Lesson 6 - The Rainbow:
God's Promises for the Future
Genesis 8:1-9:17 - www.bible.com/bible/59/gen.8

Noah and his family lived in the ark for a little over a year. For five months they floated free on the flood waters. They could have been driven before the winds and waves all around the world before they were finally caught on the peaks of Mount Ararat, but it took another two and a half months before they could see the mountain peaks from their window on the ark.

Would you feel abandoned by God in a situation like this? All alone on the whole earth, there was no one to rescue them if their ark had crashed into or was broken on these mountain peaks that held them. But the first verse in chapter 8 said God remembered them – not just the people, but also all the animals He’d made that were now safe inside the ark. He sent the winds to dry up the waters.

How do you feel when you see the long-awaited fulfillment of one of God's promises? Perhaps your response is similar to that of Noah and his family. In the previous study we saw them safe within the ark as the waters destroyed all life on earth and eventually covered the mountains. Now we see how God fulfills His promises to them and how Noah's response can be an example to us today. Just weeks after they had spent a year in the ark God told them it was time to let the animals leave, it was time to make their home on dry ground again.

How do you think Noah and his family felt when they saw the rain clouds gather again? Would you have been afraid of another flood? Perhaps they were, but God used the clouds to show them His sign of His promise that He would never again destroy the earth in a flood. When was the last time you saw a rainbow in the clouds? Did you think of it being a promise from God? There have been many floods on earth since that day, but not one has been as huge as the one Noah and his family saw. God has kept His promise – just like He keeps every promise He has ever made.


*From chapter 8, how did Noah check to see if it was time to leave the ark?
*Noah's first action after emptying the ark is to offer a sacrifice to God (Genesis 8:20). What does this tell us about his priorities even though there were many things to do to prepare a home for themselves?
*When has God shown you His promises in a time of great trouble for you?
*How has His grace been evident in your life lately?