The Story of the Flood

1.(a) What is the meaning of the statement, "Noah walked with God"? (b) What does God's willingness to spare the earth because of Noah suggest?

The meaning of "Noah walked with God" is simply that he was above the men of the earth. While all the men were busy being evil, Noah was moral and just, and there for on the same playing field as God.
When God spares earth because of Noah, it suggest that he is indeed an involved God. He takes notice of humans and loves them. It is also the introduction to the Covenant. He agrees never to destroy the earth again, provided that Noah follows the covenant. God calls it "the token of his covenant".

2. Both Genesis 1-3 and 6-9 deal with the theme of evil. What is similar and different about their treatment of this theme?

In 1-3, God deals with evil (the eating of the forbidden fruit) by punishing Adam and Eve. He does not do the same in 6-9. In 6-9, his reaction to the evil is to restart his creation. The differences are because of the situation God was presented with. In each story, the evils are of a different scale, from a simple disobedience of which deserves a reprimand, to a large scale population of evil, of which needs elimination. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, he punished them by banishing them from the garden of Eden. This was done in an attempt to teach them a lesson. In comparison, in 6-9, God wanted to start over completely. He saw that his creation, man, was not good and therefore must be redone.

3.(a)How does God's giving of all creatures into human hands look back to Genesis 1:26? (b) How do God's commands look forward to the 10 Commandments?

In Genesis 1:26, God gives humans "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." He does the same when he tells Noah and his family that everything on earth shall fear them and that all the animals are meat for them. It is, in a sense, like he is creating the earth again, telling Adam and Eve the law of the land, and then giving them the rules. He does the same with Noah, telling him of the human status as dominant, and then creating the covenant.
The First Covenant is an early form of the Second Covenant. This covenant has far less rules and regulations than the second, but they are of the same archetype, i.e.) These are my rules, here is my promise.