28
Only if we have entered “the door” into the church of Jesus Christ will we
be safe from the coming judgements of God upon this earth. God will once
again shut the door, this time the door of salvation. His wrath will once
again be poured out upon the face of the earth.
NOAH’S DAY COMPARED TO OUR DAY
The world today is very much like it was in the days of Noah. Most people
are not that interested in serving God. They are caught up in “eating,
drinking, and making merry”. They are more interested in pleasing
themselves than they are in pleasing God. The divorce rate is increasing
all over the world. Crimes of violence are on the rise. Immorality is on the
rampage! The thoughts of men are continually on evil.

God will once again have to cleanse the earth--this time by fire (2 Peter
3:6-12). When will all of this happen? Jesus gives us a clue:
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For
as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying
and giving in marriage (divorcing), until the day that Noe (Noah) entered into
the ark; And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall
also the coming of the Son of man be
— maTThEw 24:37-39
If you have not prepared yourself for the second coming of Jesus Christ,
now is the time to do so! Now is the time to enter into the ark (the true
church of Jesus Christ) and be safe from the coming judgements of God.
The story of Noah and the ark is one of the most scientifically-proven stories
in the Bible. A study of the different layers of the earth has revealed that a
great flood did indeed take place thousands of years ago.
NOAH’S SONS
From Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the world became
repopulated. Noah, sometime after the great flood, began to practice
agriculture, and planted a vineyard. One day he drank of the fruit of the
vineyard in excess and became drunk. In his drunken state, he lay in his tent
naked. Ham, his youngest son, did not show proper respect to his father.
Instead of covering his father’s nakedness, it seems that he mocked him.
The other two, however, walked backwards into the tent, and covered their
father’s nakedness.
When Noah woke up and knew what his youngest son had done, he
pronounced a curse upon him, and a blessing upon his brothers. Ham
would become a servile race: “...a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren.” Shem’s descendants were to be blessed by God. From his seed,
the promised Messiah (Jesus Christ) would come. Japheth was promised that
God would enlarge him, and he would dwell in the tents of Shem. (Genesis
9:18-27)
The descendants of Ham settled largely in Africa and Arabia. The
descendants of Shem settled in Assyria, and the descendants of Japheth
travelled towards Asia Minor and Europe.
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TYPES, FIGURES, AND SHADOWS
One of the definitions of the word “type” is: “a person, thing, or event that
represents another, especially another which is to appear or happen later.”
One of the definitions of the word “shadow” is: “a sign or indication of
something to come.”
Included in the definitions of the word “figure” are: an outline or shape of
something; a likeness of a person or thing; an illustration, diagram, picture.
Types, shadows, and figures are used to teach spiritual events or truths of
greater importance than that event or thing itself.
Peter, in teaching the importance of water baptism, used the flood as an
example. He wrote that eight souls were saved by water, and this was a figure
of the importance of water baptism in regards to our salvation: “The like
figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us” (I Peter 3:21).
Taking this event in history for a spiritual lesson, we can also see how the
ark was a type of the church. They had to enter into it to be saved. We must
enter into the church (not the physical building, but the spiritual body) to
be saved. There was only one door in the ark, and it is the same with the
church. Jesus is the door! The three stories, as we have seen, represent the
three parts of the gospel — death, burial and resurrection.
In coming lessons, we shall see how Joseph, Moses, and Joshua were all
types of Jesus Christ. We shall study how the tabernacle with all of its
furnishings, the sacrifices, and all that makes up the Old Testament Law
that God gave to Moses are filled with spiritual truths, because the Law was
“...a shadow of good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1).
The Old Testament is not dull and boring when we realize that everything
that happened during the 2500 years of history covered by this book is an
example for us to learn by:
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for
our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come
— i CorinThians 10:11
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VOCABULARY
admonition —
advice, counsel, warning
translation —
contrast —
resurrection —
replenishing —
immorality —
violence —
here it means that act of being carried up to heaven
without death
a striking difference
a rising from the dead, or coming back to life
refilling
behaviour that is not good or decent, such as sexual
sins
chaos, disorder, riot, brutality
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Genesis
Lesson Five Test
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Did Cain repent after he killed his brother? _______________________
Why did Cain’s children grow up to be wicked and godless people?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
What did the descendants of Cain come to be called?
__________________________________________________________
What two men went to heaven without tasting death?
__________________________________________________________
How did the Bible describe the character of Noah?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
What did the descendants of Seth come to be called?
__________________________________________________________
Why did the earth become totally corrupt?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
What was the spiritual and moral condition of the earth before the great
flood?
9-10
What was Noah called and why?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
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11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
The ark is a type of __________________________________________.
The ark had three ____________________________________ and one
__________________________________.
The gospel is: (Name three things.)
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
We obey the gospel by: (Name three things.)
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
The flood was a type of _______________________________________
The word “gospel” means _____________________________________
The good news is that: _______________________________________
__________________________________________________________
How did Noah show his faith in God?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
How can the days of Noah be compared to our day?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
What was of special interest to you in this lesson?
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