Bible Responses

Of the three sections of the Bible, choose two to read.

Your choices are:

The Flood
The Book of Ruth
David vs. Goliath

For the two sections you choose to read you are assigned to answer three questions from the end of the reading. You can choose any of the questions to answer as long as each has clear connection to what we are studying. (In other words, try to avoid answering literary analysis questions.) In total you will answer 6 questions of your choice from two of the three readings.

Reading 1: The Flood

1) What is the meaning of the statement, "Noah walked with God"?

When the reading says Noah "walked with God" it means he understood God and was on the same level of communication. This quote was taken from the context of when God is deciding to destroy all his creation because it is evil. However, Noah is not evil, he is good and understands the grace of God. Therefore, God spares Noah's life and likes Noah in general.


b) What does God's willingness to spare the earth because of Noah suggest?

This suggests that God has great faith in Noah, and because of him, God has faith in human kind and living creatures. He trusts that Noah will restore the earth to its state of goodness, and save all living creatures from evil.

2) How does the flood reduce the earth to its appearance in the early stages of creation?

In the early stages of creation there were no creatures, just land formations. The flood wiped out all every living thing except for the creatures Noah saved. The early stages were before God decided to add humans and living things.

b) How might this fact make humans especially eager to have a covenant?

Humans might be very scared God could do this again if the humans are evil. Humans believe if they enter a covenant with God, and follow it that God won't create another flood. They believe if they can make a deal with God and communicate with him, he is less likely to destroy the human race. This is a deal based on fear.

3) What does God require of Noah and his sons before he makes the covenant?

When the text states that God requires the lives and blood of Noah and his sons, it means that he requires their complete devotion, and the devotion of all living things on earth.
God also tells Noah and his sons to be fruitful and multiply and take dominion over all other living creatures. God tells Noah and his sons to take control of all species, for it is their kingdom to rule over. God also wants them to be just to each other and to all other species on earth. God promises to protect them as long as they keep to the covenant.

Cool fact- The reason Johova's Witness can't perform blood transfusion is that transfering God's blood between his own creations would be wrong. This law comes from this quote.

b) What is the reason for these demands?

God entrusts Noah and his sons with these demands because he wishes them to take care of the earth. He encourages them to plant produce and plants to enrich the beautiful earth they were given. God demands that they give him complete devotion so that God knows he can trust Noah and his sons if ever he needs them. The strong devotion also ensures God that they will pass this religion and faith on to others, therefore beginning the spread of Judaism and Christianity etc.


Reading 2: David and Goliath

1) David describes to Saul his role as a shepherd. What does this description suggest about God's role in relation to the Hebrew people?

This suggests that God appeals more to the people of lower classes, because generally the worse off of a situation someone is, the more they will believe in God, and that God will help them get out of their situation. Also, it shows that God has faith in the people who work harder because they are more humble and willing to work for God. Therefore when something good happens in the lives of the people in the lower classes, they thank God and their faith in God grows ever stronger.

b) How does the story of David and Goliath illustrate this role?

This story shows that a humble man like David, who has no real strengths or fighting abilities can win against a giant Philistine purely based on faith in God. David is humble and does not think of himself as a hero, but instead of a man who believes God will help him win a battle and save the Jewish people. David believes his faith in God is all he needs to win.

2) David refuses to use conventional weapons. How is this refusal a statement about the relationship between the Hebrew people and God?

Because David chose not to use conventional weapons, it showed that he had great faith in God, and that God would be the strongest weapon of all. He decided to use the most basic and humble weapons- stones. This shows that a simple item can be much stronger than something put together by humans. The small stone was one of God's unaltered creations, and using it shows David's strong faith in God. Because the stone is unaltered or tainted by humans, it greatly helped David win the fight against Goliath.


3) How does David's speech to Saul reveal a new dimension of the boy's character?

When David speaks with Saul, he recounts one of his heroic adventures in which he resuces a sheep from a lion. This speech sounds almost boastful, and unexpected from a humble farm boy. It reveals a new dimension of boastfullness and pride. These could be looked at as sins, but since God supports David in the fight against Goliath, I don't think God looked at them as sins. The purpose of David recounting the story was to make Saul believe David could beat Goliath, and to give Saul more faith in David.