In order to protect and preserve the seed of the woman, God required that there be purity in the bloodline which began with Seth. This requirement became the area of Satan’s next attack upon the promised Seed. In Genesis 6 we find Satan’s attempt to corrupt the seed.
“Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. … There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, `I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.'” (Gen. 6:1-2,4-7)
We read in these verses that “the sons of God” took “the daughters of men” as wives of their own choosing (vs. 1-2). The offspring of these marriages became “mighty men” and “men of renown” (i.e. men of their own name or men who made a name for themselves). As a result, “the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” The emphasized words “great,” “every,” “only” and “continually” serve to show just how evil mankind had become. We read further in verses 11-13 that the earth was “corrupt before God” and “filled with violence” for “all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” Who was behind this corruption? Satan, the evil one himself.
There are many fine Bible scholars who teach that “the sons of God” mentioned in verse 2 are fallen angels who married “the daughters of men,” who were earthly women, and that “the mighty men” who were produced from these marriages were superhuman, abnormal beings. As I understand this passage, the emphasis is upon Satan’s corruption of the godly line of Seth, and the “sons of God” refers to those in Seth’s lineage, while “the daughters of men” refers to those in the ungodly line of Cain.
Satan’s temptation of these “sons of God” follows the same pattern that he used with Eve. In verse 2 it states that “the sons of God saw the daughters of men” (the lust of the eyes) that “they were beautiful” (the lust of the flesh) and “they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose” (the pride of life). In all of this, they did not seek the Lord’s leading in any way. In fact, they directly went against His requirement to keep the bloodline pure.
In Matthew 24:36-51, Jesus compares the days of Noah to the days before His second coming. In His indictment of the wickedness that was in the earth just before the flood, Jesus stated that “they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.” It was this inter-marriage between the godly line of Seth and the godless line of Cain which caused the Lord to be “grieved in His heart,” to be “sorry that He had made man on the earth,” and to decide to “destroy man from the face of the earth” (Genesis 6:6-7).
From these verses, it appears at first that Satan’s attempts to completely corrupt the seed of the woman had succeeded, but this was not the case.
“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” (Gen. 6:8-10)
Just as God appointed another seed, Seth, to take the place of the murdered seed, Abel, once again, God raised up a man of faith, Noah (Heb. 11:7), who heard the Word of God, believed it, and responded in obedience to God’s requirements. It is stated in these verses that Noah found “grace” in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was not a perfect, sinless man, therefore, God had to deal with him on the basis of His grace. We do read that Noah was a “just” man, meaning he did what was “right” in God’s sight. Further we read that Noah was “perfect in his generations.” The word “perfect” literally means “complete, sound, whole, or without blemish.” In what area was Noah “without blemish?” In his generations! That is, in his lineage, or his descendants. The importance of this fact is seen in that up front we read, “This is the genealogy of Noah.” In contrast to the rest of mankind, Noah had not corrupted his generations. Satan’s attempt to corrupt the seed had failed.
What was God’s retribution upon the earth and mankind for the corruption, evil, and violence which filled it? God told Noah,
“The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” (Gen. 6:13)
We read further down in verse 17 that God would destroy the earth with a flood. But, back in verse 14, God also told Noah,
“Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.”
Genesis 6 describes the ark, God’s provision to save Noah and his family (i.e. his wife, his three sons and their wives) as well as all animal life. Genesis 7 describes the flood, which was far worse than just a local flood. It was a global cataclysm, in which the whole earth was “overflowed with water” (II Pet. 3:6). As we look at the language of Genesis 7, it describes just such a worldwide flood.
- vs. 11 “all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened,”
- vs. 12 “rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights,”
- vs. 17 “the ark rose high above the earth,”
- vs. 18 “the waters prevailed and greatly increased on rhe earth,”
- vs. 19 “the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered,”
- vs. 21 “and all flesh died that moved on the earth,”
- vs. 22 “all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died,”
- vs. 24 “and the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.”
When Noah and his family came off the ark, God established a covenant with them. God promised never to destroy the earth again with water and He put a rainbow in the sky as a token of this promise (Gen. 8:21-22; 9:8-17).
As part of this covenant with Noah and his sons, God established new guidelines for man to live under. These guidelines, described in Genesis 9:1-7, included: (1) God commanded them to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. (2) God changed animal nature and put the fear of man on the animals. (3) God expanded man’s food resources to include not only plant life, but now animal life. (4) God gave man the authority to pronounce judgment upon other men (i.e. if a man shed another man’s blood, the same was required of him).
This marked the beginning of a new dispensation, commonly referred to as HUMAN GOVERNMENT, because of the nature of the changes God instituted. Though a new dispensation had begun, there were aspects of the previous dispensation of CONSCIENCE which continued. Man’s consciousness of his sin continued into the new dispensation as well as into each subsequent dispensation. Even today, during the dispensation of GRACE, man is still conscious of his sins.
Once again, God’s plan and purpose to bring the promised Seed, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of mankind, into the world was protected and preserved by God through Noah and his family. No matter how close it seems Satan comes to accomplishing his evil purposes, God’s purpose will always prevail. It prevailed through the provision of Seth, and it prevailed through the provision of Noah and his family.
“The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, `Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand.'” (Isa. 14:24)
