Genesis 6

          Verses 1-4: Mankind fulfilled the command of God in 1:28. They “…began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them…” (v.1) Those daughters of men caught the attention of the “…sons of God…” (v.2) because of their physical beauty (“…they were fair…”), and the sons took to them wives of those daughters. But exactly who were the “sons of God”? There are a couple different interpretations on this from Biblical scholars.
       The first is that the sons of God are fallen angels, the same crowd that followed Lucifer in his rebellion and were thus cast out of heaven. The primary reason for this view is taken from the book of Job. In chapter 1, verse 6 and chapter 2, verse 1, we are told that “…the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.” In addition to this, in Job 38:7, God says to Job, “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” God was asking Job if he had been there at the beginning of all creation, before even the foundation of the earth was laid. Those verses reveal that the sons of God were once part of the hosts of heaven, the angels and other beings that were witnesses to God’s creation of the universe, the heaven, and the earth. But, after Lucifer’s fall and exile from heaven, those who had followed him were also cast out, but they are still referred to as the “sons of God” throughout the OT.
       Thus, Genesis 6: 2 and 4 are describing the fallen angels who possessed the bodies of men and married human women which, in turn, produced giants (a.k.a the “Nephilim” as translated from the original Hebrew) that verse 4 goes on to describe as “…mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” It is very likely that this was Satan’s attempt to thwart God’s plan of mankind’s salvation through the seed of the woman. (3:15)
            The second interpretation is that the “sons of God” refers not to fallen angels, but instead to the godly line of Seth whose genealogy was listed in the previous chapter. This view holds that verses 2 and 4 are referring to Seth’s descendants that intermarried with Cain’s ungodly and heathen descendants, and that the “giants” were merely great men of both physical stature and fame. This is the view espoused by my Thomas Nelson KJV study Bible. The commentator in this passage refers to Matthew 22:30 where Jesus states, “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels  of God in heaven.” This was during one of Jesus’ many debates with the Sadducees who did not believe in resurrection after death. Jesus was explaining to them that when we who are the redeemed die and go to heaven, we receive our glorified, perfect, spiritual bodies, and there will be no more need for us to marry or produce offspring. We will be as the angels in that regard.
        The scholars and theologians that hold this view believe that Jesus is also stating that angels are incapable of sexual intercourse because they are spiritual beings, thus the interpretation of Genesis 6:2 and 4 could not possibly be referring to fallen angels. But this second view ignores the very simple explanation that fallen angels, a.k.a. demons, are spirits which are perfectly capable of possessing men and thus causing all sorts of wickedness and mayhem. This is demonstrated repeatedly throughout the Bible, especially the NT.
         I, personally, believe the first interpretation is the correct one. It makes more sense given what is revealed in Job about the spiritual war between God and Satan. It also makes sense that Satan would do something like this to corrupt mankind in every way possible in order to prevent the birth of the messiah.
(And, incidentally, the phrase “sons of God”, when it appears in the NT, refers only to us who have believed in Jesus Christ, accepted his death on the cross as atonement for our sins, and are thus redeemed for all eternity. Only in the OT does “sons of God” refer to the fallen angels that became demons.)
 
        Verses 3-7: Once again, God’s patience and longsuffering with sinful man is on display. The word “strive” in this verse means to act as a judge or to plead a cause, as in a court of law. Mankind had sinned against God, and God, as the aggrieved party, was calling men to repentance, using His righteous remnant such as Enoch and, later, Noah, to deliver the message. God set a deadline in this verse: 120 years. After that, the judgment would fall. God saw that man’s imagination was continually wicked, his heart always turning to evil with a desire to sin. (Genesis 8:21, Psalm 14:1-3, 53:2-3, Proverbs 6:18, Jeremiah 17:9, Matthew 15:19, Romans 1:28-32, 3:10-11) Because of Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience there is no good within us. We are born with a corrupt, vile nature, and our natural desire is to sin and rebel against God. The humanists and philosophers and artists would have us believe that mankind is improving, that we are getting better with each generation at handling problems like world hunger and poverty and disease and learning to work together for a greater good. That is all hogwash. From the days of Adam, even until now, we have always been wicked and depraved and dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1), blinded by the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). Only through God’s infinite, matchless grace, mercy and love can we find any hope of redemption or eternal life.
        God was sorry that He had created man, His heart grieved by His creation’s sin and wickedness. (v.6) While God is perfect, incapable of making a mistake, He can experience sorrow and regret, same as you and me. God was grieved because His children had rejected Him. They had chosen instead to follow the lust of their flesh, to reject worship of – and communion with – their holy Creator in order to pursue worldly pleasures and selfish desires. Just because God is omniscient, knowing both past, present and future, all at the same time, doesn’t mean that He isn’t saddened and heartbroken when we choose to do wrong or sin against Him. Don’t forget that we were made in His image and His likeness. Just as we are grieved when our own children disobey and rebel against our authority, so is our heavenly Father grieved when we do the same to Him.
       But just because God is longsuffering, merciful and loving doesn’t mean that He neglects His own holiness and justice. His perfect nature demands punishment for sin. His patience will last only for so long before His righteous judgment must be executed. (1 Samuel 15:11, 29, 2 Samuel 24:16, Jeremiah 18:7, Zechariah 8:14) Thus God declared in verse 7 that He would destroy mankind from “…the face of the earth…”. But not only mankind: the beast and fowls of the air as well. Only those pairs of animals that He brought to Noah were preserved in the ark. The inclusion of the animal kingdom in the pronouncement of coming judgment is a reminder that all of creation – the ground, the animals and man – was corrupted by the Fall.
       
        Verse 8: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Because of the godly line of Seth that was listed in the previous chapter, there was a remnant of men that believed in God and taught their sons and daughters about God. Verse 9 says that “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” The word “just” in this context means that Noah adhered to a specific moral and ethical standard. When all others at this time were giving in to every evil and sinful desire of their flesh, Noah and his family were doing the opposite. (Ezekiel 14:14, 20) “Perfect” means “blameless” or “upright”. The same adjective was used of Job. (Job 1:1) Noah had 3 sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. Even though Japheth was the eldest, Shem is listed first because through him was the lineage of Christ. Every time these three are listed here in Genesis, Shem always comes first.
 
          Verses 11 and 12 give yet another reminder of the wickedness, violence and depravity of sinful man. “…all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” (v.12) (Psalm 53:2-3) God is making it clear here that it wasn’t just a single group of people or a small population that was wicked. It was all mankind! Except for Noah, his wife, and their three sons and their wives, all mankind of the whole earth at that time was violent and corrupt and did not worship or follow God. (Deuteronomy 31:29, Judges 2:19, Psalm 14:1, Isaiah 28:8, Ezekiel 8:17, Romans 1:28-32, 2:13) Something interesting to note here is that it was only the wives of Noah and his sons that were also godly and upright. The rest of the family of these four women were sinful, rebellious and wicked. How hard this must have been for them to forsake their fathers and mothers and sisters and brothers in order to obey and submit to their husbands and Noah and follow God! (Matthew 19:29)
 
           Verses 13-21 are God’s declaration to Noah of 1) His intention to destroy all mankind for their sin and wickedness, 2) His plan to spare Noah and his family from the coming judgment, and 3) His instructions for building the ark that would be the instrument of their salvation. (Isaiah 34:1, Jeremiah 51:13, Ezekiel 7:2-3, Amos 8:2, 1 Peter 4:7, 2 Peter 2:4-10)
            Note from my study Bible: “The dimensions of the ark given in verse 15 indicate it was more like a barge than a ship. It was about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It had about 95,700 square feet on three decks, 1,400,000 cubic feet, and a gross tonnage of 13,960. It was fully large enough to carry its prescribed cargo. Its carrying capacity equaled that of 522 standard railroad stockcars, which can carry 125,000 sheep. Thus, the ark was about the size of an oil tanker and was of proper seagoing dimensions for an ocean voyage.” For more details about this magnificent structure, go to www.answersingenesis.org.

          Verses 19-20: It’s easy to forget how easily God has command over every single part and particle of His creation. From the single blade of grass to the cloud in the sky to the smallest sparrow and the largest lion, as well as you and me, God has the power to move and command every atom and molecule of this world and its creatures with merely a spoken word or even just a single thought. Noah and his sons didn’t have to go out and trap or bait the animals and then bring them to the ark. Instead, when the ark was completed and it was time to start gathering the animals, God reached down from heaven and, with his unseen hand, herded the animals to the ark in what I’m sure was a neat and orderly fashion. Not only that, but God carefully controlled and quieted every beast and predator during the entire voyage of the ark. The only animals that may have died during the Flood were those specifically brought unto Noah for the regular and necessary blood sacrifices he offered unto God for himself and his family.
          Note, also, that God made no mention of the fish of the sea in his instruction to Noah regarding the animals. This was, of course, because all marine life would easily survive the Flood since water was their natural home! All species of aquatic life, from the great whales to the smallest minnows, were preserved and provided for by God during the Flood with the same care and attention that He gave to Noah and everyone aboard the ark. God never misses a detail, and just because something isn’t specifically mentioned by name or listed on the page in the Biblical narrative  doesn’t mean that God forgot about it or it wasn’t important. Neither is any omission of some detail or a name in a genealogy a contradiction of scripture. Instead, if we simply think about it, and study, and – logically and spiritually – read between the lines, everything in the Bible will always come together and make perfect sense!
 
       Verse 22: “Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.” Such a beautiful, simple verse with such profound meaning. Hebrews 11:7 says, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Noah, like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and so many others down through the ages of human history, simply believed God. There was no doubt, no questioning, no hesitation, no grumbling or complaining. When God described the Flood to Noah, Noah must have been bewildered and confused. Rain? What was that? He had never seen any such thing! (Genesis 2:5-6) It must have been hard for Noah and his family to imagine rainfall , much less a flood of water so great that it would cover the entire earth! Yet Noah didn’t ask or demand from God any further explanation. God told him what he needed to know to build the ark, how to arrange the animals once they were aboard, and how much food he would need to store up for the coming voyage. Noah obeyed without question or hesitation.
         Not only that, but Noah and his family also worked tirelessly and consistently despite what must have been daily ridicule and derision from their friends and extended family in that region where they had begun to build the ark. Where Noah’s faith compelled him to obey, those who had rejected God mocked Noah and his family for their faith. Rain?? What a ridiculous idea! There had never been so much as a drop of water from the sky in the hundreds of years that mankind had been on the earth! I’m sure Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth were constantly scorned and made fun of as they tried to compel others to believe in God and His coming judgment and be saved with them in the ark. But, when the 120 years was accomplished, it was only Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives that were shut up in the ark when the rain began to fall.
        Oftentimes, in our own lives, God asks us to do something or calls us to a specific task that might seem out of the ordinary or crazy to us. He lays a burden on our hearts for a mission field or a huge career change that compels us to uproot our entire life and take a step of faith into the unknown. Like Noah, we should simply say, “Yes, Lord,” and set to work right away on our assigned task. We do not need a lengthy discourse of detailed explanation in a conference call with God. All we need is the slight direction from the Holy Spirit and God will tell us what we need to know for each step as we take it. It must have been hard for Noah to imagine what the ark would look like when finished. Even as he drew up the blueprints according to God’s instructions, he still must have wondered what the end product would look like or exactly how it would float upon the water.
       But, as the construction moved along, as each stage was completed and the massive barge began to physically take shape, Noah must have understood better what final goal God had in mind. It was in the act of obedience, instigated by a leap of faith, that greater understanding came as Noah and his family neared the end of construction. And so it goes for us today. God almost never shows us the goal line. Instead, he purposely keeps us in the dark, showing us only what we need for the next step or two, so that we learn to rely fully on Him as we go. That is what it means to walk by faith, not by sight. By doing so, we become the “…heirs of righteousness which is by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7) Noah and his family was saved only by faith in God, believing that what He said would come to pass, and then following His instructions for salvation from that future judgment. God, in turn, honored their faith and fulfilled His promise of both judgment on sinful mankind as well as salvation for those who believed and trusted in Him.