Gen. 5-6: “The Genealogy Of Noah / The Days Of Noah”

By

Jim Bomkamp

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1.                  INTRO:

 

1.1.         In our last study we looked at chapter 4 of the book of Genesis.

 

1.1.1.  In that study, we looked at the first and second murders recorded in history.  The first murder occured when Cain killed his brother Abel because his brother’s sacrifice was accepted by the Lord while his was not.  Lamech, a descendant of Cain, committed the second murder.

 

1.1.2.  We pondered what is really underneath why men and women hate.

 

1.2.         In our study today, we are going to look at chapters 5 and 6 of Genesis

 

1.2.1.  In chapter 5, we are going to look at the genealogy of the line from Adam to Noah (through Seth), and we will notice that there is a hidden message to be found there.  Before we do look there, I would ask you a question, “Why would God give us the genealogy of Seth if all of them were going to die in chapter 7 ?”

 

1.2.2.  In chapter 6, we are going to look closely at the days of Noah and try to understand why it would be that the Lord would destroy the entire world except for Noah, his wife, and three of his sons and their wives?

 

1.2.3.  We will see that Noah was one of the most incredible men of faith that the world has ever seen.  He deserves his spot in the Hebrews chapter 11 “Hall of Faith.”

 

1.3.         We ended chapter 4 on verse 26, and I want to retract what I stated about the meaning of the verses.  I believe that the verse is mistranslated.  The KJV as well as the NASB translate the verse to say that it was after the birth of Seth that men began to call upon the Name of the Lord.  However, the verse was classically interpreted by all of the Jewish authorities as well as the Septuagint (which was considered to be so authoritarian that Old Testament quotes found in the New Testament invariably are taken from that translation) to say, “Then men began to defile the Name of the Living God.”  We saw just before this that Eve mentioned that the Lord had helped her to have a child and also that two of Cain’s descendants through Enosh had the Name of God in their name.  So, even though the seed of Jesus Christ came through Seth, it was not just through Seth’s descendants that men began to call upon the Name of the Lord.  This will be important and have a tie-in when we get to chapter 6 and see the world-wide wickedness that happens after this point in time.

 

2.                 VS 5:1-3 – “1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created. 3 When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.” -  We are told that we have now completed the book of the generations of Adam

 

2.1.         Notice that the author of Genesis, Moses, writes in verse one here that this is the ‘book’ of the generations of Adam.  We saw earlier that Moses evidently had several genealogical books in his possession from which he wrote Genesis.  It appears that Adam wrote chapter 2 through these verses here of this first book, and Moses had that book when he wrote.

 

2.2.         The name ‘Adam,’ or in the Hebrew, “adomah,” means “man.”

 

3.                 VS 5:4-8  - “4 Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters. 5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died. 6 Seth lived one hundred and five years, and became the father of Enosh.  7 Then Seth lived eight hundred and seven years after he became the father of Enosh, and he had other sons and daughters. 8 So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.” -  Adam became the father of Seth.

 

3.1.         The name ‘Seth,’ means “appointed.”  Eve said, “For God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew,” Genesis 4:25

 

3.2.         At the age of 105, Seth became the father of ‘Enosh.’  ‘Enosh’ means “mortal, frail, or miserable.” It is from the root “anash,” which means incurable and is used of a wound, grief, woe, sickness, or wickedness.  We saw already that Gen. 4:26 should read, “then men began to profane the name of the Lord.” This happened in the days of Enosh.

 

3.3.         So, we see here that Seth lived 912 years.  He also had other sons and daughters.

 

4.                 VS 5:9-11  - “9 Enosh lived ninety years, and became the father of Kenan. 10 Then Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years after he became the father of Kenan, and he had other sons and daughters. 11 So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died.” -  Enosh became the father of Kenan

 

4.1.         The Hebrew name, ‘Kenan,’ means “sorrow, dirge, or elegy.”

 

4.2.         Enosh lived 905 years.

 

5.                 VS 5:12-14  - “12 Kenan lived seventy years, and became the father of Mahalalel. 13 Then Kenan lived eight hundred and forty years after he became the father of Mahalalel, and he had other sons and daughters. 14 So all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.” -  Kenan became the father of Mahalalel

 

5.1.         The name, ‘Mahalalel,’ means “blessed or praise.”

 

5.2.         Kenan lived 910 years.

 

6.                 VS 5:15-17  - “15 Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Jared. 16 Then Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years after he became the father of Jared, and he had other sons and daughters. 17 So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died.” -  Mahalalel became the father of Jared

 

6.1.         The name ‘Jared’ (Yared), means “shall come down.”  Some scholars suggest that this might be an allusion to the “Sons of God” who “came down” to corrupt the daughters of men, resulting in the Nephilim of Genesis 6.

 

6.2.         Mahalalel lived 895 years.

 

7.                 VS 5:18-20  - “18 Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and became the father of Enoch. 19 Then Jared lived eight hundred years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters. 20 So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.” -  Jared became the father of Enoch

 

7.1.         The name ‘Enoch’ means “commencement or teaching.” 

 

7.2.         Enoch also, the seventh descendant from Adam, spoke a prophesy that is recorded in Jude 14-15 and states, “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

 

7.2.1.  Look closely at this prophesy and you see that what Enoch prophesied was the second coming of Jesus Christ.  Ten thousands of his saints will come with Jesus Christ to execute Judgment upon all of the ungodly on the earth to convince them of all of their ungodliness and wicked deeds.

 

7.3.         Jared lived 962 years.

 

8.                 VS 5:21-24  - “21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah. 22 Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” -  Enoch became the father of Methuselah

 

8.1.         Enoch was taken up or “raptured” because of his great faith and walk with God over 300+ years, as Hebrews 11:5 tells us, “5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.”  Enoch’s walk with God was very deep and not a casual stroll.

 

8.1.1.  We should all aspire to walk so close with GOD so that He might choose to translate us also.

 

8.2.         Enoch was translated midway between Adam and Abraham.  Elijah was translated midway between Abraham and Christ.  Both men were a sign of the Rapture.  Enoch “Walked with God.”

 

8.3.         The name ‘Methuselah’ comes from “tAm muth,” a root that means “death,” and “xlv shalach,” which means “to bring or send forth,” which in combination means “His death shall bring.”  Methuselah’s very name was a prophetic signal.  We will see that it is when Methuselah dies that the flood begins in chapter 7.   

 

9.                 VS 5:25-27  - “25 Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and became the father of Lamech. 26 Then Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years after he became the father of Lamech, and he had other sons and daughters. 27 So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.” -  Methuselah became the father of Lamech

 

9.1.         The name ‘Lamech,’ has a root still in our language today of, “lament or lamentation,” in effect “,Despairing.”

 

9.2.         Methuselah lived 969 years, and was the man who lived longer than any man in history.

 

10.            VS 5:28-32  - “28 Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and became the father of a son. 29 Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the Lord has cursed.” 30 Then Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other sons and daughters. 31 So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died. 32 Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” -  Lamech became the father of Noah

 

10.1.    The name ‘Noah,’ which is derived from “nacham,” means “to bring relief or comfort,” in effect “Comfort, or Rest.”  The rest from the work of our hands and our toil occurred because wickedness was removed from the earth through the flood and the ark that ‘Noah’ built.

 

10.2.    So then, notice that hidden within the genealogy of chapter 5 is the very Christian gospel and if these words were in any other order they would make no sense:

 

10.2.1.Adam                 - Man (is)

10.2.2.Seth                   – Appointed

10.2.3.Enosh                – Mortal

10.2.4.Cainan              - Sorrow; (but)

10.2.5.Mahalalel          - The Blessed God

10.2.6.Jared                  - Shall come down

10.2.7.Enoch                – Teaching.

10.2.8.Methuselah      - His death shall bring

10.2.9.Lamech             - The Despairing

10.2.10.Noah                - Comfort, Rest.

 

10.3.    Lamech lived 767 years.

 

10.4.    Notice here that Noah did not become the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth until he was 500 years old.

 

11.            Edmund Spencer once said, “There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof  against all argument, and which cannot fail to keep man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is condemnation before investigation.”  For us as people what keeps us from learning is often nothing other than our own preconceptions and prejudices.  As we go into this next chapter and look at what constituted “the days of Noah,” I would ask you to please keep an open mind and honestly consider what I am saying.  I would also ask you to not take my opinion as fact in regard to anything I may ever teach but to do as the Bereans did in Acts 17:11, “search the scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

 

12.            Today, if you were to investigate what the seminaries around our country concerning the interpretation of chapter 6 of Genesis you would find that very few are teaching the view that I am going to present, namely, “the angel theory.”  You are free to believe what you will about this chapter, but I strongly believe that the traditional interpretation of this chapter is weak, illogical, and inconsistent on a number of points.  In beginning His Olivet Discourse concerning His second coming and the end of the world, Jesus first told His disciples in Matt. 24:4, “See to it that no one misleads you,” so we know that the end time shall be a time of great deception.  But then, in Matt. 24:37 Jesus went on to say, “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.”  We know that it was a wicked world in the days of Noah, but the world has always been wicked.  So, what might Jesus have meant by saying that before His return it will be like the days of Noah?

 

13.            In our study of chapter 6, we will look at the incredible faith and perseverance of this man Noah in spending 120 years building an ark at God’s command, plus preaching with no converts.

 

14.            VS 6:1-4  - “1 Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.” -  Men began to multiply and the ‘sons of God’ took wives for themselves whomever they chose, and the Lord determined not to strive with man forever, giving man 120 years until judgment, and the Nephilim were on the earth in those days

 

14.1.    The traditional view on this chapter, the one which is taught in most seminaries, is that the ‘sons of God’ refers to the male descendants of Seth, and that the ‘daughters of Adam’ (remember the word ‘man’ is ‘Adam’) refers to the female descendants of Cain.  The believing male descendants of Seth then married the female unbelieving daughters of Cain, and the result was that they produced ‘Nephilim,’ or giants who wreaked havoc on the earth after that.  This view has a number of problems, including:

 

14.1.1.The term ‘sons of God’ in the Old Testament is only used for angels.  In the mind of God, only a direct creation of God is considered a son of God.  Adam alone was a son of God and now we are sons of Adam.  The angels were direct creations of God however and thus they are called ‘sons of God’ in Job 1:6, 2:1 and 38:7.  In the New Testament, we read that it is only through being born again into the family of God that a person becomes a son of God, as John 1:12 reveals, “12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.”  They are now a direct creation of God.

 

14.1.2.Why would the term ‘the daughters of Adam’ (remember “Adam” means “man”) refer only to the female descendants of Cain?

 

14.1.3.Why if separation from ungodly people is not commanded until chapter 11 of the book of Genesis (with a bride for Isaac) would it be an issue here?

 

14.1.4.What was the problem with the daughters of Seth?  Were they ugly?

 

14.1.5.We saw in chapter 3:26, that it was after the birth of Seth that men began not to “call upon the Lord” but “to defy the Lord.”

 

14.1.6.Why would intermarriage of the righteous line of males with the unrighteous line of females result in “giants,” or ‘Nephilim’ ?

 

14.1.7.Why does it appear that these women, ‘the daughters of men,’ were powerless to resist these ‘sons of God’ ?  These ones married whoever they wanted.

 

14.1.8.Why were the Sethites destroyed in the flood if they were so righteous?

 

14.1.9.Why was it that the Lord determined that the whole human race had to be wiped out because of this if it was just the case that wickedness abounded, for wickedness abounds in our world today (and always has) ?

 

14.1.10.Who are these ‘Nephilim’ and where in the world did they come from?  The word ‘Nephilim’ means “giant.”

 

14.2.    The Septuagint interprets this word ‘Nephilim’ in the Greek as “Gigantes,” which is the same word used in Greek for the “Titans” of mythology.  Atlas, Hercules, and others were in Greek mythology were half gods and half men, and thus they were huge in size and had tremendous strength and power.  In fact, if you trace back the civilizations of men in history you find that they all have these legends of gods interbreeding with women and producing these hybrids, including Persia, Assyria, Greece, Egypt, India, Incas, Bolivia, Mayan, South Sea Islands, Gilgamesh, and the American Indians.  These legends and myths, along with the Biblical accounts of these giants, may be the ‘men of renown’ which is mentioned in verse 4. 

 

14.3.    I believe that these legends were based upon the fact that after the curse was pronounced upon the woman and the serpent in chapter 3 of Genesis, that Satan, in addition to all of the attempts to directly extinguish the spiritual descendants of Eve (which we discussed in our last study), began to try to modify the human DNA through the cross breeding of angels with women so that the line of the woman would be corrupt and thus a kinsman redeemer could not result as the seed of the woman to crush Satan upon the head and overthrow his rule upon the earth.  I believe that in contrast to the many legends and myths of antiquity that the Bible contains the actual factual information concerning the existence of these hybrid creations.

 

14.4.    The scripture tells us that for a matter to be proven there must be at least two or three witnesses, and in scripture in order for a doctrinal precept to be accepted there must be at least two other proof texts to establish it.  Concerning the “angel theory” of chapter 6 of Genesis, there are a couple of very provocative sections of scripture that confirm it, including:

 

14.4.1.Jude 6-7:  “6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”

 

14.4.1.1.This word translated in Jude 6 as “abode” is “oiketerion” in the Greek, and the only other place it is found is in 2 Corinthians 5:2 where the word is used for believers desiring that resurrection body or “dwelling” which we will have in heaven, “2 For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling [“oiketerion”] from heaven.”  Somehow these angels shed their angelic bodies in order to take on human bodies and procreate with women to produce a race of hybrid giants.

 

14.4.1.2.Note that these angels “went after strange flesh,” and procreation with human women seems to be what is implied.

 

14.4.1.3.Also, note that these angels who did this are kept in “bonds” and “under darkness.”  This is reminiscent of the place referred to as Tartarus or the Bottomless Pit mentioned in the book of Revelation from which fallen angels (scorpion like creatures) will ascend during the Tribulation to torment the people on the face of the earth at that time.  In chapter 11 of the book of Revelation we are first introduced in that book to the anti-Christ and he ascends out of Bottomless Pit in verse 7 of chapter 11.    

 

14.4.2.2 Peter 2:4-5:  “4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.”

 

14.4.2.1.Notice the link between these angels that sinned going to these pits of darkness, and Noah and seven others being spared from the flood through the ark which Noah built.

 

14.4.2.2.The Greek word “Tartarus” is translated here “pits of darkness” and it may be the same place also referred to as the “Abusso” or “Bottomless Pit.”

 

14.4.2.3.In Greek mythology the Titans who were partly terrestrial and partly celestial rebelled against their father Uranus and after a prolonged contest they were defeated by Zeus and condemned into Tartarus.

 

14.5.    Whenever angels appear to men in the scriptures they always appear in human form, whether it is the angels who appeared to Abraham and also to Lot, etc.  Likewise, angels are always spoken of as being in the masculine and always take on the form of men, not women.  In some cases, they even eat, perform mortal combat (an angel slew 185,000 Assyrian soldiers one night and all of the firstborn males in Egypt another night), and interact in such a way as to appear human in every sense of the word.  If they can take on human form at will, it doesn’t appear beyond the range of reason to consider that they might also be able to procreate with women and even experiment with human genealogy to mute human DNA. 

 

14.5.1.I do want to mention that though Jesus stated that the angels in heaven do not marry that this does not preclude fallen angels on earth taking human form and intermarrying.

 

14.6.    Chuck Missler quotes from the autobiography of Col. William Cody (known as “Buffalo Bill”) the following Pawnee Indian account of Nephilim :

 

“While we were in the sandhills, scouting the Niobrara country, the Pawnee Indians brought into camp some very large bones, one of which the surgeon of the expedition pronounced to be the thigh bone of a human being. The Indians said the bones were those of a race of people who long ago had lived in that country. They said these people were three times the size of a man of the present day, that they were so swift and strong that they could run by the side of a buffalo, and, taking the animal in one arm, could tear off a leg and eat it as they ran.

 

These giants, said the Indians, denied the existence of a Great Spirit. When they heard the thunder or saw the lightning, they laughed and declared that they were greater than either. This so displeased the Great Spirit that he caused a deluge. The water rose higher and higher till it drove these proud giants from the low grounds to the hills and thence to the mountains. At last even the mountaintops were submerged and the mammoth men were drowned.

 

After the flood subsided, the Great Spirit came to the conclusion that he had made men too large and powerful. He therefore corrected his mistake by creating a race of the size and strength of the men of the present day.  This is the reason, the Indians told us, that the man of modern times is small and not like the giants of old. The story has been handed down among the Pawnees for generations, but what is its origin no man can say.”

 

14.7.    Researchers right now are studying the mutation of a human gene that regulates body mass.  The medical dictionary at MedicineNet.com has the following definition of the GDF-8 (Growth Different Factor – 8) gene that was recently discovered by scientists at John Hopkins University when altered in mice to produce mice two to three times their normal size:

 

“Myostatin: A growth factor that regulates the size of muscles beginning in early embryonic development and continuing throughout life. Myostatin acts by inhibiting the growth of muscles, It prevents them from growing too large. Myostatin is also known as growth and differentiation factor 8 (GDF-8). It is a protein made up of two identical subunits. Each subunit contains 110 amino acids. The gene encoding myostatin is termed MSTN (or GDF8) and is on chromosome 2 in band 2q32.1.

 

Myostatin is a member of the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) family. All of the members of this gene family regulate growth and differentiation from early embryogenesis to mature cell types and tissues.

 

Myostatin was first found to regulate muscle mass in mice from which the gene encoding myostatin had been knocked out (deleted). In these "mighty mice," there is muscle overgrowth due to an increase both in the number of myocytes (muscle cells) and the size (hypertrophy) of the myofibers (muscle fibers). Breeds of cattle with exceptional muscle development -- referred to as "double-muscled" cattle -- have a mutation in the bovine MSTN gene encoding myostatin.

 

A child born with very large muscles was discovered to have mutation of the MSTN gene encoding myostatin, providing very strong evidence that myostatin is a lead actor in regulating muscle mass in humans. Aside from the increase in the size of his muscles, the child appeared normal at age 4. The child has a loss-of-function mutation in the MSTN gene that inactivates myostatin It may be possible to increase muscle mass and strength by inactivating myostatin in people with muscle wasting due to disease (Schuelke M et al. New Engl J Med 350:2682,2004).”

 

14.8.    There have been a number of books written recently that chronicle the hundreds of skeletal finds of human giants that existed in history past, and some consider that the existence of giants may explain how many of the marvels of the ancient world such as the pyramids, Stonehenge, Circle Of The Rephaim in the Golan Heights (see http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Creation%20Articles/Circle%20of%20the%20Refaim.htm), etc. were built.  An example is, “Giants: Master Builders of Ancient Civilizations,” by Stephen Quayle, published by End Time Thunder Publishers, 90 Safe Trek Pl., Bozeman, MT 59718, 2002.

 

14.9.    The “angel theory” view was the traditional Rabbinical view as seen in the extra-biblical Book of Enoch, Testimony of the 12 Patriarchs, Josephus Flavius.  It was also the view of the early church fathers, including Philo of Alexandria, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Athenagoras, Tertullian, Lactantius, Ambrose, and Julian.  The “Sethite” theory didn’t emerge until the 5th century.

 

14.10.Today, many competent Bible scholars support the “angel theory” view of chapter 6, including G.H.Pember, M.R. DeHaan, C.H. McIntosh, Kyle and Delitzsch, A.C. Gaebelein, A.W. Pink, Donald Barnhouse, Henry Morris, Merril F. Unger, Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Hal Lindsey, Tim Lahaye, Chuck Missler, and Chuck Smith.

 

14.11.The world was filled with these hybrid Nephilim and thus needed to be destroyed so that the human race would be purified.   

 

14.12.You see here though that the angels try this sort of interbreeding again later.  Note that Moses writes here in verse 4 that the Nephilim were on the earth then, ‘and also afterward.’ For the four hundred years that the tribes of Israel were in bondage in Egypt Satan and his angels were creating a race of giants there in the land of Canaan, which the Israelites had been promised as their inheritance.  There are these people called the “Anakim” in the book of Joshua, of whom the giant Goliath whom David slew, is also a descendant.  In the book of Joshua the Israelites are commanded to destroy every man, woman, and child of the Rephaim and about four other tribes as they are conquering the land of their inheritance in Canaan.  When the 10 spies returned to Joshua after spying out the land of Canaan, they reported fearfully that they were as grasshoppers in the sight of these giants.

 

14.13.Notice here that the Lord lays out the timetable for His judgment upon the earth.  Mankind has 120 years to repent, during which time Noah will be faithfully building his ark, and then when that time is completed the flood waters will come and destroy all flesh with the exception of those who are upon the ark.

 

15.            VS 6:5-7  - “5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.”” -  The Lord grieved over the wickedness of mankind and the Lord was sorry that He had made man and determined to wipe mankind off of the face of the earth

 

15.1.    What a horrible place the earth had turned into.  The people all over the earth were so wicked that ‘every intent of the thoughts of [their] heart was only evil continually.”  The people on earth, with the exception of Noah’s family, couldn’t even think a single pure or innocent thought.

 

15.2.    This verse does not imply that God does not change, for the scripture is very clear that the Lord does not change:

 

15.2.1.James 1:17, “17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” 

 

15.2.2.Hebrews 13:8, “8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

 

15.3.    God changes towards men only when they change towards Him.

 

16.            VS 6:8-9  - “8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. 9 These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.” -  Noah found favor from the Lord for he was a righteous man and walked with God

 

16.1.    Verse 8 should say that Noah found ‘grace’ in the eyes of the Lord.  Salvation is and always will be by God’s ‘grace’ because men and women are unworthy sinners deserving of judgment by God.

 

16.2.    Noah’s being called ‘blameless’ here is a term that refers to his being “without blemish.”  This may mean that Noah’s genealogy had not been tampered with (such as the Nephilim) but was pure.

 

17.            VS 6:10  - “10 Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” -  Noah became the father of three sons:  Shem, Ham and Japheth

 

17.1.    Noah most likely had other sons and daughters, however these were the only ones that were righteous in God’s eyes. 

 

17.2.    We saw earlier that Noah was 500 years old before he had these sons.

 

18.            VS 6:11-16  - “11 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. 13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. 14 “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 “This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 “You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.” -  God commands Noah to build an ark for the saving of himself and his family

 

18.1.    The wickedness upon the earth caused the earth to be ‘filled with violence.’  In fact the wickedness was so thorough that ‘all flesh’ had become corrupted upon the earth.

 

18.2.    This is a different word that is used for ‘ark’ than that used for the Ark of the Covenant.  This word means “a barge or boat.”  It is the same word that is used for the basket that Moses’ parents placed him in as a baby and floated him down the river to where Pharaoh’s daughter could discover Moses and determine to spare his life and raise him as her own child.

 

18.3.    Notice that Noah is instructed to cover the ark on the inside and outside with pitch.  A boat made of wood would normally be covered with pitch on the outside, however a coating on the inside could only have been commanded so that the ark would be preserved over time.  Chuck Missler believes that the ark is soon to be discovered and that it will become a testimony to the people on the earth.

 

18.4.    There is much debate about the size of a cubit, but many believe that its size was about 18 inches.  This would make the ark about the size of the Titanic. 

 

18.5.    Moses was commanded to build 3 decks on the inside of the ark, one door for one side of the ark, and a widow that would run all along the top of the ark.  This window must have had a parapet over top of it to keep the rain and elements out of the ark yet allow the sunshine and fresh air in.

 

18.6.    Experts have testified that the ark could easily have housed all of the animals and creatures that God commanded Noah to take onto the ark.  Henry Morris writes, “Authorities on biological taxonomy estimate that there are less than eighteen thousand species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians living in the world today.  This number might be doubled to allow for known extinct land animals…Allowing then for two of each species, there might have to be a total of about seventy-two thousand animals on the Ark—say seventy-five thousand;  to allow for the five extra animals in each “clean” species…There was of course also ample room for the approximately one million species of insects (many of these, no doubt, could have survived outside the Ark), as well as food for the animals, for living quarters for Noah and his family, and for any other necessary purposes.”

 

18.7.    Many have speculated that the animals that the Lord brought to Moses were probably juveniles and not of full size, and that the Lord most likely caused the animals to go into a hibernation period during their stay upon the ark.

 

19.            VS 6:17-18  - “17 “Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. 18 “But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.” -  God promises to make a covenant with Noah and his family when He destroys all flesh from the face of the earth

 

19.1.    This is the first mention in the Bible of the Lord making a ‘covenant’ with men.  The Lord promises that He will make a ‘covenant’ with the Noah, his wife, his sons, and his son’s wives.

 

19.2.    Note that this was a “global flood” for the Lord tells Noah that He is going to ‘destroy all flesh’ which is upon the earth.  Those who believe in a “local flood” have a problem not only with logic but also with the scriptures.

 

20.            VS 6:19-22  - “19 “And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 “Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 “As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them.” 22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.” -  God commands Noah to bring into the ark two of every kind (species) of animal into the ark as well as food to eat

 

20.1.    The Lord again reminds Noah of all of the creatures that he will have to provide for, keep alive, and bring with him upon the ark.

 

20.2.    Noah has to be considered one of the greatest men of faith in the entire Bible.  For him to continue faithfully building an ark the size perhaps of the Titanic for 120, doing so amid the taunting and threats of non-believers as well as having never seen rain before (it had never rained yet upon the earth) or a flood, is remarkable beyond words.

 

21.            CONCLUSIONS:

 

21.1.    Like Enoch, walk in such a way as to be worthy of being caught up by the Lord.

 

21.2.    Learn from the faith, patience, perseverance, and obedience of Noah.  

        

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