Genesis 6:5-22 God's Plan For Salvation
(Deep Dive Book-By-Book Journey Through The Bible)
The story of Noah and the flood is much more than we were taught as little kids. We discover a warning, promise, and do-over through it.
But it also reminds us that we, like Noah, may be called by God to do something that makes little sense. It will require faith in action because those around us probably won’t understand (and why would they when we don’t?). Whatever God is asking might seem like a mistake because it opens you up to being ridiculed and mocked.
Because they had bodies of water back then (Genesis 1:9 and 2:5) boats might not have been all that uncommon. We don’t really know for sure. Even though the world looked different back then, the sheer size and magnitude of the ark would have been jaw-dropping. I know it is today, even though we are used to seeing mammoth structures.
In Williamstown, Kentucky, they have created the Ark Encounter. It is amazing to behold! Even if you can't visit it in person, through the photos on their web page, you can get a clear idea of just how big of a project building and stockpiling the ark was. Especially during a time when there wasn’t machinery to help with the hard tasks or stores to purchase products from.
I am sure that Noah was ridiculed and mocked. The people of his time were thinking evil thoughts constantly, so I am sure they didn’t have nice things to say or display kind gestures toward Noah and his family.
But here was a man who had such a life-changing encounter with God that he didn’t care what others thought, said, or did to him. He refused to let culture dictate his actions. This determination to remain focused on God allowed God’s voice to be bigger than the voices around him.
It’s hard to imagine a loving God bringing about such destruction. But God was just in this decision because the wages of sin are always death. All sin must be accounted for and a price paid.
My favorite verse from this chapter is, Thus Noah did according to all that God had commanded him.
God’s Plan of Salvation
(vs 5-7)
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
Men have gone from walking and talking with God in the garden to thinking evil constantly, which is the result of unchecked sin. Through the power of Christ, sin must be dealt with, or it will consume everything in its path.
REPENT: Hebrew #5162; to be sorry, to console, regret, moved to pity or compassion
God isn’t saying it was a mistake to create man. He is saying that it pains him (He feels sorrow) that humans forgot Him so quickly. He feels grief over what we have tossed aside, and our sins hurt His heart. However, God wasn't caught off-guard by the corruption and wickedness of men.
Cross Reference:
Isaiah 63:10, Deuteronomy 28:63
(vs 8-9)
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
JUST MAN: Hebrew #6662; righteous in conduct and character that is pleasing in God’s sight
PERFECT: Hebrew #8549; complete, sound, without blemish, upright
Noah found grace with God, but not because he was sinless. He wasn’t (see chapter 9). God could see Noah’s heart was turned fully towards Him. When our heart is right with God, our actions follow. My guess is that he didn't let sin overtake him but was quick to recognize it and run to God in repentance. Noah also walked in faith. All of this was pleasing to God.
Throughout time evil has persisted. Only God, in his wisdom and righteousness, has the power to determine when enough is enough. Until He reaches that point, God sends people to speak His truth. They become a voice (a light) in the darkness. Noah was that voice, a proclaimer (preacher) of righteousness.
Choosing to speak out in truth when nobody wants to hear it would have taken such strength and conviction! Society had become increasingly evil, with the people turning to evil instead of turning to God. They had become so self-focused that they wanted to satisfy the flesh without ceasing.
But God wasn't caught unaware. He had a plan to use Noah to save and regenerate the world. God often works through our actions, attitudes, struggles, and victories to reach others. We know God does this because He did so with Noah, Daniel, and Job.
Cross Reference Verses:
Hebrews 11:6-8, 2 Peter 2:5, Romans 1:21, Ezekiel 14:14 and 14:20
Questions to Consider:
Is it still possible today to walk closely with God? Do you know anyone (including yourself) who could be described this way? What do they do to make you believe they walk closely with God?
Is being a Christian synonymous with walking with God? Is walking with God a requirement to gain or keep salvation?
Have you had to wrestle with the conviction to obey God even when you didn’t understand?
What has God asked you to do that nobody else seemed to understand or appreciate? Did you obey and follow it through to the end (Colossians 4:17) or give up in frustration? If you have not obeyed, what is holding you back? Have you taken it to God in prayer and asked for help with the situation?
(v10)
And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
At the age of 500, Noah began having children. However, this doesn’t mean that Noah had triplets. As is often the case, there was an undisclosed period between the events.
We don’t know if these were the only children Noah had.
I always believed that the order of Noah’s sons given in this verse was their birth order. But that isn’t true at all. Verse 10:21 tells us who the oldest is (Japheth), and verse 9:24 tells us who the youngest is (Ham).
(vs11-13)
The earth also was corrupt (to destroy, ruin, pervert) before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, “The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”
God had reached His limit because:
1. Sins were taken lightly (vs2-3)
2. Everything the people thought about was sinful (vs5-7)
3. Violence became normal and rampant (vs11-13)
“And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:26-27)
Today we have many who will rail against mankind for littering, climate change, and people not accepting them for who they feel they should be. For them, the imminent danger is what the eye can see, and the mind can perceive. They do not realize that the greater danger is the hardening of men’s hearts, which happens every time they turn away from the Lord God Almighty.
Back in the days of Noah, men had gone from thinking that what was wrong was right and what was right was wrong to freely, openly acting on their sinful desires.
Questions to Consider:
What spiritual corruption are you allowing into your life? Remember, it always starts in our minds. If you regularly watch TV, take a few hours and monitor what comes across the screen. Is it blessing your life or hindering it?
Regularly examine your life for things that are inviting sin into your world. Satan’s tactics are like a slow, drippy faucet. The noise of our lives drowns out the dripping that might alert us to the issue. Then before we know it, this temptation floods our lives causing destruction.
Noah heard and recognized God’s voice. Do you believe God speaks to us like this today? Do you think God asks ordinary people to do extraordinary things or is that something He reserves for the five-fold ministry? Can you think of anywhere in the New Testament where God addresses this issue?
When God tells you to do something and you do it (even though you don’t understand) that is faith in action.
The Building of The Ark
The flood was a picture of judgment and the ark was a picture of salvation.
(v14)
Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
In verse 5, God had made the decision that enough was enough. But it isn’t until now that God tells Noah to build the ark. We don’t know how long between these events, nor does it tell us how long it took Noah to build the ark before the rains began. There are clues, and we can guess, but the Bible doesn’t clearly say.
God waited patiently for the ark to be built (1 Peter 3:20).
Gopherwood no longer exists. However, it is the equivalent of today’s plywood. The pitch (a tar-like substance) made it waterproof.
Questions to Consider:
God says not to worry about tomorrow. Noah didn’t waste time worrying or asking questions. He accepted what God said and moved to act in obedience. What about you? Has God spoken to you about a seemingly impossible situation, and because you can’t wrap your head around it, you have dismissed it as irrelevant or too much? How might you take steps to remedy that?
(vs15-16)
And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
A cubit was an ancient, estimated measurement from the tip of the finger to the elbow.
The ark was about 1.5 football fields long, as wide as a tennis court is long and taller than a 4-story house. Or, to say it another way, the ark was six times longer than wide (the model used by shipbuilders).
God was specific. He knew what Noah and the ark were up against, so He knew what was needed. For example, God wanted a window (probably for light and airflow) in the upper portion of the ark, a door on the side, and the inside broken up into multiple rooms.
(vs17-18)
And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant (pledge or promise); and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.
Peter indicates that with the exception of those on board the ark, the universal flood completely destroyed everything that had the breath of life (2 Peter 3:6).
God is the only one who can bring about such controlled destruction.
God made a covenant with Noah. We don’t fully understand the promise or its blessings until we are through the situation and can look back. I doubt if Noah was any different.
A covenant promise from God is better than anything because God is a promise keeper.
As massive as the population would have been, when the time came to board the ark, only the eight souls specifically chosen and mentioned by God were allowed to board.
Cross Reference:
Genesis 9:8-17, 2 Peter 2:5, Hebrews 11:7, 2 Peter 2:5, 1 Peter 3:20-21
Questions to Consider:
We like to believe that anything unpleasant happening in our lives is of Satan. But here, God is making it clear that this is happening at His hand. When bad things happen in your life, do you ask God for clarification on the reason or automatically assume it is the enemy and pray against it?
(vs19-21)
And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee, and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
Again, God’s instructions are specific. Noah had to have a male and female of every animal brought into the ark, each after their kind. These animals would be used to rebuild the ecosystem. In other words, two random birds weren’t good enough. Noah had to have a male and female dove, a male and female raven, a male and female bluejay, etc.
Noah also had to gather all the needed food for the animals and his family. Often, we question how Noah could have known when enough was enough. In the story of God feeding the Israelites in the desert with manna, He has unique ways of letting them know when they had enough.
Questions to Consider:
God has given Noah very detailed, explicit instructions to follow. When God truly speaks to us, He gives us as much as we need exactly when we need it. We accept this by faith. What has God been speaking to you? How detailed have his instructions been? Do you think God had different standards for Noah than he does for us today?
(v22)
Thus did Noah according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
Noah did all that God asked. He didn’t complain or take shortcuts. During the time it took them to build the ark, Noah would have received many opportunities to grow spiritual fruit, even the fruit of patience.
From the chart in Chapter 5, we see Noah had a few godly men in his life. Enoch was alive during the early years of Noah’s life (about his first 70 years). And Methuselah was around (although we don’t know if Methuselah perished before or during the flood). Speaking into the lives of those around us with God's truth impacts far more than we could ever imagine.
Questions to Consider:
That statement sums up not just Noah’s life but his character and dedication to God. Can you imagine if that was the eulogy that God had for you?
Can we have complete obedience like Noah? Why or why not? Was faith back then different than the faith we have today? What did Noah’s faith rely on? When we trust someone, we obey them regardless of our understanding. Our distrust isn’t a head matter but a heart matter. What can you do today to increase your trust in God?
What I learned from this chapter
From this chapter, I learned that as our Creator only God has the ability and authority to decide when we have gone far enough and need to be reigned in. We can trust that He doesn’t make these decisions casually but with his usual love, patience, mercy, righteousness, and love.
God can be fully trusted. He warns before punishing because He is merciful and just. He will always give us a chance to make it right by confessing and repenting. He always rewards those who choose to walk closely with him in righteous obedience.
I’ve also come to realize that time truly is short. I can squander it living to do what feels good to me at the moment or I can live with my heart, mind, and actions focused on God. One path leads to death (as in the days of Noah) and one path leads to life (as in the days of Noah).
