NOAH: Why Did God Bring the Flood?
Before Noah steps onto the scene, Genesis describes what the world was like in Noah’s days. It was corrupt, violent, completely lost and in opposition to God. So, how does the Bible describe the world at the time? Even Jesus, in reference to His coming kingdom, warns us of the “days of Noah” concerning what is still in our future and many would argue were in when Jesus walked among us and the days in which we continue to live. See Luke 17:20-37.
When man began to multiply on the face of the land, daughters were born to them.
God’s first request to Adam and Eve was to be fruitful and multiply. (Genesis 1:28) This was necessary to fulfill God’s plans for the earth. As time passed, the longevity of sinful individuals lead to wickedness filling the earth.
The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.
Who the sons of God were is debated among scholars. There are three different opinions:
1. Fallen angels
2. Powerful tyrants, perhaps demon-possessed, who viewed themselves as divine, and following the example of Lamech (see Genesis 4:19), practiced polygamy.
3. Followers of God among the male descendants of Seth and daughters of men from the line of Cain, describing an intermarriage between the godly and the ungodly, something God specifically prohibits (Deuteronomy 7:1-4; 2 Corinthians 6:14)
“When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you, and when the LORD your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.” (Deuteronomy 7:1-4)
“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14)
Though it would be difficult to determine which of these three views is be correct, it is clear that the kind of relationship described here involved some form of grievous sexual perversion, wherein the “sons of God” saw and took ANY woman they desired
There is an interesting word play which can be found by comparing Gen. 6:2 and Gen. 3:6.
“The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were attractive [good] … and took as their wives as they chose.” (Gen. 6:2)
“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” (Gen. 3:6)
In both cases, something good in God’s creation is used in disobedience and sinful rebellion against God, with tragic consequences. BOTH FELL from God’s grace.
Then the LORD said, “My spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”
The first clause states, “My spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh.”
The MacArthur Study Bible points out, “The Holy Spirit played a most active role in the Old Testament. The Spirit had been striving to call men to repentance and righteousness, especially through the preaching of Enoch and Noah. (1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:5; Jude 14)”
The second clause adds, “His days shall be 120 years.”
I see three possibilities.
One hundred and twenty was the span of time before the judgment of the flood would occur.
It can also mean that man’s life span will not exceed 120 years. However, Abraham lived 175 years and Jacob was 147 years old.
It could be that man’s days would become shorter with time, not that it immediately took place.
Revisiting, “My spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh,” 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
Man was given opportunity to respond to the warning. God is long suffering, not willing that any should perish, but THERE IS A LIMIT.
“The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.” (Genesis 6:4)
We learned that the identity of the "sons of God" is debated, and the same can be said about the “Nephilim.” So, who are the Nephilim?
The meaning of this term is uncertain. Although in Hebrew Nephilim means “fallen ones,” the Greek translators of the Septuagint rendered the Hebrew word as “giants.”
MacArthur’s explanation is “they were strong men who ‘fell’ on others in the sense of overpowering them.”
The only other use of the word Nephilim is found in Numbers 13:33.
“But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, ‘Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.’ Then the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.’ So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, ‘The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.’” (Numbers 13:30-33)
Genesis 6:4 tells us, “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward.”
The giants were already on the earth. Then came the “sons of God” and with the human women they produced children. Nephilim were before the fallen angels.
Gen. 6:1-4 concludes with, “… when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.”
The offspring of the “sons of God” are the men of renown.
Why can’t the Nephilim of Numbers 13 (time frame of Moses) be the same as those of Noah’s day?
“For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.” (Genesis 6:17)
The Israelite spies in Numbers were likely comparing those in Canaan to the strength, power, and wickedness of the historical stories of the people in Noah’s day.
“The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)
Wickedness had corrupted the earth. Perhaps explanation #1 from the start of this blog is accurate in that demons took as many women as they could.
Perhaps there is a bigger story here …
Perhaps Satan was sending his demons to intermarry with the human women …
WHY?
A commentary by David Guzik states, “... Satan tried to pollute the genetic pool of mankind with a satanic corruption, to put something like a genetic virus to make the human race unfit for bringing forth the Seed of the Woman—the Messiah—promised in Gen.3:15.” … And Satan almost succeeded. The race was so polluted that God found it necessary to start again with Noah and his family and to imprison the demons so they could never do this again.”
“And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.’” (Genesis 6:6-7)
Did God change his mind about creating man?
“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19)
“For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6)
The Lord’s sorrow does not indicate a random 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.
There are many lessons here. We invite you to click on the links below and explore the following:
While the identity of the Nephilim and the "sons of God" is debated, the passage highlights the mystery and complexity of the spiritual realm. Believers are encouraged to approach such topics with humility and a focus on the clear teachings of Scripture.
The Consequences of Disobedience
The intermingling of the "sons of God" and "daughters of men" led to increased wickedness on earth, reminding us of the consequences of stepping outside God's design and commands.
God's Sovereignty and Judgment
This passage sets the stage for the flood account, emphasizing God's sovereignty and His response to human sinfulness. It serves as a reminder of the importance of living righteously in a corrupt world.
The account encourages believers to be vigilant against spiritual deception and to seek discernment through prayer and study of the Word.
All Scripture from the English Standard Version (ESV)
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