Session 8

The Warning (Genesis 9:5-7)

God’s instructions related to human life.

5 “And I will require a penalty for your lifeblood;
I will require it from any animal and from any human;
if someone murders a fellow human, I will require that person’s life.
6 Whoever sheds human blood, by humans his blood will be shed,
for God made humans in his image.
7 But you, be fruitful and multiply;
spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”

Ask:

• Why does being made in God’s image place a different value on human life? (p. 71)

Display:

The Christian and the Social Order.
Explain that this is drawn from the Baptist Faith and Message (2000).
Encourage adults to share how it applies to our lives as believers.

Ask:

• How should believers respond to attacks on the sanctity of human life? (p. 71)

Identify:

these commands pre-dated the law of Moses,
which also provided detailed directions for respecting human life,
including the unborn (see Ex. 21:22-25).

Acknowledge that capital punishment is a hard topic about which godly people disagree,
and it deserves thoughtful consideration and grace.

Transition:

Ultimately, God focused on life more than death.
He returned to the command to be fruitful and multiply.
After God delivered Noah and his family, God made a special promise.