Genesis 6

Review

• Chapter 4-5
  • The birth of two sons – Cain (farmer) and Abel (shepherd)…
    • Both brought their offerings to God – but the offering of Cain was not accepted…
    • The problem was not with the offering – it was with his heart – seen in him murdering Abel!
    • God confronted Cain but he was not sorry – just sad because of consequences…
    • Cain then went out from the presence of the Lord!
  • Shorty after we find that the world began to walk far away from God…
• Genealogy of Cain – was DEDICATED to sin and STUBBORN…

• They were BLOTTED OUT by GOD – no longer knew WHO GOD was leaving them to DESPAIR!
• But there was hope – Adam and Eve had another son – Seth
• The Gospel in Genesis 5 – hidden in plain sight in the Genealogy from Adam to Noah…
  • Man – Appointed – Mortal – Sorrow – The Blessed God – Shall come down…
  • Teaching – His death shall bring – The despairing – Rest!

The flood of Noah…

• 1^st – Evil continually… vs. 1-7, 11-13 (5 points)
  • 1^st – Men began to multiply… vs. 1
    • The common view is there were hundreds or perhaps thousands of people before the flood…
    • Yet if the growth rate was the same as it is today (.012) – there would have been 750 million!
    • And considering the number of years between Adam and Noah – and long life spans…
    • From Adam to Noah there were 1656 years – and men lived to VERY long lives (900+ years) …
    • Add to that limited disease / sickness (no cancer – few if any virus – robust immune system) …
    • MULTIPLY is the right term – the population could have EASILY been in excess of 9 billion!
    • Yet for all the people – there were very few who sought after God!
  • 2^nd – Giants were on the earth… vs. 1, 3-4
    • Along with the multiplication of men we find a strange occurrence…
      • The sons of God saw the daughters of men – they were GOOD – and took them as wives…
      • The odd thing is that their CHILDREN – vs. 4 – were THE GIANTS [הַנְּפִלִים]…
      • THE Nephilim – only 3x in OT – here and in Numbers 13:33
      • They were MIGHTY – the word simply means they were VERY strong
      • Men of OLD – the word means to live FOREVER – IMMORTAL – Genesis 3:23
      • Men of RENOUN – shem – they had a name that EVERYONE knew!
    • 1 – Who were the sons of God – three possibilities…
      • The sons of Seth (godly) marrying the daughters of Cain (ungodly)…
      • The easiest of the views to believe and accept – suggests the decline in morality…
      • Godly men marrying unbelieving women – compromise…
      • II Corinthians 6:14 – “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.”
      • There is great wisdom in only marrying someone who loves Jesus!
      • The problem with this view is that marrying an unbeliever though unwise…
      • Does not result in someone having IMMORTAL GIANTS for children!
    • 2 – Possessed men marrying women…
      • The phrase the SONS OF GOD is always used of ANGELS in the Old Testament…
      • Job 1:6 / 2:1 / 38:7 – are the other 3 examples of the phrase…
      • The second view is that FALLEN ANGELS possessed men and then married women…
      • Again – it would emphasize the decline in morality in the world…
      • But also – the problem is this would not create IMMORTAL GIANTS as children!
    • 3 – FALLEN ANGELS marrying women…
      • By far the most disturbing and far fetched of the three views…
        • It seems more like the Titans (half god / half man) giants from Greek mythology…
        • But often mythology is a twisting of something that has a grain of truth…
        • It is possible that Greek mythology rose from the events of Genesis 6!
      • Is it possible that angels could MARRY the daughters of men…
        • We do have examples in the Bible of angels taking on the form of a man…
        • The men of Sodom wanted to have relations with Angels – Genesis 19:5
        • Hebrews 13:2 says that we may have met angels and not even known it!
      • We may read in the New Testament about these angels…
        • Because of their sin (relationships with women) they were punished – Jude 1:6
        • They were cast into hell (tartarus) in chains to await the final judgement – II Peter 2:4
      • This may have even continued AFTER the flood…
        • Descendants Anak were also Nephilim – Giants in the promised land – Numbers 13:33 
        • GOLIATH being the most famous of them all – men of RENOUN – I Samuel 17
    • Why would Angels marry women…
      • We do not know for sure – but there are a couple of ideas:
      • The Nephilim were NOT godly – all destroyed in the flood…
      • It might have been a plot by satan to fill the world into violence and evil!
      • But it also could have been to corrupt the line (genealogy) of man…
      • Satan knew that the Messiah (Jesus) would be born of a woman – Genesis 3:15
      • He was trying to corrupt the line of men and stop the birth of the savior!
  • 3^rd – The wickedness of man was GREAT… vs. 5-6
    • EVERY intent of the thoughts – meaning even before the it was a conscious thought…
      • It was ALREADY evil – DAILY – men ONLY came up with EVIL thoughts!
      • A sad state – the world had completely walked away from God…
      • The wickedness of man was great upon the Earth – men no longer wanted to know God…
      • They no longer wanted to do what was right – live their lives the way they wanted…
      • The earth was CORRUPT and filled with violence – Genesis 6:11
    • Is it no wonder that God was SORRY He had made man…
      • SORRY – (niphal / passive) the sins of man were causing God to suffer GRIEF…
      • GREIVED – (hithpalel – reflexive) God was HURTING His own heart because he made man!
      • Anyone who has children can understand exactly what this means…
      • We want the VERY best for our children – our desire is to see them excel…
      • But when they make POOR choices – when they rebel – it GREIVES and HURTS us!
  • 4^th – The patience of God… vs. 3
    • My Spirit will not ALWAYS [forever] strive with man…
      • The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts us when we sin – drives us back to God – John 16:8 
      • When I first learned guitar – my fingers bled from pressing on the steel strings…
      • But eventually with lots of use – they grew calluses and became tough!
      • When we first commit a sin – we bleed with conviction from the Holy Spirit…
      • But if we continue to sin – we can create a callous on our hearts – feel nothing…
      • Sin is devastating – if we refuse to repent of our sin – it will harden our hearts…
      • The danger is we end up rejecting God – prefer to live on in our sin – Hebrews 3:13
        
    • How long will God strive with men…
      • Not FOREVER – meaning there is an end to when God will try and save us…
      • But God knows we are prone to sin – for he is indeed sinful (ignorantly) flesh… 
      • And He will fight for us as LONG as we are alive – as many years as we have!
      • God does not just give us one chance – He give us a lifetime of chances!
      • But the moment we DIE our fate is sealed – there are no second chances…
      • There is no purgatory – the prayers of saints / priests / family cannot help you…
      • Either we have received Jesus and have the hope of eternity with God…
      • Or we have rejected the Gospel – and have sentenced ourselves to eternity in hell!
      • Hebrews 9:27 – “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment…”
    • Yet his days shall be 120 years…
      • A statement the flood was 120 years away – till God stopped striving with THESE men!
      • Even seeing the great wickedness of the world – He gave 120 years for men to repent!
      • II Peter 3:9 – “The Lord… is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
      • The Lord is always patient with us – giving us time to turn back to Him
      • God never gives up on us – He is always trying to get us to repent!
  • 5^th – The solution for sin… 7, 11-13
    • God would destroy man whom He created (bara) from the face of the earth…
      • DESTROY – first used here in OT – to blot out or wipe away…
      • Exodus 32:33 – “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book…”
      • Because He was SORRY that He had made (asah) them…
      • SORRY – (niphal / perfect) the sins of man had CAUSED God to suffer GRIEF…
      • The tense shows a completed action – there was now no more hope for THESE men!
    • Because the earth was corrupting before God and filling with violence… vs. 11
      • Corrupting / Violence (niphal / imperfect) – same word in Hebrew – to RUIN…
      • The sins of men were spreading like a cancer – corrupting the WAY to God!
    • God looked upon the earth (to the future) – indeed ALL flesh was corrupt…vs. 12-13
      • He could see where things were leading – Isaiah 46:10 – God KNEW what was coming! 
      • Corrupt (niphal / perfect) – the sins of man had INDEED led to their RUIN…
      • For all flesh – ALL MEN – had caused their WAY to be corrupted (hiphil) by their SIN…
      • And in the END the earth was going to be FILLED with corruption (niphal / perfect)!
    • The ONLY solution to the problem of the corruption – WIPE out the SIN…
      • Not that God wanted to destroy what He had created – He wanted to save us…
      • Like a cancer threatening life – corruption had filled the earth…
      • If God did not act quickly to remove that cancer – there would be no saving man…
      • If God had not intervened all hope of salvation would have been lost!
    • Do you not know that a little leaven – leavens the whole lump – I Corinthians 5:6
      • Acts 5 – the Holy Spirit for lying killed Ananias and Sapphira – for lying!
      • It only takes a LITTLE cancer before the life of someone is in peril…
      • A little sin in the church – can quickly grow to be a HUGE problem…
      • The longer the sin goes UNTREATED – it can spread and FILL the whole church…
      • The only solution – cut out the cancer – remove the problem!

• 2^nd – The genealogy of Noah… vs. 8-10 (3 points)
  • 1^st – Noah found Grace in the eyes of the Lord… vs. 8
    • Found GRACE – (qal / perfect) – 69x in OT – the word means FAVOR or ACCEPTANCE…
      • This is first time the word GRACE appears in the Bible – avoiding the coming judgement…
      • Noah was still a sinner – Romans 3:23 / Genesis 9:21 – he was not a perfect man…
      • He did not DESERVE to survive the flood – it was an act of the Grace of God!
      • How did Noah receive the Grace of God – FAITH!
      • Noah believed God by FAITH – and God gave him GRACE – Hebrews 11:7 
      • It was by FAITH Noah received the GRACE that saved him from the coming judgement!
    • Jesus did not die for us – save us – because we deserved it…
      • The wages of sin is death – Romans 3:23 – we deserve hell and eternal separation…
      • It was Grace – the cross of Christ – that God saved us and gave us heaven instead…
      • The way we receive that gift is by simply asking for it in faith – Ephesians 2:8-9
      • Then by FAITH – like Noah – we receive GRACE and are saved from THE judgment!
  • 2^nd – Noah was a just and walked with God… vs. 9
    • JUST – [צַדִּיק] – to be righteous – to live in a way that is right before God…
    • WALK (hithpael – reflexive / perfect) – he chose to walk with God all the days of his life…
    • But notice GRACE came first – then Noah was JUST and chose to WALK with God!
    • It is NOT the cart that pulls the caribou – the caribou pulls the cart!
    • So often we get this backwards in our Christian walk – thinking the more we do for God…
    • The more we read our Bible / go to church / pray / give – the more we will grow in God…
    • But that is backwards – leads to legalism and defeat – and misses the POINT…
    • Not that reading / praying / church are bad things – but they are the result of Grace…
    • It is not that we HAVE to read / pray / give – to grow in God…
    • When we grow in GRACE – we want to do those things – we become JUST / WALK with God!
  • 3^rd – Perfect in his generations… vs. 9
    • A rather peculiar comment perhaps referring to forefathers of Noah…
    • Noah was directly in the line from Adam through Seth – Genesis 5
    • As well as his sons – Japheth / Ham / and Shem – who is in the line of Jesus – Luke 3:36
    • Perhaps a reference that he was NOT tainted by the Nephilim (Giants)

• 3^rd – The command to Noah… vs. 14-22
  • 1^st – God told NOAH He would destroy the earth…vs. 13
    • Interesting that apparently ONLY Noah knew about the flood…
    • You have to wonder if Noah was the FIRST one that God warned about the coming flood…
    • Or if perhaps he was just the ONLY one who was willing to listen and act!
    • We get so distracted in our daily lives – work / family / food / sleep…
    • It leaves us with very little time to just listen to the Lord…
    • We have to make time – take the time – to get alone and hear from the Lord…
    • Have we heard from Jesus recently – God is not silent – we just are not listening!
  • 2^nd – Noah was to build an ARK… vs. 14-16
    • ARK – 28x in OT – used to describe a vessel meant to float on water (also Moses) …
      • The ARK would be made of gopher [גֹּפֶר] wood – covered in pitch (asphalt) to waterproof…
      • It had three floors filled with rooms – a window towards the top – and one large door!
    • The Ark was HUGE – it measured 510 long x 85 wide x 51 high!
      • A cubit is roughly 20 inches – the distance from the tip of your finger to your elbow…
      • Estimated to have 3 million board feet of wood – stretched end to end – Manila to Bacolod!
      • It was not until the late 19th century that a ship anywhere near this size was built!
      • The Ark had a ratio (length x width x height) of 30 x 5 x 3.
      • According to ship-builders – this ratio is the optimum design for stability in rough seas
      • The Ark – as designed by God – was virtually impossible to capsize (tilt near 90°)!
    • The capacity of the ARK…
      • The Ark had an internal volume of almost 1.9 million cubic feet…
      • The equivalent of 450 standard semi-truck trailers…
      • If the average sized animal was the size of a sheep – the Ark could hold over 120k!
  • 3^rd – The COVENANT with Noah… vs. 17-18
    • God was going to bring THE Flood on the earth to destroy all flesh with the breath of life…
      • THE FLOOD – [מַבּוּל] – used 13x in OT ONLY to describe the flood of Noah!
      • DESTROY – same as the word CORUPT – God would use it to wipe out CORUPT man!
      • ONLY those who were on the ARK would survive – all other that breathed air would die!
    • Yet God would make his Covenant with Noah…
      • COVENANT – used 284x in OT – a promise between God and Man…
      • What was the promise – so long as Noah went ON the ARK – he would live…
      • Although EVERYTING and EVERYONE else would perish – they would be spared!
      • John 10:9 – “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved.”
      • Jesus gave us a promise – just as Noah was given a promise…
      • Anyone who believes in Jesus will be spared the judgement to come…
      • Noah and his family had to go through a doorway into the Ark to be saved…
      • So we too have to go through a DOOR to be saved – Jesus is the door…
      • The Door is open – anyone can enter in – and Jesus wants to save everyone
      • But there will come a day – in a blink of an eye – when the door will close!
  • 4^th – What went into the ARK… vs. 18-21
    • There is much skepticism today about the ARK…
      • Could it have survived a worldwide flood – one the covered the highest mountains…
      • Think of the worst typhoon (bagio) you can imagine – then make it 100x worse!
      • This was a storm unlike had ever been or will ever be again – 40 days of fury!
      • Could it hold all of the animals that exist in the world – everything that breathed air…
      • Lizards / snakes / bugs (Jen thinks Noah should have left these behind)!
      • Lions / tigers / bears Elephants / rhinoceros / Dinosaurs…
      • The largest – 16m tall – 25m long – weighing 80 tons (full grown adult)! 
    • Who was on board the ARK…
      • Eight people: Noah – his wife – his three sons (Shem / Ham / Japheth) – and their wives
      • As well as TWO of every kind of animal – one male and one female!
      • Although clean animals were required to have 14 of each kind – Genesis 7:2
      • As well as ALL the food that needed to be eaten by them and the animals for over a year!
      • Only air-breathing animals needed to be included on the Ark…
      • There was no need to bring animals from the sea – they were preserved in the flood…
      • Estimates are there are around 1400 KINDS of land animals (including extinct)…
      • Meaning the total number of animals (give or take) on the Ark was less than 7000!
      • As the Ark could hold 125k sheep there was plenty of room for all the animals!
      • As for dinosaurs – do NOT bring full grown adults – bring the smaller kids!
  • 5^th – Noah did ALL God commanded… vs. 22
    • Noah built (asah / imperfect) all God commanded – so he built (asah / perfect) …
      • Noah started building the Ark soon after God spoke to him…
      • The process of building the Ark took close to 120 years (time left for man to repent) – vs. 3
      • It has never rained at this point – Genesis 2:5 – and Noah was building a boat!
      • Imagine what the neighbors must have thought – for 120 years!
      • People must have mocked and ridiculed Noah – though that he was crazy…
      • They went about their lives – marrying / eating / and drinking – till the day the flood came!
      • Not that Noah did not warn them – but none of them listened!
      • II Peter 2:5 – “[God] did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world…”
    • As in the days of Noah…
      • Matthew 24:37-39 – “As in the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
      • We live in a world that has turned its back on God…
      • They live their lives to eat and drink – only concerned about the things of THIS world…
      • But all the more we need to warn them – because they judgement of God is coming again!