Genesis 8 details the earth drying up and returning to normal inhabitable conditions, and God directs Noah to now "leave the boat" with his family and the animals. The end of this chapter was the most remarkable to me, especially the poetic promises of God's provision and protection in verse 22. We are reminded of God's amazing love and unimaginable patience with men, saving them though "every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood" .

Genesis 7 is the account of the flood and how God protected Noah's family and some of the animals. I noticed a few aspects in this chapter that demonstrated God's sovereignty and His faithfulness. First, the historical account of the events match exactly the way the Lord told Noah that they would occur and every promise was fulfilled to Noah. There is an obvious emphasis on this throughout the chapter , with details and timing of events repeated. Also, the phrase , "as the Lord had commanded", is repeated several times. I found it interesting that even the animals were described as doing exactly as they had been commanded by the Lord. I was also reminded of one of my favorite details of this story , that "the Lord shut them in" before the rain and floods began. Finally, in the last four verses of the chapter , essentially the same statement is repeated four times -- "all the living things on earth died", "everything died that breathed and lived" , "every living thing on earth was wiped out", "people, animals large and small, and birds...they were all destroyed". Maybe this emphasis was for those who might in future days doubt the vastness of the destruction or the severity of God's judgment on the wickedness of mankind of that time.

Genesis 6 provides a brief historical background of the spiritual conditions of mankind during the days of Noah and the response of God. The chapter says there was a great number of people by now that filled the earth, but the Lord observed that nearly all were evil. God found that the earth had become corrupt and the extent of the people’s wickedness and violence made him sorry that He had ever made them. “It broke His heart and the Lord said, ‘I will completely wipe out this human race’...But Noah found favor with the Lord”. Interestingly, the bible describes Noah almost exactly like Enoch. “He consistently followed God’s will and enjoyed a close relationship with Him”. God says, “Make a boat... I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing... But I solemnly swear to keep you safe in the boat with your wife and your sons and (their) wives.” This wasn’t much like how God rewarded Enoch , but God protected and provided for His faithful servants just the same. The chapter ends with , “So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him”. Though Noah was not perfect, he demonstrates remarkable faithfulness and obedience and is an encouraging example for us in our daily pursuit of a close walk with God.

Genesis 5 mostly just provides the genealogy of the descendants of Adam, but there are also some other things to be learned from this chapter. First, the idea of sons being formed "in the likeness" of their father is repeated here again three more times, which seems to imply that it deserves further consideration. I think there is more to this phrase than simply physical evidence of genetics transfered to descendants. Much beyond that, I think it is another expression of God's love in creating every human being in His likeness----which I think says to us that He desires each and every one of us to be a part of His family and become a child of God. Second, there are a lot of names of specific individuals here that we are only given their names and how long they lived, but I don't think they are there simply as "FYI". Some of the individuals will have more details related about their lives in other places in scripture, but many we never learn anything about them. Maybe we learn from this that all people are important to God. Next, there is an individual named Enoch , whom it says twice "walked with God" (v.22 and V24. NIV). Some translations say he "walked in God's ways", "walked habitually with God", "lived in close fellowship" , and "enjoyed a close relationship" with God, but they all seem to imply that this man had an exceptional life of consistent obedience and intimate devotedness to the Lord. It says in v.24 that God "took him", meaning that he suddenly disappeared one day. Maybe this was his reward---since he lived in constant fellowship with his heavenly Father, maybe God allowed him to skip the typical human death process. Though we know little of Enoch, we can be encouraged to model his walk with God. Lastly, this chapter ends with an introduction to Noah, whom Lamech (his father) prophesied " will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed". The story of Noah's obedience to God is told in the next chapter, but here we get a glimpse of the "deliverance" that Noah brings for the faithful family of God.

Genesis 4 is about Cain and Abel and the evidence of the sin nature which descended down to all mankind as a consequence of the "fall". Cain acted out of jealous anger and indifference to the Lord in the murder of his brother. Cain's hardened behavior and response to the Lord's correction lead to even greater punishment, yet the Lord showed compassion and grace in His protection of Cain's life. The chapter closes with the birth of Seth, "God has granted me another son in place of Abel, the one Cain killed". We are told that Seth had a son, Enosh, and "during his lifetime the people first began to worship the Lord".

Genesis 3 is "the fall" account that details the first sin of mankind, which destroyed the perfect fellowship that man had originally been privileged to experience with God and all creation. The consequences of betraying God affected each of the relationships that were initially ideal (Gen 2), but now were cursed. Adam and Eve had given in to the temptations of Satan and were fooled into believing that their way was better than God's. As a result, all of mankind became thereafter "fallen" and in need of God's grace and forgiveness to restore fellowship with Him.

Genesis 2 elaborates the creation events, especially in regard to man's role and purpose. The emphasis of this chapter seems to center around four new relationships: between man and his Lord, man and the earth, man and the animals, and finally man and his wife (marriage). In this chapter God is referred to as "LORD", reflecting a more personal relationship that has been established. God "breathed into (man's) nostrils the breath of life", illustrating the beginning of this intimate relationship. His Lord planted a garden where He made all kinds of trees "that were pleasing to the eye and good for food" and He placed man in the garden "to work it and take care of it". Then the Lord formed all the beasts and birds and every living creature and brought them to the man, yet for him "no suitable helper was found". So, the Lord made a woman and brought her to the man, since God found that it was "not good for the man to be alone". The "man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame", since they had an entirely transparent relationship with nothing to hide and they shared a complete oneness described as "one flesh". So, man had a very special intimate relationship with God and all of creation in the garden, and enjoyed perfect fellowship. Then God gave him one command, that he must not eat from the "tree of knowledge of good and evil", thus giving man a choice to obey his Lord.