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Moses is preparing to give an account of the flood in the time of Noah. That judgment will be explained in the next section that begins at v.9 where we find that indicator: "These are the generations of…". The section that deals with the flood runs from 6:9-9:29.

So the verses we are concerned with this evening bring to a conclusion the section prior to the flood and must be seen in that light.

Moses is concerned in these verses to describe what characterized human life on earth before the flood intervened bringing about a new beginning.

vv.1-4 summarize in effect ch.5 bringing it to a conclusion in describing what life was like before the flood.

vv.5-8 begin to look at the reasons which decided the Lord to flood the world He had made.

While these verses are notoriously difficult ones to interpret as to their detailed meaning there are a number of truths that stand out clearly. We must be careful not to miss what is crystal clear as we try to understand the more difficult parts.

·       God retains His sovereignty over the entire human race – the creation mandate to multiply and fill the fill is not rescinded and the human population continues to grow.

·       Life is dependant upon God and He determines how long that will be

·       There were mighty men/men of renown on the earth in those days – possibly physical giants but we mustn't restrict our thoughts to that alone – there were movers and shakers, those trend setters able to influence those about them with their ideas etc. We have them still – men able to exert a dazzling influence over others controlling them in remarkable ways – such "giants" in the 20^th century would include Hitler, Stalin, Mao Tse Dung. On a more prosaic level we can think of actors, TV personalities, pop stars who captivate and influence millions.

·       Wickedness was widespread and God was offended by it as He always is!

·       God remains sovereign even when men seek to cast off His restraints.

Having briefly drawn attention to some of the obvious truths outlined for us in this passage we must now turn to investigate some of the difficulties that await us. Verse 1 is straightforward enough but what are we supposed to make of verses 2 + 3?

In v.2 we are told that "the sons of God" found the "daughters of men" attractive. What does this mean? Over time a variety of alternatives have been proposed and here they are:

a)       Some have argued that the term "sons of God" used here refers to angels. In this scenario Moses is supposedly referring to inappropriate relations developing between fallen angels and human women and of this bizarre union "giants" were born.

According to this view the refusal of angels and humans to maintain their proper station is interpreted as gross sin, so gross that it calls for the destruction of the human race with the flooding of the entire world.

Can this view be defended? I think not. While the OT does use the expression "sons of god" to refer to angels eg. Job.1:6 are we obliged to understand it that way here? Angels have not figured in the Genesis account up to this point (cherubim are mentioned in ch.3 but the Bible does not describe cherubim as angels). Why should they suddenly be mentioned now? And it would appear clear from Jesus' teaching in the gospels that angels are sexless spirit beings "who neither marry nor are given in marriage" see Mt.22:30.

b)       A second view takes the term "sons of god" to refer to kings descended from Cain's line. These kings were then understood to be setting themselves up as having divine rights and so not constrained as others were. Thus they taking as many wives as they wanted and practising polygamy.

While a study of comparative literature might suggest some parallels this idea does not emerge naturally from the text itself. Firstly, there is no indication that kings came from Cain's line and no explanation as to why Moses should employ the cryptic phrase "sons of god" to describe them. In fact kings were never described as deities in the OT even if they were in other contemporary literature.

c)       A much more acceptable interpretation is found when the "sons of god" is equated with the descendants of Seth. You'll remember that promise of Gen.3:15 – well Seth provides us with the godly seed and many understand "sons of god" to refer to his descendants. The issue then would be of the intermarriage of the godly descendants of Seth and the ungodly descendants of Cain as identified in the "daughters of men".

This interpretation does has the advantage of being consistent with what is regularly taught elsewhere in the Bible where the people of God are repeatedly warned of the dangers of mixed marriages – that is of marriages where truth faith is compromised. Examples abound in Scripture: Solomon having begun well ended his life with a huge array of marriages to foreign wives who retained their allegiance to their false gods – we read the dismal summary of Solomon's life:

1Ki.11:1-4 "Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

And again the teaching is reiterated in the NT as Paul writes to the Corinthians:

2Cor.6: 14-15 "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?"

Now although this interpretation of these verses teaches a truth widely taught in the Scriptures it is far from obvious that that is the meaning here in Gen.6. The exact phrase "sons of god" in Hebrew is not employed to speak of godly human beings. Nor for that matter is it obvious that "the daughters of men" refers to Cain's descendants – after all daughters are only spoken of in relation to Seth in the earlier chapters of Genesis.

d)       Perhaps a far more prosaic solution is the right one. Perhaps our chapter divisions (which are not inspired) is the problem here. What if Gen.6:1-3 is meant to be a resume of what has already been written in ch.5 rather than introducing a new subject? Rather than speaking a specific sin that was particularly serious that led on to the judgment of the flood do not these verses simply provide a summary of the normality and ordinariness of life before the flood. Just as Jesus described the situation prior to the flood in Mt.24:38-39:

"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."

In those verses Jesus speaks of how life went on with the people marrying and giving in marriage – the words in Gen.6:2 "and they took as their wives" is the normal way in which marriage is spoken of in the OT.

Perhaps these verses are meant to do no more than that. They tell us how life went on – there were no extravagant signs which would suggest that judgment was likely to be just around the corner. Sin had spread but no specific sin is referred to in the coming judgment of the flood. How like the time immediately prior to our Lord's return – sin generalised and widespread but otherwise everything carrying on as normal so that none naturally realizes the gravity of the situation!

With this understanding of the passage the opening verses of ch.6 serve to sum up life before the flood bringing ch.5 to a natural conclusion and at the same time introducing the idea that Lord will not however allow human life to go on and on – man originally made in the image of God is summed up now as "flesh" – he lives his life independently of God and in opposition to Him – God will not support this endlessly and so 120 years is now mentioned. No longer will man live for nearly a thousand years but his span will be radically reduced.

If the understanding of the opening verses of ch.6 as outlined above is right then the flood is not a reaction to some unusual sin such as mixing between humans and spirit beings nor due to the problem of mixed marriages alone – the problem is far more widespread.

The Lord looking out onto humanity does not see it guilty of one sin but of many sins. The race He had created in His own image no longer corresponds to His perfection but is utterly characterized by widespread wrongdoing. His actions are wrong and all that drives him to commit the actions that he does are unclean and impure.

The Lord looking out on mankind can only come to a single conclusion – all of humanity is thoroughly corrupt!

Up till now whenever Moses had written of God looking upon something it was declare that God was pleased with what He saw. That is the repeated refrain throughout ch.1 – but now all has changed. Now when God sees He is no longer well-pleased but we read the incredible statement that "the Lord was sorry that He had made man on earth" v.6

We are not to think that God had been taken by surprise by what had happened - He knew from before the beginning what would take place – but neither must we turn Him into some unfeeling, impersonal entity. Seeing man progressing further and further in to sin, wallowing in his mire and glorying in his shame, the Lord is sorry that he made man. What is more what He saw grieved Him sorely. He was and is affected to the depths of His being by human sin!

Could Moses have described this any more graphically for us?

Here Moses reminds the Israelites as they stand on the verge of entering the Promised Land that their God is anything but indifferent to what takes place upon earth and especially to what humans do. He is anything but indifferent to the very thought and motives that lie behind human wrong doing! He is greatly grieved by it.

Now, let us stop for a moment. Do we ever stop to consider how grievous our sin is to Almighty God? We are used to our sin and so often think so little about it – after all everyone does it, everyone we know is a sinner! And we convince ourselves that there is nothing all that special about our sinful behaviour, indeed we go on as though were normal! And the Lord is grieved, sorry that He made man!

How easy it is for us to pay no attention to such things! After all we're so used to putting ourselves centre stage and of evaluating everything uniquely from our own standpoint. And with such an outlook we may well not like the consequences that sin brings upon us – but that is a very different thing to disliking sin itself! But we don't think about God!! That we've messed up His creation doesn't trouble us, that we've offended and grieved Him – so what?

But wait – God is not indifferent, we've said it before and we underline it again here. He is no helpless victim doomed to endure the sadness and grief of sin committed in His perfect world. No! He is God and He will not for ever tolerate sin – the flood will come and destroy life that has been affected, yes, totally contaminated by sin.

God judges sin!

Mankind has degraded long enough His perfect world – man must now be blotted out!

The flood will come to cleanse the earth. The flood will be universal – all land life will be destroyed – man, the animals, the creeping things and the birds – all will be blotted out because God has been grieved and rendered sorry for having made man.

And our God has never changed. Sin still offends Him, sin still grieves Him and He has determined one day to judge the world again. The sin at the time of the flood was nothing exceptional – it was nothing extreme so that you might defend yourself by saying that you're not guilty of such a grievous sin! No, the sin was ordinary everyday sin. It was sinful action springing from the polluted source of the human heart. Just as our sinful acts spring from that same source. Sin has been judged once and will be again – not by flood but by fire.

My friend are you ready for that time? Have you ever asked yourself that question? Is it even possible to be ready for that day?

The Bible tells us over and over again that God is a Holy God who hates sin and who will not wink at it pretending it doesn't exist when it does. And yet… and yet… there is hope!

Look at v.8 "But Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord."

We're not to invert the order of v.8 + v.9 and try to suggest that God saved Noah because he was a good man! No, grace came to Noah – he found favour in the eyes of the Lord! That means that God the Lord treated him in a way that he didn't deserve!! And grace transformed Noah! Noah was a sinner just as every other man – he'll demonstrate that quickly once the flood is over by falling into a drunken stupor – but Noah found favour in the eyes of the LORD!

Because of the LORD's favour towards him he is enabled to walk with the Lord. He is declared righteous. He responds with faith to God's warnings and he is saved along with his family. By God's grace and mercy there will be a new beginning to the human race. Sin will have been judged but not eradicated from the race. The flood is not the final solution.

Noah receives grace and you may too! The grace of God is offered freely to you in Jesus Christ! He was made to be the sin-bearer and He died on Calvary's cross – yet again God's holy opposition and settled disposition against sin are clearly to be seen. Because He died you need not! That is how the grace of God is offered to you! What will you do with His offer?

The grace of God is freely offered and to be received by faith by those who come humbly repenting of their sin. That means recognition that sin is an affront to God and worthy of the terrible punishment of everlasting destruction. That means we must stop trying to hide our sin and trying to pretend it doesn't exist. It also means that we don't try to efface our sin by what we might imagine to be compensatory good works. It means we cry out for mercy and humbly receive what we don't deserve yet which God generously offers.

And such faith, if it is real, is life transforming. It is not a matter of a slight readjustment of our thinking, a little moral touching up of our lives here and there. No such faith is transforming. Noah becomes a blameless man, a man who walks with God. No-one who truly receives the grace of God by faith will remain unchanged.

Ah, the changes will take a life-time to implement but those changes will begin if a man or a woman comes to Christ.

Come to Him this night and then go on walking with God for the rest of your days!

Praise God for wonderful transforming grace in the Lord Jesus Christ!!

To God be the Glory!