Genesis Chapter Six

Synopsis:

The most remarkable thing we have upon record concerning

the old world is the destruction of it by the universal deluge,

the account of which commences in this chapter, wherein we

have, I. The abounding iniquity of that wicked world (v. 1-5,

11, 12). II. The righteous God's just resentment of that

abounding iniquity, and his holy resolution to punish it (v. 6,

7). III. The special favour of God to his servant Noah. 1. In

the character given of him (v. 8-10) 2. In the communication

of God's purpose to him (v. 13, 17). 3. In the directions he

gave him to make an ark for his own safety (v. 14-16). 4. In

the employing of him for the preservation of the rest of the

creatures (v. 18-21). Lastly, Noah's obedience to the

instructions given him (v. 22). And this concerning the old

world is written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of

the new would have come. Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Genesis 6:1-2 And it came to pass, when men began to

multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born

unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men

that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which

they chose.

This chapter starts off by saying, by the time of Noah, there

were a lot of people on the earth. Both the descendants of

Cain and the descendants of Seth had multiplied greatly on

the earth.

Proverbs 29:16 When the wicked are multiplied,

transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see

their fall.

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Keeping the two apart was becoming increasingly difficult for

the people of God, as it is today.

Romans 9:8 …. They which are the children of the flesh,

these are not the children of God: but the children of the

promise are counted for the seed.

God had placed enmity between the seed of the woman and

the seed of Satan. That means there are irreconcilable

differences between the two. The seed of the woman is

Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God. Just as all man-

kind was in Adam from the time that he was created until

now, so it is that all the children of God were in Christ from

the beginning.

Ephesians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our

Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual

blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he

hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the

world, that we should be holy and without blame before

him in love:

A marriage between these two seeds is a violation of God’s

law, which is His Word, and it will be judged accordingly.

2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together

with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath

righteousness with unrighteousness? and what

communion hath light with darkness?

Even today, a marriage between a believer and a non-

believer will not work.

Numbers 19:22 … whatsoever the unclean person

toucheth shall be unclean…..

2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among

them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not

the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

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The problem back then, as it is now, is our fallen nature that

came to us as the children of Adam. When Adam sinned,

we all sinned in him. Now, they, as we, are made subject to

vanity (Romans 8:20). That means susceptible to the lust of

the flesh.

James 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth

forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth

death.

The sons of God were not immune to these things, though

they had been taught by their fathers to keep themselves

from them.

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the

flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is

not of the Father, but is of the world.

The sons of God - Those who were called by the name of

the Lord, and called upon that name, married the daughters

of men - Those that were profane, and strangers to God.

The posterity of Seth did not keep to themselves as they

ought, but intermingled with the race of Cain: they took them

wives of all that they chose - They chose only by the eye:

They saw that they were fair - Which was all they looked at. John Wesley’s Notes on the Bible

Many learned theologues have opined that the sons of God

referred to in the second verse is speaking of Angels that

came down and took women as their wives.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee Through the Bible has said the good Angels

wouldn’t do it, and the bad angels would not be called the

sons of God.

I don’t believe the Scripture ever refers to Angels as sons of

God.

Hebrews 1:5 For unto which of the angels said he at any

time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?

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And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to

me a Son?

Jesus said the angels do not marry (Matthew 22:30). That’s

good enough for me. The sons of God referred to here and

in other places in scripture are God’s children, and are all

mortal men.

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.

This comes in here as a token of God's displeasure at those

who married strange wives; he threatens to withdraw from

them his Spirit, whom they had grieved by such marriages,

contrary to their convictions: fleshly lusts are often punished

with spiritual judgments, the sorest of all judgments. Or as

another occasion of the great wickedness of the old world;

the Spirit of the Lord, being provoked by their resistance of

his motions, ceased to strive with them, and then all religion

was soon lost among them. This he warns them of before,

that they might not further vex his Holy Spirit, but by their

prayers might stay him with them.

God's resolution not always to strive with man by his Spirit.

The Spirit then strove by Noah's preaching and by inward

checks, but it was in vain with the most of men; therefore,

says God, He shall not always strive. Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible

Commentary

1 Peter 3:19-20 By which also he went and preached

unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were

disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited

in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing,

wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

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Since the day that Adam and Eve were cast out of the

Garden of Eden, man-kind has been imprisoned in this sin

cursed world. It is a world where everything and everybody

is dying. The scripture says that through fear of death we

are, all our life time subject to bondage (Hebrews 2:15).

The only escape is in obedience to the Word of God.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall

make you free.

2 Timothy 2:25-26 …… if God peradventure will give

them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And

that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the

devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Proverbs 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of

life, to depart from the snares of death.

The prophet, Zechariah called the people of God prisoners

of hope (Zechariah 9:12). That hope is based on Christ.

The Apostle Paul called himself a prisoner of Jesus Christ

(Ephesians 3:1). Jesus said he had come into the world as

a fulfilment of Isaiah 42:7 To open the blind eyes, to

bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that

sit in darkness out of the prison house.

John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye

shall be free indeed.

God will not always strive with man-kind saying Zechariah

1:3 …. Turn ye unto me. He waits long enough and

provides ample preaching of warning of his coming wrath,

but the day will come when His judgment will be brought to

bear on the earth. Noah preached by the Holy Spirit to the

people of his time 120 years, plus the time when he was

building the ark. The results was a congregation of believers

numbering 8.

Genesis Chapter Six

Man had a promise of a redeemer. Instead of looking for

him, they turned farther away from God until they had gone

too far.

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.

I believe Goliath might have been just an average sized guy

among these giants. I think most men and woman were

generally of greater height and weight than is standard for

today. They were heathier, they lived longer, and were

physically more capable than men are today, and,

sometimes, as happens even now, they would have children

that grew to be much larger than their parents.

Some of the wonders of the world, I believe, might have

been created on the other side of the deluge by these men

of renown. Perhaps, such things as the great pyramids of

Giza in Egypt or the Stonehenge in England might have

been erected by them. The leaving of an enduring legacy

might have given them a sense of immortality and steeled

them in their unbelief. I think, as men are today, they were

ambitious for power and authority and were very proficient at

accomplishing those goals by whatever means necessary.

Luke 16:8 ……. for the children of this world are in their

generation wiser than the children of light.

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. And it

repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it

Genesis Chapter Six

grieved him at his heart. 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.

It is interesting to note that the disposition of man’s heart has

not changed from that time to this.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately wicked: who can know it?

They retain their wickedness because it is their nature to do

so. They have lost their fear of the Lord, and, as a result,

they have lost the wisdom that comes from knowing He is a

God of justice and judgment. Consequently, they have no

hope of recovery from the calamity that is to come.

2 Peter 2:10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in

the lust of uncleanness, and despise government.

Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to

speak evil of dignities.

Psalms 55:19 God shall hear, and afflict them, even he

that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no

changes, therefore they fear not God.

Romans 2:5-6 But after thy hardness and impenitent

heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of

wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

5, 6. God saw it . . . repented . . . grieved--God cannot

change (Mal 3:6; Jas 1:17); but, by language suited to our

nature and experience, He is described as about to alter His

visible procedure towards mankind--from being merciful and

long-suffering, He was about to show Himself a God of

judgment; and, as that impious race had filled up the

measure of their iniquities, He was about to introduce a

Genesis Chapter Six

terrible display of His justice (Ec 8:11). Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

Commentary

Acts 15:18 Known unto God are all his works from the

beginning of the world.

Nothing surprises God. He is all seeing and all knowing. He

is a purpose working God, Ephesians 1:11 ….. who

worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.

Because He is omniscient, He is resolute. He does not

change His mind because He has it made up right to start

with. His will is to keep His children separate from the

children of this world. When His children turn from Him and

fall into sin, He is grieved at His heart.

1 John 5:16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is

not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life

for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto

death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.

Judgment begins at the House of God.

1 Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must

begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us,

what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel

of God?

Many sons of God will be swept away by God’s judgment.

They are not eternally lost, because they, like the prodigal

son (Luke 15:11-32), are still sons, but they are taken away

in physical death to a place reserved for them until the time

of the end. Some of these are those spoken of in Job 1:6

and Job 2:1, they are the righteous dead, made righteous by

Jesus Christ, whom Satan accuses before God.

Psalms 37:28 For the LORD loveth judgment, and

forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but

the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

Genesis Chapter Six

God had told Cain, “if thou doest well, wilt thou not be

accepted?” But Cain did not do well, and neither will his

progenitors.

Daniel 12:10 ……the wicked shall do wickedly: and

none of the wicked shall understand;

God has created all things, but the spirit that is abroad in the

world is not of God. He created them to separate the spirits

of light from the spirits of darkness, the good from the bad,

and the righteous from the unrighteous.

Proverbs 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for

himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Still, the Lord takes no pleasure in the execution of the

wicked.

Ezekiel 33:11 ….I have no pleasure in the death of the

wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live:

When the scripture says, “it repenteth me that I have

made them,” it testifies of God that He is sorry it has to be

this way. God has blessed them with life and now, He must

curse them with death, and hell, and eternal separation from

God and God’s people. God still remembers the world that

He created in the beginning. “God so loved the world”

that He made then. He looked down and saw that it was

good, including the man and the woman in it, but this world

was not that world. This world was cursed, and the children

of this world are cursed children, and God intends to wash it

clean with the baptism of Judgment.

2 Peter 2:12-14 But these, as natural brute beasts, made

to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that

they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their

own corruption; And shall receive the reward of

unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in

the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting

Genesis Chapter Six

themselves with their own deceivings while they feast

with you; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot

cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they

have exercised with covetous practices; cursed

children:

Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

God, who cannot lie (Titus 1:2), told Satan in the Garden of

Eden, in the hearing of Adam and Eve, that a Savior would

come into the world of the woman’s seed. Noah was in the

line of that Savior. He didn’t place himself in that line. That

lineage was determined before God laid the foundation of

the world.

Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him

before the foundation of the world, that we should be

holy and without blame before him in love:

Grace is the free unmerited love and favor of God. KJV

Dictionary Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith;

and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Noah was a good man. I have no doubt he was the best

man alive at this time, but that was not why God was

gracious toward him. While the rest of the world had

become deaf to the Word of God, this man, by God’s grace,

was given the gift of hearing.

Matthew 11:15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

God spoke to him, and the hearing of God’s word engrafted

faith into him (James 1:21).

Genesis 6:9-10 These are the generations of Noah: Noah

was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah

Genesis Chapter Six

walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham,

and Japheth. (perfect: Absolutely conforming to the description

or definition of an ideal type, Dictionary.com). (perfect: Finished;

complete; consummate; not defective; having all that is requisite

to its nature and kind; as a perfect likeness; a perfect work, KJV

Dictionary).

The cause of the difference between a good man and the

openly wicked is, not their natural disposition, but divine

grace; and the fruits of this grace are piety towards God,

integrity, uprightness, and benevolence towards men. Family

Bible Notes Since the fall of Adam, no man has been free from sin

except Jesus Christ, but the Spirit of Christ was in Noah, and

the Spirit of Christ perfects all that it touches.

1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit

sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin,

because he is born of God.

The Apostle Paul asked this question: Galatians 3:2 This

only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the

works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

God spoke to Noah and gave him a hearing ear to receive

His Word. When Noah heard, it was the hearing of faith,

because that’s the way faith comes, not by the will of the

flesh nor the will of man, but of God (John 1:13).

Like Enoch, Noah walked with God, but Noah would not be

caught up to paradise before the judgment that was to come.

If that had happened, the Messianic line would have been

cut off from the earth.

Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of

things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark

to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned

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the world, and became heir of the righteousness which

is by faith.

Genesis 6:11-13 The earth also was corrupt before God,

and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon

the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had

corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah,

The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled

with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them

with the earth. (corrupt: Depraved; vitiated; tainted with

wickedness. KJV Dictionary)

Here, God gives to Noah the reason for the judgment to

come. The earth is filled with violence. The descendants of

Cain have proven to have a corrupt and violent nature the

same as he. The earth is stained with blood, and God has

determined to wash it clean, and begin again with a very

small group of believers, Noah and his family. The self-

righteous, self-willed people are here contrasted with the

broken and contrite spirit of Noah. Noah preached to them,

and I’m sure he felt like a total failure because they did not

listen.

2 Corinthians 5:11 Knowing therefore the terror of the

Lord, we persuade men;

Genesis 6:14-17 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms

shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and

without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt

make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred

cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty

cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit

shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou

Genesis Chapter Six

set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories

shalt thou make it. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of

waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the

breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in

the earth shall die.

Dr. Carl Baugh, Director of the Creation Evidence Museum

in Glen Rose, Texas, told me the word Gopher means put

together or bonded together. You couple that with the word

“wood” and it means wood bonded together. It could mean

any kind of wood, but he thought the ark was made of hard

wood like oak or mahogany. The reason he thought that

was the various qualities of those woods, and their over-all

strength. If "gopher" was a name given to a particular tree, it

is not necessarily one that still exists today.

Dr. Baugh said the word pitch represents a type of resin,

perhaps one taken from trees like cypress or pine that were

readily available to Noah. This resin would then be boiled

down and made into a super tough super glue to bond

together the various planks, and an epoxy to coat the

surface of the wood, thus sealing the pores and preventing it

from absorbing water and swelling. The scripture says it

was sealed (coated) inside and out.

Pitch: Any of various thick, dark, sticky substances obtained

from the distillation residue of coal tar, wood tar, or

petroleum and used for waterproofing.

A cubit is the distance between an adult’s elbow and tip of the finger, no less than 18-inches [45.72 centimeters].

Genesis Chapter Six

Most Hebrew scholars believe the cubit to have been no less

than 18 inches long [45.72 centimeters]. This means that the

Ark would have been at least 450 feet long [137.16 meters],

75 feet wide [22.86 meters] and 45 feet high

[13.716000000000001 meters]. Noah’s Ark was said to have

been the largest sea-going vessel ever built until the late

nineteenth century when giant metal ships were first

constructed. Its length to width ratio of six to one provided

excellent stability on the high seas. In fact, modern

shipbuilders say it would have been almost impossible to

turn over. In every way, it was admirably suited for riding out

the tremendous storms in the year of the flood. Christen Answers

Noah was a very intelligent man. He could follow the

instruction of the Lord. As I have said, I believe he and his

sons were of enormous physical stature, but if they were not,

God never gives us something to do without also giving the

ability to do it. Samson probably wasn’t someone who was

big and strong from an outside point of view, but, when the

Spirit of the Lord came on him, he could do wondrous fetes

of strength and endurance. I think Noah and his three sons

would have been very capable of building the ark without

any outside help, especially given the amount of time they

were allotted to do so.

Some believe there was only one window in the ark and it

was small. I don’t believe this could be the case, because it

would not allow for adequate ventilation. That many animals

and people would require a lot of ventilation. Dr. J. Vernon

McGee (Through the Bible) said there was one window with many

louvers that went all the way around with a roof overlapping,

much like a gymnasium’s windows. This would have

allowed the odor to vent out and fresh air to come in.

Genesis Chapter Six

Dr. Baugh said the ark was equipped with plank flooring that

would allow fecal material and other waste to simply fall

through or to allow Noah and his sons to easily sweep it

through the spaces between the planks. It would then fall

down to a large trough area that would subsequently

overflow into the bottom of the ship. Dr. Baugh believes

there were worms and other things there that would devour

it, or that it would be dried and use for fertilizer, or simply left

there as ballast for the ship.

I believe God gave to this man, Noah, a tremendous

measure of faith (Romans 12:3). He was to build a boat on

dry land, because a flood was coming, and I don’t believe it

had even rained at all up to this time.

There was to be only one door in the ark. Jesus said,

John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he

shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

Genesis 6:18-22 But with thee will I establish my covenant;

and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy

wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing

of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to

keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of

fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every

creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort

shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto

thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee;

and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. Thus did Noah;

according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

God’s curse on the serpent is the first announcement of the

covenant of grace, which is the covenant through which

salvation comes. This covenant is revealed in several

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subsequent covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses, David,

and Christ. Dr. R. C. Sproul

This is God’s promise that He has not forgotten His covenant

to bring the Messiah into the world.

God determined to save, not only this small remnant of

humanity, but He would also choose a select few from the

animal kingdom.

I think it is important to note that Adam did not have to go out

and collect the animals and force them onto the ark. God

drew them to him. Animals sense danger. They migrant

and hibernate in winter. It is not beyond the scope of

possibility that God chose the pairs of each specie and

compelled them to come into the ark with Noah. Perhaps,

some might have even gone into a hibernation type state

while on the ark. This would mean there would be less

feeding and maintenance.

Noah was told to provide provisions for them all, and for him

and his family. I believe, at this time, man and animal were

all vegetarians (herbivores).

The chapter finishes by saying Noah did what the Lord told

him. How wonderful would be the temporal salvation of all of

God’s people if they would do the same.

Acts 2:40 ….Save yourselves from this untoward

generation.