Genesis 6, Noah, (Part 1), and you get to meet Wanda and the Professor

If you're new here, please sign a name card and think of two truths and a lie that you can share with the rest of us later. Be advised that we're going through the basic stories of the Bible in hopes of laying a framework for understanding the Bible as a whole. I would encourage you to read the past blog entries to get caught up. Feel free to read them in the bathroom, but not while driving.

If you're not new the blog I know it feels like we've been in Genesis forever. I understand your frustration. Then again, we're reading the Bible and we're learning good stuff, (hopefully). Also, as I've said before, Genesis lays the groundwork for understanding the rest of the Bible as a whole, so it's crucial we understand Genesis before we move on to other things. So please be patient, hold on, and enjoy the ride as much as possible. Send all complaints to this lady (to the right). She works at the DMV and also handles complaints for my blog. Her name is Wanda.

So now we're going to talk about Noah. But first we need to set the groundwork for Noah. (I say 'we' like I have a staff). The account of Noah is from Genesis 6-9 and I'm going to try to cover that all in one blog, (but not this one). First we need to cover the Genesis 6:1-8, which is a very weird passage in some ways and not very weird in others. Let's look.

"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 of old, the men of renown." 

Now we reach our first really weird passage of the Bible. I have no idea what it means. Does it mean angels were possessing men and having sex? Does it mean the good guys were falling into immoral sin with women? Does it mean that the leaders of the people were getting involved inappropriately with women? I don't know. I asked Wanda what she thought, but she told me I first needed to fill out three forms and pay her a $15 processing fee before she'd answer, so I just left her alone. You and I could get into a big discussion about the different views on this, but since the point of my blog is to focus on the groundwork of the Bible and not the disputed details, we're going to just move on. Apparently volumes of commentaries have been written about what these verses could mean. It's an interesting discussion, but we're not going to have it here. If you have any other questions, ask that guy over there. He's the official professor of this blog.

Moving on to V5-8, "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." 

Let's do a quick recap of man, his existence on earth, and his relationship to God during that time.
- Man was made and given a commandment before God. He failed to keep the commandment and was judged by God, (Adam and Eve).
- Man was kicked out of the garden and given instructions on how to live rightly with God. Man failed and was judged/cursed by God, (Cain and Abel).
- Man, for the most part (see Enoch), fails to walk with God and increases in wickedness and evil. There is some sort of weird immorality going on, (v1-4), and now the "thoughts of his heart was only evil continually", (v5). Man has failed again and now God promises to judge man for his wickedness.

So in each situation man has failed to walk with and honor God, with a few notable exceptions, (Abel, Enoch, and now Noah). Man failed to keep even the simplest commandment, (don't eat from that tree). Now sin has corrupted mankind's heart and mind that their thoughts and actions are only evil continually. Creation, which started out so good, has now become evil and corrupted by sin and by mankind. The SoWhat Lesson: Sin has corrupted man's heart. Man needs a new heart. Man needs God but will not honor or obey him. 

I want you to see how sin has completely corrupted man in only the first six chapters of the Bible. Man has failed to walk with and honor God as he should. Man has sought to do it his own way. Man has not trusted and walked with God, (see few exceptions). Now you have God, grieved and sorry that he has created man. God's heart is broken because his creation will not respond to him as he desired. God wants a relationship of love, trust, and obedience from his people, but they will not turn to him. As always, sin and failure to obey and listen to God leads to consequences and judgment, and it is about to get ugly, and wet. Lesson # 2: God will always judge sin and evil. 

Then there's Noah. He is one of the few men of faith who have walked with God and trusted him. He is about to get saved from destruction because of his faith, (see also Enoch and Abel).

Next time I'm going to try and condense the story of Noah from three Bible chapters into a readable blog. If I don't do it, then I have to pay Wanda a big fine. Look forward to seeing you then. - Me.