GENESIS 6:1-12

One Righteous ManCan Save the World

Video : One Righteous Man

The Earth Was Defiled

Genesis 6:1–2 (NIV)1 When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.

Who were the Sons of God?

The Children of CainThe Children of SethA group of Angelic beings

Are the Sons of God the Children of Cain

• 1. There are several ancient translations that support this view– a. Targum of Onkelos (second century A.D.) translates “sons of God”

as “sons of nobles”– b. Symmachus (second century A.D.) Greek translation of the OT,

translated “sons of God” as “the sons of the kings”– c. The term “elohim” is used of Israelite leaders (cf. Ex. 21:6; 22:8;

Ps. 82:1,6), note NIV and NET Bible– d. Nephilim linked to Gibborim in Gen 6:4, Gibborim is from Gibbor

meaning “ a mighty man of valor; strength; wealth or power– e. This interpretation and its evidence is taken from Hard Sayings of

the Bible pp. 106-108.

The Children of Seth• 1. The immediate literary context of Gen. 4 and 5 shows the

development of the rebellious line of Cain and the chosen line of Seth. Therefore, contextual evidence seems to favor the godly line of Seth

• 2. The rabbis have been divided over their understanding of this passage. Some assert that it refers to Seth (but most to angels).

• 3. The plural phrase “the sons of God,” though most often used for angelic beings, rarely refers to human beings– a. Deut. 14:1 – “sons of YHWH your God”– b. Deut. 32:5 –“His sons”– c. Exod. 22:8-9; 21:6 (possibly Levitical judge)– d. Psalm 73:15 – “Thy children”– e. Hosea 1:10 – “sons of living God”

A Group of Angelic Beings• 1. This has been the most common traditional understanding of the passage. The

larger context of Genesis could support this view as another example of supernatural evil trying to thwart God’s will for mankind (the rabbis say out of jealousy)

• 2. The plural phrase (“sons of God”) is used overwhelmingly in the OT for angels : – Job 1:6; Job 2:1, Job 38:7; Psalm 29:1; Psalm 89:6,7; Daniel 89:6

• 3. The inter-testamental book of I Enoch (cf. I Enoch 6:1-8:4; 12:4-6; 19:1-3; 21:1-10) and Jubilees (cf. Job 5:1), which was very popular among believers in the NT period, along with the Genesis Apocryphon from the Dead Sea Scrolls, interprets these as rebellious angels

• 4. The immediate context of chapter 6 seems to imply that “the mighty men who were of old, men of renown” came from this improper mixing of the orders of creation

• 5. The Septuagint translates the phrase “sons of God” as “angels of God”• 6. I Enoch even asserts that Noah’s Flood came to destroy this angelic/human

union which was hostile towards YHWH and His plan for creation (cf. I Enoch 7:1ff; 15:1ff; 86:1ff)

• 7. In Ugaritic literature “sons of God” refers to members of the pantheon (i.e. lesser spiritual beings)

Jude 6–7 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

The New Testament Implies they were Angels

2 Peter 2:2–6 2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. 4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;

A Limit on God’s Patience

Genesis 6:3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

What is meant by 120 years?Mankind’s lifespan will decrease to 120 yearsMankind has only 120 years left before judgment

Giants ruled the Earth

Genesis 6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

Numbers 13:33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

God grieves over the Wickedness of Men

Genesis 6:5–6 5 The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.

God’s Pronounces Judgment

Genesis 6:7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe 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.”

God Found One Righteous Man

Genesis 6:8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Others are Saved because of the Righteousness of One

Genesis 6:9–10 9 This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Conclusion: A World Defiled

Genesis 6:11–12 11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.

Is the World better now than before the Flood

• The Spread of the Occult and false religions• The Sensuality, sex out of marriage• The preoccupation with the entertainment

and sport’s world (giants)• Murder, theft, hate crimes

The Day Is Coming

Matthew 24:37–39 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Will You Be a Noah?