The Noah Narrative, Part 1

Entire narrative spans chapters 6-9

Front-loading a LOT of information to set up the rest of the messages

Reminder: Written by Moses, many centuries…many generations after the events described

Inspired by Spirit, likely influenced by the oral traditions which pushed the information downward through those generation

Some speculate that the culture of the time was an advanced one; musical instruments were known, workers of iron and bronze were known

Sons of Lamech (son of Methuselah)

Genesis 4:20–22 (ESV)

Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron.

Some Miscellaneous Questions

How many people were on the earth?

Answers in Genesis calculates…using solid principles of projection population by growth rate…between 750 million and 4 billion

Is this a real event or an allegory?

Cited by Peter—twice

1 Peter 3:20 ESV

because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.

2 Peter 2:5 ESV

if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

Can we see some foreshadowing—images of things to come?

Moses is saved placed in water, in an ark; Israelites miraculously saved after passing through the Red Sea; the remnant of Israel saved, even as the nation is judged in deportation and captivity; maybe even something in the imagery in baptism

AKA: The Elephants in the Room

If we can’t get past this, resolve…or at least give some ideas of how to resolve…some issues; we’ll be stuck on the side-details…miss the most important piece of the passage

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time…in this case, we have a few to chew on

Elephant #1: Sons of God/Nephilim

Scholarly suggestions:

Offspring of the godly sons of Seth lineage and the daughters of the godless line of Cain

A widely held view, lacks Biblical support

Or...

Human women impregnated by fallen angels

“sons of God” also used in Job, relating (we believe) to the total angelic realm

May well relate to comments in 2 Peter and Jude re: fallen angels

However, this seems to fly in the face of Mt. 22:30, which appears to say angels are not sexual beings

Or...

Is it less ominous?

Daniel 10:13 speaks of the “Prince of Persia” as a supernatural power…???

Non-Biblical literature of the day often speaks of kings and rulers being “divine” …or half-divine or offspring of the gods

NOTE: sons of God could also be accurately translated “sons of the gods”

Could it be that the rulers were demonically influenced?

Took what ever women they wanted as theirs

…wives could also be translated women

…leaving us with a second conundrum...

How ‘bout those Nephilim?

A transliteration of the Hebrew characters

Reading the whole context tells us that all humans but Noah and co. were wiped out by the flood

If the Nephilim are the same as the offspring of the “sons’ of God,” how did they survive until after the flood?

We have them noted in Numbers 13:33, with the report of the spies

English Standard Version Chapter 13

And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim)

Humans, demonically influenced would likely be the best answer that accommodates all the facts

Elephant #2: the 120 Years

Two general understandings

…man will age out at 120 from here on

…there will be 120 years of warning before the flood comes

The 120 year warning is probably the better option; though the ages of men do shorten up and Moses himself in Ps 90 10 says

Psalm 90:10 ESV

The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.

Elephant #3: God “Regretting…”

Genesis 6:6 ESV

And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

This seems to deny that God is both immutable and impassable; two of His “perfections” or “attributes”

We see two (among many) verses that confirm this attribute

Malachi 3:6 ESV

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

and

James 1:17 ESV

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

What we have is a way of expressing God’s behavior in terms humans can understand

…anthropomorphism—assigning human characteristics to God (or any other non-human creature)

It may be helpful to understand the attributes in God’s essence but His actions in His persons

We know that Jesus wept

We know that we are not to grieve the Holy Spirit

We could run down the rabbit hole of these attributes; but we’d be here all day

We must not fall into the trap of assigning human human foibles to God; we are made in His image; not Him in ours

If we fall into that trap we have a god who becomes changeable, manipulable…not much of a god at all

A couple current theologies lean that way…be aware

EUREKA!

I Found it!

After getting lost in the clutter, here are the two major points of this passage

Declaration of Sin

…and of wickedness worthy of destruction

English Standard Version (Chapter 6)

...every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

God’s decision was to destroy man…and the entirety of the world at that time

Another bit of theological information

NOTHING was a surprise to Him

Isaiah 42:8–9 (ESV)

I am the Lord; that is my name.... Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”

Nothing regarding the evil of man has changed, still no surprises

Many years post-flood, Jeremiah would speak the Word of the Lord in Jer 17 9

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

He wasn’t surprised when He had Paul write Rom 3 23

Romans 3:23 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Declaration of Delivery

God had a plan

English Standard Version Chapter 6

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

Here’s where we can get into the brouhaha of election v. choice

Actually, we can possibly resolve that here!!

God chose to give grace to Noah, his wife and his sons and their wives

Noah…and presumably his sons…chose to obey, build the ark and be saved

…thus saving the human race

Application and Challenge

Trust the Word of God

Even when we see a seemingly unsolvable riddle, nothing changes any doctrine

If we believe in a God who can create, what’s the problem with the global flood

…settled science isn’t settled

>>credible scientists are making new discoveries all the time that fly in the face of evolutionary theory and old-earth speculations

They do fall into line with the Biblical account

(Institute for Creation Research, Answers in Genesis are two among many resources to check out)

To trust it, you must know it

Trust the sovereignty of God

He had a plan in place to save the corrupted world

What God knows is what God will do. The future is not some kind of freewheeling reality separate from God’s will that he is trying to catch on to and adapt to. He knows the future because he plans the future, and he is never surprised by what he plans.

(John Piper, Desiring God, 3-3-17)

He had a plan in place to redeem all those after that first destruction

He sent His Son, Jesus to seek and save that which were lost

He has a plan for you

Noah dedicated his life to the great work God has assigned him, his work was the saving of the race

What might be the result if you obeyed

Note that Noah had been a herald of righteousness

…yet only his family survived

God is responsible for the results; we are merely responsible to obey