Certain Conditions Are Changed Now that the Flood is Over; The Institution of Capital Punishment for the Proper Functioning of Human Government
Genesis 9:1-7

Lesson 20

background notes

doctrinal points

1. Eating meat has a biblical basis.

2. Capital punishment has a biblical basis.

practical application
1. Let God worry about population control.

 

questions
1. What was the greatest catastrophe this world has ever seen?

2. Was the flood a local flood confined to the Mesopotamian Valley, or was it a world wide flood?

3. What does a conglomerate mountain have to do with Genesis 6-8?

4. Explain the Biblical basis for eating meat. Was there always such a basis?

5. Does support of capital punishment entail a low view of life, or a high view of life? Substantiate your answer.

6. What are the differences between the Mosaic Covenant and the Noahic Covenant? 

answers
1. The world wide flood of Noah’s day, described in Genesis 6-8.

2. It was a world wide flood. See 2 Peter 3:3-6.

3. Some large mountains are composed completely of conglomerate. All geologists agree that conglomerates are deposited by rapidly moving waters. The existence of high mountains throughout the world composed completely of continuous conglomerate requires a large and universal flood. Moreover, some of the conglomerate mountains contain fish fossils from top to bottom. This is further evidence of a world wide flood.

4. After the flood, God gave man permission to eat meat. See Genesis 9:2-4. However, it wasn’t always that way. Before the flood, God told both man and animals that He had given them every herb and tree and fruit. See Genesis 1:29-30.

5. The basis for capital punishment is the creation of man in the image of God is a high view of life.  According to the Bible, a person who murders forfeits his own life, emphasizing. The sanctity of life. See Genesis 9:5-6.

6. The Mosaic Covenant ended with Christ. We are no longer bound by the regulations of the Law of Moses. God’s moral principles in the law never changed, but the civil and ceremonial regulations and penalties are not the same today as they were under Mosaic Law. The Noahic Covenant was given for all mankind, for all nations, for all time.

 

discuss / consider
1. The death penalty has been reinstated in some states. Does this mean there has been a return to the biblical basis for capital punishment? Why was capital punishment given in the first place? When was it instituted?

2. God gave man permission to eat meat. There is an on-going controversy over the hunting of deer and other wild animals. What are your thoughts on this? What does God say?

 

challenge
1. God commanded Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. God gave the same command to Noah.  Today, many issues are raised by about population explosions, such as the adequacy about earth’s food supply and the overcrowding in cities. What is your answer?

memorize

• “God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth’.” Genesis 9:1

• “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you.” Genesis 9:3

• “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.” Genesis 9:6