Lesson 7 : Wasted Warnings

Today’s
“And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him to heart…
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 6:6, 8 ESV

Looking Forward
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
 Identify the reasons why the Flood was a necessary act of God’s part.
 Recognize God’s love for humanity in warning of the Flood and providing salvation.

The Portal
SIGNS OF DANGER

Provide possible signs of calamities.

Volcanic eruption -

Tsunami -

Rain Storm -

Guide Questions:
What should be the best way to do if there are signs of danger?
What usually happen if we are not prepared?
How important is the attitude of preparedness?
How should we live when we are witnessing the signs of Jesus return?

Signs are very useful especially when we don’t know what to do. For instance, during
our trips, we need road signs to know what directions should we take. However, there are also
signs that warn us about coming disasters. What we should do is to prepare. But, sadly, there
are still who are not listening to the signs, simply because, for them, it is a usual event.
This lesson will help us understand warning signs. There is a great danger if we do not
take heed to the signs that we heard and we’ve witness. Humbleness is the key for us to listen
to its warnings. Come and let us discover a story from the past.

Adapted from: M o u n t a i n V i e w C o l l e g e A c a d e m y Page1|

 The Journey

THE WORLD BECAME VERY WICKED

After Adam and Eve went out from the Garden of Eden, they bore children, and their
children bore children, and these children bore another generation. From a couple came a
nation. Finally, Adam and Eve rested in the sleep of death, and the humans continued to survive
and multiplied. However, because of sin, people started to become so wicked that they only
think of evil in their hearts.
One day, God looked on the earth, and indeed, evil flourished that even God was sorry
that humanity existed. God could not bear the corruption and misery caused by human
sinfulness.

“He was filled with regret that He said, “I will wipe out these people I have created, and
also the animals and the birds,
because I am sorry that I made any of
them” (Genesis 6:6, 7).

God did not made man so that they

will sin, but because of their freedom
of choice, they decided to do evil than
that of the good. This grieved the
heart of the loving Creator, for He had
no other choice but to destroy them.
Why? For if God would allow them to
live, then the world would only know
evil and not good. So, God decided to
destroy the earth.

GOD CHOSE NOAH TO SAVE THE

EARTH

However, a few of Adam’s descendants, like lights that shines on top of the mountain,
had kept alive the knowledge of God. It was Noah and his family. “And Noah found favor in the
eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). So, God told Noah that He planned to destroy the earth but to
save Noah and his family because they kept the knowledge about God’s love. Even though God
will destroy humanity, He will save Noah’s family to let the human race survive and with the
knowledge of their Creator.
God will send a worldwide Flood. For Noah to escape from this great catastrophe, God
instructed Noah to build an ark. God gave him the exact specifications. Constructed like the hull
of a ship to float on the water, and the top resembles like of a house. Even, though Noah was
the only righteous man, God gave Noah the task to warn the people and urge them to repent, so
that when they repent, they too can escape the great catastrophe.

THE BUILDING OF THE ARK

Noah used a very strong wood in building the ark, the Gopher wood. This wood is so
strong that it could resist decay for centuries. Inside the ark, Noah built compartments to house
every kind of animal and bird and those people who would come to be saved. These are the
dimensions of the ark:

450 feet long (300 cubits)

75 feet wide (50 cubits)
45 feet high (30 cubits)

Noah built the ark for 120 years. This was made on dry ground, and so people came to see its
unusual sight. While people gathered to watch the construction, it was an opportunity for Noah
to preach.
The first time Noah preached about the flood, the people believed, but since the
construction of the ark was slow, people began to doubt about the flood as years passed by.
Within those years of construction, Noah did not stop giving them warning that they may repent
and the flood will not come. But, instead of realizing their evil, they laughed at Noah and his
message about the flood, for at that time, no rain fell on the earth. Only the dew-like mist would
water the plants every day. So, the idea of building the ark for a great flood, is an act of
foolishness.

THOSE INSIDE THE ARK AND THE FLOOD

Finally, the ark is ready. For 120 years they

watched and listened to Noah’s preaching.
After the ark was finished, Noah preached his
last message to urge them to repent, but they
only laughed and would not take heed.
Suddenly, a huge group of different animals
that walked and creeped on the ground came
like soldiers, marching towards the ark.
Elegant groups of birds came as well from the
skies. People were captivated of this
phenomenal sight. Children were excited to
watch as each kind of animals with their pair
marched inside the ark that Noah built. Those
animals who entered the ark were divided into
two groups, the clean and the unclean. God said,

“Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its female, and a pair of
the animals that are not clean…the birds of the heaven also” (Genesis 7:2-3).

From the people, only the family of Noah were saved, eight of them. Noah and his wife,
his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth and their wives. These are the only ones who escaped
the flood. And from them, came the population of the world today. For seven days, the animals
and birds settled inside the ark. Noah and his family guided each of the animals in their place.
After the seven days, an angel from heaven came down and shut the massive door of the ark. It
was so sad that within those days, the people were not moved to get into the ark, even with the
great event.
For another seven days, Noah, his family, and the creatures inside the ark waiting for the
rain to fall. Outside, people are mocking them and making fun of them. But on the eighth day,
dark clouds filled the sky. Thunders rumbling and lightnings flashing. It was the first time the
people witnessed the lightning and heard the rumbling of the thunder.
 Then, giant drops of water fell from the
sky. Slowly, the water began to grow until it
covered the whole earth. People shouted to
Noah that they may enter, but to no avail, for the
massive door is already shut. People and the
earth were destroyed.
It rained forty days and forty nights. While the
world outside is in chaos, Noah, his family, and
the creatures were safe inside the ark. When the
rain stopped, the ark floats peacefully on the
water. For months, those inside the ark waited
patiently when God will open the doors of the ark.
After one year and ten days, they finally walked
again on dry ground.
Noah’s first act after getting out of the ark was to worship God. And so, Noah and his
family worshiped God and offered an offering. God responded by giving them a rainbow,
symbolizes God’s promise or covenant to not send a flood that will destroy the earth again.

LIFE AFTER THE FLOOD

Noah and his family are the only ones on earth but not for long the earth is filled with
people again. Ham’s descendants settled in Egypt and Africa; Shem’s in Canaan; Japheth’s in
Asia Minor and Southern Russia. As people grew in number, others became hostile toward God
while others remain faithful to God. The lives of the righteous people made the wicked feel
uneasy, and so, they separated themselves.
The righteous people continued in praising God, and they were called the sons of God.
But the righteous people determined to make an independent government where God is not
present. The wicked people were known as the sons of man. These wicked people, in the
leadership of Nimrod, built a tall tower called Babel. This
is their act of defiance against God. Fearing that God
might send another flood to destroy the wicked, they built
the tower so high so that the waters of the flood would not
reach them.
The tower of Babel (confusion) was probably a
ziggurat. The term ziggurat comes from the Babylonian
term which means, “mountain top.” Ziggurats were
massive towers that is almost the same as the pyramids.
Two kinds of ziggurats have been uncovered by
archaeologists. One was a square or a rectangle, built
like boxes on top of each other. As it gets higher, the size of the square or rectangle got smaller.
The second kind of ziggurat is shaped like a cylinder with a spiral stairs or ramp curving around
it to the top. The top of each ziggurat was used as a shrine of the god.
God saw that these people were determined to defy Him, God struck the builders with
confusion. That resulted to different kinds of language. Since, they were not able to understand
each other, the building of the Tower of Babel was not finished.
Even after God cleansed the earth, the results of sin are still evident and until today, we
still can see its results. But praised be to God for His mercy and grace that even we are sinners,
God called us to follow Him. Will you follow God?

Apply the concepts by doing Activity 1.

 Deeper Look
c

ACTIVITY #1: THE PEOPLE BEFORE AND AFTER THE FLOOD

1. What were people like before the Flood? List as many specific characteristics you can
find. Refer to the lesson story, the quotation below, and Genesis 6:5, 11, 12.

“Neither the marriage relation nor the rights of property were respected…They delighted
in destroying the life of animals” (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 92).

2. Some people on earth still worshiped God.

a. Why did God choose Noah? Genesis 6:9

b. Why was it important for God to tell human beings of His plans? Amos 3:7

3. Noah was not the only follower of God on earth. Who else believed in the coming Flood?

“Amid the prevailing corruption, Methuselah, Noah, and many others labored to keep
alive the knowledge of the true God and to stay the tide of moral evil…Enoch had
repeated to his children what God had shown him in regard to the Flood, and
Methuselah and his sons, who lived to hear the preaching of Noah, assisted in building
the ark” (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 92)

4. What was God’s covenant to Noah after the Flood?

5. The Babel builders rejected God and His covenant.

a. What does the word Babel mean? Use a dictionary and Genesis 11:4 to help you.

b. Why did people build the Tower of Babel? Genesis 11:4

c. Why did God scatter the Babel builders? Genesis 11:6

 BOOSTERS
LISTEN TO THE SIGNS
In Matthew 24, Jesus enumerated the signs of His soon return. All of the signs have now been fu