Genesis Part 5
Discussion Guide
Flood
April 3 | Genesis Series Part 5
Overview
The story of Noah and the Ark is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. As modern readers we know the happy Sunday school retellings and songs that have been made about this troubling story. Ancients were very familiar with this story as well. In fact there are at least three other versions of the flood story from other people groups in the same geographic region and time period.
By going deeper, noticing and respecting the ancient cultural “river,” and by comparing the biblical telling of the story to other tellings, we can begin to allow aspects of the story that previously may have tripped us up to become pieces that help us understand the theological message being communicated.
And so what is the message behind the flood story? In the sermon, Ryan suggested these four ideas:
1) Gods motivation
In the other ancient tellings of this story, the gods act because humans are just being human (prospering, multiplying). In the biblical story God acts because humans are being inhuman—filled with evil, corruption, and violence.
2) God’s emotion
Genesis 6:5-7 shows that God acts not because he is filled with the anger of a tyrant, but because he is filled with the grief of a parent.
3) God’s role
In the other tellings of the story, some gods act in judgment and different gods want to preserve or act in mercy. In the biblical telling, God holds both the judgment and mercy in himself. God is a God of both justice and mercy.
4) God’s grace
However you take it, the story of the flood is not the story of happy kids’ songs. It is troubling; it is devastating. But there is good news. This story shows one of the most prominent themes in the Bible: mercy/grace.
In Genesis 3, God provides clothes for Adam and Eve. In Genesis 4, God provides protection for Cain. In the story of the flood, God saves Noah and his family and gives the rainbow as a promise. This ongoing movement of God toward us is mercy.
But this mercy is not cheap mercy, as in, “Don’t sweat it!” or “It’s all good! Don’t worry about it.” It is the mercy of, “*sigh*…I’m not giving up on you” or “I’ve seen what you’ve done, and it matters to me. But I’m still not giving up on you.” In all of our sin, injustice, carelessness, evil. Despite everything, he’s not giving up on us.
Questions for Discussion
There are many aspects of this story that trip us up from being able to get to the meaning: local vs. universal flood, the historical/mythical spectrum, the drastic judgment wiping out almost all living creatures, etc. What details trip you up most in this story? Do these details tend to make you want to go deeper into scripture and faith, or retreat farther? How does respecting the ancient cultural “river” help in this process?
In this season of your life with God, which of the 4 points mentioned (God’s motivation, God’s emotion, God’s role, God’s grace) is most “revealing” to you about God’s character? Do any of these alter or adjust the way you see God in your mind’s eye? How does it compare with your perception of God’s character based on previous teaching, experience, childhood, etc?
In your relationships with others, does the mercy you display tend to look more like the “Don’t sweat it! It doesn’t really matter!” type of mercy or the “I’ve seen what you’ve done, and it matters to me. But I’m still not giving up on you.” type of mercy? In the past how have you navigated pursuing reconciliation with someone you’ve been truly hurt by? Is there someone in your life who needs to hear you say to them, “I’m not giving up on you”?
Close in Prayer
Before you end your time, pray, asking the Spirit of God to fill and empower you. Take some time to pray for other prayer requests as they come up.
