I. WHO IS GOD?

3. The God of Love and Wrath

Read Genesis 6:5 - 7:23

Many people think that there is a contradiction between love and wrath: how can a God who is love also act in wrath? The key to understanding this mystery is in our last study. There we saw that the highest thing we can say about God is that he is holy. Love and wrath are both expressions of his holiness. To that which is sinful, God’s holiness expresses itself in wrath. To that which is without sin, God’s holiness expresses itself in love.

1. How was Noah different from everybody else (6:9,22)

2. What was the rest of the world like? (6:5,11,12) How similar is this to what we see in the world today?

3. Because God is holy, he cannot turn a blind eye to sin. What was his response? (6:6,13; 7:23)

4. How did God in his holiness relate to Noah? (6:18; 7:1)
[We can read the details of the covenant in Genesis 9:8-17]

5. God has promised never to flood the whole earth again (9:11). Does this mean that he no longer treats sin seriously? Consider Romans 1:18-32; 2 Peter 3:3-13. What do these passages teach us about the wrath of God (Rom 1:18)? Given the description that follows, do you think our society is under the wrath of God? What reason do they give for why the world is not instantly destroyed again (2 Peter 3:9).

Remember that God’s judgements are always just. His holiness requires a proper response to sin. But in his mercy he always wants to give an opportunity to people to repent. Noah didn’t only build an ark; he also preached righteousness (see 2 Peter 2:5). So everybody else had a chance to be in the ark.

6. God’s love for Noah provided a way of escaping the wrath that was unleashed on the world. That gives us an illustration of Jesus. Just as the ark bore the brunt of the storm and those who were inside it were safe, so Jesus bore the wrath of God against sin, in his body, so that those of us who are “in Him” can be safe.
Read Romans 5:8. What does this verse say which fits in with what we have been learning?

Remember that love does not mean turning a blind eye to sin. The death of Jesus is the ultimate proof of how seriously God treats sin: it deserves the death penalty. Spend time thanking God that he has made known his love to you by providing an ark (a way of safety through the storm of his wrath) in the death of Jesus. Thank him for not treating you as you deserve.