https://esv.literalword.com/?q=genesis+6
Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Wednesday, 6 November 2024:
Genesis 6:2, 4 – …the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose…. The Nephilim were on the earth in those days,
Who were the sons of God and Nephilim? Here is a short video from R.C. Sproul offering one explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx7_iioH2TY
Genesis 6:6-8 — And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth…. I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
These are hard verses to understand because they seem to imply God changed His mind about people because they didn’t turn out as He had hoped, as if, in this case, He wasn’t sovereign and omniscient. However, we know from the rest of the Bible that God doesn’t change His mind:
- Numbers 23:19 — God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
- Psalm 102:25-27 — Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end.
- Hebrews 1:10-12 — And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”
- Malachi 3:6 — “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”
- James 1:17 — 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.
- Hebrews 6:17-18 — So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
In Genesis 6:6-8, God is using human terminology to describe God’s actions from a human perspective in ways humans can understand. The technical term for this is anthropomorphism.
Passages such as Genesis 6:6 need to be taken into consideration with Numbers 23:19. In doing so, we will understand that from our human viewpoint God seems to change His mind about people, but He is only represented to us that way that we might relate to our omniscient God. We see throughout the Bible figurative language to describe the greatness of God and His supernatural activity. For example, the Bible speaks of the “arm of God” (Deuteronomy 5:15) with respect to His power while Psalm 50:10 says, “[God] owns the cattle on a thousand hills.” We know, however, that this is metaphorical language.
“The word anthropomorphism comes from the Greek anthrō, meaning ‘human,’ and morphē, meaning ‘form’: human form. Both those words appear in Philippians chapter 2, verses 6 and 7, which describe—if I can put it this way—the ultimate anthropomorphism. It says: Though [Christ] was in the form [morphē] of God, [He] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form [morphē] of a servant, being born in the likeness of men [anthrōpos]. In other words, in Christ, God takes on human form so that we can relate to Him. Anthropomorphisms are an attempt to accommodate the limitations of human understanding. We struggle to comprehend what God is like. So God, in His kindness and grace, reveals Himself to us in a way we can begin to grasp. When Jesus’ disciple Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father,’ Jesus said to him: ‘Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.’ In that sense, Jesus Christ is the ultimate, and perfect, anthropomorphism.” (Barry Cooper)
Genesis 6:8, 9 – But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
In a corrupt world, Noah stood out as faithful. In his fidelity, God revealed to Noah what no one else could see and used Noah to play a critical role in redemptive history. We should seek to blameless on our generation. Are you willing to defy the entire world for God?
Genesis 6:9 – Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
Who are you walking with? Your actions reveal the answer.
From Henry T. Blackaby – “No matter how ungodly the environment you may be in, God will always find you and walk with you. Noah lived in perhaps the most wicked age in history. No one worshiped God. All the people worshiped idols and pursued their own sinful pleasures. Noah’s neighbors were evil; every person he associated with in the marketplace, or along the street, or in public gatherings, ridiculed the very thought of being faithful to God. Every temptation imaginable was abundantly available to Noah. How oppressive such an environment would have been to a righteous person!
The people of Noah’s day were so wicked that God planned the most complete and drastic act of judgment recorded in Scripture. Nevertheless, Noah was not lost to God in the crowd of sinners. God noticed every act of Noah’s righteousness. Noah had chosen to live uprightly before God despite what everyone around him was doing, and God had observed him. There may have been times when Noah wondered if it mattered if he lived a righteous life, since no one else was. Yet he continued, and his persistence in righteousness saved his life and the lives of his family members.
Are you constantly surrounded by evil? Do you struggle at times to live a righteous life when those you associate with each day have no concern for God? Find assurance in the life of Noah. God watches you, even as He observed Noah. God will seek you out of the crowd every time, and He wants to bless you and your family just as He blessed Noah.”
Genesis 6:13 – And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh.”
God reveals His plans to His faithful servants, those who can be trusted with revelation as evidenced by their response to God’s commandments.
Genesis 6:19 – They shall be male and female.
Gender confusion does not come from God.
Genesis 6:22 – Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
Again, Noah could be trusted to obey completely. Note that Jesus commanded that His disciples make disciples who would “obey all that I have commanded.” Obedience is the proof of faith, hope, and love.
Noah was known for total obedience, making him usable by God to do great things. Be known for total obedience to God.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 6 November 2024: Today, just like yesterday, focus on walking with the Lord through the everyday realities of life, striving to keep in step with the Spirit. Make your fidelity to God your focus today and every day to come.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 