Genesis Chapter 6
1 When men began to multiply on the surface of the ground, and daughters were born to them,
2 God's sons saw that men's daughters were beautiful, and they took any that they wanted for themselves as wives.
3 The LORD said, "My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; so his days will be one hundred and twenty years."
4 The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when God's sons came in to men's daughters and had children with them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was continually only evil.
6 The LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart.
7 The LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the surface of the ground-man, along with animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky-for I am sorry that I have made them."
8 But Noah found favour in the LORD's eyes.
9 This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless amongst the people of his time. Noah walked with God.
10 Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 God saw the earth, and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
13 God said to Noah, "I will bring an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them and the earth.
14 Make a ship of gopher wood. You shall make rooms in the ship, and shall seal it inside and outside with pitch.
15 This is how you shall make it. The length of the ship shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
16 You shall make a roof in the ship, and you shall finish it to a cubit upward. You shall set the door of the ship in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third levels.
17 I, even I, will bring the flood of waters on this earth, to destroy all flesh having the breath of life from under the sky. Everything that is in the earth will die.
18 But I will establish my covenant with you. You shall come into the ship, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.
19 Of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ship, to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female.
20 Of the birds after their kind, of the livestock after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort will come to you, to keep them alive.
21 Take with you some of all food that is eaten, and gather it to yourself; and it will be for food for you, and for them."
22 Thus Noah did. He did all that God commanded him.
Footnotes
- Verse 4 (Nephilim)
- or, giants
- Verse 15 (Cubit)
- A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man's arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimetres.
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Genesis Chapter 6 Guide
With the passing of the centuries, the degeneration of the individual and the family became that of society. There had been intermixture between the descendants of Cain and those of Seth, resulting in the Nephilim. These were strong and godless men, ultimately swept away by the Flood.
The description of life is a terrible one. "The wickedness of man was great" that describes the outward condition; "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" that describes the inward character. The completeness of the depravity is revealed in the use of the words, "every," "only," "continually." God was defied and the flesh with its passions and lusts was regnant.
All this "Jehovah saw." His fiat went forth that His Spirit should not always strive with man, and the limit of one hundred and twenty years was set.
Amid this degeneration Noah is seen as a man walking with God. With this man God holds communion and brings him into co-operation with Himself for the preservation of a seed and the bearing of testimony. The closing declaration, "Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he," is a remarkable revelation of his faith. It was a period of strange experiences. Strong men and godless were living and flourishing in all things mental and material. There is no doubt that for material gain they co-operated with Noah in the building of the Ark, which they must have held in supreme disdain. Nevertheless, in every nail driven and foot of work completed, space was given to them to repent. Noah preached righteousness by the very building of the Ark. Yet it would seem as though none profited, save Noah and his family; and his carpenters were finally destroyed outside the Ark which they had helped to construct.
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Genesis Chapter 6 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- The wickedness of the world which provoked God's wrath. -- (1-7)
- Noah finds grace. -- (8-11)
- Noah warned of the flood, The directions respecting the ark. -- (12-21)
- Noah's faith and obedience. -- (22)
Verses 1-7
The most remarkable thing concerning the old world, is the destroying of it by the deluge, or flood. We are told of the abounding iniquity of that wicked world: God's just wrath, and his holy resolution to punish it. In all ages there has been a peculiar curse of God upon marriages between professors of true religion and its avowed enemies. The evil example of the ungodly party corrupts or greatly hurts the other. Family religion is put an end to, and the children are trained up according to the worldly maxims of that parent who is without the fear of God. If we profess to be the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty, we must not marry without his consent. He will never give his blessing, if we prefer beauty, wit, wealth, or worldly honours, to faith and holiness. The Spirit of God strove with men, by sending Enoch, Noah, and perhaps others, to preach to them; by waiting to be gracious, notwithstanding their rebellions; and by exciting alarm and convictions in their consciences. But the Lord declared that his Spirit should not thus strive with men always; he would leave them to be hardened in sin, and ripened for destruction. This he determined on, because man was flesh: not only frail and feeble, but carnal and depraved; having misused the noble powers of his soul to gratify his corrupt inclinations. God sees all the wickedness that is among the children of men; it cannot be hid from him now; and if it be not repented of, it shall be made known by him shortly. The wickedness of a people is great indeed, when noted sinners are men renowned among them. Very much sin was committed in all places, by all sorts of people. Any one might see that the wickedness of man was great: but God saw that every imagination, or purpose, of the thoughts of man's heart, was only evil continually. This was the bitter root, the corrupt spring. The heart was deceitful and desperately wicked; the principles were corrupt; the habits and dispositions evil. Their designs and devices were wicked. They did evil deliberately, contriving how to do mischief. There was no good among them. God saw man's wickedness as one injured and wronged by it. He saw it as a tender father sees the folly and stubbornness of a rebellious and disobedient child, which grieves him, and makes him wish he had been childless. The words here used are remarkable; they are used after the manner of men, and do not mean that God can change, or be unhappy. Does God thus hate our sin? And shall not we be grieved to the heart for it? Oh that we may look on Him whom we have grieved, and mourn! God repented that he had made man; but we never find him repent that he redeemed man. God resolves to destroy man: the original word is very striking, I will wipe off man from the earth,' as dirt or filth is wiped off from a place which should be clean, and is thrown to the dunghill, the proper place for it. God speaks of man as his own creature, when he resolves upon his punishment. Those forfeit their lives who do not answer the end of their living. God speaks of resolution concerning men, after his Spirit had been long striving with them in vain. None are punished by the justice of God, but those who hate to be reformed by the grace of God.
Verses 8-11
Noah did not find favour in the eyes of men; they hated and persecuted him, because both by his life and preaching he condemned the world: but he found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and this made him more truly honourable than the men of renown. Let this be our chief desire, let us labour that we may be accepted of him. When the rest of the world was wicked, Noah kept his integrity. God's good-will towards Noah produced this good work in him. He was a just man, that is, justified before God, by faith in the promised Seed. As such he was made holy, and had right principles; and was righteous in his conversation. He was not only honest, but devout; it was his constant care to do the will of God. God looks down upon those with an eye of favour, who sincerely look up to him with an eye of faith. It is easy to be religious when religion is in fashion; but it shows strong faith and resolution, to swim against the stream, and to appear for God when no one else appears for him; Noah did so. All kinds of sin were found among men. They corrupted God's worship. Sin fills the earth with violence, and this fully justified God's resolution to destroy the world. The contagion spread. When wickedness is become general, ruin is not far off; while there is a remnant of praying people in a nation, to empty the measure as it fills, judgments may be long kept off; but when all hands are at work to pull down the fences, by sin, and none stand in the gap to make up the breach, what can be expected but a flood of wrath?
Verses 12-21
God told Noah his purpose to destroy the wicked world by water. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, Ps 25:14. It is with all believers, enabling them to understand and apply the declarations and warnings of the written word. God chose to do it by a flood of waters, which should drown the world. As he chooses the rod with which he corrects his children, so he chooses the sword with which he cuts off his enemies. God established his covenant with Noah. This is the first place in the Bible where the word covenant' is found; it seems to mean, 1. The covenant of providence; that the course of nature shall be continued to the end of time.
Verse 22
Noah's faith triumphed over all corrupt reasonings. To rear so large a building, such a one as he never saw, and to provide food for the living creatures, would require from him a great deal of care, and labour, and expense. His neighbours would laugh at him. But all such objections, Noah, by faith, got over; his obedience was ready and resolute. Having begun to build, he did not leave off till he had finished: so did he, and so must we do. He feared the deluge, and therefore prepared the ark. And in the warning given to Noah, there is a more solemn warning given to us, to flee from the wrath to come, which will sweep the world of unbelievers into the pit of destruction. Christ, the true Noah, which same shall comfort us, hath by His sufferings already prepared the ark, and kindly invites us by faith to enter in. While the day of his patience continues, let us hear and obey his voice.
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.