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圣 经 探 险 者 第 三 课 挪亚时代的洪水 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Lesson 6 Reading:
Genesis 5-8 The two lines of
descent from Adam which are set out in Genesis are those of Cain
(Genesis 4) and Abel/Seth (Genesis 5).
Cain
removed himself from the presence of the Lord, going east to the "land of
Nod", Heb "Exile" (Genesis 4:16). Having thus removed himself
and therefore his descendants from the influence of instruction in the
ways of God, his seed degenerated into the godless ways of wickedness and
sin. When we come to the days of Noah we find that this line was the
predominant group that precipitated the wickedness that brought divine
judgement in the flood. Abel/Seth 亚伯/赛特 After the murder of
Abel by his brother Cain, Adam and Eve had another son whom they named
Seth, Heb "appointed". The reason this name was chosen is given;
"For God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel"
(Genesis 4:25). This line identified with
God and His ways: "Then began men to call upon the name of the
Lord" (Genesis 4:26). An outstanding example in
this line was Enoch who "walked with God" (Genesis 5:22). He warned his generation of
the utter ungodliness that was manifest in the earth and prophesied that
God would send forth judgement against such wickedness (Jude 14-15). Thus there was a line of
demarcation between the two seeds for a time. Those who followed
God’s ways were called "the sons of
God". However, by Noah’s day these "sons of
God" had departed from God’s
ways. "God saw
that the wickedness of man was great in the earth" (Genesis
6:1-8) The period from the
creation of Adam until the flood was 1656 years. This was a long period of
time in which wickedness had multiplied and developed to an alarming
degree. We recall that when God initiated the marriage between Adam and
Eve (Genesis 2:23-24), He established the
principles upon which true marriage was to be based. His purpose was that
a couple, in their godly fear, would be united and so bring forth a family
whom they could instruct in His ways (Malachi 2:14-16; Ephesians
5:25-28;
1 Peter 3:7; Ephesians 6:4). Sadly, by Noah’s day, the principles of marriage as God initially intended were
completely rejected and marriage had become a meaningless
ritual. Verse 2 第2节 "The sons
of God" This is a term that is used in the
Bible to describe those who have been instructed in God’s ways ("children", Heb "sons", Deuteronomy
14:1;
1 John 3:1). We note that the line of
Seth had produced several who believed God and trusted in Him; ie Enoch
(Genesis 5:24), Lamech (5:28-29) and Noah (6:9) However generally there had
developed an apostasy from the truth of God. Many who had been instructed
in God’s ways departed from them and found pleasure
in the company of those who had either forsaken or never known
God. "The
daughters of men" The distinction made is that these women
were not godly. Later God forbad Israel to intermarry with the apostate
heathen nations in Canaan as they would turn them from serving Him
(Deuteronomy
7:3-4). "They saw
…
that they were fair". They were attracted
to them on a purely sensual basis. Verse 3 第3节 "For that
he also is flesh" Rotherham (mg) "in their going astray
he is flesh"; Interlinear Heb Bible "in their erring he is
flesh". God would not continue to strive with such
wickedness. "his days
shall be 120 years" Here is an example of God’s longsuffering in allowing 120 years for man to repent while the
ark was being built (1 Peter 3:20). Verse 4 第4节 "giants" Heb "nethilim", from "to fall",
hence "to fall upon". It is used of the warlike giants in the land of
Israel (Numbers 13:33). Thus when the "sons of God",
ie those who initially belonged to families who had feared God, married
the godless and sinful daughters of men, their seed is termed "mighty
men", "men of renown". "mighty
men" Heb "ha gibborim" = "powerful champions" in war. It is
used of Nimrod (Genesis 10:8) and Goliath (1 Samuel 17:51). "men of
renown" Heb for "renown" is "shem" and means "name". These
great men established a "name for themselves" as so many men have in the
past, eg Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin and others, and as many do today as
they grasp for power. Their names are renowned for their infamy rather
than their virtue. The effect of such wickedness in Noah’s day filled the earth with corruption and
violence.
"And God
saw" How foolish to think that God is not aware of the state
of sin in His earth. "the
wickedness of man was great" Note how this period is
described in the New Testament (1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:5; Luke 17:26-27; Matthew
24:37-39). "every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually" God specifically attributes the sinful state of
the earth to man himself. Evil comes from the "heart of man" (Mark 7:20-23; Jeremiah 17:9). It is of man’s own lusts that sin is derived (James 1:13-15). The marginal rendering of
Genesis 6:5 helps to emphasise the root
cause of the trouble ("every imagination" = "the whole imagination". The
Hebrew word signifieth not only the imagination, but also the purposes and
desires.)
Verse 7 第7节 "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth" God determined that such a severe punishment was necessary to deal with the problem of man’s wilful sin.“我将除去地上我所有造的人”。神认为这一严厉的惩罚对于邪恶的罪人是有必要的。 Verse 8 第8节 "But Noah
found grace" In contrast to verse 7 which speaks of
God’s severity, this verse speaks of His
goodness. His "grace" or "favour" is the basis of man’s salvation (Ephesians
2:7-10;
Exodus 34:6; 33:19). Noah’s character is portrayed in verse 9. He too, like Enoch (Genesis 5:22), "walked with God".
Because of this Noah and his family were saved. Verse 11 第11节 "The earth
also was corrupt before God, and filled with violence" When
men forsake the knowledge of God and His ways and determine to walk after
their own lusts, invariably corruption and violence are
the results of such behaviour and all society suffers. The root of this
complete moral and social collapse found its beginnings when those who had
known God’s ways forsook them and married those who
were ignorant of God’s ways (verse 1-2). Noah’s Ark (Genesis
6:14-22) Specific details of
the size of the Ark that Noah built are given. It was 300 cubits long (150
metres), 50 cubits wide (25 metres), and 30 cubits high (15 metres). It
had three levels, and the floor space was 11,250 square metres. It was a
large vessel with the capacity to carry a very large load. The Flood
(Genesis 7 & 8) The details of the
flood reveal that although the rain fell for only 40 days and nights, Noah
was in the Ark for 1 year and 10 days. The rain began to fall on the 17th
day of the 2nd month of Noah’s 600th
year (Genesis 7:11). He came out of the Ark on
the 27th day of the 2nd month in his 601st year (Genesis 8:14). The effects of the flood
brought the death of "all flesh" that moved upon the earth, both of fowl,
and cattle, and beast, and every creeping thing, and every man, "all
in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was on the dry land
died" (Genesis 7:21-22; cp 2:7). "I will not
again curse the ground" (Genesis
8:20-22) Once out of the ark,
Noah built an altar and offered a burnt offering to God to thank Him for
His deliverance, and to dedicate his life in service to Him. God promised
that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood. It is interesting to
note that although the flood had destroyed the wicked sinners from the
earth, God acknowledged that the root of the problem remained: "for
the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth" (Genesis 8:21). God knew that sin and
wickedness has its root in man’s sinful
nature (Mark 7:20-23; Romans 7:18-21). We note that the
destruction of the whole of society was not because a "devil" or "Satan"
of popular theology was the root of the problem. It was man himself who
sinned, and the root of that sin was his evil imagination or
"deceitful lusts" (Ephesians 4:22; James 1:14-15). Jesus’ Warning for Us Today
(Luke
17:26-27; Matthew
24:37-38) Jesus saw in the
wickedness of Noah’s day a parallel with the
corruption which will develop in the world just prior to his return. He
said: "As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the son
of man be" (Matthew 24:37). As God judged the wickedness
of man and destroyed them in the flood, so He will judge the world by His
Son (Acts 17:31). This immoral and wicked
society which we see about us today warns God-fearing people that the
return of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent. Noah’s Flood - A Guarantee that
Judgement will Come Peter was well aware
that many would scoff at the idea of God judging this world for its
wickedness. But he reminded his readers that the flood was a sure token
that God would again judge the earth and cleanse it of wickedness
(2 Peter 3:4-7). He also saw in
Noah’s salvation the hope of salvation for all
those who will turn to God through baptism (1 Peter 3:20-22). Noah did
More than Build an Ark Not only did Noah
build the Ark but he continued to warn his generation of the judgement to
come. They mocked until the flood came (2 Peter 2:5). It was then too late for
them to repent and be saved. Faith - The
Motivating Power of Noah Noah believed God and
that belief caused him to obey God and build the Ark in which he and his
family were saved (Hebrews 11:7). God has given us a way to
escape the coming judgement upon this wicked age. Do we have faith to act
like Noah that we may save ourselves and our families? (Mark 16:15-16).
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God’s Estimation of
Man’s Wickedness
(