Chapter 6
God allowed the people who lived before the flood to have long lives. He wanted them to have sufficient time to change their attitudes. He wanted them to pray to him and to trust him again. But most people did not use their long lives to turn to God. And they did not become better people as they became older. In fact, people were becoming even more evil. So God decided that he would not allow people to live so long. And he decided to punish wicked people wherever they lived. In verse 7, Gods plan was to destroy everything that he had made. But God saw that there were a few good people among the vast numbers of evil people. Especially, God saw Noah. Noah was unlike other people. Noah walked with God (verse 9), like Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and like Adam before he *sinned. So God could not destroy the entire world. He always does the right things (Genesis 18:25). And he will always save the people who trust him (2 Peter 3:11-13). So God made a plan. He would still punish and kill the wicked people. But he would save the earth and he would allow some animals to live. God would separate the people who obeyed him from evil people. And God would save the people who trusted him. Noah would build a large boat, called the *ark. And Noah would protect his family, and each type of animal, in the boat.
Everybody was very evil, 6:1-8
v1 Men had large families on earth and they had many sons and daughters. v2 Then the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were pretty. The sons of God chose some daughters and they married those daughters. v3 Then the *Lord said, My Spirit shall not struggle with people for always because they are human. They shall live for 120 years. v4 The Nephilim (giant people) were on the earth at that time. They were also there afterwards. The sons of God lay with the daughters of men. And so the sons of God had children. Those children became the famous men that lived a long time ago. They were famous because they were very strong and brave. v5 The *Lord saw that the people on the earth were very wicked. Mans every thought was always evil. And so was every wish in his heart. v6 And the *Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth. He was bitterly angry. v7 So the *Lord said, I will completely take away man, whom I have created, from the earth. I will completely take away from the earth all people and animals. I will take away all birds that fly in the air. And I will take away all *creatures that crawl. I am sorry that I made them. v8 But the *Lord was pleased with Noah. Verse 2 We do not know who the sons of God were. Some people think that the sons of God were *angels or spirits. But another explanation is that they were *descendants of Seth. If that is the meaning, then the daughters of men would be *descendants of Cain. We do know this. The sons of God were choosing wives for the wrong reason. They chose women that were pretty. But they needed to choose women that were good. Gods people often have to behave in a different way from other people. This is because Gods people belong to God. Seths *descendants knew how to please God. They understood *sacrifice. They knew how to be friends of God. So they should not have associated with evil people. Verse 3 My Spirit shall not struggle with man. The *Hebrew words here may have two different meanings. They can also mean continue to stay in man. However, we learn the same thing from both meanings. When Gods Spirit is in us, he struggles with our natural character. Our natural character is *sinful. We have it because we are human. Do not upset Gods Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).
120 years. That may mean: (1) that man would live only about 120 years instead of many hundred years; or (2) that God would send the flood after 120 years. But we learn the same thing from it anyway. Gods patience with man will end and God will bring judgement to all people. (Judgement means that he will bring punishment to those that have done wrong things. But God has provided ways to escape. God provided a way so that those people in the *ark could escape. Later, he gave Jesus to us. Because of Jesus, we can escape from Gods punishment. Verse 4 Nephilim. They were giant people, who probably lived in an evil way. Verse 5 The *Lord saw that there was nothing good in people. Even in their hearts, or minds, he could not find anything good. Verse 6 God was sorry. But God did not wish that he had not made the earth. God loves people very much. But he is also *holy and he is completely fair. He was very sad to see how evil people had become. Their behaviour upset him deeply. Verse 7 *Sin does not hurt only the person who *sins. At that time, it hurt the whole earth. Verse 8 People were very evil. But Noah pleased God. And so, God made a special plan to save Noah.
God warns Noah, 6:9-22
v9 These are Noahs *descendants. Noah was a good man. Among the people that were alive then, he was without blame. Noah walked with God. v10 Noah had three sons called Shem, Ham and Japheth. v11 Now God considered the earth as bad. All the people on the earth attacked each other often. v12 God looked at the earth. And he saw that it was very bad. All people lived in an evil way on the earth. v13 And God said to Noah, I have decided to kill all people. The people who are on the earth attack each other often. Look! I will kill man. And I will destroy the earth too. v14 Make an *ark for yourself. Make it out of gopher wood (a certain kind of wood.) Make rooms in the *ark. Cover it with pitch (sticky black stuff) inside and outside. v15 This is how you must make it. It must be 300 *cubits long, 50 *cubits wide and 30 *cubits high. v16 Make a roof for the *ark. Finish the *ark so that it ends 1 *cubit from the top. So then there will be a window for light. Put a door in the side of the *ark. Make three decks. There must be lower, middle and upper decks. v17 I will flood the earth with water. I will kill all *creatures that live under the skies. Every *creature that lives will die. Everything on the earth will die. v18 I will make a *covenant with you. And I will do what I have promised you. You will enter the *ark with your sons. Your wife and your sons wives will also be with you. v19 Take each kind of *creature that lives. Take two from among each kind. Take them into the *ark with you and keep them alive. Take one male and one female from among each kind. v20 Take two from among every sort and keep them alive. Take two from among every kind of bird. Take two from among every kind of animal. And take every kind of *creature that crawls. Take two from among every kind. v21 Take every sort of food to eat. Take it with you and store it. That will be food for you. And it will be food for the birds, animals and *creatures. v22 Noah did that. He did everything exactly as God ordered him. Verse 9 Noah was not perfect. He was *righteous. That means that he really tried to obey God. A *righteous person is someone who loves God. Such a person cares about other people too. A *righteous person lives in this way even if he would suffer as a result. Because of these attitudes, Noah was different from everyone else who lived at that time.
Verse 11 God saw that people had done many wrong things. In that way, they spoilt their own lives. They refused to do the things that please God. And they chose to live wicked lives. So God would kill them. Verse 14 *Ark. The *Hebrew word for *ark here is the same one that the writer uses for Moses basket. (Look at Exodus 2:3, 5.) But that word does not appear anywhere else in the Bible. The *arks shape was more like a building than a boat. Noah did not make the *ark to sail regularly on the seas. It had a special purpose, and its shape was ideal for that purpose. Gopher wood. We are not sure what the word gopher means. So we do not know exactly what that wood was. Pitch is a sticky black stuff. It would help to protect the wood from water. The *Hebrew words for pitch and cover are similar to each other. Later, when Jesus died for us, he covered our *sins by means of his death. Inside and outside. That may mean completely. Make rooms in the *ark. Here, where we have the word rooms, the original *Hebrew text has nests. Some people have said that its meaning might be this. There are tall grasses called reeds, which grow in shallow water. Many birds use these to make their nests. So it might mean that also Noah should use these plants, to make the *ark. Noah lived many miles from the sea. He did not know how to build boats. Nobody had ever built a boat like this. People probably laughed at him. But God told him what to do. Verse 15 A *cubit is a measurement that people used then. It is equal to 18 inches (about 45 centimetres). Verse 18 I will make a *covenant with you. In *Hebrew, that is the same word as for testament. (A testament is a text that a person writes. It shows who must receive that persons property after the persons death.) *Covenants were serious agreements between two people (or two nations). Each person (or nation) had to promise to do certain things. God promised to save Noah. But God would only do that if Noah went into the *ark. Verse 22 Noah had to do a lot of difficult things. He did them all because God told him to.
