Genesis 6:1-22

Genesis 6:1-22

Genesis 6:1-2 -The corruption of the Godly line occurred when they intermarried with the ungodly Line. The godly ignored God and became worldly, immoral and rebelled against God. The Scriptures command in both Old and New Testaments not to marry outside the faith. The Cainites were characterized by cleverness, selfishness, sensuality and ungodliness (Genesis 4:16-24).

On the other hand, the Sethites were devoted to God (Genesis 4:25), consecrated to God (Genesis 4:26), enjoyed fellowship with God (Genesis 5:22), testified for God (Hebrews 11:5), served God (Genesis 5:29), and received grace from God (Genesis 6:8).

Genesis 6:3 God became disturbed and warned man that He would withdraw His Spirit In all likelihood this means that His Spirit which convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment would be withdrawn, because they had grieved it (John 16:8). This was the warning to the Jewish Believers and us as well in Hebrews 3-4, with the warning that judgment would come.

God’s witness to man came through the preaching of both Enoch, Noah, and possibly Methuselah and Lamech. Obviously nobody responded to the warning, but God is gracious and patient (1 Peter 3:20).

Genesis 6:4-7 Man became lawless as well as immoral and God saw man’s great wickedness, every imagination and thought was evil. God grieved so much over the evil of man that He regretted that He had created him. This repentance or regret does not precipitate a change of purpose for creation on the part of God, but describes His feelings in which he charts a new course of action for His creation. His word regarding the “Seed of the Woman” was going to be accomplished. In order to encourage this he leveled the playing field which led to the flood.

Genesis 6:8 In contrast to others of his times, Noah was a righteous man who was formed by God, and through whom God would work anew with mankind to bring the promised “Seed” into the world. This is the first time the word “grace” the Heb word is chen, which comes from a root meaning “to bend or stoop,”. Thus we understand that God bent down to us to offer us His grace. Like an adult kneeling down low to better communicate with children. The ultimate grace was God emptying Himself of His glory and becoming a man in Messiah.

Genesis 6:9-10 God has always kept a remnant and in this day it was Noah, who found grace from God. The word righteous and blameless are two notable Hebrew words. Righteous is the word Tsadik where we get the word saint from. The way of the Tsadik is the way of faith, believing God’s word. Consider the manner in which Abraham became know as a Tsadik in Genesis 15:6. The other word is Tam which means to be whole and complete; this is where we get the modern Yiddish word “mensch”, Job was described as being “tam”.

Genesis 6:11-12 – Contrasted with Noah and his sons was the rest of mankind who are described as corrupt, filling the earth with violence and leading others in their corruption, and violating the rights of others.

Genesis 6:14-15 God at this point does not reveal how He will destroy the world, but tells him to begin building the ark. His obedience took great faith since it had never rained since the beginning of creation (Genesis 2:5-6;1:7).

The ark is to be built of gopher wood and sealed with pitch which was a tarlike substance, like bitumen or asphalt. This same Hebrew word is used in “Yom Kippur” which means literally Day of the Covering. The word comes from the root Kapher the word used for the pitch. The same word is used in Genesis 32:20 where Jacob appeases him with the presents that he sent. In each of these instances the word Kapher is used in the context of guilt and judgment that needs to be covered.

Genesis 6:16-17 The dimensions for the ark is 300 cubits in length which is 450 feet (a cubit is approximately 18 inches). Its width is 50 cubits or 75 feet, and its height is 30 cubits or 45 feet. It was to have three stories or decks, each ten feet high. Each deck was divided into rooms. The ark also had a window, or more literally an opening for daylight.

The opening was one cubit or 18 inches and went the entire length of the ark. There would be only one door on it’s side. Some have suggested that like salvation there is only one way in. In Genesis 6:17 God finally declares to Noah how He will judge the earth and mankind. It would be a world wide flood, not something localized but global. Genesis 6:17 tells us that all flesh that has breath would be destroyed on the face of the earth.

Genesis 6:18 – This is the first mention of the word “covenant” the Hebrew word is berit. The root of covenant in Hebrew is “to cut.” As a result of Noah’s obedience, God is promising to establish a covenant with Noah which will occur after the flood. Not only is he told that God will covenant with him but also that it will be his family who shall be saved.

Genesis 6:19-21 – A male and female of each kind is brought into the ark. Some have speculated based on the amount of species in the world today and allowing for extinction of others the total amount would be 75,000 animals in all. Based on the dimensions of the ark it has been estimated that the ark could hold 125,000 sheep.

The average land animal is less in size than the sheep and so there was more than plenty of room on board. There is nothing that says Noah had to find these animals. God supernaturally directed the chosen ones to the ark, Genesis 6:20 says “they will come to you”. The animals might have gone into a hibernation type of mode minimizing the need for much food.

Genesis 6:22 – Noah did what he was told by the Lord which was a demonstration of Noah’s faith and obedience (Hebrews 11:7, 2 Peter 2:5).

Discussion Questions

Why did God limit life to a hundred and twenty years? (Genesis 6:1-3)
Why did God say He would wipe mankind off the face of the earth? (Genesis 6:5-7)
What kind of man was Noah? (Genesis 6:8-10)
How does Noah’s world compare to our society?
How can we maintain a blameless reputation?
What is one thing you can do to cultivate a blameless reputation among your coworkers? Neighbors?

Genesis 6:1-2 – The identity of the “sons of God” is disputed. Some interpret the term as referring to supernatural beings, followers of Satan, who cohabited with human women (the “daughters of men,”). In Job 1:6;2:1 angelic beings are referred to as the “Sons of God” and the reference to the fallen angels in 2 Peter 2:4 & Jude 6,7 is based on this incidence. A strong argument for this position is the phrase “sons of God” which is used in the OT almost exclusively of angels (Job 1:6;2:1;38:7).

In the NT we are told Angels do not marry but it does not say they could not have sexual relations (Mark 12:25). Still another interesting aspect of this is found in the offspring that come from this alliance they are described as “giants”. A second interpretation is that the “sons of God” were the descendants of Seth and the “daughters of men” were the descendants of Cain; their sin was the intermarriage between the godly and the ungodly.

The Scriptures speak in both Old and New Testaments of the commandment not to marry outside of the faith. The Cainites were characterized by cleverness, culture, civilization, selfishness, sensuality and ungodliness (Genesis 4:16-24). On the other hand, the Sethites were devoted to God (Genesis 4:25), consecrated to God (Genesis 4:26), enjoyed fellowship with God (Genesis 5:22), testified for God (Hebrews 11:5), served God (Genesis 5:29), and received grace from God (Genesis 6:8).

Genesis 6:3 – God’s judgment was that His Spirit would not “strive” (or “remain”) forever but will withdraw from men. In all likelihood this means that His Spirit which convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment would be withdrawn, because they had grieved it (John 16:8).

This was the warning to the Jewish Believers and us as well in Hebrews 3-4, with the warning that judgment would come. Some believe that the “One hundred and twenty years” refers to man’s shortened life expectancy, but more likely it refers to the period of grace before the Flood struck. God’s witness to man came through the preaching of both Enoch, Noah, and possibly Methuselah and Lamech. Obviously nobody responded to the warning, but God is gracious and patient (1 Peter 3:20).

Genesis 6:4 – The etymology of the term (nephilim, Hebrew) is uncertain. Two derivations are suggested:

(1) the “separate ones,” from the Hebrew verb palah, meaning “to be separated,” “to be distinct”; or

(2) the “fallen ones,” from the verb naphal (Hebrew), meaning “to fall.” People of enormous size existed in ancient Israel (Numbers 13:31-33, Deuteronomy 2:20). “And also afterward” indicates that the “giants” existed both before and after the sin of the “sons of God” and, therefore, were not their offspring. Whoever these “men of renown” were, they were not to be feared by God’s people (Numbers 13:33).

Genesis 6:5-8 – A stronger statement of the depth of man’s sin cannot be found in Scripture. Unfortunately, the Flood did not alter man’s sinful nature (Genesis 8:21; Romans 1:24-32;3:10-18). God regrets that He created man. This repentance or regret does not precipitate a change of purpose for creation on the part of God, but describes His feelings in which he charts a new course of action for His creation. God’s change of action is to wipe out corrupt mankind.

His word regarding the “Seed of the Woman” was going to be accomplished. In order to encourage this he leveled the playing field. His right to take such an action is articulated in the words “which I have created”. In contrast to others of his times, Noah was a righteous man who was formed by God, and through whom God would work anew with mankind to bring the promised “Seed” into the world. This is the first time the word “grace” the Hebrew word is chen, from a root meaning “to bend or stoop,”.

Genesis 6:9 – Noah on the other hand “walked with God”. Note that this section is the account of Noah, not the account of the flood. It is the story of Noah’s godliness, the story of how he was sheltered, and it is the account of how he became the father of a new humanity. That Noah actually existed is borne out by the writers of Scripture in both Old and New Testaments. Isaiah, Ezekiel and the writers of the Chronicles in the Older Testament.

In the New Testament we find Matthew, Luke, quoting Jesus on the reality of Noah, as well as Peter, and the writer of Hebrews. The word righteous and blameless are two notable Hebrew words. Righteous is the word Tsadik where we get the word saint from. The way of the Tsadik is the way of faith, believing God’s word. Consider the manner in which Abraham became know as a Tsadik in Genesis 15:6. The other word is Tam which means to be whole and complete, this is where we get the modern Yiddish word “mensch”. Job was so described as being Tam.

Genesis 6:10-13 – The three sons of Noah were Shem, Ham, and Japheth the Genesis 6:11-12 are related to Genesis 6:10 because of the grammar forming a contrast with those who were identified as being corrupt. The expression “the earth was corrupt in God’s sight” means that in the eyes of God man received the earth from God’s hands and had ruined its heritage or future.

That the “earth was full of violence”, comes from a Hebrew word meaning “highhanded dealing”, or violating the rights of others. The 120 years of grace must have been concluded with the result that God determined to destroy them along with the earth.

Genesis 6:14-15 God at this point does not reveal how He will destroy the world, but tells him to begin building the means by which he and his family will be saved. Remember it has never rained up until this point since the beginning of creation (Genesis 2:5-6;1:7). The ark is to be built of gopher wood which in all likelihood was cypress or some other very hard wood. The “pitch” with which the ark was to be sealed inside and out was a tarlike substance, like bitumen or asphalt.

This same Hebrew word is used in the Holy Day called “Yom Kippur” which means literally Day of the Covering. The word Kippur comes from the root Kapher which was first used in the Scriptures describing the tar like substance that coated the ark of Noah. In Genesis 6:14 “…you shall cover it inside and out with pitch”. The same word is used in Genesis 32:20 where Jacob is about to meet his brother Esau whom he had deceived.

He sends wave after wave of gifts to mollify him. “I will appease him with the present that goes before me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” In both instances the word Kapher is used in the context of guilt and judgment. The judgment of the flood. To Jacob’s awakening conscience it appeared that repentance was not enough to reconcile him to his brother.

There needed to be an offering on the part of the offender to the offended. Esau’s face needed to be covered so that he would no longer see the wrong that Jacob committed. In all the remaining uses of the word it is in the context of sin penalty and impending judgment. There could be no approaching a Holy God until the sinner had been covered by an atonement. This was the reason for the multitude of sacrifices that were offered every day in the Temple.

The term “ark” (tevah, Hebrew) probably referred to a chest or box. In Exodus 2:3,5 it refers to the basket of bulrushes in which baby Moses was hidden. It is also a type, portraying the rescue of believers by Christ (1 Peter 3:20,21). The dimensions for the ark is 300 cubits in length which is 450 feet, a cubit is approximately 18 inches. Its width is 50 cubits or 75 feet, and its height is 30 cubits or 45 feet.

It was to have three stories or decks, each ten feet high. Each deck was divided into rooms. The ark also had a window, or more literally an opening for daylight. The opening was one cubit or 18 inches and went the entire length of the ark. There would be only one door on it’s side. Some have suggested that like salvation there is only one way in. In Genesis 6:17 God finally declares to Noah how He will judge the earth and mankind. It would be a world wide flood, not something localized but global. Genesis 6:17 tells us that all flesh that has breath would be destroyed on the face of the earth.

Genesis 6:18 – This is the first mention of the word “covenant” in the Hebrew berit the root of this word is “to cut.” As a result of Noah’s obedience, God is promising to establish a covenant with Noah which will occur after the flood. Not only is he told that God will covenant with him but also that it will be his family who shall be saved.

Genesis 6:19-21 – A male and female of each kind is brought into the ark. In addition 7 kosher or clean animals were brought on board for sacrifice to the Lord. These animals were probably young and small. Some have speculated based on the amount of species in the world today and allowing for extinction of others the total amount would be 75,000 animals in all. Based on the dimensions of the ark it has been estimated that the ark could hold 125,000 sheep.

The average land animal is less in size than the sheep there was more than plenty of room on board. There is nothing that says Noah had to find these animals, God supernaturally directed the chosen ones to the ark, Genesis 6:20 says “they will come to you”. The animals might have gone into a hibernation type of mode minimizing the need for much food. For food Noah is commanded to make provision for all.

Genesis 6:22 – Noah did what he was told by the Lord. Hebrews 11:7 says that this action was a demonstration of Noah’s faith. This type of obedience, and the building of the ark left the world without excuse. (Hebrews 11:7) “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”

(2 Peter 2:5) “and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;” The tasks God gave Noah were not easy, in fact they were difficult and probably discouraging in the face of much mocking from society around him. Yet in the face of these obstacles he obeyed.

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