The Earth was Filled with Violence
Notes
Transcript
Call to Worship
Call to Worship
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works.
All Your works shall praise You, O Lord,
And Your saints shall bless You.
They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,
And talk of Your power,
To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,
And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
Introduction
Introduction
Last week we looked at genealogies.
Specifically, we spent most of our time looking at the Godly line of Seth, down to Noah and his sons.
We contrasted the Godly line of Seth, compared with the ungodly line of Cain
Enoch, walked with God and was no more
One of two men named in Scripture who skipped death.
Methuselah, the oldest man to live
Perhaps his long life pointed to the long-suffering of God, since Methuselah died in the year of the flood
Lastly, we came to Noah, who also walked with God.
We talked about the importance of geneaologies
It’s good to know where we came from, genetically, but even more so spiritually.
It’s good to know where ideas and beliefs come from.
Genesis 6
Genesis 6
Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.
If we hadn’t already figured out that the population on earth was increasing,
we are told plainly here:
“men began to multiply on the face of the earth”
Who are the sons of God?
A couple main views
The godly line of Seth.
They saw that the daughters of the ungodly descendants of Adam were beautiful and took them as wives, even though it was not wise.
Scripture is clear about not marrying unbelievers,
whether with the children of Israel and pagan caananites
or Christians not being unequally yoked with unbelieving spouses.
Some believe that the “sons of God” refers to Kings, or mighty men, who took as many wives as they wanted, creating harems.
Whatever the case, this is supposed to indicate wickedness on earth is increasing.
And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”
Some say this is God limiting the lifespan of humans from 900 years plus to 120,
But this doesn’t make much sense since even after the flood, many men would live in excess of 120 years for centuries to come.
More likely is that this is in reference to the time God gave for the people to repent.
He sent various warnings, but did not send the Flood until 120 years after this statement.
We’ll get more details about this in a few verses, but God was not pleased with mortal man’s increasing sin and wickedness
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.
There were giants… in those days and also afterward
This word used for ‘giants’ is only used in one other place during the Exodus, when the 12 spies returned from spying out Canaan
Numbers 13:33 “There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.””
The word here used is where we get Nephilim
This verse identifies The Anakim as descendants of the Nephilim
Elsewhere, Giants are translated from a different Hebrew word from which we get Rephaim.
Anakim are also called Rephaim.
Not sure the exact relationship between Nephilim and Rephaim, but both words are translated as Giants and both words are used to describe the descendants of Anak
Goliath was an Anakim
The dimensions of given of these giants leaves no doubt that they were giant.
This is where the 2nd main interpretation of “sons of God” comes in
As mentioned already, the first view is that they are descendants of the Godly line of Seth, but that wouldn’t explain why they are mentioned in the same breath as the Nephilim.
Why would men from the Godly line of Seth, marrying women from the ungodly line of men, create men of renown?
It just doesn’t make sense.
What seems to be going on here, is that Moses is making a connection between a giant race of men that are produced by the union of the “Sons of God” and the “daughters of men”
The only other time “sons of God” is used in the OT is in Job.
All 3 times, it is referring to angels, with the first 2 mentions specifically including Satan.
So the 2nd main interpretation would be that somehow, an unholy union between fallen angels and the daughters of men created giant human-demonic hybrids called Nephilim.
While I don’t think Christians should be dogmatic on what these Nephilim are, I think we should strongly consider this 2nd interpretation.
World religions and mythology are full of stories of celestial beings taking human wives and producing notable offspring:
Hercules
Achilles
Perseus
Gilgamesh
Would be some names we are more familiar with from Greek, Roman, and Sumerian mythology
As mentioned in the Sermon on Genesis 1, Christians should not be concerned about pagan mythologies having similarities with our faith, the true myth, because they are echoes and distortions of what really happened.
Instead of dismissing pagan myths as outright demonic lies, it would be better to think of them as true stories, that have been distorted and twisted through the years, but started off as something based on a true person or event.
The world is not just stuff.
Since the enlightenment in the 17th century, Christianity has become more and more materialistic, dismissing or minimizing the more “incredible” accounts of Scripture.
From not believing in a literal 6 day creation,
To not believing in a world-wide flood,
not believing in the plagues of Egypt, or the crossing of the Red Sea on dry land.
Trying to say Goliath was only 6’6”, but seemed like a giant to the malnutritioned bronze age shepherds.
to more damning errors, like denying the virgin birth, miracles of Christ, or the resurrection.
The safest thing is to believe Scripture for what it plainly says.
No need to strain the meaning of the text to make it more believable to 21st century minds.
I believe that the most straight-forward reading of the text is that the “sons of God” were fallen angelic beings that somehow reproduced with the daughters of men, creating an evil race of men that were bigger and stronger than the rest of humanity, and somehow this continued even after the flood leading to giants like Goliath.
Some will point to Matthew 22:30 where Jesus says the angels in heaven don’t marry, but that’s not what is going on in the text here, these are fallen angels, increasing sin on the earth, not angels in heaven entering into marriage.
Jude 6-7 seem to hint that the fallen angels were involved in sexual perversions like Sodom.
The book of Enoch, (not inspired Scripture and not actually written by Enoch, though it’s attributed to him) talks about fallen angels impregnating human women in the days of Noah.
So this is not a novel idea, but one that predates the Church.
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. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 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.” But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Something that had started off very good, turned into “only evil continually”
The heart of God was grieved.
The language here is used to help us relate to God’s thoughts, but does not mean he was caught off guard or regretted making humanity in the same way we would in that situation.
God did not make a mistake.
He is sovereign and knew this would happen
It was part of his good and perfect plan of redemption set into motion before the foundation of the world,
but that doesn’t mean he was pleased with the sin and decay.
We cannot comprehend the mind of God, but he gives us a little glimpse of it here, so that we might understand how sinful and wicked things had become.
Because of the depth of the sin, wickedness and corruption, God was not only going to destroy man, but also the animals and the plants.
There was no death before the Fall.
Animals did not kill or eat each other.
There were no poisonous plants
I’m going to string some thoughts together that I had while thinking about this text over the last week.
2 weeks ago, with Cain and Abel, we were given some of the genealogy of Cain and the text pointed out that some of his descendants were pioneers in various technologies
Metalworking, music, animal husbandry
but we’re not given a lot of details.
In various mythologies, various gods brought knowledge of those things to humanity
music, metallurgy, even things like fire.
We would identify those “gods” as demons.
In more recent ages, during the middle ages and into more modern, the forefathers of modern scientific fields were almost always involved with the occult.
Chemistry and physics came out of alchemy, which was an occultist influenced field where men would try to turn lead into gold, cures for disease, and eternal life, among other things.
Many of these men were practicing various forms of witchcraft and sorcery as part of their studying.
The occultist connections with technological advancements continue into our current age with those developing rockets, nuclear weapons, advanced military technology.
It would not surprise me if every modern technological breakthrough was done with the aid of drugs or eastern meditation, if not with overt occultist practices.
There seems to be a connection in mythology, history, and modern day between advancement in technology and demonic influence.
The ancients received wisdom from the gods
the medieval alchemists received wisdom from elves and fairies,
moderns are using Ayahuasca and other drugs or practices to contact machine elves and inter dimensional beings for wisdom and knowledge.
even the people interested in contacting UFOs use almost the exact same methods
There’s a line all the way through history of people doing similar practices to gain knowledge and technology, but the beings they interact with change through the centuries.
They’re all demons
If that is the case, then it is likely that Cain’s ancestors were getting aid in developing technology from demons.
If the demons were perverting the human line and making monstrous human hybrids, what were they doing with the animals and plants?
Maybe this is why God was intent on destroying the whole world, and not just humans?
Whatever the case, in all this wickedness that grieved God’s heart
Noah found Grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Noah walked with God.
This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
The world was descending to hell, yet Noah was pleasing God
He was leading his family
raising his sons.
and walking with God.
He was not perfect because he was sinless, but because he trusted God.
He had faith in God.
The Earth was also corrupt.
And filled with Violence.
All flesh had been corrupted.
What does this mean?
Solomon says: “There is nothing new under the son”
We take this to mean the wickedness of man is constant, even though he might find new ways to express his sin.
But what if it really has all been done before?
Think of all the ways modern day scientists have corrupted creation.
Harmful chemicals released into the environment.
Nuclear explosions and radiation.
Genetic experiments on viruses, released into populations
Genetic manipulation of various plants and animals.
The violence committed on “transgender patients” by doctors as they lop off body parts and/or sew on appendages in a frakenstein-esque attempt to approximate the appearance of the opposite sex.
We already know the antediluvian descendants of Adam were more intelligent than us
What if with the help of demons, they not only created human abominations, but were creating all kinds of abominations that we’re only beginning to create?
The Earth was Filled with Violence.
They created giant humans, but what about animals?
Were they breeding those to be larger and more violent, too?
We don’t know, but it was more wicked and more thoroughly corrupt than we can probably imagine.
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. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 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. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 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 that is on the earth shall die. 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. And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.”
God gives Noah very specific instructions to escape the judgment that is to come.
Noah is to follow them to the T.
There are rooms within the ark
In God’s plan of salvation, he doesn’t just throw everyone together, but makes individual accomodations.
Likewise in heaven, he prepares rooms for His people who He will save.
The inside and outside are to be covered in pitch, to make the ark watertight.
The same word used for pitch is used for atonement or propitiate.
As the ark was covered inside and out with pitch to prevent the water of judgement from entering
The blood of Christ covers us inside and out to prevent us from entering into the fires of judgement for our sin.
How big is the Ark
cubit is the distance between elbow and your longest finger.
Can vary from about 15 to 24 inches
Structures of antiquity were measured in a royal cubit, which included the additional width of the hand to the traditional cubit.
Assuming a 20.4 inch royal cubit, the Ark would be
510 ft long
85 ft wide
51 ft tall
Capacity of about 450 standard semi trailers
Could fit at least 112,500 sheep
So how could Noah fit all the millions of species on the Ark and feed them.
Elephants? T-rex? lions, wolves, bears...
Animal ‘Kinds’
Dog kind
not every single breed of dog
Cat kind
not lion, tiger, mountain lion, Siamese, Persian, etc.
Only land animals and birds.
Not insects, fish, invertebrates, ect.
2 of each kind, 7 of each ‘clean’ animal and bird
There are about 1400 living and extinct “kinds”
With that, there would be less than 6,750 individual animals
God could have sent juvenile animals instead of full grown adults
Even without that, the average size of the animals would have been about the size of the sheep.
Based of the earlier estimation of being able to fit 112,500 sheep, there would have been plenty of room for all the animals, Noah’s family, and food for the duration of the flood.
God will establish his Covenant with Noah
God himself will promise to deliver Noah and his family and all the animals on the Ark
Anything that is within the Ark, God promises to deliver.
Anyone who is in Christ Jesus, our Ark, God promises to deliver.
God will bring the animals 2 by 2, male and female, of each kind.
Noah was to bring food for himself and his family and for the animals.
Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.
Noah was faithful.
God commanded him, Noah obeyed.
Nothing like this had ever happened.
Surely God wouldn’t destroy the world He had made and all that was in it.
Surely God wouldn’t send a flood over land that had not been covered in water since separated the land from the sea and gathered all the waters together.
Surely God wouldn’t de-create his work
Noah had every logical reason to not trust God.
Normalcy-bias.
Yet he did what He was told
We have never died.
We have never shed this mortal coil and had our soul enter into eternity.
But God tells us we will and He commands us all to repent and put our faith in Christ.
Conclusion
Conclusion
In this Chapter, we are given encouragement to trust in Christ
In an incredibly wicked world, God offers salvation through the work of one man; Noah
In an incredibly wicked world, God offers salvation through the work of one man: Jesus Christ
Noah follows very specific instructions, in construction of the ark.
Jesus followed very specific instructions in keeping the whole law
God promises that anyone in the Ark will be saved.
God promises that anyone in Christ will be saved.
No matter what kind of evil the demonic forces are conspiring in the world today
let’s follow the pattern of Noah in doing all that God commanded him.
Repent and believe the Gospel
Be faithful in the things God has for you
