Bible Study: Genesis 6

Chapter 6, Genesis 6: 1-22, Noah’s Ark

As the people on earth became more and more wicked. God decided to wipe out the world’s population. God preserved the life of Noah because he was righteous and he walked with God. God drowned every human being on earth except Noah and his wife, three sons, and three daughters-in-law.

Verses 1-4, 1 When men began to multiply on the surface of the ground, and daughters were born to them, 2 God’s sons saw that men’s daughters were beautiful, and they took any that they wanted for themselves as wives. 3 Yahweh said, “My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; so his days will be one hundred twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that when God’s sons came in to men’s daughters and had children with them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

This is a difficult passage. As human beings continued to multiply on the earth, they became more and more wicked. Who were the sons of God and the daughters of men? There are two schools of thought. Some scholars believed the sons of God were Cain’s descendants and the daughters of men were Seth’s descendants. Others believed the sons of God were fallen angels (demonic spirits) and daughters of men were women. According to the second school of thought, the sexual union between demonic spirits and women gave rise to a hybrid race of giants or Nephilim. Nephilim in Hebrews means, the fallen ones.

Verses 5-8, 5 Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil. 6 Yahweh was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart. 7 Yahweh said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the surface of the ground—man, along with animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky—for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in Yahweh’s eyes.

As time went by, the LORD saw that human beings became too wicked. The LORD decided to wipe out all human beings, all the animals, all the creeping things, and all the birds. But Noah found grace in the LORD’s eyes. God preserved the lives of Noah, his wife, three sons, and three daughters-in-law. Out of all the millions of earth dwellers, only Noah was righteous in the LORD’s eyes.

Verses 9-12, 9 This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God. 10 Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 God saw the earth and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

This is the third time, the word generations or genealogy was used, compare Genesis 2:4, and 5:1. Here is the genealogy from Noah who was blameless, righteous, and walked with God. Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. God saw that the earth was so corrupted, so evil and so full of violence.

Verses 13-15, 13 God said to Noah, “I will bring an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them and the earth. 14 Make a ship of gopher wood. You shall make rooms in the ship, and shall seal it inside and outside with pitch. 15 This is how you shall make it. The length of the ship shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.

God disclosed to Noah His plan to destroy all the people of the earth. He commanded Noah to build an ark from gopher wood. He commanded Noah to waterproof it by applying pitch on the inside and outside. One cubit is 18 inches or 1.5 feet. The ark was massive! Its length was 450 feet, its width was 75 feet, and its height was 45 feet.

The word gopher appears only once in the bible. Until today, the identity of gopher wood remained unknown.

Verses 16-17, 16 You shall make a roof in the ship, and you shall finish it to a cubit upward. You shall set the door of the ship in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third levels. 17 I, even I, will bring the flood of waters on this earth, to destroy all flesh having the breath of life from under the sky. Everything that is in the earth will die.

The top of the ark was covered with a roof and had one door, and three levels. The LORD will bring in the flood to drown the world’s population except for Noah, his wife, three sons, and three daughters-in-law.

Verse 18-22, 18 But I will establish my covenant with you. You shall come into the ship, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 Of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ship, to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female.20 Of the birds after their kind, of the livestock after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort will come to you, to keep them alive. 21 Take with you some of all food that is eaten, and gather it to yourself; and it will be for food for you, and for them.” 22 Thus Noah did. He did all that God commanded him.

The LORD confirmed the Naohic covenant with Noah. He shall spare the lives of Noah, his wife, sons, and his daughters-in-law. God commanded Noah to bring into the ark, one pair of male and female of all the living creatures on earth, and all the birds of the sky to preserve their lives. The LORD commanded Noah to bring sufficient food into the ark. Noah did everything according to the LORD’s commandment.

The Noahic covenant also stipulates that God will not send another flood to destroy the world. God sent a rainbow in the sky as a sign of the covenant, Genesis 9: 11-13.

Genesis 9: 11-13, “I will establish my covenant with you: All flesh will not be cut off anymore by the waters of the flood. There will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.” God said, “This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be a sign of a covenant between me and the earth.”

Application:

Noah built an ark and preached to the people about the coming flood even though no one had ever seen rain or flood! Noah was a man of great faith. He faithfully built the ark and preached God’s message even though everyone was mocking him. He was the only righteous man in the community of violent, wicked, evil, godless, and perverted people.

God gave grace to Noah because he was Godly, righteous, faithful, and walked with God. Are you walking with God?

The ark is a type of Christ. Those who entered the ark were saved from death. Today if anyone is in Christ, he will be saved. To be in Christ is to believe that Christ died for him to pay the penalty of sin. There is no other way to salvation except through Christ. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, John 714:6. Jesus is the door, John 10:9.

John 14:6, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.

John 10:9,” I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to be the substitutionary atonement for our sins. Thank You that Jesus Christ is the door, the way, the truth, and the life. Thank You for salvation and justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, in Jesus’ name, Amen.