Verses 1-2. “Now it came about, when men
began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that
the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took
wives for themselves, whomever they chose.”
It has been assumed that the problem of massive overpopulation
is limited to recent history. Thomas Robert Malthus, a political economist of
200 years ago, wrote that we were heading for a future disaster because of
population growth. However, this is not the first such problem of its kind –
“Men (mankind) began to multiply on the face of the land” at least thousands of
years ago, before the Great Flood mitigated the problem for many centuries.
Much has been written about the “sons of God” mentioned
in this verse. Some have taught that they were “angels” or “demons” or some
other kind of supernatural beings. A supporting Scripture for that position
might be Job 1:6, in which Satan is mentioned as among the “sons of God” who
appeared before God’s throne. But it is better to not overly speculate, especially when
such “sons” ARE often defined in Scripture as
people who have placed their trust in the Lord. A good example is Romans 8:14 – “those
who are led of the Spirit of God are sons of God.” It’s important to see that
when we are obedient to Him, when we follow Him and are faithful to Him – we,
men and women alike, become His
"sons;" inheritors in the Kingdom of God.
In this verse we find that such men increasingly “chose”
to marry the “daughters of men.” The key is that THEY “chose,” based on observing and wanting persons they
considered to be outwardly “beautiful.” They began to marry anyone THEY wanted,
without trusting in God for HIS choices in their lives. The very nature of sin is
when we begin to persist in doing things “MY way,” without looking to the "Spirit of God" for
His direction in what we should do.
Verse 3. “Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit
shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his
days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’”
The words of this verse have often been
misinterpreted. The assumption has been by some that the life span of individuals
within mankind, which had been around 900 years, was now to be reduced to 120
years. That is, from the moment of these words, no one would live longer than the “one hundred
and twenty years” specified here in this verse. And it would seem to be the case, for
it is very rare in humanity for anyone to live to be 100, let alone 120, but if
you read ahead in the Chapters that follow, you'll see that many were to
subsequently be born and then live to be more than 120. Abraham would be
one such person.
Life spans were not what was being discussed. The “Spirit” of God
had been striving with mankind, pleading with them to turn from their
“wickedness” (Verse 5) and place their trust in the Lord. But humanity is
“flesh” after all, and the tendency of these pre-Flood people was to value and
protect the outward things of life and neglect the God who made them. Therefore,
the Lord was saying, in 120 years, mankind would be destroyed. He would “blot out man…
from the face of the land” (Verse 7). Not today, not tomorrow, but
“one hundred
and twenty years” from the moment of these words. God would
patiently wait for the moment when almost no one on earth still trusted in the Lord
and then the end would come.
Verse 4. “The Nephilim were 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 most likely translation of the word “Nephilim” is
“the fallen ones,” or “those who cause others to fall.” In this verse and in the
ones that follow, God has given us a brief look of His perception of the
condition of humanity that led to its destruction. This verse does not say that
the "Nephilim" were introduced into the earth through the sexual union of the
“sons of God” and the “daughters of men"
(Verses 1-2). This verse instead reveals two of the
factors within the heart of humanity that came as a result of the fall of
mankind into sin and degradation.
Notice the interesting correlation between this verse
and the world of today. The "Nephilim" were not necessarily large in physical
stature – they simply were “mighty men… of old, men of renown.” There are
likewise many in the world today who may or may not be large in stature, but
they are renowned and mighty in reputation; for instance movie stars, famous
musicians, athletes, politicians and others like them. The common denominator
between them is that they (the "Nephilim") had turned their backs on the God who gave them their
abilities and they now only had faith in themselves.
Verse 5. “Then the Lord saw that the
wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil continually.”
The “mighty men who were of old, men of renown”
mentioned in the preceding verse were filled with “wickedness,” as it says here
in Verse 5. They were famous men and women. Others literally worshipped them, not
unlike the uplifted hands directed toward rock or rap musicians today, and their
“fans” were led into the same degraded state they had fallen into. Others wanted to be like them,
copying them, until “every intent of the thoughts (of mankind)
was only evil
continually.”
Has anything of the world of the past survived? For one, you might consider the large statues that are found on Easter Island in
the Pacific Ocean. All of our lives, the soft tissue of our nose and ears
continues to grow. If such an enlargement of soft tissues is quite noticeable at
75 years of age, what would our nose and ears be like if we lived 900 years like
it is reported in Genesis Chapter 5? They likely would be similar to the Easter
Island statues that have extremely long noses and ears. We have
comparatively short lives at the present time, but our greatest danger is that
people will forget the God who made
us and that "the wickedness of man (might once more
be) great on the earth."
Father, we place our trust in You. Protect us
from the wickedness that tends to fill the hearts of mankind. Let us, men
and women, boys and girls, let us be God's true sons through faith in the Lord.
Fill us with Your Spirit. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Genesis 6:6-10
Verse 6. “The Lord was sorry that He had
made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.”
It’s hard for many to comprehend that God has feelings.
He invented them, or it might be more complete to say that He created the capacity for
feelings, modeled on what He is; though His feelings are not corrupt like
those in mankind. Here in this verse we see depicted something of the intense
pain God experiences as a result of our sin. He knows, like we can never fully
comprehend, the sorrow He has for the lost, and the feelings of rejection because
of those who refuse Him
- it is sheer agony
to His loving heart. And all those feelings fell on Jesus, when He hung on
the cross.
Because of our betrayal, the Lord God regretted creating
us, which is to say He “was
sorry that He had made man on the earth.” And that is not some way of
saying He would
have done it differently if it happened a second time. He had placed Adam and
Eve into a perfect environment under ideal conditions. He even gave them – gave
us – free will, so that we would not become some kind of “robots,” but we are to
be
independent beings, free to love or not love, obey God or not, as we choose.
We are free, but true freedom is only found in serving the God who made us.
Verse 7. “The Lord said, ‘I will blot
out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to
creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.”
God is very slow to bring destruction to people, whether
in groups or as individuals. Hundreds of years in the future, when God would speak
to Abraham, or “Abram” as he was called then, the Lord informed him about the
potential
slavery of the people Israel. They would remain in slavery in Egypt for a long
time until “the iniquity of the Amorites” was complete (Genesis 15:16). In other
words, God would not destroy the inhabitants of the land Israel was to occupy
until the people in that place no longer had any faith in the Lord whatsoever.
God would patiently wait - as long as it took.
And it’s the same at the time represented by this
verse. The Lord was going to “blot out man…
from the face of the land,” but as
we saw in Verse 3, it would not be done until there was essentially no godly faith remaining on this earth. And note that the animals would be destroyed with
mankind. This was actually a kind of mercy, an alternative to the slow
starvation that would otherwise follow. The adult animals of that time were
huge and the environment after the Flood would be very different, much worse. It
would be considerably colder. The very rays of the sun which contribute to our life
would now become harmful. There would be comparatively little food after the Flood
and most species would not make it. Noah’s ark would take representatives of all of them, but most
would be juvenile in development and many wouldn’t survive for they were to
serve as a temporary food supply to keep the others alive during that critical
time.
Verses 8-9. “But Noah found favor in the
eyes of the Lord. These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a
righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.”
You have to wonder, what is this “favor” that Noah
“found… in the eyes of the Lord?” Why was he “righteous” and “blameless”
in the estimation of God? Some
have thought this “favor” related to his obedience in building the ark, but true
obedience is much more than mere outward conformity to the revealed will of God;
though that is part of it. As we see in Verse 9, he “was a righteous man, blameless
in his time.” But we also must look elsewhere in Scripture to see why this man,
unlike others in humanity,
pleased his Maker.
In Hebrews 11:7, we read these words: “By faith Noah,
being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for
the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an
heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” “Favor,” along with
"righteousness" and an absence of blame in God’s sight, is found through having
"faith" in the Lord. Noah believed in God’s character, that He is good, even when faced
with the reality that his Lord was about to destroy the world as he knew it. He
“walked with God” through believing in His justice, His good purposes and His
right actions. Noah had "FAITH" in the Lord.
Verse 10. “Noah became the father of
three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
We know from Genesis 5:32 that Noah was 500-years old
when he “became the father of… Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” Whether or not you
believe that people in ancient times lived to such great ages, it is definitely
interesting that Noah waited so much longer than his contemporaries to have
children. The typical age at the first child was 65 or 70. It suggests that Noah
chose to not marry until he was much older and if so, others who knew him would
have criticized him for not obeying God’s command to be “fruitful and multiply”
(Genesis 1:28). The people of that time had continued to be religious, but
they had no
faith. Unfaithful religious people tend to be hyper-critical toward
others.
His sons were likely not triplets and actually were born
when Noah was ABOUT five hundred years of age. The order of the names in this verse suggests that Shem was the
oldest, Ham was the middle child and Japheth was the youngest, though their
stated order of birth in Scripture is not always the same. “Shem” meant
“name” or “renown.” “Ham” can be translated as “hot.” “Japheth” can be
translated “wide-spreading” or “God will enlarge.” More will be said about these
three in upcoming chapters and a genealogy of their progeny will be seen in Chapter 10.
Father, as Noah did, we place our faith in You.
We acknowledge right now that You are good, able to deliver us, and You will
deliver us at precisely the right time, in a manner that is right for us all.
We trust in You now and thank You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Genesis 6:11-16
Verses 11-12. “Now the earth was corrupt
in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. God looked on the
earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon
the earth.”
Those who purportedly want to extend our “freedom,” by
throwing off the restrictions of the past, should look carefully at these
verses. There are many who declare pornography to be a form of “art.” Many also say that
the killing of an unborn child is an "abortion," a woman’s “choice.” Opinions of that sort tend to
become "socially acceptable" and then are made into
the laws of the land. What is forgotten is that the majority opinion of a people
can run counter to the will of God. We see it in history and we see it
in the world right now.
GOD has opinions, too, and His way of looking at things
ultimately will be all that matters. The restrictions in society may chafe upon some,
but often such restrictions have been put into place for our protection. God’s
ultimate judgment about the “corrupt” nature of humanity is simple: “The wages
of sin is death...” Those words are found in Romans 6:23, but blessedly there is
more. Paul added, “…the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We
all are indeed “corrupt” in His sight, but He has also provided for our rescue from
sin, “in Christ
Jesus our Lord.”
Verse 13. “Then God said to Noah, ‘The
end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence
because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.’”
As we saw in Verses 11, 12 and in this one, God views
humanity as a “corrupt” race, “filled with violence.” It is becoming dangerous
for people to leave their homes in much of the world. Walking in the average neighborhood is
not a good idea. It is interesting that God does not like “violence” either, and
He does something about it. As He said to Noah in this verse, “I am about to
destroy them…” God is patient, waiting for us to trust in Him, and
He is also just, judging those who will not come into His love.
You might think it’s not fair that God spoke to Moses
and Noah and Paul, and He doesn’t speak to you. But He IS speaking to you, right this minute and in
many ways, including the warnings of these verses. Our loving God
continually communicated to the drunk driver: “Don’t drink that… you should stop
now… Do not drive that car… Take a taxi instead.” He or she DID drive that car
and someone died as a result. And at some point, when NO ONE listens to Him, God will judge this people
once more.
Verses 14-16. “Make for yourself an ark
of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and
out with pitch. This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three
hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You
shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set
the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and
third decks.”
The creation of the ark was an amazing feat for anyone
in any
generation. Noah lived in a world of small, shallow seas, which had no great oceans
like today. They probably had boats, though the great water creatures of the
time meant that any small boat would constantly be in danger. Plato, millennia
in the future wrote on Atlantis, which seems to be a corrupted account of the
Pre-Flood world, and his writings did speak of boats as a part of that world. The
words of the human author, Moses, in these Chapters is utterly accurate, for unlike Plato, Moses
was inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, who instructed him in a personal, direct
way.
This ark was as long as four and one-half football
fields. It has only been in the past century or so that any vessel
had a larger carrying capacity than this one. It could take on board the
contents of at least 522 standard railroad cars; more than twice the capacity to
carry two of every land creature that ever lived. There are something like
18,000 species of animals, mammals, birds, etc. in the world today. Double that
for extinct animals, add 5-extra for the “clean” creatures that God pointed out
to Noah, and you are left with about 75,000 animals on the ark. The
average-sized animal of all time is about the size of a sheep. There was plenty
of room. Large creatures like the dinosaurs and elephants were likely
represented by juvenile representatives.
It is probable that cages of various types and sizes
literally filled the “decks” of the ark. God has, of course, access to all
creatures and is able to communicate to them the need to hibernate and migrate.
Noah was told by the Lord that the animals “will come to you” (Verse 20).
So-called "animal instincts" are the work of God in their lives. They
did come because God brought them. And they likely hibernated during some
considerable portion of
their time on the ark because God made it so.
Father, You protected those on
the ark and You protect us who trust in Christ Jesus.
We have faith in You, for You are the One who will bring us
through. Forgive us our sins and give us life in Your
Son. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Genesis 6:17-22
Verse 17. “Behold, I, even I am bringing
the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath
of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish.”
God is certainly not shy about revealing His part in the
outward blessings and the troubles of mankind. He openly stated, as reflected
in this verse, that He was about to “destroy” everything! And He was
revealing to Noah precisely how He was going to do it. Previously He gave Noah
(and through Scripture, the rest of us), a glimpse as to WHY it needed to be
done. In Verse 13, the Lord pointed out to Noah that “the
earth is filled with violence,” and the context of that statement led to
this one – God would “destroy all flesh.” He
was going to wipe everyone and everything out, with very few exceptions.
When you look in the newspaper or view the news on
television; when you see such things, do you notice that violence fills this
world? If God destroyed everything once before because of our violent nature,
it should occur to us that some version of that destruction might happen again
at any time. When Jesus said, “Blessed are
the poor in spirit… those who mourn…
the meek… those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness… the merciful…
the pure in heart… (and) the peacemakers” (Matthew
5:3-9), He was showing us a better way to live. If enough of us do become
“peacemakers” in the power of God, His judgment upon the
human race might be delayed
for yet another generation. It's time to avoid trouble for ourselves and
for our loved ones by placing our trust in the Lord.
Verse 18. “But I will establish My
covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark - you and your sons and your
wife, and your sons' wives with you.”
A “covenant” is a contract, in which one of the parties
to the contract gives something of value and the other agrees to the terms and gives something in response. We saw in Verse 8 that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”
This is the same kind of “grace” we also see in the lives of men like Abraham,
“who believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6,
Romans 4:3). His “FAITH (was) accounted for righteousness” by our Lord (Romans
4:5). God is not asking us to do something that is too great for us - He
simply wants us to TRUST in the Lord.
In a time when faith in God had nearly disappeared, Noah
had given himself to the Lord. “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things
not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his
household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness
which is according to faith” (Hebrews 11:7). Noah gave his heart to God,
who in turn gave LIFE to Noah and his loved ones. And that’s the way the
contract is for each one of us. If you give your heart to the Lord; if you entrust yourself
to Him, He will give new LIFE to you.
Verses 19-20. “And of every living thing
of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive
with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, and of
the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its
kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.”
Notice two interesting elements in this verse. In the first
place, Noah was given the enormous responsibility of bringing two of every kind
of creature in the world into the ark for safety. There are literally billions
of animals in the world today, from the tiniest insects to the largest
land animals and there were far more types of creatures in the world at the
time of these events. The second part of the verse is even more interesting: “two of
EVERY kind will come to you…” In other words, God gave Noah a great task, far
greater than the man’s abilities, but then God did the work by bringing all of
the creatures Himself. They "will COME to you,"
He said, through the power and the love of God.
That’s the way it always is when the Lord gives us an
assignment – God calls us to a work
greater than we are and then HE does the work. When Jesus said, “Take My yoke
upon you,” He also said “… My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew
11:28-30). Life is indeed hard for everyone, but note that the kind of life avoided by the
great majority of people is that which is found when we give ourselves to the call of God. People
everywhere are afraid of what such a life might mean. And like it was for Noah,
God WILL take you to places and situations you never expected. But His “burden”
IS “light” because He intends to do the work, with
and for you. And you will find a wonderful life in Him, better than you ever thought
possible.
Verse 21. “As for you, take for yourself
some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for
food for you and for them.”
In the Garden of Eden, food was everywhere. At the
tiniest pang of hunger, Adam and Eve merely had to reach out a hand and take
whatever they needed. All the nutrients the body required and all the wonderful
tasteful treats they wanted, were found – everywhere. Even after the Fall of
mankind, the world contained an
incredible variety of fruits and vegetables – much more than today. Noah, and
likely his family as well, did indeed have their work cut out for them, but it
was a much easier task than it would be in future history because of the sheer
abundance of what was available in the world of that time.
Noah and his family also were highly motivated. Gad had revealed His
intention through Noah – the world and “all flesh in which
is the breath of life” was to “perish”
(Verse 17). They had the same kind of concerns for self-preservation we have,
which meant these eight people really WORKED at stocking the ark according to
God’s specifications. As it is today, God’s commands are good, and they are life
or death for everyone who lives. Notice in these verses also that the God
who warned them was also there doing the work with them.
Verse 22. “Thus Noah did; according to
all that God had commanded him, so he did.”
The greatest gift to humanity is found in the CHARACTER
of God. He is just, pure, holy, utterly without fault and He is full of love.
But in relation to humankind, a very great characteristic is found in the “grace” He
gives to those who trust in Him. Grace involves what is called “unmerited
favor” – something given that is not deserved. In humanity, from His
perspective, “we are all like an unclean thing, and all
our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Every one of us
has fallen short and we all desperately need the grace of God.
Noah “found GRACE in the eyes of
the Lord” (Verse 8), and there is only one way it could have happened. We
know from this verse in Genesis that Noah “did… all that
God commanded him.” and we also know from places like Hebrews 11:7, that
the reason Noah was able to respond with such obedience was because of the “faith” he had in the Lord. Even though Ephesians 2:8-9
was written millennia after Noah lived, the truth of those verses applied to him
just as much as it does to us: “For by grace you have been
saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of
works, lest anyone should boast.”
Father God, we give ourselves to You right now.
We trust in You that You can do what we cannot, and You love us so much that
"righteousness" is attributed to those who merely trust in the Lord. We
thank You and praise Your Holy Name. In Jesus Name. Amen.
