2. Through this period it would appear that God dealt with each person _directly_, without mediation or organized institutions. We read of neither priest nor ruler, but we find God speaking individually with men. (See Gen. 3. 9; 4. 6; 5. 22; 6. 13; and let the class find other instances.) We call this, therefore, the period of =Direct Administration=. 3. All the events of this period may be connected with three epochs: 1.) =The Fall= (Gen. 3. 6), which brought sin into the world (Rom. 5. 12), and resulted in universal wickedness (Gen. 6. 5). 2.) =The Deluge= (Gen. 7. 11, 12). By this destruction the entire population of the world, probably confined to the Eu-phra'tes valley, was swept away (Gen. 7. 23), and opportunity was given for a new race under better conditions (Gen. 9. 18, 19). 3.) =The Dispersion= (Gen. 10. 25). Hitherto the race had massed itself in one region, and hence the righteous families were overwhelmed by their evil surroundings. But after the deluge an instinct of migration took possession of families, and soon the whole earth was overspread. 4. In this period we call attention to three of its most important =Persons=: 1.) =Ad'am=, the first man (Gen. 5. 1, 2). His creation, fall, and history are briefly narrated. 2.) =E'noch=, who walked with God (Gen. 5. 24), and was translated without dying. 3.) =No'ah=, the builder of the ark (Gen. 6. 9), and the father of a new race. Hints to the Teacher Let the teacher place the outline of the period on the blackboard, point by point, as the lesson proceeds, and let the class do the same on paper or in notebooks. Let every Scripture text be read in the class by a student, and let its bearing be shown. Call upon members of the class to give more complete account of the events and the persons named, and for this purpose let the first eleven chapters of Genesis be assigned in advance as a reading lesson. Blackboard Outline