Noah’s Wicked World

7 March 2021 PM – Genesis 6:5-22 – Gen2021 – Scott Childs

Introduction: We never truly know the pain another suffers until we go through something similar. Thus, we will never really know how God felt when his beautiful, perfect creation became so corrupt that He could no longer bear it and had to destroy it.

Transition: This evening I want us to look at Noah’s Wicked World from God’s perspective, that we might find some principles to live by today.

God Saw (v.5, 11-12)

a. God saw man’s wickedness

1) God sees all that we do (v.5). (Proverbs 15:3) “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” (Jeremiah 23:24) “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.” How foolish we are to think that we can hide our ungodly deeds from the Lord.

2) God saw that man’s wickedness was great in the earth (v.5). Not only did God see all that men did, He also saw the extent of those wicked deeds. Satan wants us to think that sin is no big deal. Sin will always take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you planned to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.

3) Man’s imaginations were only evil continually (v.5). God also saw the imagination of the thoughts of men’s hearts. This speaks of the forming of the thoughts in the heart. Remember, Jesus said that evil comes from the heart. (Matthew 15:19) “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:” If you think about something long enough, eventually you will do it. Guard your thoughts. Guard your heart. (Proverbs 4:23) “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” As with those men of old, our thoughts are a continual problem that we must carefully and prayerfully guard.

b. God saw that the earth was a mess

1) It was corrupt before God (v.11). The earth was ruined from God’s perspective. God is the standard of perfection. Sinful men had done something to ruin the perfect earth that God had made. The earth was no longer very good. It was spoilt.

2) It was filled with violence (v.11). This tells us that the world was overrun with cruelty and injustice.

3) All flesh had become corrupt (v.12). Since this word “flesh” is sometimes used of creatures, it may apply to them here as well. However, since they are not moral, we do not know how they would become corrupt.

4) When a person turns his back on God, there is only one direction he can go and that is downward.

2. God Repented (v.6-12)

a. He repented that He had made man.

1) The idea of this word repent is not so much that God changed His mind, but that He was sorry or regretted it.

2) It grieved God. It hurt Him. It displeased Him. God had created all things very good (Gen 1:31). Sin had spoilt what God had made good. For God to be sorry and grieved that he even created man, this must have tremendously hurt God!

3) In those first 1500 years, man had gone from very good to very wicked. Sin always grieves God. It was said of Israel in Isaiah 63:10, “But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.” God warns us in Ephesians 4:30, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.“

b. God found only one exception

1) One twinkle of light in God’s dark view of humanity is that Noah found grace (i.e., favour) in His eyes (v.8). Godly Methuselah and Lamech were still alive when God told Noah about the coming flood. Perhaps God did not mention them because He knew they would be dead before the flood came.

2) Noah was a remarkable exception to the men of his world. He found grace in God’s eyes for the following three reasons.

a) He was a just man (v.9). By faith, he was righteous before God.

b) He was perfect in his generations (v.9). This depicts that which is sound, healthy, wholesome, or having integrity. He was a man of godly character. The phrase “in his generations” may be to remind us of the wicked influences that he had to resist.

c) He walked with God (v.9). He maintained a daily fellowship with God.

d) Do you think we could find grace in God’s eyes if we too lived righteously, had godly character, and maintained daily fellowship with God? I think we could! Let’s make that our daily goal!

c. God determined to destroy man.

1) He said, “I will destroy man whom I have created” (v.7). Compare (v.13). God was so grieved in His heart that as a potter with a ruined vessel on the wheel, God determined to smash down the clay of His creation and start afresh.

2) God also determined to destroy all beasts, creeping things and fowls (v.7).

3. God Prepared (v.13-22)

a. He prepared Noah

1) He told Noah His plans (v.13). Imagine the thoughts that must have flooded into Noah’s mind. In 500 years, he had come to know MANY people. God was going to destroy all of them. I think that broke Noah’s heart.

2) Though the Book of Genesis does not tell us, Peter tells us that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. (2 Peter 2:5) “And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;” I wonder if he was a world-wide travelling evangelist. It is possible. Perhaps men had global communication technology in those days of which we know nothing.

b. God had Noah prepare an ark

1) God gave Noah the blueprints for the ark (v.14-16).

a) It was to be made of gopher wood (unknown). It must have rooms for the creatures. He was to waterproof it inside and out with pitch – that is a LOT of pitch! Show my scale ark model.

b) If a cubit is about 46 cm, the ark was to be 138 m long, 23 m wide, and 13.8 m high. A BIG boat!

c) A window was to be in the ark, probably along the peak. A door was to be in the side. Three floors were to be in the ark.

2) God explained the purpose of the ark (v.17-20). God would flood the earth. All air-breathing flesh would die (not all the fish). God made a covenant with Noah promising to keep him, his wife, his three sons, their three wives, and a pair of each kind of air-breathing creature alive inside the ark.

3) God detailed the filling of the ark with food (v.21).

4) Noah obeyed in all things (v.22). (Hebrews 11:7) “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.“

5) God did not just speak the word and kill all life. He lovingly spared a godly remnant and started over. For many years, God had Noah preach righteousness before the flood began. God is not willing that any should perish. As we see the Day of Judgment approaching, we too must be preachers of righteousness. One day, God will call us in and shut the door. That day may be soon.

Conclusion: As we tried to look at Genesis 6 from God’s perspective, we found several principles that we need to apply to our lives. Review orange above. Is there a principle here that you need to apply to your life? Do you need to make some changes? If so, do not put it off.

Song: Give Me a Passion for Souls – 306

Noah’s Wicked World

7 March 2021 PM – Genesis 6:5-22 – Gen2021 – Scott Childs

Introduction: We never truly know the pain another suffers until we go through something similar. Thus, we will never really know how God felt when his beautiful, perfect creation became so corrupt that He could no longer bear it and had to destroy it.

Transition: This evening I want us to look at Noah’s Wicked World from God’s perspective, that we might find some principles to live by today.

God Saw (v.5, 11-12)

a. God saw man’s wickedness

b. God saw that the earth was a mess

1) It was corrupt before God (v.11). The earth was ruined from God’s perspective. God is the standard of perfection. Sinful men had done something to ruin the perfect earth that God had made. The earth was no longer very good. It was spoilt.

2) It was filled with violence (v.11). This tells us that the world was overrun with cruelty and injustice.

3) All flesh had become corrupt (v.12). Since this word “flesh” is sometimes used of creatures, it may apply to them here as well. However, since they are not moral, we do not know how they would become corrupt.

4) When a person turns his back on God, there is only one direction he can go and that is downward.

2. God Repented (v.6-12)

a. He repented that He had made man.

1) The idea of this word repent is not so much that God changed His mind, but that He was sorry or regretted it.

2) It grieved God. It hurt Him. It displeased Him. God had created all things very good (Gen 1:31). Sin had spoilt what God had made good. For God to be sorry and grieved that he even created man, this must have tremendously hurt God!

b. God found only one exception

1) One twinkle of light in God’s dark view of humanity is that Noah found grace (i.e., favour) in His eyes (v.8). Godly Methuselah and Lamech were still alive when God told Noah about the coming flood. Perhaps God did not mention them because He knew they would be dead before the flood came.

2) Noah was a remarkable exception to the men of his world. He found grace in God’s eyes for the following three reasons.

a) He was a just man (v.9). By faith, he was righteous before God.

b) He was perfect in his generations (v.9). This depicts that which is sound, healthy, wholesome, or having integrity. He was a man of godly character. The phrase “in his generations” may be to remind us of the wicked influences that he had to resist.

c) He walked with God (v.9). He maintained a daily fellowship with God.

d) Do you think we could find grace in God’s eyes if we too lived righteously, had godly character, and maintained daily fellowship with God? I think we could! Let’s make that our daily goal!

c. God determined to destroy man.

1) He said, “I will destroy man whom I have created” (v.7). Compare (v.13). God was so grieved in His heart that as a potter with a ruined vessel on the wheel, God determined to smash down the clay of His creation and start afresh.

2) God also determined to destroy all beasts, creeping things and fowls (v.7).

3. God Prepared (v.13-22)

a. He prepared Noah

1) He told Noah His plans (v.13). Imagine the thoughts that must have flooded into Noah’s mind. In 500 years, he had come to know MANY people. God was going to destroy all of them. I think that broke Noah’s heart.

b. God had Noah prepare an ark

1) God gave Noah the blueprints for the ark (v.14-16).

a) It was to be made of gopher wood (unknown). It must have rooms for the creatures. He was to waterproof it inside and out with pitch – that is a LOT of pitch! Show my scale ark model.

b) If a cubit is about 46 cm, the ark was to be 138 m long, 23 m wide, and 13.8 m high. A BIG boat!

c) A window was to be in the ark, probably along the peak. A door was to be in the side. Three floors were to be in the ark.

3) God detailed the filling of the ark with food (v.21).

4) Noah obeyed in all things (v.22). (Hebrews 11:7) “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.“

Conclusion: As we tried to look at Genesis 6 from God’s perspective, we found several principles that we need to apply to our lives. Review orange above. Is there a principle here that you need to apply to your life? Do you need to make some changes? If so, do not put it off.

Song: Give Me a Passion for Souls – 306