AGENDA – THE SIGN OF THE COVENANT

OPENING PRAYER - Heavenly Father, we thank you for this opportunity to read and study Your Word. Please guide our thoughts and open our hearts to understand the truths You want to reveal. In Jesus' name, Amen.
READ THE SCRIPTURE ALOUD – “CAIN AND ABEL Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, ….
READ THE SCRIPTURE ALOUD – “NOAH AND THE ARK The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind, ….
YOU ARE HERE - Wickedness and evil grieve God "to his heart." What are some of the things in the world today that you think might grieve the heart of God? A common religious understanding is that God's heart would be grieved by the suffering and injustice caused by human actions. This concept is drawn from biblical sources, such as Genesis 6:6, which states that God was "grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain". 
Interpreted in the context of today's world, some of the issues that might be seen as grieving God's heart include:
Injustice and human suffering
War and armed conflict: Ongoing conflicts create immense human suffering through loss of life, displacement, and the destruction of communities. In 2023, global conflicts increased by 12%, affecting millions of people in places like Sudan, Gaza, Ukraine, and Myanmar.
Extreme poverty and inequality: Despite overall progress, hundreds of millions of people still live in extreme poverty, surviving on just a few dollars a day. Meanwhile, the richest 1% of the population holds an immense share of the world's wealth. The UN notes that these inequalities fuel public anger and prevent the elimination of global poverty.
Systemic discrimination: Discrimination based on race, gender, disability, and religion persists in society. These systemic biases limit opportunities in education, healthcare, and employment, and can lead to violence. 

Environmental destruction
Climate change: The harmful effects of human-driven climate change include rising global temperatures, severe weather, and disrupted ecosystems. These changes disproportionately impact poor and marginalized communities, many of whom have contributed the least to the crisis.
Pollution: Industrial processes, improper waste disposal, and the burning of fossil fuels contaminate air and water, leading to illness and premature death, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Plastic pollution also gravely threatens ocean health.
Loss of biodiversity and deforestation: Human activities continue to deplete the planet's forests and drive species toward extinction, threatening the ecological balance. 
Interpersonal failings
Hatred and hostility: The proliferation of hate speech and prejudice, particularly online, creates division and fuels intolerance and violence on a global scale.
Corruption and greed: The pursuit of self-interest and power over the common good is a major root cause of injustice. Corruption erodes trust in institutions and undermines efforts to solve societal problems.
Toxic emotions and unforgiveness: The Bible identifies toxic emotions like bitterness, anger, and holding grudges as actions that grieve the Holy Spirit. This applies to both private feelings and how Christians treat one another and the world. Spend some time in prayer about those things.
READ THE SCRIPTURE ALOUD – “AFTER THE FLOOD Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal, ….
YOU ARE HERE - The first thing that Noah does when he leaves the ark is to build an altar and make an offering to God. What might Noah's response teach us? Noah's response teaches us about gratitude for God's salvation, the importance of worship in the face of change, and the need for surrender and dependence on God. Building the altar shows how to express thankfulness for being preserved and how to establish a new foundation of faith by putting God first, even when the future is uncertain. It also demonstrates a continued understanding of the need for atonement through sacrifice for sin.  
POINT OF INTEREST - A covenant is a binding legal agreement between two parties, where each one makes promises to the other. This is the first of the covenants God makes in the Bible, often called the Noahic covenant. In addition to Noah, who does God make this covenant with? God's covenant with Noah is not just with Noah himself, but with all living creatures and his descendants (all humanity). This is the first covenant God made with all of creation, promising that he would never again destroy all life on Earth with a flood. The rainbow serves as a visible sign of this promise, which is unique to this covenant, as many other biblical covenants are made between God and specific individuals or groups. 
With all living creatures: The covenant is explicitly stated to be between God and Noah, "and with every living creature with you—the birds, the livestock, and every wild animal". 
With all humanity: The covenant is also for "all the generations to come" (Genesis 9:12), which includes Noah's descendants and all people who would live after the flood.
READ THE SCRIPTURE ALOUD – “THE TOWER OF BABEL Now the whole earth had one language, ….
SCENIC VIEW - The people cite three different reasons for building their tower: to reach the heavens, to make a name for themselves, and to keep from being scattered over the earth. What might be the problems with each of these motives? The problems with the motives behind building the Tower of Babel are rooted in pride, ambition, and a desire for self-glorification, essentially attempting to defy God's authority and achieve independence from him by reaching heaven, establishing their own fame, and refusing to disperse as God intended. Here's a breakdown of the issues with each motive:
Reaching the Heavens:
Hubris and Rebellion: Attempting to reach heaven symbolizes a desire to be like God, which is considered a form of rebellion against his divine authority. It suggests a belief that humans can achieve a level of divinity on their own. 
Impractical and Impossible Goal: The physical act of building a tower to reach heaven is inherently impossible, highlighting the people's unrealistic and arrogant ambition. 
Making a Name for Themselves:
Pride and Vanity: Building the tower as a monument to their own greatness demonstrates a desire for recognition and fame, rather than focusing on God's glory. This is seen as a form of egotism. 
Defiance of God's Command: The Bible instructs people to "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth," which is contrasted with the desire to remain concentrated in one place and build a towering monument to their own achievements. 
Keeping from Being Scattered Over the Earth:
Resistance to God's Plan: God's scattering of humanity after the Flood was part of his plan to diversify and populate the earth. The people's attempt to resist this dispersal by building a tower is seen as a rejection of God's will. 
Fear of Separation: While a desire for community is natural, building a tower to avoid scattering is rooted in fear and a lack of trust in God's provision for them. 
In summary, the people's motivations for building the Tower of Babel represent a combination of arrogance, rebellion against God's authority, and a desire for self-glorification, ultimately leading to their downfall and the scattering of languages.
QUESTIONS FOR THE JOURNEY
1.	Cain and Abel is the first of many stories in the Bible of sibling conflict. Why do you think this might be? 
Why Sibling Conflict?
The Bible uses sibling rivalry—Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers—to mirror the fractured state of the human family. 
Relatability: Siblinghood is our first experience with society. If we cannot live in peace with those of our own blood, how can we live with "the other"?
The Problem of Comparison: These stories highlight that sin often enters through envy and the "horizontal" gaze (looking at what a brother has) rather than a "vertical" focus on one's own relationship with God.
Choosing the Younger: Often, God chooses the younger or the "underdog," which subverts human systems of power (primogeniture) and shows that God’s favor is based on grace rather than birthright.
2.	The story of Noah is often told as a children's story, yet it has some difficult parts. What do you notice about this story, reading it again? Which parts are difficult for you? Which parts sound like good news? 
Reflections on Noah’s Ark
Reading the story of Noah as an adult often feels like reading a completely different text than the one found in children’s picture books.
Difficult Parts: The scale of the loss is staggering. The idea of a "reset button" that involves the death of millions of living things, including the innocent, is deeply unsettling. There is also the "second fall" of Noah—immediately after the flood, he gets drunk and a new cycle of family shame begins, suggesting that the flood didn't actually "fix" the human heart.
The "Good News": The good news is found in Genesis 8:1: "But God remembered Noah." It is a story of preservation amidst chaos. The rainbow serves as a "war bow" hung up in the sky—a sign that God has laid down His weapons and committed to a new way of relating to the world.
3.	These stories balance God's punishment with God's mercy: God punishes Cain yet also protects him; God destroys nearly all living creatures but saves Noah and a pair of each species of animal. What do these things tell us about God? How do you understand the relationship between God's judgment and God's mercy?
These stories suggest that God’s judgment and mercy are not opposites, but two sides of the same commitment to justice.
Story 	The Judgment	The Mercy	
Cain	Exile and the "restlessness" of a wanderer.	A protective mark so that no one may kill him.	
Noah	The destruction of a world filled with violence.	The preservation of a remnant and a covenant.	
Understanding the Relationship:
In these texts, judgment is often portrayed as the natural consequence of human choices. God doesn't just "get angry"; He reacts to the "outcry" of the earth (Abel’s blood) and the "violence" of humanity. Mercy is God’s refusal to let the story end in total destruction. It tells us that God is a "Repairer of the Breach"—He judges the sin because it harms His creation, but He protects the sinner because He loves the creature.
 
4.	In this story, God's anger at humanity has implications for the animals and all of creation; the animals die alongside the wicked people. God's final covenant is also with "every living creature." What might these things tell us about the relationship between God, humanity, and creation? 
God, Humanity, and the Interconnectedness of Creation
The inclusion of animals in both the destruction and the covenant is a powerful theological statement about the "wholeness" of the world.
Humanity as Representative: In the biblical worldview, humans are the "priests" or "stewards" of creation. When humanity fails, the land suffers. Our moral choices have ecological consequences—a theme that feels particularly modern.
The Value of Non-Human Life: The fact that God’s final covenant is with "every living creature" (Genesis 9:10) suggests that animals have a direct relationship with God that is independent of humans. They are not just "props" for our survival; they are fellow beneficiaries of God’s promise.
A Shared Destiny: We are reminded that we are "Adam" (from the adama, the ground). We rise or fall with the rest of the created order.
NEXT STEPS
1.	When Noah and his family finally return to dry land, the first thing they do is build an altar and make offerings to God. Sit down and make a list of blessings that you have received from God and times when God has been especially present with you. Spend some time in prayer, reflecting on what kind of offering you might be called to make to God in thanksgiving for all that you have received.
2.	The story of the Tower of Babel is usually read on the feast of Pentecost. Read the story of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-13. How is that story related to the Tower of Babel?
1. From Confusion to Understanding
•	Babel: Because of human pride and the attempt to reach the heavens on their own terms, God confuses their language so they can no longer understand one another. Diversity becomes a source of division.
•	Pentecost: The Holy Spirit descends, and though the crowd speaks many different native languages, everyone understands the apostles as if they are speaking in their own tongue. God uses diversity to create a supernatural unity.
2. Pride vs. Humility
•	Babel: The people said, "Let us make a name for ourselves" (Gen 11:4). It was an upward reach for power and self-glorification.
•	Pentecost: The disciples were gathered in prayer, waiting on God's promise. Instead of humans reaching up, God reaches down to them. The focus is on the "wonders of God" rather than the achievements of man.
3. Scattering vs. Gathering
•	Babel: The result of the miracle (the confusion of tongues) was that the people were scattered across the face of the earth, halting their project.
•	Pentecost: People from "every nation under heaven" were gathered together in Jerusalem. The miracle of tongues didn't send them away in confusion but drew them together into a new community (the Church).
In short, Babel is about the fragmentation of humanity through sin, while Pentecost is about the restoration of humanity through the Spirit.
CLOSING PRAYER - Lord, thank you for this time of study and for Your Word. As we leave, please help us to carry the truths we've learned into our daily lives and to live out Your teachings. May we continue to grow in faith and reflect Your love to others. Amen.