Genesis 6:5-8:19's Flood

The Biblical flood account picks up in Genesis 6:5-12 as men’s hearts and actions are really bad: “great wickedness”, “corrupt” (*3), “full of violence”, and “every inclination” of the heart as “only evil all the time”. (This sounds like a really bad rock station!) One commentator said this is "perhaps the Bible's strongest statement about sin"—and I can’t think of a stronger one. It’s interesting that the text gives such an emphasis on “the heart”—motives, thoughts, etc.—rather than mere action or inaction.

Interestingly, Gen 6:12’s “people” is lit. “flesh/meat”—which can refer to animals or people. It is as if man is acting like “an animal”. Or perhaps animals (or even man disobediently) have gone carnivorous.

The violence brackets God’s response and Noah’s emergence. In Gen 6:6-7, we are given a picture of grief, pain, pity, and profound disappointment experienced by God. (See also: Ezek 6:9a, Is 43:24b; Eph 4:30, I Thess 5:19, Is 63:10). And his response is to wipe 'em out (II Kings 21:13b). God judges evil—in his own timing (II Pet 3:9). And the judgment or at least the punishment extends even to animals, depicting how sin affects others/innocents (Mt 5:45, Acts 14:17; Rom 8:19-21).

Then we’re introduced to Noah in Gen 6:8-10. This is the fourth “account”; after three Creation accounts, we now have a re-Creation account! Thus, in the narrative (as often in life), 6:5-7,11-12’s evil surrounds 6:8-10’s righteous Noah and his family—and God intervenes. Noah is a fine man: he “found favor/grace” in God’s eyes; he’s not perfect, but is “a righteous man” (Heb 11:7b) and he “walked with God” (as Enoch in 5:22). He was also "blameless among the people".

In Gen 6:13,17, God describing the impending destruction to Noah. Interestingly, 13,17’s “destroy” is the same Hebrew word as 11,12’s “corrupt”, implying a causal, appropriate and necessary response by God.

Practically, the Flood gives the picture of cleansing and a fresh start—and given that means, most other life will not be able to survive. Interestingly, the reduced number of animals would correspond to fewer people. If not, who would've had dominion (Ex 23:29-30)? For the Christian, we find a parallel with baptism (I Pet 3:20b-21). It certainly allows an OT parallel for Israel with the Red Sea and the Jordan River. And looking forward, it parallels the surprise of sudden destruction—as in the End Times-- despite warnings (Mt 24:36-39). Then, the world was destroyed by water; the next time will be with fire (II Pet 3:5-7).

Was it a “local” or universal flood? If taken literally, the Bible is clear that it’s universal. But there is room to interpret these references as hyperbolic. (For example, see: Gen 41:56-57, I Kings 10:24; Rom 1:8, Col 1:6. See also: Ps 104:5-9 which might seem to prohibit a worldwide flood.)

Theologically/logically, if human life had not spread beyond the Mesopotamian Valley, then there’s no need to destroy distant regions. To note, there’s little reason and limited ability to get very far away—and to the point of the Babel story, men were prone to stick together.

There are some concerns logically with a universal flood. Could the ark hold all of the world’s species? Could enough rain fall quickly enough to get the job done? Paulos calculates that "10,000 to 20,000 feet of water on the surface of the earth [is] equivalent to more than half a billion cubic miles of liquid...the rain must have fallen at a rate of at least 15 feet per hour, certainly enough to sink any aircraft carrier..." But Gen 7:11’s “springs of the great deep” may mitigate most need for water from above—and there may have been dramatic changes in geology that we can only speculate about today.

In any case, a catastrophic flood is also verified by extra-Biblical evidence and the validity of the story’s details. Many civilizations have a flood story (vs. an earthquake story). The dimensions of Noah’s ark make sense. And there is archaeological and geological evidences of a catastrophic flood.

In Gen 6:14-16, we’re given details of the ark—the first "Love Boat" in history. Of greatest interest to Christians, 16’s (single) door (closed by God) is a picture of entering the (only) door of salvation.

It’s interesting that God chose to use an ark built by Noah's hand to save him. Why? First, it’s a trial of faith and obedience—and an op for witness. It’s a picture of God’s provision and our participation within our faith walk. As Matthew Henry said: "We cannot do it without God; he will not do it without us." It allowed time for his vivid witness and their repentance, underlining God’s justice in this. Noah would have had a greater sense of ownership and gratitude—probably understanding “the gift” better.

There’s virtually no detail of the work itself. But one might imagine what it was like building the ark. The on-lookers’ response would have ranged from curiosity to thinking he's crazy to being ill at ease with his dedication. They would not have understood “rain”. (There’s no record of that pre-Flood.) And then there’s Noah’s family…And Noah…

A little Bible trivia: Noah’s "ark" in Genesis is the same (Egyptian!) word in Ex 2:3,5 for Moses’ “basket”—the only two uses of that word in the Bible! This makes a clear connection between the two stories: floating containers preserving life; both daubed with pitch (Gen 6:14, Ex 2:3); both emphasize common Biblical theme of God delivering his (wholly dependent) servants from crisis. By way of contrast, it’s old Noah vs. young Moses; near the beginning of Genesis vs. Exodus; saved the human race and animals vs. the deliverer of the Jews.

Gen 6:19-21 lays out the original “Endangered Species Act”. As one person quipped: “Noah was a brave man to sail in a wooden boat with two termites.” The ark implies a picture of order and purpose within the chaos of the flood and Noah’s society. And as Kass notes, it is “a microcosm of the projected new (ideal) earthly order”. 19’s “bring into” and 20’s “will come to you” is interesting as a picture of God’s provision and his participation.

Noah is obedient—in fact, silently so (more later). And then, the rains begin in Gen 7:4. The earth had been flooded by evil—and now by rain. (The Babylonian account's far less realistic flood story requires only six days of rain—with a seventh day to drain.)

Gen 7:17 says the waters “lifted up” the ark. Matthew Henry notes: "The waters which broke down everything else bore up the ark...The more the waters increased, the higher the ark was lifted up toward heaven. Thus, sanctified afflictions are spiritual promotions."

I enjoy the analogy of the ark to the church: it’s smelly and difficult, but the best available alternative—and less noticeable if busy working on improving the environment. People often claim to be “lone ranger” Christians, uninvolved with a local body of believers. This is incoherent with a Christian worldview and is so fundamental that, if purposefully rejected, brings one’s salvation into question. Putting it another way: if you don’t want to be with Christians in this life, why would you want that in the next life?

Gen 8:1b’s "wind" is the same word as the “Spirit” (1:2, 6:3). Other analogies from Creation follow: 2's springs, heavens closed and the rains are "restrained"—as Day 2's separation of sky from water; 3's waters begin to recede and 5's reappearance of land—as Day 3's land from water. Then, the birds appear in Gen 8:6-12—as in Day 5.

In Gen 8:13, Noah receives a big birthday present. And in Gen 8:16-18, they come out of the ark—although not in the proper order (a factoid which turns out to be large; more later!).