Today I want us to be looking
at Genesis chapter six. Going to be looking at verses
one through eight. Genesis chapter six, beginning
in verse one. 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 fair. And they took them wives of all
which they chose, And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always
strive with man, for that he also is flesh, yet his days shall
be a hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth
in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came
unto the daughters of men, and they bared children to them.
The same became mighty men, which were of old, men of renown. And
God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually. And it repented the Lord that
he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from
the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping thing
and the fowls of the air, for it repenteth me that I have made
them." And look in verse 17, and God said, and behold, I,
even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all
flesh wherein is the breath of life from under heaven, and everything
that is in the earth shall die. back to verse eight, but Noah
found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Today and maybe next Sunday,
the Lord willing, I want to be looking at this topic here where
it's recorded about when God destroyed the earth and man and
all creeping things in the flood and how that God reigned his
judgment and his wrath upon this earth, but he, a man named Noah,
found grace in his eyes, and God told Noah how to make the
ark to prepare for, to save his family and those that were in
it, and how that this is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and
redemption of his people. But today, before we primarily
get into the flood itself, I want us to look today at the things
which happened the days preceding the flood. Why, what was the
cause that the man became so wicked? that God said that it
repented him that he made man, it grieved him at his heart,
and he said, I'm going to destroy man that I've created from on
the face of the earth. This is what I want us to try
to look at today. The days in which Noah lived were wicked
and dark days, and they were very few people who believed
in God or walked with God. There's no difference between
the days of Noah and the days in which we live. In the book
of Matthew, our Lord said, Matthew chapter 24, beginning in verse
37, But as the days of Noah were,
so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the
days that were before the flood, they were eating, drinking, marrying,
and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into
the ark. And they knew not until the flood
came and took them all away. So shall also the coming of the
Son of Man be. That which was going on in the
days of Noah, that which was going on prior into the days
leading up to the flood, is the same things that's going on in
our day. Our Lord said, as it was in the days of Noah, so shall
it be in our day. There's no difference. Everyone
was living to fulfill the lust of the flesh. It said they were
drinking and marrying and giving in marriage. That's not saying
there's anything wrong with eating and drinking or marrying or giving
in marriage. But all they were consumed with
was fulfilling the lust of their flesh and the desires of the
flesh and of the mind. And they were by nature. children
of wrath. They were without any concern
for the worship of God or the honor of God. And this generation,
as our generation, are headed for judgment. These people that
lived, they didn't realize what was going on. They didn't know
till the day that the flood came. They had no idea. They knew not
till God rained the water down upon the earth in the time of
the flood. Like that generation, like that
generation describes our generation. I want you to turn to, if you
have your Bible, to 2 Peter chapter 3, and I'm going to read all
these verses, 18 verses, 2 Peter chapter 3. It says this second
epistle, beginning in verse 1, beloved, I'm now writing to you
in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance. that you may be mindful of the
words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the
commandments of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing
this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers
walking after their own lust and saying, where is the promise
of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep,
all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
Now watch this, for this they willingly are ignorant of, that
by the word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing
out of the water and in the water, whereby the world that then was
being overflowed with water perished. But the heavens and the earth,
which are now by the same word kept in store, reserved unto
fire against the day of judgment and the perdition of ungodly
men. But beloved, Be not ignorant
of this one thing. Up in verse five it said, these
people were willingly ignorant, ignorant of the fact that God
is a holy, righteous, and just God. But beloved, be not ignorant
of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand
years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack
concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering,
long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance. He's long-suffering to somebody.
He's not willing that some people should not perish, but that all
should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will
come as a thief in the night, into which the heavens shall
pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat. The earth also in the works that are therein
shall be burned up. After the flood, we'll see that
probably next week, how that when God brought Noah through
the flood, he promised Noah that he would not destroy the earth
again by water. And here we see that he has reserved
this earth, that it will one day be restored, I mean, be destroyed
by fire. Seeing that all these things
shall be burned up, Seeing that seeing the inverse 11 that all
these things shall be dissolved What manners of persons ought
you to be in all holy conversation and godliness? Can you imagine
what those people how they would have lived differently if they
recognized and realized that God's judgment was falling upon
the earth? He's saying, you know, these things you're not ignorant
of these things God's long-suffering to you word We are looking for
and we are hastening to unto the coming of the day of God
wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, we according
to his promise, God's promise, we look for a new heaven and
a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved,
now we find out who Paul's writing to, beloved, seeing that you
look for these things, Be diligent, that ye may be found in him in
peace without spot and blameless. And account, now watch this,
that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation. Back in verse nine he said, but
is longsuffering to us, Lord. So we need to account and consider
that the longsuffering of our God is salvation. Deliverance
of his people. That's what he did in the ark.
He delivered his people and brought them through the wrath of God.
And account that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation. Even as our beloved Paul, also
according to the wisdom giving unto him hath written unto you,
as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things,
in which are some things hard to be understood, which they
that are unlearned and unstable rest as they do also the other
scriptures unto their own destruction. Ye, therefore, beloved, seeing
you know these things, before, beware, lest you also, being
led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness,
but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ, to him be glory both now and forever. Amen. The world looks at God's longsuffering
different than the way God's people do. His longsuffering
is to us where he suffers long with us. We see here in verse
3 back in our text when God said that his man's days shall be
120 years. That's not saying that that's
how long man would live, but that's saying how long it would
be till God would bring judgment upon the earth. That's how long
God would put up with it. He'll say, I'll be long suffering
another 120 years, and in that, he'd bring judgment. In the days
before the flood, what was primarily going on as we look in these
verses, the first few verses of Genesis chapter 6, it was
days of compromise. And back in Genesis chapter 5,
we see the genealogy, beginning in verse 1, going from Adam all
the way down through Noah, and that covers 10 generations. But
the opening verses of Genesis 6 look backward and not forward,
giving us the history of the world, and it's describing the
character of mankind in the days which preceded the flood." So
he's describing in these first verses the character, the characteristics
of mankind. What were they like? What were
they doing? Why was it so wicked that God couldn't stand it anymore
and says, I'm going to destroy all men from the face of the
earth? It says here in verse 6, when
men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters
were born unto them. When these unbelievers, the line
of Cain, begin to multiply on the face of the earth, when believers,
true believers that believed and trusted and rested in God
Almighty were just a very small number. Does that seem similar
today? This is how it is today. Look
around, it's hard to find a true church where the gospel of God's
grace is preached. Try to find one. I know that
there's what people call churches on every corner, but they're
not a church where God is worshiped, where God is honored, and his
gospel is preached. So he said, when men begin to
multiply, unbelievers begin to multiply on the face of this
earth. That's how it is today. The sons of Cain, and then the
sons of Seth, These sons of God, the sons of Seth, saw the daughters
of men, these unbelievers, that they were fair, and they took
them wives of all which they chose. Now picture this. These
believers, as they looked around, they said, where are we going
to find a wife? Who are we going to find somebody that we can
marry and have children by? And they began to look around,
and there were not any. They were not any believers.
They were so few and far between. So what did they begin to do?
They began to look at these daughters of men. And they took these daughters
of men, or the daughters of Cain, and these are where they took
and they found their wives. These women, these daughters
of men, the scriptures describe them in Proverbs, that they dress
in tossing, They appeal to the eye. They flatter with the tongue. They like the flirt. It's appealing
to the flesh. That's how they acted. That's
how they won the hearts of these men. And these sons of God, or
professed to be sons of God, took them to themselves, these
daughters of men. Now this is what is happening.
This is what is happening. These women, These unbelievers,
these women who did not know God, did not worship God, they
pulled away their hearts, these men's hearts, away from God.
In Exodus chapter 34, beginning in verse 15, lest they'll make
a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a hoarding
after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods. And one called
thee, and thou shalt eat of his sacrifice, and thou shalt take
of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a-whoring
after their gods, and they make thy sons go a-whoring after their
gods." Solomon was not exempt from this. 1 Kings chapter 11
verse 1, But King Solomon loved many strange women, together
with the daughter of Pharaoh, the women of Moabite, Amorite,
Edomites, Zidonians, and the Hittites. of the nations concerning
which the Lord God had said unto the children of Israel." And
here's what God said, "'You shall not go into them, neither shall
they come into you, for surely they will turn away your heart
after their gods.' And Solomon claimed unto these in love, And
he had 700 wives, princesses, 300 concubines, and his wives
turned away his heart from God. That's what these women did.
They turned away these men's hearts away from the true worship
of God and to the worship of all these false gods. And that's
what's happening today. Men may claim to believe God,
they may claim to worship God, but they're compromising just
a little bit. They say, well, it's surely not
that narrow. Yes, it's that narrow. It's just
Jesus Christ and him crucified. And this is what was going on
in the earth before the flood. And anybody that has any spiritual
sight can see this is what's going on in the day in which
we live. How did we get in the mess in which we are in today?
Compromise. Compromise. Say, well, let's
just compromise the truth just a little bit. I can see this
young boy, he falls in love with this girl and she goes to some
other church where they don't believe the same gospel. And
I can see him say, well, you know, I can marry her and I'll
go to her church, then I'll come back to mine when I want to.
It doesn't work that way. She'll take him away and he'll
never come back. And that's what was going on. But in this day,
prior to the flood, there was a man who lived whose name was
Enoch back in verse 21 of chapter five. It's kind of ironic if
you'll read this whole chapter where it lists, it said the men
lived a certain amount of time, then they had a son, then they
lived so long after they had their children. It says in verse
21, and Enoch lived 60 and five years in Beget Methuselah. and
Enoch walked with God, after that he beget Methuselah 300
years, and beget sons and daughters. And all the days of Enoch were
360 and five years, and Enoch walked with God, and he was not,
for God took him. Everybody else, it said, after
they lived, and then he died. He lived, and then he died. Methuselah
said he walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
God took this man, Enoch, He lived in the days just prior
to the flood. In those dark, dark days when
very few people did, Enoch walked with God. That's amazing. Enoch walked with God. Some who
did profess to believe God, they compromised every principle and
tried to unite the worship of God with all the false gods.
But not Enoch. Enoch walked with God. The scriptures
say, how can two walk together except they be agreed? He walked
with God. Listen to what else it says about
Enoch. In Jude chapter 1 verse 14, Now Enoch, also the seventh
from Adam, and the reason it says the seventh from Adam, so
you can determine which Enoch it is. Cain had a son named Enoch,
who was the third from Adam. But this Enoch, the seventh from
Adam, prophesied of these. He was a prophet, saying, Behold,
the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment
upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of
all their ungodly deeds which they ungodly committed, and of
all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against
him." In that one verse, he mentions the word ungodly four different
times. Ungodly deeds, ungodly committed,
ungodly sinners. This is how they were. Enoch,
this man, prophesied. He pointed that one day the Lord
Jesus Christ would come and he prophesied to his generation.
It says in Hebrews 11 verse 5, by faith Enoch, was translated
that he should not see death and was not found because God
had translated him. For before his translation, he
had this testimony, this testimony from God Almighty that he pleased
God. Enoch's name means instructed
or trained. Enoch was the first man spoken
of in scripture as a prophet. He prophesied concerning the
judgment of God that would fall on the wicked in the last day
when Christ would come again. How did he know this? God revealed
it to him. I believe he prophesied of the
judgment of his own day. How do you know this? His son,
when his son was born, he named him Methuselah. Methuselah's
name means, when he dies, it shall come. And Methuselah lived
to be 969 years, the oldest man that would ever live, and God
let him live that long because God is long-suffering to us. We're not willing that any should
perish. But how did Methuselah know when that child was born
that this child would live until God would bring judgment? God
believed God showed it to him. There's no other way of explaining
it. This man walked with God. He walked with God. And God gave
him this man, this child, Methuselah. But listen, he lived in those
dark, dark days, and he walked with God. Enoch, by strong preaching,
rebuked these ungodly men. These sons of God intermingled
with these unbelievers. They made these covenants. They
made contracts together. And the Bible forbids us to have
contacts or contracts with ungodly men. Now listen to me. 2 Corinthians
6.14. Be not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness
with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light
with darkness? No, they were intermingling.
Don't be unequally yoked together. It can't be. And this is what
was going on. This is what was going on when
the sons of God saw these daughters of men and they took whichever
one they wanted. They said, I want her. I'm going to have her and
I'm going to marry her. Well, then there was results
of these unions. these marriages. It says, verse
4, they were giants in the earth in those days. And also, after
that, the sons of God came unto the daughters of men, and they
bare children. What was the result of these children? They bore
children. The same became mighty men, which were of old men of
renown. Now listen, what was the result
of these unions? It says they were giants in the
earth. Now this is not giants like the sons of Anakins, like
Goliath who was a giant. They were giants in the earth.
But this is not talking about the size of their stature. That's
talking about their power. Giant men in the earth. Now think
with me. Their power, they control. How
did they control? How were they like giants of
men? They did it to intimidation. That's how men work today. They
seem to be giants in influence. Wealthy men. They wanted it,
they saw it, and they saw some potential in it, and they went
after it. This is what this was saying. We have men today that
we would look at and the world would admire, and they say, well,
those are giants of men. Not giants in statute, but giants
in men's eyes. That's what this is saying. And
this is the result of this. They laid aside everything that
had been taught, and they were giants. And it says they were
men of renown. This was their offspring. They
were established in power. control. Religion today, it looks
like a big giant. It looks like it has established
power. But let me tell you this. The
sons of Seth were not ever anything in the world's eyes. We read
about Cain's. They may have now made a name for their self and
they wanted to be noticed. They wanted to be giants among
men. But not the sons of Seth. That line that was set apart
by God. They were not men of renown.
They were not interested in making a name for themselves. They were
interested in the honor of God. The children of Seth worked with
their hands. Look at your calling. Not many
wise men, not many noble after the flesh are called. God chose
the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. The children
of Seth, I believe, knew that God would one day destroy this
world. That this is just a temporary world that we're just passing
through. We're just pilgrims. But not the men of this world.
They are inventive. They come up with all these inventions.
And they go out and they are interested in making a name for
themselves. They lusted after those wives,
the wives that they had and wanted. Why did they want these wives?
Well, maybe her daddy had money. Maybe her daddy had influence.
Maybe her daddy owned the business. Said, oh, boy, if I can marry
her, boy, it's going to bring something to me. I'll be known. I'll be a great man. Everybody
will look up to me. I'll get all the power. Do you
see the picture? Do you see the similarities? They were drawn
away by what they could get. This is a picture of religion
in our day. Outwardly, it looks impressive.
It appeals to the flesh. It appeals to the eye. Go back
and read the book of Proverbs again. The scriptures are full
of warning. It says to avoid her house. It
says she flatters with her eyes. And it says that many strong
men, many strong men have been slain by that woman. And it's
a picture of religion. She appeals to the flesh. It
all looks nice outwardly. And that's how they brought these
men in to these ungodly relationships, these ungodly unions. Man in
religion sees what he wants and he goes after it. But God's people
are not so. Enoch walked with God. Walked with God. Well, Enoch
was talking about his day. And he described our day, taken
up with the things of this world. They're covetous. What is covetousness? Our Lord said it is idolatry.
It's worshiping these things, taken up with more and more and
more and more and more. And it says they were marrying
and giving in marriage, eating and drinking until the day that
God took them all away. What were they consumed with?
Feeding their own bellies. It was an age of compromise,
and that's where we're at today. They didn't see anything wrong
with what they were doing, and they tried to justify it. But they didn't know until the
ark, the door was shut, and God shut Noah in, and they began
to beat upon the ark. And it was too late then. And
let me tell you, we're living in a world today of compromise.
People say, well, we can just mix all these religions today.
It's today a coexistence and all this garbage. God's people
worship God. Enoch walked with God, and Noah
found grace in the eyes of God in those wicked, ungodly days,
the days before the flood. And notice in verse 3, and the Lord said, My spirit
shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh,
yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years. A hundred and
twenty years from this announcement, God said, I will open the fountains
of the deep. 120 years, Noah preached the
gospel to those men and women. Not another man's mentioned.
Enoch's dead now. He's gone on. But Noah found
grace. Noah, the only preacher on the
earth, preaching the righteousness of God. It says he was a preacher
of righteousness. This is what it results in. Everybody
else lives in the land of Nod, the land of no rest. Noah preached
to his sons. He preached to his daughters-in-laws,
those that his sons would marry, and he preached to his wife,
and eight souls were saved. Eight souls were saved. Only
eight. Noah moved with fear. Only one
man. Everybody else was saying, oh,
that's not gonna rain. It's never rained before. You're
just a fool, Noah. But this was the only church
where God was meeting with his people. was with Noah and his
family. And look at verse 6. And it repented the Lord that
he made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
I can't explain that well, it repented God, but it made God
so mad and so angry, and God was grieved at his heart that
he made man. God repented that he had ever
made man. We have no idea what it is to
see and understand the hatred of Almighty God. God is a just
God, pure God, holy God, but He's a just God. He was grieved
at His heart. And God said, I'll wipe man off
the face of the earth, and I'll ask you today, do you
believe that God is a God of justice? We're living in those
days. We're living in those days. The
days before I believe the Lord Jesus Christ, he's coming again.
This offers in the last days, and they said, oh, I've heard
that all my life. Listen, Noah preached for 120
years, and they said, no, we've heard that for years. But it
finally happened. If he doesn't come in our lifetime,
when we die, his judgment for us, it's appointed unto man once
to die and then to judgment. Either way, it's very close for
you and me. Either he comes before we die or if he comes when we
die. Paul said, knowing the terror
of the Lord, we persuade men. God help us in this day of compromise
to look to him and move with fear to the saving of our house. Amen.