Genesis 6

Ge 6:1-22.

WICKEDNESS OF THE

WORLD.

2. the sons of God saw the daughters of men--By the former is

meant the family of Seth, who were professedly religious; by the

latter, the descendants of apostate Cain. Mixed marriages between

parties of opposite principles and practice were necessarily sources of

extensive corruption. The women, religious themselves, would as wives

and mothers exert an influence fatal to the existence of religion in

their household, and consequently the people of that later age sank to

the lowest depravity.

3. flesh--utterly, hopelessly debased.

And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive--Christ, as

God, had by His Spirit inspiring Enoch, Noah, and perhaps other

prophets

(1Pe 3:20;

2Pe 2:5;

Jude 14),

preached repentance to the antediluvians; but they were incorrigible.

yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years--It is

probable that the corruption of the world, which had now reached its

height, had been long and gradually increasing, and this idea

receives support from the long respite granted.

4. giants--The term in Hebrew implies not so much the

idea of great stature as of reckless ferocity, impious and daring

characters, who spread devastation and carnage far and wide.

5, 6. God saw it . . . repented . . .

grieved--God cannot change

(Mal 3:6;

Jas 1:17);

but, by language suited to our nature and experience, He is

described as about to alter His visible procedure towards mankind--from

being merciful and long-suffering, He was about to show Himself a God

of judgment; and, as that impious race had filled up the measure of

their iniquities, He was about to introduce a terrible display of His

justice

(Ec 8:11).

8. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord--favor. What an

awful state of things when only one man or one family of piety and

virtue was now existing among the professed sons of God!

9. Noah . . . just . . . and perfect--not

absolutely; for since the fall of Adam no man has been free from sin

except Jesus Christ. But as living by faith he was just

(Ga 3:2;

Heb 11:7)

and perfect--that is, sincere in his desire to do God's will.

11. the earth was filled with violence--In the absence of any

well-regulated government it is easy to imagine what evils would arise.

Men did what was right in their own eyes, and, having no fear of God,

destruction and misery were in their ways.

13. And God said unto Noah--How startling must have been the

announcement of the threatened destruction! There was no outward

indication of it. The course of nature and experience seemed against

the probability of its occurrence. The public opinion of mankind would

ridicule it. The whole world would be ranged against him. Yet,

persuaded the communication was from God, through faith

(Heb 11:7),

he set about preparing the means for preserving himself and family from

the impending calamity.

14. Make thee an ark--ark, a hollow chest

(Ex 2:3).

gopher wood--probably cypress, remarkable for its durability and

abounding on the Armenian mountains.

rooms--cabins or small cells.

pitch it within and without--mineral pitch, asphalt, naphtha, or

some bituminous substance, which, when smeared over and become

hardened, would make it perfectly watertight.

15. And this is the fashion--According to the description, the

ark was not a ship, but an immense house in form and structure like the

houses in the East, designed not to sail, but only to float. Assuming

the cubit to be 21.888 inches, the ark would be five hundred

forty-seven feet long, ninety-one feet two inches wide, and forty-seven

feet two inches high.

16. A window--probably a skylight, formed of some transparent

substance unknown.

in a cubit shalt thou finish it above--a direction to raise the

roof in the middle, seemingly to form a gentle slope for letting the

water run off.

17-22. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood--The repetition

of the announcement was to establish its certainty

(Ge 41:32).

Whatever opinion may be entertained as to the operation of natural laws

and agencies in the deluge, it was brought on the world by God as a

punishment for the enormous wickedness of its inhabitants.

18. But with thee will I establish my covenant--a special

promise of deliverance, called a covenant, to convince him of the

confidence to be reposed in it. The substance and terms of this

covenant are related at

Ge 6:19-21.

22. Thus did Noah--He began without delay to prepare the

colossal fabric, and in every step of his progress faithfully followed

the divine directions he had received.