CAUSE OF THE FLOOD
In chapter 6 we see not only the Flood, but also the reason for the judgment of the Flood.
Genesis 6:1-7 KJV
[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.
Genesis 6:1
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
Such long lifespans as indicated in the record of chapter 5 caused a massive increase in earth’s population. This matter of “the sons of God” and “the daughters of men” is something that has caused no end of discussion.
There are a great many of good men who take the position that “the sons of God” were angels. A number of teachers teach, that the sons of God were angels, and I recognize that a great many of the present-day expositors take that position.
However, if these were good angels, they would not commit this sin, and evil angels could never be designated as “sons of God.”
Also, the offspring here were men; they were not monstrosities. I do not know why it is assumed by so many that the offspring were giants. We will look at this more closely when we come to verse 4.
Genesis 6:2
That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
The sons of God, identified elsewhere almost exclusively as angels, saw and took wives of the human race. This produced an unnatural union which violated the God-ordained order of human marriage and procreation as found in Gen. 2:24.
Some have argued that the sons of God were the sons of Seth who cohabited with the daughters of Cain; others suggest they were perhaps human kings wanting to build harems. But the passage puts strong emphasis on the angelic versus human contrast.
The NT places this account in sequence with other Genesis events and identifies it as involving fallen angels who indwelt men. Matthew 22:30 does not necessarily negate the possibility that angels are capable of procreation, but just that they do not marry.
However, to procreate physically, demons had to possess human, male bodies, making this an unnatural process. This matter of “the sons of God” and “the daughters of men” is something that has caused no end of discussion.
There are a great many good men who take the position that “the sons of God” were angels. I personally cannot accept that at all. Most of my teachers taught that the sons of God were angels, and I recognize that a great many of the present-day expositors take that position.
However, if these were good angels, they would not commit this sin, and evil angels could never be designated as “sons of God.” Also, the offspring here were men; they were not monstrosities.
I do not know why it is assumed by so many that the offspring were giants. We will look at this more closely when we come to verse 4.
Genesis 6:3
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.
The Holy Spirit played a most active role in the OT. The Spirit had been striving to call people to repentance and righteousness, especially as Scripture notes, through the preaching of Enoch and Noah.
One hundred and twenty years, is the span of time until the Flood, in which man was given opportunity to respond to the warning that God’s Spirit would not always be patient.
We believe that Noah preached for 120 years, and during that time the Spirit of God was striving with men.
Peter makes it very clear that it was back in the days of Noah that the Spirit of God was striving with men in order that He might bring them to God—but they would not turn.
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison” (1 Pet. 3:18–19).
These spirits were in prison when Peter wrote, but they were preached to in the days of Noah.
How do we know that?
Well, Verse 20 reads: “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”
When were they disobedient?
During the long—suffering of God in the days of Noah—during those 120 years.
Genesis 6:4
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.
The word Nephilim is from a root meaning “to fall,” indicating that they were strong men who “fell” on others in the sense of overpowering them. They were already in the earth when the “mighty men” and “men of renown” were born.
The fallen ones are not the offspring from the union in verses 1 and 2. It says, “There were giants in the earth in those days,” but it does not say they are the offspring of the sons of God and the daughters of men.
It does say this about the offspring: “the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” These were not monstrosities; they were men.
The record here makes it very clear that the giants were in the earth before this took place, and it simply means that these offspring were outstanding individuals. Humanity has a tremendous capacity.
Man is fearfully and wonderfully made—that is a great truth we have lost sight of. This idea that man has come up from some protoplasm out of a garbage can or seaweed is utterly preposterous.
It is the belief of some scientists that evolution will be repudiated, and some folk are going to look ridiculous at that time. Evolution is nothing in the world but a theory as far as science is concerned.
Nothing has been conclusive about it. It is a philosophy like any other philosophy, and it can be accepted or rejected. When it is accepted, it certainly leads to some very crazy solutions to the problems of the world, and it has gotten this country into trouble throughout the world.
Anyone would think that we are the white knight riding through the world straightening out wrongs. We are wrong on the inside ourselves!
I do not know why in this country today we have an intelligentsia in our colleges, our government, our news media, and our military who think they are super, that somehow or another they have arrived.
It is the delusion of the hour that men think that they are greater than they really are. Man is suffering from a fall, an awful fall. He is totally depraved today, and until that is taken into consideration, we are in trouble all the way along.
Then what do we have here in verse 4?
As I see it, Genesis is a book of genealogies—it is a book of the families. The sons of God are the godly line who have come down from Adam through Seth, and the daughters of men belong to the line of Cain.
What you have here now is an intermingling and intermarriage of these two lines, until finally the entire line is totally corrupted (well, not totally; there is one exception). That is the picture that is presented to us here.
I recognize, and I want to insist upon it, that many fine expositors take the opposite view that the sons of God are actually angels. If you accept that view, you will be in good company, but I am sure that most of you want to be right and will want to go along with me.
Regardless of which view you take, I hope all of us will be friends, because this is merely a matter of interpretation. It does not have anything to do with whether or not you believe the Bible but concerns only the interpretation of the facts of Scripture.
What was the condition on the earth before the Flood?
What caused God to bring the judgment of the Flood?
Genesis 6:5
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.
This is one of the strongest and clearest statements about man’s sinful nature. Sin begins in the thought-life. The people of Noah’s day were exceedingly wicked, from the inside out.
There are four words here that ought to be emphasized and which I have marked in my Bible. “The wickedness of man was great.” “Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil.” Only evil—that is all it was—and that “continually.”
These four words reveal the condition of the human family that was upon the earth.
Genesis 6:6
And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
Sin sorrowed God who is Holy and without blemish. “And it repented the LORD.”
What repented the Lord?
The corruption of man repented the Lord. It looks as if God has changed His mind and intends to remove man from the earth. He probably did just that with a former creation on the earth.
Although it grieved God because of man’s sin, thank God, He did not destroy him.
Genesis 6:7
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.
God promised total destruction when His patience ran out. It does not mention fish because they are in the water, and He is simply going to send more water.
I hope that you have really enjoyed this post,
Please Leave All Comments in the Comment Box Below ↓
This is an interesting interpretation of why God destroyed man and choose Noah to be the one to survive.
I did not previously know that the sons of God was identified elsewhere, almost exclusively as angels, who then saw and took wives of the human race.
This produced an unnatural union which violated the God-ordained order of human marriage and procreation.
So I knew that Noah was selected because he was not a sinner in the eyes of God, whereas everybody else were sinners, that had become too bad.
Thank you for putting it in a different light for me.
Hello,
Matthew 22:30 does not necessarily negate the possibility that angels are capable of procreation, but just that they do not marry. However, to procreate physically, demons had to possess human, male bodies, making this an unnatural process.
Such long lifespans as indicated in the record of chapter 5 caused a massive increase in earth’s population.
One hundred and twenty years, is the span of time until the Flood, in which man was given the opportunity to respond to the warning that God’s Spirit would not always be patient.
Thank you for commenting,
Jerry