Genesis 6
In this chapter, we see the reason for the Flood of Noah. We need to teach our kids that Satan is real, and since the Garden, when he tricked Adam and Eve, he knew that God would provide a Redeemer for mankind. In this chapter, we see that Satan's fallen angels (the Nephilim) which means "Fallen Ones" mated with the daughters of men. This created an abnormal offspring, which were big and powerful. If you think your kids are old enough to look into this further, show them the following passages to support this:
~1 Sam 17:40
~2 Sam 21:22
~Num 13:33
~2 Sam 21:22
~Num 13:33
Wild Bill Hickock wrote that it was legend among the tribes, that they feared these giants. They told Wild Bill about how these giants could run as fast as horses and buffalo and tear their limbs off with ease. This is also why in the movies, we would see an Indian greet a stranger by raising one hand up, and saying "How." It was told to Wild Bill that they did this to count the fingers on the stranger's hand...to make sure they weren't one of the Nephilim!
Continuing on, we see that Noah walked with God, and his family wasn't tainted by this genetic defect from the Nephilim. This is why God chose Noah and his family to replenish the earth after the flood.
In v. 13 and after, we see that God gave Noah direct measurements to house all the "kinds" of animals on the ark. Some skeptics claim that God couldn't have housed all the animals on earth...well...He didn't need to. God told Noah to take male and female of every "kind"...this means that Noah didn't have to take all the breeds of dogs, just one set, and they would replenish the earth. The dogs with short hair survived and thrived in the hotter climates, and the ones with shaggy fur did better in the colder climates...God didn't need to save all of them because those dogs in the ark had all the DNA traits in them to make more breeds for the future!
NOTE: To give your kids an idea of how big the ark was, tell them that a "cubit" was measured by the length from the fingertips to a person's elbow. Of course, not everyone is the same, but in general, a cubit would be around 18 inches in length.
If we take this standard, then the ark would have been over 97,000 square feet, and would hold over 520 train boxcars!!! God provided plenty of room (See picture above to see size comparisons).
Genesis 7
There are a lot of neat things here too...I will list some that I think are key for our kids to understand the reason and results of the flood:
~two of every kind, but seven of every clean kind of animal (for food and sacrifices)
~God said, "Come into the ark" ...not "Go into the ark" - God was inside with them! This is a type of the Holy Spirit, when we accept Christ and allow Him to be our LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit dwells inside us, and He keeps us from damnation and spiritual death.
~rain for 40 days and nights (see Matthew 4) Numbers represent things in the Bible...40 means testing or judgement
~I describe the flood to my kids, but showing them that the earth had a water canopy in the sky, and great amounts of water in the earth's core. When God released both, an incredible amount of water rushed upon the earth and flooded everything quickly.
(v.19) shows us that the WHOLE EARTH was flooded, even above all the highest hills! This was not a local or regionalized flood, it covered the whole globe! This explains the Grand Canyon's deep gorges...when the water receded, the rush carved out great canyons in a short time.
(v.16) shows us that God was in the ark with Noah and his family...God shut them in the ark...He didn't close it from the outside, he closed it from inside! How truly comforting that is when we face our own storms of life...He is there with us!
NOTE: Every kid wants to know if God put dinosaurs on the ark. The Bible doesn't explicitly list them, but it doesn't for any particular "kind" so we can't know for sure. What I do tell my kids, however, is that dinosaurs are mentioned in the Bible (Job 40:15-19). Noah didn't have to put adult T-Rex dinosaurs into the ark, all he had to do was put babies or even dinosaur eggs, and the "kind" would survive the flood!!!
I also explain why they died off...as we read in Genesis 1, there was a water canopy in the sky, which insulated the earth from UV rays, and enabled the earth to have much higher amounts of oxygen in the air. We also know that the whole earth was tropical, since even today's ice regions, mammoths have been found frozen with tropical vegetation in their mouths!
From archaeology, we know that even the biggest dinosaurs only had nostrils the same size as a modern-day horse. Before the flood, with the rich oxygen-filled air, and the water canopy protecting the earth from extreme UV rays, the dinosaurs didn't have to inhale hard to get enough oxygen into their huge lungs. But after the flood, all that changed. They had to do many big breaths just to get the equivalent oxygen as one previous breath. This is why many scientists and Bible scholars feel that the big dinosaurs couldn't have survived too long after the flood...only the smaller ones who didn't have such huge lungs would survive...like the crocodiles and alligators, for example.
There is much more that we talk about, but I suggest you look at these sites for more valuable info:
Genesis 8
(v.4) Why did God bother to tell us the month and day of the week for when the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat? Well, if we do our homework, we see that Jesus rose from the grave on the very same day, all those years later! In each case, God provided a "New Beginning" on that day!
Note: The correct wording here is "mountains of Ararat" not Mount Ararat. This is why, many Bible scholars believe that the ark of Noah is really in the high mountains of Iran...not in Turkey like tradition has it. I recommend this website if you wish to look into this further:
NOTE: My kids asked me how the whole earth was populated after the flood. I told them, that after the flood, much of the earth was exposed, allowing for people to travel to all the ends of the earth. Then, when God raised the mountains, and lowered the valleys, the waters rushed and created many of the beautiful landscapes we see all over the globe. By then, the earth had people on all the newly established continents, and they procreated from there. For further study on this, please see a great website by Ken Ham called Answers in Genesis
Genesis 9
(v.3) We see here that this is the first time that God has allowed mankind to eat animal flesh. Up until now, man only ate vegetables and breads. I love my steak and burgers, but we can see that man lived longer if he only ate fruit and vegetables...food for thought as they say!
(v.6) God here ordains capital punishment, or the death penalty, if someone willingly sheds innocent blood.
The rest of the chapter, God tells Noah that He will never again destroy the earth by water, and He gives as a sign a rainbow. Not only are rainbows pretty, but it's also nice for us to remember that God is in control and keeping to His promises to us! However, when we get to Revelation, we see that God will destroy the earth by fire, instead of with water.
Genesis 10
This chapter can be, admittedly, fairly boring to us, with all the names listed. However, if we step back and look at it, God is providing proof that these people lived, and His plan of redemption for us started with Noah, all the way to Christ!!!
(v.24) Here we see when the earth had a major shift, and the great oceans were formed as I mentioned a few chapters ago. Peleg means "divided"
Genesis 11
(v.3) We see that man decided to reach up to Him and give themselves a lofty stature. The Tower of Babel is the epitome of man trying to reach God, and it's the birthplace of idolatry and where Satan's throne is. We will never learn unless we accept Jesus, and let Him come to us!
(v.5) Notice that the Lord came "down" to earth
(v.7) Another reference to the Holy Trinity..."Come, let Us go down and confuse their language."
No comments:
Post a Comment