GENESIS 6:5-12

THE FINAL VERDICT ON MANKIND 6:5-8

The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every purpose of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.

So the Lord said, I will wipe out mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth — men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air — for I am grieved that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Whereas God’s works are deemed to have been very good, mankind’s works are pronounced “wicked.” Humanity had been fruitful and multiplied by filling the earth with evil continually.

The term “heart” is the seat of a man’s conscience, his very being. Man’s very being had become corrupt and depraved. Thus what we see is the condition of total depravity reigning among mankind on earth.

The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.

Some translations depict this passage as saying that the Lord “repented” or “was regretful” that He had created mankind. Such an understanding is inconsistent with, and contradictory to, many other passages which teach God’s immutability or unchangeableness.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind.

1 Samuel 15:29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man, that He should repent.

Ezekiel 24:14 I the Lord have spoken. The time has come for Me to act. I will not hold back; I will not have pity, nor will I relent.

 

Malachi 3:6 For I am the Lord, I change not.

So the Lord said, I will wipe out mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth — men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air — for I am grieved that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

God’s judgment is to destroy all living creatures on the face of the earth. The idea translated “wipe out” literally means to “erase, expunge completely.”

The destruction of the animal kingdom along with humanity demonstrates that mankind’s wickedness has world-wide implications. All of God’s creation was affected by the fall.

In the midst of great judgment and wrath, God bestows His sovereign (particular) favor, or grace, on the man Noah, thus preserving the seed of the woman.

NOAH WALKED WITH GOD 6:9-12

These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

In verses 5-8 we saw the wickedness of man in contrast to the person of Noah, who had received favor in the eyes of the Lord. Now the character of Noah is described in verse 9, followed by a repetition of the corruption of mankind on the face of the earth in verses 11-12.

The character of Noah is defined in verse 9. First, he was called a “righteous” man. Noah’s righteousness was both imputed (he believed God and was declared righteous by God) and it was practical (Noah was one who recognized and observed his responsibilities to God and to his fellow man. He loved God with all his heart and his neighbor as himself).

Ezekiel 14:20 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.

Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

That Noah was a “righteous man” does not mean that he was sinless, for the Bible says “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). It means Noah believed God and lived an exemplary life seeking to do what was right before His God and Creator.

Noah is also characterized as “blameless in his generation”. He was an exception to his Age, which was spiritually bankrupt and filled with wickedness.

To be blameless signifies one who has integrity and honor, one with an upright heart that attempts to follow the ways of the Lord doing what is right in His sight.

Finally, the text says that “Noah walked with God”. This is the same expression used of Enoch in Genesis 5:22 & 24. Like Enoch, Noah had close fellowship and communion with God.

In the Hebrew “with God” opens the sentence. This word order gives God the place of preeminence in the sentence, thus highlighting the fact that the standards by which Noah’s righteousness is judged are divine, not human. It is what God thinks about you that is all important.

Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

In contrast to Noah, the rest of the earth was corrupted. The term “earth” is a metonymy (a figure of speech), standing for the “inhabitants of the earth”. It is used to underscore the totality of the earth’s corrupted condition.

To “corrupt” is a verb meaning to “spoil, to ruin, to lay waste, to devastate.” It is used in the Bible to describe a ravenous lion or a destroying angel.

The proof of the earth’s wicked state is confirmed by the use of the phrase “God saw the earth, and behold…” It is the same construction seen in Genesis 1:31 where God had viewed His own work and judged it very good. Here God saw the earth (saw man’s work), and behold it was corrupt.

The extent of man’s corruption is revealed by the term “all flesh”, that is, all mankind. All mankind had corrupted their way on the earth. There is only one exception: Noah.