The Fight (Spiritual Battle) Part 4
So far in our discussion on Spiritual Battle we are calling ‘The Fight’ we have looked at cosmology, cosmic temple, imagers, elohim, free will and the Fall. Now, let’s look into what is going on at the flood.
Genesis 6:1-4 (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. 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.” 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.
Who/what are the Nephilim?
In verse 4 we are introduced to the Nephilim. Some translations say ‘giants’.
Genesis 6:4 (NIV)
4 The Nephilim (giants) 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.
The elohim (sons of God), see that human women are beautiful and decide to imitate God by producing their own human children to image themselves. Instead of embracing God’s human family, they decide to try and make their own. The result is that human depravity is greatly increased and humanity is permanently damaged.
The Lord was Grieved
Genesis 6:5-6 (NIV)
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.
Every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
That is a statement that you need to take some time to reflect on. That was what had happened to the human family that God wanted. And that grieved God. Being grieved is different than being angry. God wasn’t angry. He was heart broken over what was going on. His giving His divine and human family free will had resulted in continual evil.
He couldn’t just suspend free will, so He would start over and put an end to what the evil elohim had caused. It was a cosmic reset. Remember in Genesis 1:2 how the waters covered the earth? In the flood, the waters would cover the earth again.
Genesis 6:7 (NIV)
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.”
This is the Account of Noah
Fortunately, there was Noah, a righteous man, and God would keep his plan for a human family moving forward.
Genesis 6:9 (NIV)
9 This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.
You know this part of the story. God told Noah to build an ark for him, his wife, his three sons and their wives and for a bunch of animals. This process would take 120 years.
Genesis 6:3 (NIV)
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.”
This demonstrated the mercy of God. During this 120 years, people would have the opportunity to listen to Noah, and to repent and be forgiven.
2 Peter 2:5 (NIV)
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;
However, people didn’t listen, they didn’t repent, they didn’t respond to the gracious warning. The flood took place, all those on the ark were saved. After the flood, the command that was given to Adam and Eve is repeated to Noah and his family.
Genesis 9:1 (NIV)
1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.
It was a new start. God still wanted a human family. But there would be yet another rebellion. This would happen at the Tower of Babel and what happens there frames the rest of the story.
Steve Lawes is a church encourager and the lead pastor of Keys Vineyard Church.
