Battle For The Truth (Part 39)

Genesis 6:5-7, “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.”

Introduction

I trust and pray that you have been diligently following along as we continue our journey through the Genesis narrative. The goal in dealing with God’s Word is always to say exactly what the Word of God says, then expose or interpret what it means by what it says, and then move to applying what it means by what it says to our lives. Amen somebody. I am convinced that this approach to “rightly dividing” or “cutting straight” God’s Word is what the Apostle Paul instructed in his letter to his protegee Timothy, found in 2 Timothy 2:15, Paul said, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” In following this approach, we should develop an understanding that shapes our view of the world from a biblical perspective or simply put, we should develop a biblical worldview. Developing this biblical worldview relates to Paul’s instructions in his letter to the church “in Rome,” in Romans 12:2, Paul said, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Or, as the NLT renders this verse, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Amen somebody.

Last week we covered Genesis 6:1-4, which as noted, is considered one of the most controversial and important sections in the Bible. Although we addressed a couple of the common questions surrounding the text, you probably have more questions, which is a good thing. For having questions suggests that you have read the text and are at least thinking about it. Therefore, I encourage you to send me your questions so that I may do my best to address them or remain on the call after the service for a more immediate response.

As we pick up the narrative vv.5-8, the question becomes, “what were the results of the union between the sons of God and the daughters of men?” Well, one thing for certain is that the previous verses inform us that God was not pleased. God was so displeased that He set a time of 120-years, before He would intervene. Another question may be, “Well, apparently things got bad, but how bad did things become?” Well, the answers to these questions are found in today’s text. Suffice it to say that things became so bad that it provoked The Coming Judgment of God.

V.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.”

To try and put this in perspective, from the time that God created Adam and Eve to the point that we are at in this portion of man’s existence is approximately 1667-years. We know this by calculating Adam’s lifespan, which was 930-years, and following the lifespans of the genealogies provided in Chapter 5. Relatively speaking, we are not talking about a very long time before things went from bad to worse to the point where God had to intervene.

Side Note: This is one of the main reasons why conservative biblical scholars adopt a Young Earth view (a little over 6,000-years), as opposed to an Old Earth view (millions or billions of years). I side with the young Earth view. How about you?

Following vv.1-4, where we saw offspring of the ungodly union between the sons of God and the daughters of men, the text says that “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 statement is pregnant with meaning that you can only fathom with a biblical worldview. The condition of the world at this time (as far man’s behavior is concerned) far surpasses our limited scope of what good and evil looks like. Imagine a world where there was no law and a demonic-human hybrid population that was expanding, who were not only evil, but superior in stature, strength, and other abilities. What is pictured here is men of legendary violence and evil or as v.4 informs us, “the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” In other words, the Nephilim. This is where legendary tales of Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Babylonian mythical superhumans originated. They were said to be the offspring of the “gods” whom we learned were fallen angels or demons who cohabitated with human women.

Names such as, Gilgamesh, Zeus, Hercules, Poseidon, and many more come to mind. That said, there are four words that seem stand out in this verse:

Great – wickedness

Every – imagination or intention of the heart

Only – evil

Continually – throughout the day and everyday

This reveals man as drifting in a downward spiral further and further away from God. And, as he drifts away, humanity is pictured as being self-centered, godless, and full of arrogance, pride, and violence. Thanks be to God, the post-diluvian world has not seen evil on this level or scale. Nevertheless, there is coming a time as prophesied in the Book of Revelation, where the ungodly trinity (Satan, the Anti-Christ, and the False Prophet) will usher in evil that only the intervention of Christ can defeat. Amen somebody.

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

This shows us the depth of grief that God felt as He observed the severity of man’s wicked acts and thoughts. Furthermore, this reveals God’s love for mankind. Obviously, one does not grieve over something or someone for whom they have no love or care. Amen somebody.

V.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.”

Here is God’s final analysis of man’s evil predicament. Time may never reveal exactly how bad evil humanity had become; however, we can speculate to our heart’s content. In the end, it really does not matter, because however bad it became, The Coming Judgment of God was going to destroy it all. Glory to God. God said that His Coming Judgment would destroy all land creatures—man (including the Nephilim), beasts, creeping things, and air creatures. Amen somebody.

Side Note: Since God was going to use water to destroy all life that existed upon the land, there was no need to destroy the sea creatures. This lets us know that there are creatures in the seas that have been there since Creation. In fact, man has explored and knows more about outer space than he has explored and knows about what lies beneath the seas. According to scientific scholars, man knows about 1% of what lies beneath the sea. Is that not amazing?

Conclusion

Well, what we have seen in Genesis 6:5-7, is evidence as to how far man will sink without God’s constraints. Within 1,500-years, human society had significantly advanced. We learned in Chapter 4 that man had developed herdsman and farming abilities, he developed tools to build cites, aqueducts to support those cities, weapons to fight wars, a written language to chronicle history and create poetry, and music to enjoy and celebrate life. It seems that the knowledge and abilities man had gained was only surpassed by the depth of his sin against his fellowman and His God. Therefore, since the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein, He has a right to Judge it when His Holiness and Righteousness are violated.

Nevertheless, God is so Gracious and Merciful that He always gives man an opportunity to repent and do what is right in God’s eye. According to Genesis 6:3, God extended man 120-years to repent. To put 120-years in perspective, that would be equivalent to giving man from 1901 to present day to repent. Now that is what I call patience—certainly more patience than any of us would have. Amen somebody. Now next week in this Battle For The Truth series, we shall see if God kept His word when He said that He would destroy both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air. And, until next time, may God richly bless you, my beloved. Amen.