them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them." Noah obeyed God by building the ark; while it was being built he warned mankind of the approaching flood. He then went into the ark, as God had commanded him; the rain began to fall, and the fountains of the great deep were also broken up. The waters increased on the earth forty days and forty nights. The waters rose above the highest mountains. All flesh died, except Noah, his family, and the living things that were with them in the ark. The waters prevailed on the earth one-hundred-and-fifty days. Enoch-dedicated;' NOTES AND EXPLANATIONS. this highly favoured saint foretold the judgment of God upon the wicked. Jude 14,15. This prophecy had, no doubt, a primary reference to the flood which God brought in upon the ungodly. took him-removed him from this world without dying. St. Paul says "God translated him that he should not see death." walked, &c.-his feelings, thoughts, and conduct were in agreement with the known character of God. Methuselah-blessed be God.' Lamech-sending;' he died about five years before the flood. Noah- rest,' or 'comfort;' his father probably had a prophetic intimation that this son should be the peculiar object of the divine favour and the medium of blessing to the world; hence, concluding that he was the promised Saviour, he called him Noah. Shem-name,' ' renown;' his five sons peopled the most delightful dis tricts of the East. From him descended the Messiah, who is called the plant of renown,' whose fame shall extend all over the earth. Ezekiel xxxiv. 29. Ham-hot; referring, no doubt, to the regions his descendants would inhabit. Japheth-extension;' fulfilled in his numerous and wide-spread posterity. wickedness-daring sin; opposition to God's will, and denial of his power. increased-became daily less tolerable. flood-the waters were to cover the earth as they did at first. Less. 1. ark-a vessel to float on the waters. establish-make sure; confirm. covenant-the divine promise. Less.4. warned-told them of their danger. fountains-sources of rivers and springs. Job xxviii. 10,11, and Ezek. xxvi. 19. all flesh died-because the human family had become morally corrupt. PERIOD I.] ENOCH'S EXAMPLE. WALKING WITH GOD. "ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD." To"walk with God"-this Enoch did, They "walk by faith, and not by sight," To "walk with God"-as two dear friends, Such company will make amends For troubles by the way. To "walk with God"-that child who would, Sin he abhors-and loves what's good- To"walk with God"-Ah! this is bliss! It saves from many a foe. To "walk with God" is my desire, And lest I weary grow, and tire, Yes, gracious God! I'll lean on thee- My strength and my support shall be, And, when my journey here is done, And sit with Jesus on his throne, COWPER. PERIOD II. FROM THE DELUGE TO THE DEATH OF JOSEPH. B.C. 2347-B.C. 1635. 712 years. 4. HISTORY OF NOAH AFTER THE FLOOD. Genesis viii. ix. God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark; and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged. The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. And the waters returned from off the earth continually, and after the end of onehundred-and-fifty days the waters were abated; and the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat. Noah sent forth a raven and a dove; the raven did not return, but the dove returned. Seven days after, Noah sent forth the dove again and she returned with an olive leaf in her mouth. Noah sent forth the dove again seven days after, and it returned no more. God commanded Noah to leave the ark. Noah did so, and offered a sacrifice to God which he graciously accepted. God then promised that seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, should never cease. God promised never more to destroy the earth by a flood, and as a token of his promise he set his bow in the cloud. He said, "And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth that the bow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh." After the flood, Noah planted a vineyard. He made wine of the grapes, of which he drank and was drunken. His son Ham 'mocked him. When Noah rose from his wine, he foretold that the descendants of Ham should be servants to the descendants of Shem and Japheth, whom he blessed because "THE BOW IN THE CLOUD." PERIOD II.] they were dutiful. One of Shem's descendants was Heber, from whom the Hebrews were probably named. Shem is called the father of all the children of Heber; so that it would appear the Hebrews descended through Shem, the son of Noah. NOTES AND EXPLANATIONS. windows-flood-gates; the clouds which retain the rain. Mal. iii. 10. restrained-kept back. Gen. i. 7. returned-gradually sank into their natural beds or channels. abated-became less and less. raven-a bird that would be lured to feed on dead bodies if any were visible. dove a bird strong in flight, that feeds on the earth, and that loves its home. olive-a beautiful and valuable evergreen; it is abundant in the East. sacrifice an offering, or a thing devoted to God. Sacrifices were generally consumed by fire. promised-Lesson 3, 'covenant.' seed-time-from the beginning of October to the beginning of December. harvest-from the beginning of April to the beginning of June. cold-from the beginning of February to the beginning of April. heat-from the beginning of August to the beginning of October. summer-from the beginning of June to the beginning of August. winter-from the beginning of De cember to the beginning of February. In Palestine and the neighbouring countries the Arabs still reckon the six divisions of the year here spoken of. token-a sign or mark of remembrance. bow-rainbow; thus constituting that which is the invariable result of the sun shining through the rain as a sign of the unchangeableness of God's promise. vineyard-a plantation of vines. mocked-jeered; laughed contemptuously. Lesson 9, 'offence.' servants-slaves; Africa, whence the negro slaves are procured, is peopled by Ham's descendants. Heber or Eber-from the other side'; referring to the emigration of his far-famed descendant, Abraham, from Mesopotamia to Canaan. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTE. ARARAT cursed; a mountainous district lying near the centre of the kingdom of Armenia; in the north-east portion of the mountain range there are two peaks, the highest of which is said to be 17,000 feet above the level of the sea. It was probably on one of the lower slopes of this mountain that Noah, his family, and the living creatures which had been preserved during the deluge disembarked from the ark. THE BOW IN THE CLOUD. "AND THE DOVE CAME IN..AND LO IN HER MOUTH WAS AN OLIVE LEAF." Sweet Dove! the softest, steadiest plume In all the sunbright sky, Brightening in ever-changeful bloom THE BUILDING OF BABEL. [2347-1635 B.C. Sweet Leaf! the pledge of peace and mirth, Long sought, and lately won,” Sweet Rainbow! pride of summer days, Dear tokens of a pardoning God, As when our fathers walk'd abroad, God, by His bow, vouchsafes to write KEBLE. 5. THE BUILDING OF BABEL. THE PEOPLING OF THE EARTH. Genesis xi. 1-9, x. & xi. 10-23. About one-hundred-and-thirteen years after the flood, many people having journeyed from the East, settled in the plain of Shinar. And they said one to another, "Let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." They all spoke one language; but God said he would there 'confound their language, that they might not understand one another's speech. It was because God wished them to be settled in various parts of the world, that he made them to speak different languages. So they left off to build the city and the tower, and separated from each other. Therefore the name of the place is called Babel because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth; and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. Thus were they punished. |