Only Evil Continually
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Good morning, welcome to NHCC. Please open your Bibles to Genesis 6.
Second half of sermon series to move much more swiftly. Goal is to end our Genesis series in time for Advent.
Genesis 5- Genealogy from Adam to Noah.
Specifically, the line of Seth.
Read Genesis 6:1-8- When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 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 land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
Pray.
What we have before us is what I would call a peculiar text.
K.A. Matthews- “Unquestionably, 6:1-4 is the most demanding passage in Genesis for the interpreter. Every verse is a source of exegetical difficulty.”
Seems that every few words in our text has 3 or 4 different interpretations, all of which hold merit and value.
We don’t want to get so caught up in the details of our text that we miss out on the overarching theme being communicated.
We go from Genealogy to the Flood narrative.
What we have in chapter six answers an important question- How do we get from the goodness of creation to the destruction of creation?
The answer is that sin has taken off. The behaviors of mankind reflect a sinful heart that has taken over everything.
Joseph Exell- “Seldom do men need to be reasoned into the evil pursuits of conduct, and if they do, a fallacious argument is sufficient to convince them. They do not even require to be solicited or invited to the wrong, they are willing, nay, eager, to find companions who will join them in their carnal pleasures. The unregenerate soul goes in quest of evil, and will work it greedily. It has a native tendency to sin. Hence we are not surprised to find the world rioting in moral wrong, when it is utterly destitute of that love to God, which alone can keep it right.”
Don’t we find this to be true? We can always find new ways of sinning. We are amazed by it in our children. Doing things we had never dreamt of.
We have gone from the sin of Adam and Eve, to the sin of Cain, to the sin of all mankind.
1. The World Embraces Sin.
1. The World Embraces Sin.
What is being communicated in these verses? How does Moses, by the work of the Holy Spirit, portray the sin of man? Largely, this all revolves around the degeneracy of marriage.
The author uses a number of methods to portray the growing and spreading sinfulness of mankind.
The sons of God choosing any of the daughters of man.
Who are these sons of God? Two main interpretations with plenty of merit.
First, sons of God are angels.
Scriptural support- specifically in the book of Job.
Early Jewish and Christian tradition.
Second, the sons of God are the line of Seth, which the author just laid out for us in chapter 5.
This is the line from Adam that is in right relationship with God. Cain’s line would represent the families that had largely forgotten about God.
In this interpretation, the sons of Seth looked out and saw the beauty of the daughters of Cain.
They married any that they chose, and were swayed merely by physical attraction.
Parents navigating their children starting to date. Remember the creation of Eve.
Consider the sin that is being mentioned here. Not drunkenness, or sexual misconduct, not homosexuality or the building of idols to false gods.
Instead, the ignoring of what is most important for mankind’s relationship with God- God’s very own wisdom and direction for our lives.
Further, notice the words, “he is flesh.”
Might think of it this way, he is fleshly.
Galatians 5- Prior to listing the fruit of the Spirit, Paul lists the fruit of the flesh.
The way of living that is contrary to living in right relationship with God, or in the loving presence of God.
Tozer on heaven- Not everyone in actuality wants to go to heaven once they understand what heaven is.
A.W. Tozer in “No Greater Love”- “Heaven has nothing to do with you and me. It has everything to do with Christ. And as soon as my life begins to be Christ-focused and that focus continues, I am being prepared for heaven.”
Who are the Nephilim?
Couple of possibilities:
First, could be the offspring of the sons of God and the daughters of men.
Or, it could simply be contemporaries of the sons of God and the daughters of men.
Many have understood these men to be giants, but likely that is because they are reading too far into Numbers 13.
In Numbers 13, the spies go into the promised land and call the inhabitants Nephilim- largely a callback to those being described here in Genesis 6.
The inhabitants of the land were like the Nephilim of old.
Later in Genesis 6, the land is filled with violence. In a violent world, the Nephilim, this group of people, were known as men of renown, mighty men.
Likely they were known for their ferocity, feared for their violent ways.
Wickedness was great, every intention of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually.
Every intention- every forming of thought. Nothing is left out here.
Kent Hughes- “Their depravity was not a temporary state. There were no relentings, no repentances, no hesitations. Lust was their medium, violence their method. This was total, inveterate depravity.”
We sometimes speak of people as having a good heart, or good intentions, though their actions are evil. No possibility of spinning the reality of man’s sinfulness here.
Note the reflection of the sin of Eve.
Eve saw that the fruit was a delight to the eyes and took what she wanted rather than what God had desired for her.
Sons of God saw the beauty of these women and took what they wanted rather than what God had desired for them.
What we are seeing in all of mankind is a furthering of the original sin that Adam and Eve had taken part in.
These are the natural consequences of that first sin.
Here, then, is what we have. Man has grown ever more sinful.
The nature of this sin is a rejection of God and a turning instead to satisfying the self-centered desires of the flesh.
As the sons of God married the daughters of men, the sons of God, along with the rest of humanity, became completely sinful in all ways.
We are reminded that this is the reality of all apart from the presence of God, known only through faith in Christ.
Tozer- “Down in this valley where we find ourselves, some are taller than others and stand up and make others look short by comparison. However, when two men are reaching for the stars and one is a little taller than the other, there is no advantage. One man might be six feet four and the other four feet six, but when they stand up on a hill and reach for the stars, the heavens smile, because neither one will get close.”
This is our reality.
How will God deal with this degeneracy?
2. The Only Response is Destruction.
2. The Only Response is Destruction.
Again, the author makes this known in multiple ways.
First, God’s Spirit shall not abide with man forever.
When we speak of God’s Spirit, we are referring to God’s personal presence.
Genesis 1- God’s Spirit hovering over the waters at creation.
When God’s Spirit, or personal presence, no longer abides with or remains with man, then mankind’s life becomes abbreviated.
Think of it as a child with or without the personal presence of a parent.
Second, his days shall be 120 years.
Likely talking about the span of life.
Possibly that there is 120 years until the flood as a time for repentance, but likely a shortening of life span.
Consider the major implication of such a statement.
The greatest of mankind will still meet its doom; the mighty men of renown who had just been mentioned will still live a shortened life.
All strength is unreliable.
Third, God is grieved by the actions of men.
K.A. Matthews- “Our God is incomparably affected by, even pained by, the sinners rebellion.”
Perhaps we tend not to think of God in this way, likely because we think of God as somehow unfeeling.
Finally, God will blot them from the face of the earth.
We see a reversal of God’s creative work. God created all things good, but they had fallen so far in their sinfulness that God’s response was to wipe out man from the face of the earth.
Whereas He had told them to spread and fill the earth, God would now remove them from the earth.
Here we find the harsh reality that our sin deserves judgement.
We don’t want to be reminded of such things, but it is crucial that we be reminded, both for ourselves and others.
Matthew 24:37-39- For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
We are reminded of the consequences for sin because we don’t want to be taken by surprise at the return of Christ.
3. The Glimpse of the Good News.
3. The Glimpse of the Good News.
Let’s not end our time lacking hope. The text ends in a positive light.
Noah found favor.
While the rest of the world did their own thing, Noah caught the attention of God.
Jonathan Edwards- "Resolution One: I will live for God. Resolution Two: If no one else does, I still will."
Changes the way that we look at life. We often become so focused on the evil that surrounds us.
Might we instead focus on who we will be in the midst of the surrounding evil?
The sin and evil that plagued the world around him would not be contagious to Noah because he had received the favor and grace of God.
This must be our attitude in all of life. Noah found favor, Noah found grace.