The Corruption Of Men And The Decree Of God. Series

October 18, 2013

Commentary on the Book of Genesis

By: Tom Lowe

Lesson I.D.1: The Corruption of Men and the Decree of God. (Genesis 6.1-8)

Genesis 6.1-8

1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Introduction

This section has caused a great deal of controversy among the Bible expositors, especially concerning the identity of the “sons of God” and the “daughters of men. There seem to be endless debates that often miss the obvious and significant. But whatever view one takes of the details, it is clear that these verses show how wicked the human race had become, and that God was certainly justified in destroying it and beginning again with Noah and his family.

Genesis 6.1-8

1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

After chapter 3, Satan is not mentioned in Genesis, but behind the scenes Satan and his minions are doing all they can to keep the promised Redeemer from being born. This was Satan’s purpose throughout all of Old Testament history. After all, he didn’t want his head crushed by the Savior (Ge. 3.15)! God had declared war on Satan and the deceiver was going to fight back.

What was Satan’s plan for defeating God’s people in Noah’s day? (It is on this point that there is confusion and debate between Bible scholars who hold different views. I will do my best to represent the three most widely held views.) His plan, ACCORDING TO SOME, was to entice the godly line of Seth (“the sons of God”) to mix with the ungodly line of Cain (“the daughters of men”), and the outcome was that men abandoned their devotion to God. It is the same temptation that Christians face today; BE FRIENDLY WITH THE WORLD—“James said, “You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4.4), LOVE THE WORLD—“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2.15-17), AND CONFORM TO THE WORLD—“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12.2), rather than be separated from the world (see 2 Co. 6.14-7.1). Of course, this could lead to being “condemned with the world”—“When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world” (1 Co. 11.32). Lot is an example of this danger (see Ge. 13; 19).