Genesis 6 – Wickedness Provokes God's Wrath
Timeline: Before 2500 BC
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1 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. At this time, Noah was 500 years old and because of man's longevity, there was a massive population explosion. Some scholars have deduced that there could have been about 750 million people at the time of the Flood. This chapter is very controversal among Bible students and scholars, mainly regarding the daughters of men and the sons of God. The two main views are these: View 1:
Evidence for view1:
View 2:
3 And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. The emphasis in this passage is that God lost His patience with sinful humanity. After 120 years God judged the earth but during that time Noah preached to the people to repent. Nephilim are commonly thought to be a race of giants, in this case simply meaning very large humans.They are believe to be the children of the "sons of God and the women they married. The fact that they were on the earth afterward supports the suggestion that the Nephilim are the product of supernatural fathers—fallen angels or demons—and human women. 5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God saw that man's wickedness is great in the earth. It says, "for I am sorry that I have made them". A better translation is "for man's wickedness changed God's plan for why He made him". It broke God's heart that they deliberately rejected God. This goes a long way to explaining God's apparent decision to destroy everything on the earth. Matthew 24:37 reads: "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." God's coming judgment for human sin will be for the same reason. We must find grace in the eyes of the Lord just as Noah did. 9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. This genealogy is limited to Noah, the head of the only family who is in communion with God. Noah was living by faith, sincere in his desire to do God's will. His sons are mentioned, as they are essentially connected with the events that follow. Noah did not find favour in the eyes of men; they hated and persecuted him, because by his life and preaching, he condemned the world. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. They sinned openly, without shame, and boldly, without any fear of God. The earth was filled with violence and injustice toward men; there was no order, nor regular government. No one was safe; there was nothing but murders, rapes, pillage and plunder. Idolatry, the sin of perverting and depraving the worship of God defiled the land. 13 And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. The world had became so obvious to God, that He could not refrain from punishment. God told Noah his purpose to destroy the wicked world by water and gave him particular orders how to make the ark. The ark is actually what you and I would probably classify as a barge it's an unpowered vessel. The rooms in the ark were specifically designed for all the animals. Gopherwood is cypress, a tall, upright evergreen tree of great durability was valued for shipbuilding. Pitch was probably bitumen or asphalt which was used to coat the wood giving it water-proof characteristics. It is not usual to pitch the inside and out. The cubit is the length of the arm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, about eighteen inches.The size of the ark was 450 feet long, 75 broad, and 45 in depth which would hold more than eighteen of the largest ships of today. The window was an open space one cubit in height, running all round the top of the ark beneath a roof. It would have given a sufficient supply of air, and was protected by the overhanging eaves of the roof. The lower deck was fit for storage and ballast leaving the second deck for the animals and the top third deck was living quarters. 17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. The flood did not proceed from natural causes, but from the immediate hand and judgment of God as a punishment for the enormous wickedness of its inhabitants. "Everything that is on the earth" is added to show that the fishes are not included in the destruction. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. This is the first place in the Bible where the word 'covenant' is found. A covenant is a solemn compact, implied or express, between two parties, in which each is bound to perform his part. God wants Noah to understand that the Lord is obligating Himself to save Noah and his family from the coming destruction. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.” God sent pairs (a male and a female) of each animal of their kind or species. How did he fit them all? For one, they were probably young animals being much smaller than their parents. God designed variations within the original kinds, however, they are limited—cats are still cats, and dogs are dogs. While there are many land-dwelling, air-breathing animal species, there are only about 1,398 of each kind, including extinct ones. God placed genetic information in the original creation and therefore they are able to vary greatly, but only within the same kind. Once they began repopulating the earth, they went their separate ways and adapted to their various environments. Between adaption and natural breeding, new species would evolve. According to Henry Morris, there are about 18,000 species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians living in the world today. Answers in Genesis has more detailed information. 22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did. Bible Study Questions 1. Why did the sons of God come to marry the daughters of men?
2. How many years did the people have to repent before the flood?
3. Why did God threaten to destroy man?
4. Noah was described as what? 5. But Noah found ............... in the eyes of the LORD.
6. How many sons had Noah?
7. What evil deed of man had filled the earth during the days of Noah?
8. God told Noah to make an ark with which type of wood?
9. Who gave Noah the measurements and showed him how he should build the ark?
10. What did God establish with Joseph?
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