Those who ignore history are doomed! We have in Genesis 1-6 a history we cannot afford to ignore and yet Jesus Christ Himself tells us most people will ignore this history at their own peril!
NKJ Matthew 24:37 "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 "For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 "and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Where did they go wrong? How can we avoid their same mistakes?
I. They left God out of their most important decisions, even regarding marriage – Genesis 6:1-2
1. The “sons of God” mentioned here are the children of Seth –
2. Chapters 4-5 in Genesis have already introduced us to many of the main characters discussed here in less detail. The children of Cain are the “daughters of men” the descendants of Seth “the sons of God” are covenant children.
3. The “sons of God” were raised with the preaching of the likes Enoch and Noah, yet to them that weighed less than the fairness of the daughters of men; this was their first step away from God’s good will.
II. They listened to influential giants, men of renown, the majority, rather than to the Word of God (and men of God) – Genesis 6:4
1. This is an easy mistake to make (at least today) as these men are right in our face (where as God is less visible)
2. These men typically seem (especially to sinful hearts) to lead in the right way – Proverbs 14:12
3. Godly men are typically humble and few, consider Noah was alone and in the end two witnesses will be alone – Rev. 11
III. They resisted the striving of the Spirit of God – Genesis 6:3a
1. This striving would be a convicting striving – John 16:5-11, working with conscience against sins, for example, those mentioned in points I and II.
2. This striving would have worked alongside the preaching of Noah – 2 Peter 2:5, and others …
3. The Spirit and His convicting work is something we should pray we do not lose by our sin(s) – Psalm 51:10-13
4. The striving of the Spirit against sin is definitely not something that continues forever – Genesis 6:3, in this the Spirit’s striving is a lot like Christ’s knocking mentioned in Revelation 3:20 it is: A. an opportunity for grace B. an official witness that will be used against those condemned to hell (something you will not forget).
5. The import of the 120 year limitation – Genesis 6:3
IV. Finally, they were left by God to themselves and were proved worse than worthless – Genesis 6:5-7
1. Their wickedness was great in the earth (widespread, extreme)
2. Their wickedness was internal (thoughts of their hearts) it was the essence of who they were (not basically good) – Genesis 6:5
3. Their wickedness grieved God and resulted in their destruction – Genesis 6:6-7
V. Yet one man found grace in God’s sight – Genesis 6:8
1. Notice it is grace that saves Noah not Noah’s righteousness – Genesis 6:8; Ephesians 2:8-9
2. Note, that true righteousness grows out of grace – Genesis 6:9; Ephesians 2:8-10
3. Note, ultimately right will win over might, even though the entire world may seem against you – Hebrews 11:7
4. A stand with Christ is often a stand with the few rather than with the many – Matthew 7:13-14
5. God used Noah as a blessing to his family, and to all of us – Genesis 6:10; Genesis 9:1
Ex Nihilo Technical Journal, Carl Wieland commented on this matter as follows: Barring accidental death, one-celled organisms are potentially “immortal.” A bacterial cell reproduces by dividing into two where there was one, those two then become four, and so on. Why then do multicelled organisms die? Individual human cells in tissue culture divide some fifty times and then stop—some sort of pre-programmed genetic limit is reached. Human tumor cells, on the other hand, can be propagated indefinitely by division—the DNA mechanisms for pre-programmed cessation of division appears to be lacking or damaged in such cancer cells.
In multicellular organisms, once damaged and worn cells can no longer replace themselves, death is only a matter of time as the function of whole organ systems deteriorates. So even without accidents or disease there is a programmed “upper limit” on our age, which appears to be 120 years or so.... I suggest that our ancestors simply possessed genes for greater longevity which caused this “genetic limit” to human ages to be set at a higher level in the past.
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