Moses has so far told the story of creation, the woman, and God promise to her. Her seed shall bruise the head of the serpent and his seed. When Cain killed Abel, Cain was exiled and Seth was born. Noah was born a descendant of Seth, the one who would bring rest from toilsome labor under the federal headship of Adam (5:29). Now, he describes the departure of the Holy Spirit from the world. Currently, we live in a Matthew 28 world. You have heard some claim that there are some who lack the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. I want to argue that we know not what it is like to have the Holy Spirit depart from us because we no longer live in a Genesis 3 or Genesis 6 world.

Genesis 6:1-22

1 וַֽיְהִי֙ כִּֽי־הֵחֵ֣ל הָֽאָדָ֔ם לָרֹ֖ב עַל־פְּנֵ֣י הָֽאֲדָמָ֑ה וּבָנ֖וֹת יֻלְּד֥וּ לָהֶֽם׃

2 וַיִּרְא֤וּ בְנֵי־הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־בְּנ֣וֹת הָֽאָדָ֔ם כִּ֥י טֹבֹ֖ת הֵ֑נָּה וַיִּקְח֤וּ לָהֶם֙ נָשִׁ֔ים מִכֹּ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר בָּחָֽרוּ׃

3 וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוָ֗ה לֹֽא־יָד֨וֹן רוּחִ֤י בָֽאָדָם֙ לְעֹלָ֔ם בְּשַׁגַּ֖ם ה֣וּא בָשָׂ֑ר וְהָי֣וּ יָמָ֔יו מֵאָ֥ה וְעֶשְׂרִ֖ים שָׁנָֽה׃

4 הַנְּפִלִ֞ים הָי֣וּ בָאָרֶץ֮ בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵם֒ וְגַ֣ם אַֽחֲרֵי־כֵ֗ן אֲשֶׁ֨ר יָבֹ֜אוּ בְּנֵ֤י הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־בְּנ֣וֹת הָֽאָדָ֔ם וְיָלְד֖וּ לָהֶ֑ם הֵ֧מָּה הַגִּבֹּרִ֛ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר מֵעוֹלָ֖ם אַנְשֵׁ֥י הַשֵּֽׁם׃ פ

5 וַיַּ֣רְא יְהוָ֔ה כִּ֥י רַבָּ֛ה רָעַ֥ת הָאָדָ֖ם בָּאָ֑רֶץ וְכָל־יֵ֙צֶר֙ מַחְשְׁבֹ֣ת לִבּ֔וֹ רַ֥ק רַ֖ע כָּל־הַיּֽוֹם׃

6 וַיִּנָּ֣חֶם יְהוָ֔ה כִּֽי־עָשָׂ֥ה אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֖ם בָּאָ֑רֶץ וַיִּתְעַצֵּ֖ב אֶל־לִבּֽוֹ׃

7 וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוָ֗ה אֶמְחֶ֨ה אֶת־הָאָדָ֤ם אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֙אתִי֙ מֵעַל֙ פְּנֵ֣י הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה מֵֽאָדָם֙ עַד־בְּהֵמָ֔ה עַד־רֶ֖מֶשׂ וְעַד־ע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם כִּ֥י נִחַ֖מְתִּי כִּ֥י עֲשִׂיתִֽם׃

8 וְנֹ֕חַ מָ֥צָא חֵ֖ן בְּעֵינֵ֥י יְהוָֽה׃ פ

9 אֵ֚לֶּה תּוֹלְדֹ֣ת נֹ֔חַ נֹ֗חַ אִ֥ישׁ צַדִּ֛יק תָּמִ֥ים הָיָ֖ה בְּדֹֽרֹתָ֑יו אֶת־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֖ים הִֽתְהַלֶּךְ־נֹֽחַ׃

10 וַיּ֥וֹלֶד נֹ֖חַ שְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה בָנִ֑ים אֶת־שֵׁ֖ם אֶת־חָ֥ם וְאֶת־יָֽפֶת׃

11 וַתִּשָּׁחֵ֥ת הָאָ֖רֶץ לִפְנֵ֣י הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַתִּמָּלֵ֥א הָאָ֖רֶץ חָמָֽס׃

12 וַיַּ֧רְא אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ וְהִנֵּ֣ה נִשְׁחָ֑תָה כִּֽי־הִשְׁחִ֧ית כָּל־בָּשָׂ֛ר אֶת־דַּרְכּ֖וֹ עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ ס

13 וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֜ים לְנֹ֗חַ קֵ֤ץ כָּל־בָּשָׂר֙ בָּ֣א לְפָנַ֔י כִּֽי־מָלְאָ֥ה הָאָ֛רֶץ חָמָ֖ס מִפְּנֵיהֶ֑ם וְהִנְנִ֥י מַשְׁחִיתָ֖ם אֶת־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

14 עֲשֵׂ֤ה לְךָ֙ תֵּבַ֣ת עֲצֵי־גֹ֔פֶר קִנִּ֖ים תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֣ה אֶת־הַתֵּבָ֑ה וְכָֽפַרְתָּ֥ אֹתָ֛הּ מִבַּ֥יִת וּמִח֖וּץ בַּכֹּֽפֶר׃

15 וְזֶ֕ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֖ה אֹתָ֑הּ שְׁלֹ֧שׁ מֵא֣וֹת אַמָּ֗ה אֹ֚רֶךְ הַתֵּבָ֔ה חֲמִשִּׁ֤ים אַמָּה֙ רָחְבָּ֔הּ וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים אַמָּ֖ה קוֹמָתָֽהּ׃

16 צֹ֣הַר׀ תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֣ה לַתֵּבָ֗ה וְאֶל־אַמָּה֙ תְּכַלֶ֣נָּה מִלְמַ֔עְלָה וּפֶ֥תַח הַתֵּבָ֖ה בְּצִדָּ֣הּ תָּשִׂ֑ים תַּחְתִּיִּ֛ם שְׁנִיִּ֥ם וּשְׁלִשִׁ֖ים תַּֽעֲשֶֽׂהָ׃

17 וַאֲנִ֗י הִנְנִי֩ מֵבִ֨יא אֶת־הַמַּבּ֥וּל מַ֙יִם֙ עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ לְשַׁחֵ֣ת כָּל־בָּשָׂ֗ר אֲשֶׁר־בּוֹ֙ ר֣וּחַ חַיִּ֔ים מִתַּ֖חַת הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם כֹּ֥ל אֲשֶׁר־בָּאָ֖רֶץ יִגְוָֽע׃

18 וַהֲקִמֹתִ֥י אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֖י אִתָּ֑ךְ וּבָאתָ֙ אֶל־הַתֵּבָ֔ה אַתָּ֕ה וּבָנֶ֛יךָ וְאִשְׁתְּךָ֥ וּנְשֵֽׁי־בָנֶ֖יךָ אִתָּֽךְ׃

19 וּמִכָּל־הָ֠חַי מִֽכָּל־בָּשָׂ֞ר שְׁנַ֧יִם מִכֹּ֛ל תָּבִ֥יא אֶל־הַתֵּבָ֖ה לְהַחֲיֹ֣ת אִתָּ֑ךְ זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה יִֽהְיֽוּ׃

20 מֵהָע֣וֹף לְמִינֵ֗הוּ וּמִן־הַבְּהֵמָה֙ לְמִינָ֔הּ מִכֹּ֛ל רֶ֥מֶשׂ הָֽאֲדָמָ֖ה לְמִינֵ֑הוּ שְׁנַ֧יִם מִכֹּ֛ל יָבֹ֥אוּ אֵלֶ֖יךָ לְהַֽחֲיֽוֹת׃

21 וְאַתָּ֣ה קַח־לְךָ֗ מִכָּל־מַֽאֲכָל֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֵֽאָכֵ֔ל וְאָסַפְתָּ֖ אֵלֶ֑יךָ וְהָיָ֥ה לְךָ֛ וְלָהֶ֖ם לְאָכְלָֽה׃

22 וַיַּ֖עַשׂ נֹ֑חַ כְּ֠כֹל אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֥ה אֹת֛וֹ אֱלֹהִ֖ים כֵּ֥ן עָשָֽׂה׃ ס

The Spirit departs (v. 1-4)

Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 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.”

When men began to multiply. Now, we are seeing the beginning of the genealogies we just read—those of Cain and Seth. So, the tendencies we are about to see happen very early in the timeline. It is not something that began during Noah’s life. These are the tendencies of every generation leading up to Noah. The sons of God see that the daughters of men are beautiful. Women are, indeed, beautiful. There has been much debate as to the identity of the sons of God and daughters of men. When the Greek Septuagint was drafted, much later than Genesis was written, it rendered “sons of God” as “angels of God.” It did so as a result of Enochic tradition (part of the Apocrypha), not as a faithful translation of the autographical Hebrew. So, when we hear that the sons of God are fallen angels, we know that is a result of a mistranslation and later tradition. It is not likely an accurate explanation of the story.

If we are reading the story in context, which is what we want to do in order to be faithful to the narrative God has given us, we can see that the “seed of the woman” and “seed of the serpent” typology is being continued here (cf. 3:15). In this typology, the sons of God are seed of the woman—descendants of Seth; and the daughters of men are the seed of the serpent—descendants of Cain. We saw last week that the genealogy of the woman’s seed ended with Noah. Here, we see that up until Noah’s time, the children of promise were intermarrying with the nations that were in rebellion against God—whomever they chose. As a result, there is little to no distinction between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent at this time.

Notice the wording of the text. The text does not say that God reacts to their intermarrying by withdrawing His Spirit. It does not say that God withdraws His Spirit because people are wicked. It says explicitly that God’s Spirit shall not strive with humanity forever because he is flesh. People are fleshly rather than spiritual. God gets at the nature of humanity in a Genesis 3 world. People care not about the things of God. They only care about satisfying the desires of their flesh—their lusts. People are entitled. They are trying to build lives and kingdoms for themselves after their own desires. This is what it means to be fleshly or worldly—to live as if we are entitled and to pursue our own lusts and desires rather than serve God and others. Because of their wretched estate, God is going to remove His Spirit such that He is no longer striving with people. Admittedly, the Spirit is omnipresent, so He cannot be proximately removed. He will no longer strive with humanity—convict humanity of sin or counsel humanity in her conscience. God is handing humanity over to her own desires—giving her freedom to rule the earth.

The Spirit is life, so Moses clarifies something, here. Nevertheless, even though the Spirit will not strive with people, He will continue to sustain the lives of people for 120 more years. Regardless of popular teaching, this cannot refer to the lifespans of people. Shem will live to be 600, not 120 (cf. 11:10-11). 120 years is the amount of time until life will be cut off by the flood. Even though people are only self-interested and entitled, God will wait 120 years before judging the world for the selfishness of humanity. So, we often hear about the cruelness of God because he would do something like judge the world with floodwater. Many people do not realize that God announced His judgment 120 years before carrying it out, giving the nations 120 years to repent and turn from their selfish ways. They never do.

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.

Moses includes what seems like a random detail about Nephilim being on the earth in those days. He does not write that the Nephilim were descendants of angels and people. He simply says that they were on the earth when the sons of God married the daughters of men. Nephilim literally means “perpetrators of tyranny.” They are oppressors. I take the Nephilim to be what we now call demons. They oppress humanity and tempt people to pursue their own desires like the serpent did in the Garden. So, we know that this has been Satan’s game plan from the beginning. He is not a very creative one. He tells people that it is okay to pursue their own lusts. Surely they won’t die. The Nephilim are on the earth; they don’t come from the sons of God and daughters of men. They are also on the earth afterward. The children that came from the children of God and daughters of men were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. They were men full of pride, seeking fame and glory for themselves—the epitome of entitlement. Men like Gilgamesh and Enmerkar (Mesopotamian legends). Why do you think epic legends about heroes and super-humans appeal to our flesh? They appeal to our sense of entitlement. Here, Moses exposes those epic legends as products of the sinful human desire to be something more—gods. Those men of renown are the epitome of what people in the flesh desire to be—men and women of renown. So, the hunt for fame, fortune, glory, views, likes, and followers for self are the result of entitlement and contra to God.

Humankind derogates (v. 5-8)

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. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 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.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

The fleshly, entitled desires of humankind are now called wicked. Every intent of the thoughts of the hearts of people is only wicked all the time. It is selfish, entitled. Why? God has withdrawn His Spirit such that He no longer strives with people. Without the Spirit striving with humanity, people derogate into their natural, depraved minds. They are wretched as a result of their entitlement. You want evidence that the Spirit is active in the world today? Stop looking for mystical gibberish and start looking at the fact that there are sincere servants in the world. Without the Spirit striving with humanity, there are none. God looks at humanity in its entirely wretched estate, this Genesis 3 world, and it makes Him sad. He regrets making humanity. Not only humanity, but everything that He placed under humanity’s ruling authority. Why? Did God mess up? Was His creation not good? At this point, all we know is that every intent of the human heart is selfish. More will be revealed.

God vows to destroy humankind and animal life on the earth. He will do this because He regrets making humanity. Moses leaves us with a little hope. Noah finds favor in the eyes of Yahweh. Why? This has already been revealed. Noah is the last remaining seed of the woman, the only righteous one left by spiritual lineage (not by any work of his own). The seed of the woman will prevail again. The seed of the serpent will be crushed again.

The promised offspring (v. 9-22)

These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. 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. Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.” Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.

God instructs Noah to build an ark. He tells Noah how to build it and what to put on it. Noah follows God’s instructions. Like Enoch before him, Noah walks with God.

We learn a couple things about human wickedness in these verses. First, entitlement is a corruption of God’s design. God created everything good. By trying to fulfill their own lusts in their own way, people corrupt the good creation of God. Think of our political structure in the United States. The government was designed to be by the people for the people. When a government official begins to serve his own needs or only the desires of his constituents, that government official is said to be corrupt. This is what people have done on the earth following Genesis 3. No, God did not take a misstep in creation. His creation corrupted itself. People concerned themselves with what they could gain rather than how they could steward the earth and honor God. They were no longer taking care of the earth and their fellow people. They were only pursuing their own lusts and corrupting creation (redefining the created order) in order to satisfy their own preferences. This led to violence. You want a cure for war? Stop being selfish. Stop defining love by feeling or the filling of your own preferences. Deny self, take up your cross, steward the earth in humility. The gospel is a cure for war and violence on the earth. We keep trying to cure it by becoming more self-involved rather than less—this will only make things worse.

When the church teaches gender roles and heterosexuality, when we teach about the sanctity of all human life, when we teach about the wiles of money, fame, sexual aberration, and entitlement, we do so because all of those things lead to injustice, violence, mass-shootings, wars, disunity, and the abuse of the earth. The world is trying to solve all humanity’s problems by making them worse. The answer is in front of us if we read. Surrender to God. Follow the striving of His Spirit. Stop trying to define your own lives. Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus. Until the kingdom of God overtakes the whole earth, people will continue causing the same problems in their wretched estate that we always have. That is my invitation. Get into the church. Witness God bring peace and justice to the earth more and more. We are no longer in a Genesis 3 world.

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