Genesis 6:1-12
The Wickedness and Judgment of Man
1 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.
3 And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 There were giants 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.
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
Noah Pleases God
9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
The narrative of humanity turned to the worse after Cain killed his brother Abel and his grandson Lamech did likewise with another man for hurting him in some way. The corruption of sin made life cheap and vengeance as common as immorality in fallen mankind. These filled the earth after their own kind which was designed to be in God’s untainted image but ended up with the image marred by sin instead. Men who were the sons of God as Adam was took wives from the daughters of men that God created through the descendants of Cain as well as Seth who was “a son in his own [Adam’s] likeness, after his image, and named him Seth” (Genesis 5:3). They tried to carry out the original command to their forefathers to multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 1:28), but the corruption of sin brought more evil into the world after their own kind to fill it with violence and wickedness in deeds and intentions. Around this time the LORD capped people’s lifespans at around one hundred and twenty years instead of the nine hundred plus as previously in order to limit the damage of sin among them. He did not desire to keep striving with man but loved His creation enough to necessitate dealing decisively with them in the downward spiral of wickedness as people rejected God’s word and beloved the lie that they determined what was right and wrong instead of believing and observing all the LORD told them, which disobedience is defined as sin. This original sin was propagated by those born after their own kind of fallen men and women and resulted in polygamy (“they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose”) and other wickedness to likely include murder as Cain and Lamech demonstrated. They faced sin at their heart’s door but did not overcome (Genesis 4:7) and overrule it according to God’s word! Their offspring was mighty in size before their DNA was further corrupted and were described here as mighty and renowned giants. This certainly does not mean that angels bred with women to make giants as some infer, but simply that the sons and daughters of Adam’s descendants were great and bore great children. However, the thoughts and intents of these corrupted great ones was too much for God to allow to continue to fill His good creation with and so He was grieved over what sin had done to them. He was ready to hold them to just judgment for their rebellion against His word in thinking they knew better than He (Genesis 3:1-3, 4-5) and so condemned the world to the destruction of the flood to wipe the slate clean and start over with a few good men and their wives. He found Noah to be that one and his sons and wives along with him. Noah was perfect compared to all others in his day (though not perfectly righteous as no mere man can ever be according to Romans 3:23), and these were chosen to live and escape judgment because they trusted God’s judgment and choice to save them as if baptized through the flood waters (1 Peter 3:18-19, 20-21) to come. Noah found grace in God’s eyes, not justified by his own perfection, but by God’s righteousness to save him just as we who are in Christ have been delivered from destruction by His righteousness and choosing by being baptized into His grace in Christ. All flesh still has corrupted its way on the earth with sin and only can find deliverance from judgment through the fire (2 Peter 3:6-7) to come through Him (2 Peter 3:9, 13) as through His promise in the Son of God promised from the beginning in Genesis 3:15 we look for new heaven and earth in which righteousness dwells and a new creation free from the presence of corrupting sin brings the the very presence of God to dwell within (Revelation 21:3, 22:3-4) just as in the beginning when God walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve. This is our unending and certain hope in Christ Jesus in the face of the final judgment on the wickedness of the world and the deliverance of God on those He shows grace on we sinners!
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