Daily Scripture Reading Genesis 6:1-22
Humans have long debated whether people are born inherently good and become corrupted, or if they are born evil but are taught to be good. In recent years, there are many in Christianity who have adopted the mentality that people should always assume the best of other people, which is akin to believing that people are inherently good.
As Christians, our belief regarding the inherent nature of man should be based on the Bible, if the Bible speaks to the topic. Today’s passage contains a verse that states the answer to this question very clearly.
Gen. 6:1 ¶ Now it happened, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them,
Gen. 6:2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were good in appearance; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
It is unclear what is meant by sons of God. In the Old Testament, that expression only occurs in Genesis 6 (Gen. 6:2 and 6:4) and three times in the book of Job (Job 1:6, 2:1, and 38:7). In Job it clearly refers to spiritual beings like angels. That would indicate Genesis 6 is also referring to spiritual beings, except Luke 3:38 calls Adam the son of God.
Gen. 6:3 Then Yahweh said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever because he indeed is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be 120 years.”
Focus on the phrase “his days shall be 120 years”. Some people think this means the flood was going to occur 120 years after Yahweh spoke this. I disagree. I think this means Yahweh determined that human life expectancy was going to be shortened to 120 years. Before the flood, life expectancy was between 500 and 1,000 years. After the flood, life expectancy began dropping. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived a couple hundred years. Moses lived 120 years. After Moses, there is no record of any human ever living longer than 120 years. Even today, the world record for oldest person is around 120 years.
Gen. 6:4 The Nephilim were 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.
The word Nephilim is used in this verse and in Numbers 13:33. It appears to refer to men who are larger than normal.
The term “mighty men” simply refers to men who are renowned for strength and bravery. The men who accompanied David in the wilderness were called mighty men.
Gen. 6:5 ¶ Then Yahweh saw that the evil of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Think about what this verse tells us about human nature. Every intent of a man’s heart is evil.
There are some people who believe humans are born good, and the only reason we have evil people is because they were corrupted by their family or society. There are many people who believe people should always assume the best regarding other people. This statement in this verse tells us the opposite. Humans are inherently evil. The only reason there are good people is because they were trained to be good. Therefore, it is not wise to assume the best of people.
Gen. 6:6 And Yahweh regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
Gen. 6:7 And Yahweh said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I regret that I have made them.”
Gen. 6:8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of Yahweh.
Gen. 6:9 ¶ These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among those in his generations; Noah walked with God.
Don’t miss the phrase “walked with God”. The reason Noah found favor with God is because he walked with God. Before the advent of cars and other machinery, life was walking. People walked to the field to work. They walked to market. They walked when they traveled from house to house and from town to town. A person who walked with God was living life with God. God was part of their life all day, each and every day.
Gen. 6:10 And Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Gen. 6:11 ¶ Now the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
Take note of the word “corrupt”. The earth was corrupt. The word “violence” describes the corruption. The world was corrupt because it was full of violence. This reveals God’s mindset about violence. Violence is wrong.
Sometimes, when we imagine life before the flood, we picture people living sedentary lives, planting crops, and raising animals. However, this verse indicates that picture is wrong. Instead, we should picture a society where people were constantly attacking each other, resulting in injury and death.
Unfortunately, the world is full of violence today. War, murder, terrorism, and physical assaults upon other people are very common. This verse tells us God is probably not happy with what is happening in the world today.
Gen. 6:12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.
Gen. 6:13 ¶ Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.
Once again we see the word “violence”, describing the condition of the earth.
Gen. 6:14 Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and you shall cover it inside and out with pitch.
Gen. 6:15 Now this is how you shall make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits.
A cubit was around 18 inches. The ark was about 150 yards/meters long, 25 yards/meters wide, and 15 yard/meters high. In other words, it was about the size of 1.5 football fields and as tall as a 4 story house.
Gen. 6:16 You shall make a window for the ark, and complete it to one cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.
Gen. 6:17 As for Me, behold I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall breathe its last.
Gen. 6:18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.
Gen. 6:19 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.
Gen. 6:20 Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.
Gen. 6:21 As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them.”
Gen. 6:22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.
Humans have long debated whether people are born inherently good and become corrupted, or if they are born evil but are taught to be good. Today’s passage tells us every intent of man’s heart is only evil continually. This means men are born inherently evil and the only reason there are good people is because they are trained to be good. This means a prime job of parents is to teach their children to be godly people.
What are ways modern Christianity has adopted the wrong mindset that people are inherently good?
Does your church teach that man is inherently evil?
What do you need to do in light of the fact that every intent of man’s heart is only evil continually?
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”