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Q & A THE HEART OF GOD

Genesis0608qa.txt
Genesis: 6:1 - 22
Key Verse: 6:8

PART I: THE TIMES OF NOAH (6:1-7)

1. Read verses 1-4. Who are "the sons of God" and "the daughters of men"?

The sons of God and the daughters of men were descriptive terms relating to Seth’s descendants who called on the name of the Lord (4:26). The daughters of men were the descendants of Cain who had become unbelieving people (5:29).

Clearly two lines develop here, and throughout history we see always two types of people, believers and unbelievers; the line of faith and the line of disobedience. God sees each line differently. In this passage we should keep the context and see that it is not referring directly to man and women, but believers of both sides. Also we should not be confused and think that Sons of God means angels or some other alien race of people. The context is about believing and unbelieving people.

What two standards does this passage use to show the corruption of Noah's time (2,4)?

Verse 2, “the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.”

God used man’s standard of marriage and the reason for their marrying. When man marries for just outward appearance and does not consider spirituality, then man is not following God’s plan. God’s plan for marriage was for one man and one woman to be united into one and to serve God with their marriage.

Verse 4, “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.”

The children born to these marriages of the Sons of God and the daughters of men became great heroes and men of renown. Perhaps like the heroes of Greek Mythology. But this was not God’s purpose for the family. Think about Cain and his son and the city named after his son. God shows that his heart was broken by the sons of God’s choice. God had provided everything for them in the first 5 chapters of Genesis. Yet the sons of God were corrupted by the daughters of men and lost their desire to call on the name of the LORD. When we look at God’s high view point of marriage (Gen 1:28, 2:24, and chapter 3) we see that how man treats marriage also reflects his view of the word of God.

2. What were the results of their corruption (3,5,6,7)?

Verse 3, “Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with [a] man forever, for he is mortal [b] ; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."”

What the sons of God thought was a great thing in having children who were great heroes was actually bad in the eyes of the LORD. God made a proclamation that he would not contend with or abide with man who was sinful. Also God shortened man’s life span to 120 years so that the amount of evil he could do would be lessened.

Verse 5, “The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.”

Man had lost his regard for God and now lived in outright rebellion against God. The passage states that his thoughts had become evil all the time. God’s good creation had now turned to evil. Man’s wickedness was great the passage says.

Verse 6 and 7, “The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them."”

These passages states the severity of sin. It says that God’s heart was grieved. Our sin caused God to grieve. Man’s sin caused God pain. Because God is a holy and righteous God, he cannot abide with sin. So in his justice he decided to wipe out mankind from the earth to end their evil. God did not enjoy carrying his judgment, the passage says it grieved his heart.

Read verse 2 once again. What does the Bible point out as the cause of the total corruption of Noah's time?

The Bible points out about man’s sin in regards to marriage. Satan attacked the first marriage in the Garden. Once Satan had destroyed the first marriage, then the children would be affected. Then the society would be affected. The cause of the corruption at Noah’s time was man’s sin and their casual relationships. When the believers did not keep God’s marriage holy, then the world, not because of unbelievers, was judged.

PART II: NOAH FOUND FAVOR IN THE EYES OF GOD (6:8-22)

3. Read verses 8-12. What kind of person was Noah (8-10)?

Verses 8-10, “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. "

Noah was a normal man from what we can tell. The Bible tells us he was 500 years old and the father of three boys. He also was a farmer (9:6)

The passage talks about Noah from God’s point of view. God chose Noah to be saved by his sovereign grace and that is why Noah found favor in God’s eyes. Noah was righteous. This wasn’t some title he won in a contest, this meant that he had a right relationship form God’s point of view, this was God’s testimony. Noah was also blameless amongst the people of his time. Noah wasn’t perfect but he did his best to do what was right so that not even the corrupt people of the time could find fault with him. Finally Noah is identified as walking with God. Noah followed God and followed in his ways.

How much was the world corrupt (11, 12)?

Verse 11 and 12, “Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.”

The earth was corrupt down to the very last person. All accept Noah and his family. The verse says it was full of violence. All people were incapable of doing what was right before God. This shows us that every day we need the Holy Spirit and God’s wisdom to know what is the right thing to do. Without it we are incapable of making the right decision before God.

4. What instructions did God give to Noah (14)?

In verse 14, God told Noah to build and ark of cypress wood. This was a specific instruction. Most importantly we learn that salvation comes from God and comes God’s way. God gave all these details to see if Noah would obey and trust him.

Draw diagrams for the Noah's ark (13-21).

Length: 450 feet
Height: 45 feet
Width: 75 feet

Make a roof and finish it to within 18 inches of the top.
There was a door on the side and lower, middle, and upper decks.

By way of comparison a modern NFL football field is 360 feet long and 160 feet wide. A FIFA Soccer field is 330 feet by 210 feet.

How did Noah obey God's command?

Noah had to build the ark in the mountains. Noah was 500 years old at the time. Noah could only use cypress wood. But Noah was a man of obedience. Think of the spiritual difficulty at the time. But look at verse 22, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” It is a hard thing to wait. Waiting for Jesus’ second coming is just as hard.

Hebrews 11:7
“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”

We are preparing the ark of salvation through Jesus’ second coming.

God chose Noah by his grace and used him to prepare an ark of salvation to allow man to continue living on the earth. God is using us to help prepare and ark of salvation by introducing others to Jesus Christ. We are saved by Jesus’ blood alone. We should not be proud of our status before God, but be humble and thankful for his grace and salvation on our lives, when we deserve destruction.

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