It’s Genesis 6:1-22 today.
Knock, knock, hammer, hammer saw that wood.
Knock, knock, hammer, hammer saw that wood.
Knock, knock, hammer, hammer saw that wood.
Old Noah built the ark as fast as he could.
Am I the only one to hear the Holiday Club song when I read Genesis 6?
Thoughts
I’m sure you will have picked up that we are not going through Genesis covering every verse as we have done with the New Testament and Psalms. Sorry for all those who were waiting with baited breath for my views of that list of names in chapter 5. We believe of course that all scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) but I felt the need to press on and cover as much ground as possible. As with yesterday, there are big questions.
Who were the sons of God? As usual with this kind of issue, there are two main views;
- The sons of God were fallen angels. Those who hold to this view would point to Job 1:6 and 2:1 where the Hebrew means ‘sons of God’ and is translated ‘angels’ in the NIV and possibly Jude 6-7. According to this view, fallen angels intermarried with human women and this was a grievous sin in God’s sight which in part brought about the judgement of the flood.
A potential problem with this is found in Matthew 22:30;
“At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.”
- The sons of God are merely the descendants of Seth. With this view, verses 1-4 are not necessarily linked with the flood narrative but merely a summary of Chapter 5 to illustrate that the population is growing rapidly. It could also point to Jesus’ words on the final judgement and the flood;
“For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:38-39)
Why did God judge the world? God judged the world because of sin. This should not be a surprise; rather it should surprise us when judgement is delayed. We see that the world had become wicked (6:5), corrupt (6:11-12), full of violence (6:11, 13) and that God’s heart was filled with pain (6:6). That God has judged the earth before should challenge our own hearts
Why did he save Noah? It’s a fair question in my opinion. We’ve seen how the population was expanding so why care about one man and his family? The answer is simply that God does that all of the time, he cares about individuals. When Noah was warned, he acted, he built an ark. It was a huge undertaking. It must have made him a laughingstock, it had never rained before, but he obeyed. He responded in faith. Not only that but he was a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5). Perhaps this was while he was building the ark, it must have taken some time, or maybe he was preaching to his community before God spoke to him directly.
“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37)
Jesus said there would be a parallel between the days before the flood and the days before his return. Just like Noah, most people think we are wasting our time when we are seeking to build God’s kingdom. Some think we must be mad. Noah’s life speaks to us.
“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.” (Hebrews 11:7)
Reflections
Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
*Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise. (Frances Havergal)
