Asian Fellowship teacher: Ed van Ouwerkerk Today’s topic: Man’s sin nature demonstrated in two events in history, including God’s salvation plan.

Remember what we have read and discussed last week. In Genesis chapter 2 we have read the detailed account of the ‘crown on God’s creation’. What was that? * the creation of the first human, he was called... Adam the knowledge of good and evil die God planted a garden and brought Adam there with instructions. God said: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of , for when you eat of it you will surely... ”

The devil, a fallen angel, came to Eve in the form of a Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her (Eve) to the man. serpent/snake Thus, deceived by the devil, Eve and Adam ate the fruit of the tree from which they shouldn’t eat. Through that act of disobedience to God (not the eating of the fruit itself)... and came into the world. sinful nature and made Eve doubt about God’s word concerning the result of disobeying Him. sin death (Rom. 6:23) All people inherited a Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in (or through) Christ Jesus our Lord. 因 为 罪 的 工 价 乃 是 死 ；惟 有 神 的 恩 赐 ，在 我 们 的 主 基 督 耶 稣 里 ，乃 是 永 生 。

Today we discuss two major events in the book of Genesis in which the sinful nature of people is demonstrated: 1. The Flood and the Ark of Noah 2. The Tower of Babel and the Beginning of the Nations show movie Both events are shown in a short online movie This long part of Scripture is found in Genesis 6:5 through Genesis 9:17. It’s too long to read it all together today, but we discuss it in the questions. This short part of Scripture is found in Genesis 11:1-8. Let’s read it in English and Chinese Genesis 11:1-8 1 那 时 ， 天 下 人 的 口 音 、 言 语 都 是 一 样 。 2 他 们 往 东 边 迁 移 的 时 候 ， 在 示 拿 地 遇 见 一 片 平 原 ， 就 住 在 那 里 。 3 他 们 彼 此 商 量 说 ： 来 罢 ！ 我 们 要 作 砖 ， 把 砖 烧 透 了 。 他 们 就 拿 砖 当 石 头 ， 又 拿 石 漆 当 灰 泥 。 4 他 们 说 ： 来 罢 ！ 我 们 要 建 造 一 座 城 和 一 座 塔 ， 塔 顶 通 天 ， 为 要 传 扬 我 们 的 名 ， 免 得 我 们 分 散 在 全 地 上 。 5 耶 和 华 降 临 ， 要 看 看 世 人 所 建 造 的 城 和 塔 。 6 耶 和 华 说 ： 看 哪 ， 他 们 成 为 一 样 的 人 民 ， 都 是 一 样 的 言 语 ， 如 今 既 作 起 这 事 来 ， 以 後 他 们 所 要 作 的 事 就 没 有 不 成 就 的 了 。 7 我 们 下 去 ， 在 那 里 变 乱 他 们 的 口 音 ， 使 他 们 的 言 语 彼 此 不 通 。 8 於 是 耶 和 华 使 他 们 从 那 里 分 散 在 全 地 上 ； 他 们 就 停 工 ， 不 造 那 城 了 。 Genesis 11:1-8 1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” 5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” 8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.

5 The LORD saw how great man’s on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his (man’s) heart was only.... all the time. 11 Now the earth was in God’s sight and was full of In Genesis 6, verses 5 and 11 we read: wickedness evil corrupt violence In Genesis 6 we read that ‘God was grieved’ First we need to know what the condition of man was before the flood? 5 耶 和 华 见 人 在 地 上 罪 恶 很 大 ，终 日 所 思 想 的 尽 都 是 ， 11 世 界 在 神 面 前 败 坏 ，地 上 满 了 强 暴 。 We are going to find out why God was grieved. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with..... How did God react to this terrible condition of mankind? In Genesis 6:6 we read: pain 耶 和 华 就 後 悔 造 人 在 地 上 ， 心 中 忧 伤 。耶 和 华 就 後 悔 造 人 在 地 上 ， 心 中 忧 伤 。

Therefore we need to understand God’s character/attributes God’s character is clear, as the prophet says ( Ezekiel 33:11): “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.” 1. God is HOLY 2. God is JUST 3. God is LOVE 4. God is FULL of MERCY In Him is no wrong; He cannot tolerate sin He must righteously punish sin He loves all; He hates sin; He loves sinners He forgives, He saves. He is faithful to His creation FLOOD Ark of Noah Why did God send the flood? 主 耶 和 华 说 ：我 指 着 我 的 永 生 起 誓 ，我 断 不 喜 悦 恶 人 死 亡 ，惟 喜 悦 恶 人 转 离 所 行 的 道 而 活 。

Why did God choose Noah to build the Ark? Genesis 6:9 Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. All those outside the ark died. This indicates that Noah had faith in God. When it says that Noah was blameless, it does not mean that he was perfect or sinless; only that Noah followed God’s ways and lived in relationship to God because of his faith. 挪 亚 是 个 义 人 ，在 当 时 的 世 代 是 个 完 全 人 。 挪 亚 与 神 同 行 。

After all the water of the flood had dried up, God said to Noah (Genesis 8:16-19): “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it.” So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on the earth—came out of the ark, one kind after another. 你 和 你 的 妻 子 、儿 子 、儿 妇 都 可 以 出 方 舟 。在 你 那 里 凡 有 血 肉 的 活 物 ，就 是 飞 鸟 、牲 畜 ，和 一 切 爬 在 地 上 的 昆 虫 ，都 要 带 出 来 ，叫 他 在 地 上 多 多 滋 生 ，大 大 兴 旺 。於 是 挪 亚 和 他 的 妻 子 、儿 子 、儿 妇 都 出 来 了 。一 切 走 兽 、昆 虫 、飞 鸟 ，和 地 上 所 有 的 动 物 ，各 从 其 类 ， 也 都 出 了 方 舟 。 ”

What did Noah do first after coming out of the ark? Gen. 8:20 worship God with a sacrifice In the following verse 21: God smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his : “Never again heart This promise was the content of the covenant that God made with Noah and his sons, described in Genesis 9. And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.” (Gen. 9:12-15) rainbow

The tower of Babel and the Beginning of the Nations The earth was repopulated through Noah’s family. What was man like even after the flood? See Genesis 11:1-4 We see the pride and rebelliousness of man. God had told the people to fill the earth Gen. 9:7 “As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.” However, they wanted to stay together in one big city. What did God do to the people? Review Genesis 11:5-8 God came down and confused the language and forced them to stop their building plan and to spread over the earth. This was the beginning of the nations with different languages. 你 们 要 生 养 众 多 ， 在 地 上 昌 盛 繁 茂 。你 们 要 生 养 众 多 ， 在 地 上 昌 盛 繁 茂 。

In Genesis 11:9-32 we see that all the people of the world are descendants of Noah and his family. The New Testament confirms this (Acts 17:26). From one man he (God) made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 他 从 一 本 （ 有 古 卷 作 血 脉 ） 造 出 万 族 的 人 ，住 在 全 地 上 ， 并 且 预 先 定 准 他 们 的 年 限 和 所 住 的 疆 界

Do you think that God went along with all people groups when He scattered them over the whole earth? Or do you think that He forgot some people groups? Let’s look at some Chinese characters to find God’s hand in one of our languages.

What does this character mean 禁 (jin) ? forbid The character is composed of trees 木木 and divine sign 示 Could this Chinese character 禁 have it’s origin in the Bible where the forbidden tree in Genesis 3 is explained? After eating from that tree, Adam and Eve were sent away and locked out of the garden, which was very difficult for them. What does this character mean 困 (kun) ? difficulty The character is composed of boundary 囗 (guo) and tree 木 (mu) Could this Chinese character 困 have it’s origin from the Bible where God forbids people to have access to the tree in Genesis 3? Remember that God ‘spoke’ and it came into ‘existing’ in His creation? What does this character mean 造 (zao) ? make, create The character is composed of speak 告 (gao) and walking 辶 (zou) Could this Chinese character 造 have it’s origin in the Bible where God spoke and walking animals and humans were created (Genesis 1)?

Lesson: We cannot save ourselves. We can only be saved when we take God’s provision for salvation. Through whom? Through Jesus, the Son of God. How many people were on the Ark, according to Genesis 8:16? “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives.” “ 你要从方舟出来，你和你的妻子、儿子， 以及儿媳都要和你一同出来。 ”