Genesis 6

Yesterday we went through Adam's descendants through Noah.  I have a feeling we will stay on him for a little while.

Genesis 6

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Wickedness of Humankind

6 When people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, ² the sons of God saw that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all that they chose. ³ Then the Lord said, “My spirit shall not abide^[a] in mortals forever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred twenty years.” ⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.

⁵ The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. ⁶ And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. ⁷ So the Lord said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord.

Noah Pleases God

⁹ These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. ¹⁰ And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹² And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth. ¹³ And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with the earth. ¹⁴ Make yourself an ark of cypress^[b] wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. ¹⁵ This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. ¹⁶ Make a roof^[c] for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above; and put the door of the ark in its side; make it with lower, second, and third decks. ¹⁷ For my part, I am going to bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. ¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁹ And of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. ²⁰ Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind shall come in to you, to keep them alive. ²¹ Also take with you every kind of food that is eaten, and store it up; and it shall serve as food for you and for them.” ²² Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.


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10 generations.  10 generations was all that it took for humanity to go from the Garden of Eden to corruption and evil so widespread that God decided to start over.  According to the author it took thousands of years, but still...only 10 generations.

The beginning of this chapter is another passage that I wish was elaborated on more.  Who are the "sons of God"?  Angels?  Other divine beings?  Men who were created instead of born?  And the Nephalim?  Who are they and what did they do?  Again, there is precious little information in scripture, mostly just legend and tradition from other sources.  I know Moses had a lot to write down, but couldn't he have cut numbers down a little bit and elaborated here?

God was sorry that he created humanity.  Does that mean He was surprised by their actions?  How does an all-knowing, omni-prestent, outside of time being get surprised?  Is it just that He is deeply sad and troubled by how His children are acting?  I can understand that.  There are times that you just want your kids to make better choices...especially when they are being cruel to each other.  I have never said that I was sorry that we had children.  I have been angry, sad, discouraged and utterly confused by their actions.  As a parent you want the best for your kids and want them to be the best people they can be.  When those things don't happen, conflicting emotions just roll over you.

What I can see in this passage is that humanity self-destructs quickly.  God places limits on their life and their strength because without those limits, violence and oppression spread like weeds.  We hate limits...especially we as Americans...especially we as Alaskans.  Yet it looks like without limits humanity sets itself up on a collision course with God.  A shorter individual lifespan and less pure power actually created a better world collectively.   Hmmm.  Something to ponder.