The Knowledge of Men and God

 God Remembers The earth had just been flooded. All animals and all of humanity had just been destroyed in water: [Gen 7:23 NKJV] 23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who [were] with him in the ark remained [alive]. But Noah alone, with his family and the animals in the ark, survived in this terrible storm and destruction. All the rain, streams and destruction could have understandably moved Noah and his family to fear. The entire world was covered with the flood and they alone were left. If God had destroyed so many people, could they assume that God will care about them? What if they were stuck in the ark? What if the destruction would take the ark? But in all this God never forgot these few people who had trusted Him and had remained faithful to Him: [Gen 8:1-5 NKJV] 1 Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the ...

 Gods Covenantal Faithfulness When God told Noah He would destroy the earth, He had already promised the establishment of a covenant: [Gen 6:18 NKJV] 18 "But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark--you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. It is the first time a covenant is mentioned in the Bible and in Genesis 9 this is elaborated.  Here Noah and his family had just come out of the ark. The world was destroyed by a flood and only the animals that were on the ark were left.  God says: [Gen 9:9-11 KJV] 9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 10 And with every living creature that [is] with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. 11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy...

 God Seeks Faith God saw the wickedness on earth in the time of Noah and it was very bad. It was for this reason that He would destroy the whole world and everything in it with a flood. He hated evil and was grieved by it. But Noah had found grace in His sight. He is described as a just man in a wicked generation. But all flesh was corrupt. It was filled with violence. No one would stand with Noah in the end besides his family. The flood had not yet come. There was no sign of it. In fact, Genesis 2 suggests that rain had not yet existed. There was simply a dew. It is in this context that God tells Noah to build an ark: [Gen 6:14-21 NKJV] 14 "Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 "And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark [shall be] three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 "You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from abo...

 God's Grace and Destruction In the time of Noah the earth had become completely wicked.  The thoughts of the heart of men was continually evil.  With this in view, God had decided to destroy the world: [Gen 6:7 NKJV] 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." God directly says He does destroy at some point. He Himself intervenes in times of wickedness and He will judge all sin in the end. He is not afraid to destroy, even though He takes no pleasure in it. And destroying He did: [Gen 6:13 NKJV] 13 And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. [Gen 6:17 NKJV] 17 "And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which [is] the breath of life; everything tha...

 God Grieves The wickedness on the earth was terrible right before the flood. It tells us a lot about men and what they would be without the Spirit. But God’s reaction to wickedness speaks volume of His character too. Genesis 6 says the following: [Gen 6:5-7 NKJV] 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." He was grieved in His heart. It vexed and hurt Him in a way to see this wickedness. He did not like seeing humanity this way. He had created humanity very good . Creation itself was not the problem. But when purely looking at the state of humanity as it was back then God Himself was sorry tha...

 Continually Evil God had pronounced that men would get 120 more years before their destruction in the flood. His Spirit would not strive with men forever, cause they were but flesh.  This flesh, according to Paul, is in natural opposition to God. Without the intervention of God we would be completely depraved. When the Spirit is finally removed from the whole world and wickedness rules the earth the outcome can be seen in Genesis 6:5 where our natural state without intervention from the Spirit is basically described: [Gen 6:5 NKJV] 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. The wickedness of man was great in the earth. Every intent of the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually. These are heavy words, but they describe what we are in the flesh. If God would remove His Spirit from the world we would see the exact same thing. It’s our psychology by nature . It...

 Heroes In the first few verses of Genesis 6 the process towards the general wickedness of the earth is represented. We have already seen wrong marriage relationships and the pronunciation of judgment by God who would not let His Spirit strive with men forever. But another factor in Genesis 6 is the exaltation of heroes. It says: [Gen 6:4 NKJV] 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. These were men of renown. They were physically strong and mighty. The way they are described, ‘men who were of old, men of renown’ makes it sound like these were considered almost as legends in the day of the writer. We can assume that in their own day they already had quite some respect and greatness. Now obviously some people may deserve our respect. And some people may be physically greater. But it is hero-worship that is dan...

 Gods Patience in Striving In the time of Noah wickedness had pervaded the earth. It was very bad. Every intent and thought of the hearth was continually evil and not many people were left for God. Only Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord while the others had been corrupted. By nature we are but flesh . No flesh can inherit the kingdom of God. It is sinful and wrong. We have to be born again. [Jhn 3:5-6 NKJV] 5 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. But the Holy Spirit is sent as One Who strives against the flesh. And it does not just do this in the Saints who walk in the Spirit, but also with the wicked who resist Him. But at some point God Himself has had enough too: [Gen 6:3 NKJV] 3 And the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he [is] indeed flesh; yet his days ...

Marrying Unbelievers Marriage is a blessing from God. It is a holy union of a man and a woman where they become ‘one flesh’. It is a great cure against loneliness if both properly conduct themselves. According to Jesus angels do not marry. This blessing is peculiar to humanity. But marriage can also become a terrible curse. In Genesis 6 the first part of the flood account is written down. But before God sees all the wickedness on the earth a development is recorded. The way it is placed and written down suggests that this was a development towards this general wickedness on earth. We have to remember that rebellious Cain had moved away from the land of God and settled his rebellion there. From his line Lamech came. [Gen 4:14, 16 NKJV] 14 "Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen [that] anyone who finds me will kill me." ... 16 Then Cain went out f...

 Comfort in Family Adam and Eve lived in a perfect world. But when they had sinned the land was cursed for their own sake. To be able to live Adam would now have to toil with much sweat and frustration. This curse is something we are quite used to nowadays, but in the days of Noah this curse was still very fresh in mind and may have played a bigger role in their thought process. Lamech, from the line of Seth, son of Adam, experienced this curse too. He felt the hardship of  the curse and for him this was not a minor thing. He had lived 182 years on this cursed earth when Noah was born to him. He knew of the hardships and toil of this life much more than we will ever do. We don’t live that long, but he had to go through it for 182 years and his actual age would be 777 years. The name ‘Noah’ means rest, the opposite of that toil in Genesis 3. Genesis 5 tells us: [Gen 5:28-31 NKJV] 28 Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. 29 And he called his name Noah, sa...