Why the Flood, and Who Are the Offenders?

Original pic: "ark encounter" by scott1346 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

 

Why the Flood, and Who Are the Offenders?

Post #7 of the “Eleven Toes” Series

 

Genesis 6:3 – “Then the LORD said, ‘My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.’” That is, 120 years until the global flood hits. But why? àà The offense happening in v. 2 – “The sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took their wives any they chose.”

 

The theories as to who the “sons of God” and the “daughters of man” may be are immense; from angels, demons, aliens, and the creation of the Nephilim from Gen. 6:4. One of the two prevailing issues (at least from my point of view) considers the sons of God to be fallen angels (demons) either mating with women or possessing men to do so. The other prevailing view considers the “sons of God” to be from the God-fearing line of Seth, while the “daughters of men” are ungodly lines (normally the line of Cain, but basically any other family line).

 

Only one of these views addresses the Nephilim in an understandable way, as in demonic “genetics” blending into humanity to create a “breed” of giants. If the other view produced a multi-generational giant breed, it would only be because God declared it to be so. Of course, genetic abnormalities could come into play, but to the degree of another “breed” of mankind being considered (insinuating many people rather than a few)? Doubtful. In short, did God place on hold the natural biological and physical functions of this world (all of which He created) to produce a “breed” of giants out of two human families?

 

Another consideration is the Nephilim (or Nephilim-like giants) discovered many years after the flood (by the Israelite spies-Numbers 13), not to mention Goliath and his family. God can make giants elected for damnation from any family line, of course, before and after the flood.

 

Another question: What exactly is the mark God gave to Cain? Were his offspring “giants?” I’d rather not continue with that thought…so if you’re interested in investigating that pure speculation from the left field of a ballpark straight out of Uranus, have at it!

 

Anyway, the main reason I bring up this account in this series has to do with the idea that if the “sons of God” are Seth’s line and the “daughters of men” are Cain’s line, what would be God’s idea to remedy the dilemma? Should Seth’s line keep it within Seth’s line? The couples would be closer related to one another than the members of Cain’s line, possibly much closer.

 

We should easily notice this consideration playing a great role in the big family marked for God’s glorious purposes!

 

______________________

To give the most direct answer to the title question (a bit off the main subject of this series), we go back to Genesis 6:5-7, then the remedy in verse 8. God saw the great wickedness of mankind, a rampant depravity overwhelming the entire population. Then the sobering thought: “And the LORD regretted that He had made man on the Earth, and it grieved Him in His heart.” God flooded the Earth because of human depravity, blotting them out of the face of the Earth. So, if He did that, why are we still here? Because “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”

 

Did he and his family keep away from the depravity of mankind? Well, Noah was described as “a righteous man, blameless in his generation.” But that doesn’t mean he and his family weren’t sinners like every other descendent of Adam and Eve. So ultimately, No. Did he and his family deserve to be wiped out in the flood? Because of the indwelling sin in their lives, Yes.

 

Then how can Noah be the remedy? He can’t. The remedy is what he found: “Grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8). And from other Biblical evidence, his righteous and blameless state is due to God’s gracious declaration on him. God replaced his heart of stone with a heart of flesh, and His Spirit graciously resided in him and marked him for eternal life (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

 

So, the Flood happens, and only eight adults (two generations of one family) survive by riding it out on the gracious Ark. While we do not know the identities of the wives, what we know is that Noah has three sons (Shem, Ham & Japheth), and every grandchild of his was born after the ground dried up enough for them to escape the Ark (after a year on that ship with those animals, it’s certainly an escape!). The children and wives fulfill the reiteration of the day 6 commandment (Genesis 9:1 – “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the Earth”). The next post will follow this family Post-Flood. Until then…

 

Questions to consider:

1.     How do you reconcile passages such as Genesis 6:1-4 that have no definitive evidence for a solution? Do you sort of “skip” them, or are they helpful in other ways?

2.     What do you think about God “regretting” and “grieved” about His creation/the making of humanity? How is His love demonstrated in this passage?

3.     What would it take for you to be labelled as righteous and blameless by God?