Genesis 6

Genesis 6:1

E. Widespread Sin and the Universal Flood (Chaps. 6-8)6:1, 2 There are two principal interpretations of verse 2. One is that the sons of God were angels who left their proper sphere (Jude 6) and intermarried with women on earth, a form of sexual disorder that was most hateful to God. Those who hold this view point out that the expression “sons of God” in Job_1:6 and Job_2:1 means angels who had access to the presence of God. Also, “the sons of God” as a term for angels is a standard Semitic expression. The passage in Jude 6, 7 suggests that the angels who left their own abode were guilty of vile sexual behavior. Notice the words “as Sodom and Gomorrah” at the beginning of verse 7, immediately after the description of the fallen angels. The main objection to this view is that angels don’t reproduce sexually, as far as we know. Mat_22:30 is used to prove that Jesus taught that the angels don’t marry. What the verse actually says, however, is that the angels in heaven neither marry nor are given in marriage. Angels appeared in human form to Abraham (Gen_18:1-5), and it seems from the text that the two who went to Sodom had human parts and emotions. The other view is that the sons of God were the godly descendants of Seth, and the daughters of men were the wicked posterity of Cain. The argument is as follows: The preceding context deals with the descendants of Cain (chap. 4) and the descendants of Seth (chap. 5). Gen_6:1-4 describes the intermarriage of these two lines. The word angels is not found in the context. Verses 3 and 5 speak of the wickedness of man. If it was the angels who sinned, why was the race of man to be destroyed? Godly men are called “sons of God,” though not in exactly the same Hebrew wording as in Gen_6:2 (see Deu_14:1; Psa_82:6; Hos_1:10; Mat_5:9). There are several problems with this view. Why were all the Sethite men godly and all the women of Cain’s lineage ungodly? Also, there is no indication that Seth’s line stayed godly. If they did, why should they be destroyed? Also, why should such a union between godly men and ungodly women produce giants? 6:3 The LORD warned that His Spirit would not strive with man forever, but that there would be a delay of one hundred and twenty years before the judgment of the flood would occur. God is longsuffering, not willing that any should perish, but there is a limit. Peter tells us that it was Christ who was preaching through Noah to the antediluvians by the Holy Spirit (1Pe_3:18-20; 2Pe_2:5). They rejected the message and are now imprisoned. 6:4, 5 Regarding the giants (Heb. nephilim, “fallen ones”) Unger explains: The Nephilim are considered by many as giant demigods, the unnatural offspring of “the daughters of men” (mortal women) in cohabitation with “the sons of God” (angels). This utterly unnatural union, violating God’s created orders of being, was such a shocking abnormality as to necessitate the worldwide judgment of the Flood. 6:6, 7 The Lord’s sorrow does not indicate an arbitrary change of mind, though it seems that way to man. Rather, it indicates a different attitude on God’s part in response to some change in man’s behavior. Because He is holy, He must react against sin. 6:8-22 Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD and was forewarned to build an ark. The measurements are given in cubits (1 cubit = 18 inches). Thus the ark was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It had three decks. The window in verse 16 was literally “a place of light,” probably an opening for light and air which extended the full length of the ark. Noah was saved by grace, an act of divine sovereignty. His response was to do all that God had commanded (v. 22), an act of human responsibility. Noah built the ark to save his family, but it was God who shut and sealed the door. Divine sovereignty and human responsibility are not mutually exclusive, but are complementary. Noah (v. 9) and Enoch (Gen_5:22) are the only men in Scripture who are said to have walked with God. If Enoch is a symbol of the church raptured to heaven, Noah symbolizes the faithful Jewish remnant preserved through the Tribulation to live on the millennial earth. Verse 18 gives the first mention of covenant in the Bible. Scofield lists eight covenants: Edenic (Gen_2:16); Adamic (Gen_3:15); Noahic (Gen_9:16); Abrahamic (Gen_12:2); Mosaic (Exo_19:5); Palestinian (Deu_30:3); Davidic (2Sa_7:16); and the New Covenant (Heb_8:8). These eight, plus the Solomonic Covenant, are covered in the following essay. Needless to say, a subject as complex as the covenants has been interpreted differently by various schools of theology. The treatment presented here is in the premillennial and dispensational tradition.

THE MAJOR COVENANTS OF SCRIPTUREThe Edenic Covenant (Gen_1:28-30; 2:16, 17)The Edenic Covenant made man, in his innocence, responsible to multiply, populate the earth, and subdue it. He was given authority over all animal life. He was to cultivate the garden and eat of all its produce except the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Disobedience to this latter command would bring death. The Adamic Covenant (Gen_3:14-19)After the fall of man, God cursed the serpent and predicted enmity between the serpent and the woman, and between Satan and Christ. Satan would injure Christ, but Christ would destroy Satan. Woman would experience pain in childbirth and would be under the authority of her husband. The ground was cursed. Man would have to contend with thorns and thistles in cultivating it. His work would involve sweat and weariness, and he would eventually return to dust, from which he came. The Noahic Covenant (Genesis 8:209:27)God promised Noah that He would not curse the ground again or destroy the entire earth with a flood. He gave the rainbow as a pledge of this. But the covenant also includes the establishment of human government, with the power of capital punishment. God guaranteed the regularity of time periods and seasons, directed man to repopulate the earth, and reaffirmed his dominion over lower creatures. Man could now add meat to his previous vegetarian diet. Concerning Noah’s descendants, God cursed Ham’s son, Canaan, to be a servant to Shem and Japheth. He gave Shem a place of favor, which we know includes being in the line of the Messiah. Japheth would enjoy great expansion, and would dwell in the tents of Shem. The Abrahamic Covenant (Gen_12:1-3; Gen_13:14-17; Gen_15:1-8; Gen_17:1-8)The Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional. Only God, manifesting Himself as “a smoking oven and a burning torch,” passed through the two pieces of the sacrificed animal in Gen_15:12-21. This is quite significant. When two people made (Heb., “cut”) a covenant, they would both walk together between the two pieces to show they would abide by the conditions of the covenant. God put no conditions on Abraham; hence the provisions listed below will (and have) come to pass no matter how faithful Abraham’s descendants might prove. Those who see no future for God’s ancient people often try to make this covenant appear to be conditional, at least regarding the land. Then they lay claim to all the blessings for the church, leaving Israel with little or nothing. The covenant includes the following promises to Abraham and his descendants: a great nation (Israel); personal blessings to Abraham; a name of renown; being a source of blessing to others (Gen_12:2); divine favor to his friends and a curse on his enemies; blessing to all nationsfulfilled through Christ (Gen_12:3); everlasting possession of the land known as Canaan and later as Israel and Palestine (Gen_13:14-15, Gen_13:17); numerous posterity, natural and spiritual (Gen_13:16; Gen_15:5); a fatherhood of many nations and kingsthrough Ishmael and Isaac(Gen_17:4, Gen_17:6); special relationship to God (Gen_17:7 b). The Mosaic Covenant (Exo_19:5; 20:131:18)In its broadest sense, the Mosaic Covenant includes the Ten Commandments, describing duties to God and to one’s neighbor (Exo_20:1-26); numerous regulations concerning the social life of Israel (Exodus 21:124:11); and detailed ordinances dealing with religious life (Exodus 24:1231:18). It was given to the nation of Israel, not to the Gentiles. It was a conditional covenant, requiring man’s obedience, and therefore it was “weak through the flesh” (Rom_8:3 a). The Decalogue was never intended to provide salvation, but rather to produce conviction of sin and failure. Nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the NT (the Sabbath excepted), not as law with penalty attached, but as behavior suitable for those who have been saved by grace. The Christian is under grace, not law, but he is bound to Christ by love, a higher motivation. The Palestinian Covenant (Deu_30:1-9)This covenant has to do with the still-future occupation of the land which God promised to Abraham “from the river of Egypt [i.e., the Brook of Egypt, not the Nile] to the great river, the River Euphrates” (Gen_15:18). Israel has never fully occupied the land. During Solomon’s reign, countries in the eastern portion paid tribute (1Ki_4:21, 1Ki_4:24), but that cannot be counted as possession or occupation. The Palestinian Covenant foresees the dispersion of Israel among the nations because of disobedience, their return to the Lord, the Lord’s Second Advent, their regathering to the land, their prosperity in the land, their change of heart (to love and obey the Lord), and the punishment of their enemies. The Davidic Covenant (2Sa_7:5-19)God promised David not only that his kingdom would endure forever, but that he would always have a lineal descendant to sit on the throne. It was an unconditional covenant, not dependent in any way on David’s obedience or righteousness. Christ is the legal heir to the throne of David through Solomon, as is seen in Joseph’s genealogy (Matt. 1). He is a lineal descendant of David through Nathan, as is seen in Mary’s genealogy (Luke 3). Because He lives forever, His kingdom is everlasting. His one-thousand-year reign on earth will merge into the eternal kingdom. The Solomonic Covenant (2Sa_7:12-15; 1Ki_8:4-5; 2Ch_7:11-22)The covenant with Solomon was unconditional as far as the everlasting kingdom was concerned, but conditional as far as Solomon’s descendants sitting on the throne (1Ki_8:4-5; 2Ch_7:17-18). One of Solomon’s descendants, Coniah (also called Jeconiah), was barred from having any physical descendant sit on David’s throne (Jer_22:30). Jesus is not a descendant of Solomon, as pointed out above. Otherwise He would come under the curse of Coniah. The New Covenant (Jer_31:31-34; Heb_8:7-12; Luk_22:20)The New Covenant is clearly made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah (Jer_31:31). It was future when Jeremiah wrote (Jer_31:31 a). It is not a conditional covenant, like the Mosaic Covenant, which Israel broke (Jer_31:32). In it God unconditionally promises (note the repetition of “I will”): Israel’s regeneration (Eze_35:25); the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Eze_36:27); a heart that is favorably disposed to do the will of God (Jer_31:33 a); a unique relationship between God and His people (Jer_31:33 b); universal knowledge of the Lord in Israel (Jer_31:34 a); sins both forgiven and forgotten (Jer_31:34 b); and the continuance of the nation forever (Jer_31:35-37). Israel as a nation has not as yet received the benefits of the New Covenant, but will at the Lord’s Second Advent. In the meantime, true believers do share some of the blessings of the covenant. The fact that the church is related to the New Covenant is seen in the Lord’s Supper, where the cup represents the covenant and the blood by which it was ratified (Luk_22:20; 1Co_11:25). Also Paul spoke of himself and the other apostles as ministers of a New Covenant (2Co_3:6).

A pair of every living creature was to be brought into the ark, as well as food. Critics claim that the ark was not big enough to hold all the species of animals and enough food for one year and seventeen days. But it is likely that the ark contained only the basic kinds of animal and bird life, and that many variations have resulted since then. The ark was more than large enough for this.