986 - Sabbath School - 15.Apr Thu

“Only Noah Was Left”“He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of theground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the air;they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and thosethat were with him in the ark” (Gen. 7:23, RSV).In this text one finds the first mention of the concept of “theremnant” in the Scriptures. The word translated as “was left” comesfrom another word whose root forms are used many times in the OldTestament where the idea of a remnant is conveyed.“ ‘And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant onearth, and to keep alive for you many survivors’ ” (Gen. 45:7, RSV;emphasis supplied).“And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be calledholy, every one who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem” (Isa. 4:3,RSV; emphasis supplied).“In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time torecover the remnant which is left of his people” (Isa. 11:11, RSV;emphasis supplied).In all these cases, the italicized words are linked to the similar words“was left” found in Genesis 7:23, RSV.Look at Genesis 7:23 and the other examples. How do you understandthe concept of a remnant here? What are the surrounding condi-tions that led to a remnant? How does the covenant fit in with theidea of a remnant?_____________________________________________________At the time of the Flood, the Creator of the world became the Judgeof the world. The nearing worldwide judgment raised the questionwhether all life on earth—even human life—would be destroyed. If not,who would be the survivors? Who would be the remnant?In this case, it was Noah and his family. Yet, Noah’s salvation waslinked to God’s covenant with him (Gen. 6:18)—a covenant that origi-nated and was executed by a God of mercy and grace. They survivedonly because of what God did for them, however important their coop-eration was. Whatever Noah’s covenant obligations were, and no matterhow faithfully he executed them, his only hope was in God’s mercy.Based upon our understanding of last-day events, which includes atime when God will have a remnant (see Rev. 12:17), what parallelscan we learn from the story of Noah that will help us prepare to bepart of the remnant? In what ways are we making decisions everyday that could impact just where we finally stand at that time?