LESSON TWO
The Flood and God’s Covenant with Noah
Although God makes everything good, sin enters the world and death spreads to all people. The beginning of this story of the flood summarizes the world’s condition: humanity steadily sinks deeper into spiritual darkness and moral confusion, grieving the very heart of God.
This story introduces us to twin realities that will be woven together through the fabric of Scripture: God’s just judgments and God’s gracious covenant-promises. God is just, so he must judge sinners. Yet he also abounds in mercy and remains committed to his plan to rescue his people and renew all things. Through the flood we see his devastating judgment; through his covenant with Noah we see his abounding mercy. God carries Noah’s family through the waters of judgment and then commissions mankind to be fruitful and multiply under his blessing once again.
God will patiently unfold his plan of incredible grace in the midst of this judgment-deserving world.
God’s covenant with Noah and creation sets the stage for the rest of the story. God shows that even though every generation of sinners deserves judgment, he will not again send a flood like this. Instead he will patiently unfold his plan of incredible grace in the midst of this judgment-deserving world.