The Lord's Prayer
Daily Bible Studies for the Week of July 27, 2009
This Week’s Scripture: Genesis 6:9-9:19 (Selected Passages)
9This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. 10Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. 12God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt. 13So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!
14“Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. 15Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 16Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper.
17“Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die. 18But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 19Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. 20Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive. 21And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals.”
22So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him. Genesis 6:9-22 NLT
1When everything was ready, the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I can see that you alone are righteous. 2Take with you seven pairs—male and female—of each animal I have approved for eating and for sacrifice, and take one pair of each of the others. 3Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird. There must be a male and a female in each pair to ensure that all life will survive on the earth after the flood. 4Seven days from now I will make the rains pour down on the earth. And it will rain for forty days and forty nights, until I have wiped from the earth all the living things I have created.”
5So Noah did everything as the LORD commanded him. Genesis 7:1-5
11When Noah was 600 years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the underground waters erupted from the earth, and the rain fell in mighty torrents from the sky. 12The rain continued to fall for forty days and forty nights. 13That very day Noah had gone into the boat with his wife and his sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth—and their wives. 14With them in the boat were pairs of every kind of animal—domestic and wild, large and small—along with birds of every kind. 15Two by two they came into the boat, representing every living thing that breathes. 16A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD closed the door behind them. Genesis 7:11-16 NLT
1But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock with him in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the earth, and the floodwaters began to recede. 2The underground waters stopped flowing, and the torrential rains from the sky were stopped. 3So the floodwaters gradually receded from the earth. After 150 days, 4exactly five months from the time the flood began, the boat came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5Two and a half months later, as the waters continued to go down, other mountain peaks became visible. Genesis 8:1-5 NLT
13Noah was now 601 years old. On the first day of the new year, ten and a half months after the flood began, the floodwaters had almost dried up from the earth. Noah lifted back the covering of the boat and saw that the surface of the ground was drying. 14Two more months went by, and at last the earth was dry! 15Then God said to Noah, 16“Leave the boat, all of you—you and your wife, and your sons and their wives. 17Release all the animals—the birds, the livestock, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—so they can be fruitful and multiply throughout the earth.” 18So Noah, his wife, and his sons and their wives left the boat. 19And all of the large and small animals and birds came out of the boat, pair by pair. 20Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose. 21And the LORD was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things. 22As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.” Genesis 8:13-22 NLT
1Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth. 2All the animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, all the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the fish in the sea will look on you with fear and terror. I have placed them in your power. 3I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables. Genesis 9:1-3 NLT
12Then God said, “I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come. 13I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth. 14When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, 15and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. 16When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.” 17Then God said to Noah, “Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth.” Genesis 9:12-17 NLT
Monday
Prayer: Our Heavenly Father, as we read and reflect on Noah’s life and how You used him to preserve a remnant of humanity, I pray that I will be inspired to live in Your ways, and to preserve Your will in my sphere of influence to Your glory and praise! This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Reflection on God’s Word: Genesis 6:9-22 NLT (Read from Scripture list above)
What separated Noah from all the other people on the earth?
How did Noah respond to God’s plan to destroy the earth?
Today’s Challenge: Empowered by the Holy Spirit I will do everything exactly as God commands me today!
Tuesday
Prayer: Our Heavenly Father, again today I see that Noah did everything exactly as You commanded! Again, I pray that You will empower me by Your Holy Spirit that I may do everything exactly as You command today that You may be glorified in my life. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Reflection on God’s Word: Genesis 7:1-5 NLT (Read from Scripture list above)
How did God propose to preserve a remnant of humanity and the animals on the earth, after the great flood?
How did Noah respond to this plan?
Today’s Challenge: Empowered by the Holy Spirit I will again live this day doing everything exactly as God commands!
Wednesday
Prayer: Our Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your amazing plan to preserve humanity and animals on the earth! While the story is incredible, I know that nothing is too hard for You—the Creator of all that exists! I praise You for who You are and all You do! This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Reflection on God’s Word: Genesis 7:11-16 NLT (Read from Scripture list above)
What was the result of Noah’s obedience in practical terms when the flood came?
Why do you think many people see this account as a “myth”? Do you?
Today’s Challenge: I will trust in God no matter what takes place around me today!
Thursday
Prayer: Our Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your watchful care over the ark and for You amazing plan to continue humanity and the animal world, even after the darkness of human sin nearly caused You to destroy us! This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Reflection on God’s Word: Genesis 8:1-5 NLT (Read from Scripture list above)
What does this account tell us about God’s ability to “plan ahead”?
How do you think you would have responded if you had been in Noah’s place after 150 days on the ark?
Today’s Challenge: I will trust in God and His plan for life, knowing that He ALWAYS knows what’s best!
Friday
Prayer: Our Heavenly Father, the first response of an obedient heart is always worship and praise! Thank You for having Noah demonstrate that as the first act of a “new humanity” coming off the ark. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and let me follow You faithfully in all I think, say and do today! This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Reflection on God’s Word: Genesis 8:13-22 NLT (Read from Scripture list on inside page)
How did Noah respond to finally being able to set foot on land?
How did God respond to Noah’s sacrifice?
Today’s Challenge: I will offer a sacrifice of praise to God for all He is and all He does in my life!
Saturday
Prayer: Our Heavenly Father, Thank You for re-establishing humanity on the earth through Noah! Thank You for not giving up on us even when we obviously deserved for You to give up on us. Thank You for eventually sending Jesus in order to redeem us again and to give us the ultimate hope of eternal life with You! All this I pray in His name. Amen.
Reflection on God’s Word: Genesis 9:1-3; 12-17 NLT (Read from Scripture list on inside page)
How is God’s command to Noah and his family different from God’s command to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1? How is it the same?
What was the sign of God’s covenant with Noah?
Today’s Challenge: I will honor God by obeying Him in all His commands to me!