IT REPENTETH ME
Genesis 6:1 ¶ And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3 ¶ And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. 5 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.
Genesis 6:6 ¶ And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 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. 8 ¶ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
What was it that made Almighty God repent? What was it that brought on the universal flood, destroying all men, beasts, creeping things, and fowls of the air? When after gazing on his recently completed creation he had said, “it was very good.” What had happened to so pollute his creation that he wanted to wash it away, cleaning the earth with water? Let us see what we can find out. And the first thing we need to do is determine who these “sons of God” and “daughters of men” were.
And in doing so it will first be necessary to expose the error that the “sons of God” were thought to be angels! Angels are not mentioned in these first six chapters of Genesis. In fact, the word “angel” does not appear on the pages of our Bibles until the sixteenth chapter and the seventh verse. And they not only haven’t been mentioned, but we have the word of our Lord himself that angels cannot enter into procreation! Luke 20:34 And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: 35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: 36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
And even down through the history of mankind, Satan has been whispering to the philosophers and poets of various races concerning fictitious creatures who are birthed by the relationship between some supernatural being with a female human. That is the very basis of the fictional character of Hercules! According to Greek mythology his father was the god Zeus. And his mother was the female Alcmene. This is still of great issue to us today for the erroneous concept of angels cohabitation with humans is still widely spread among even orthodox religion!
But there is yet another thing that we must consider in order to see that these “sons of God” were actually the godly line of Seth, and the “daughters of men” were the ungodly line of Cain. We simply have to go back and read chapters four and five of Genesis to affirm that these are the only two groups being spoken of! For Genesis 4:16-26 lists the line of Cain. And Genesis five deals with “the generations of Adam,” and the godly line of Seth.
And in only six generations from Cain we have listed for us the sins of Lamech. In Genesis 4:19 he brazenly violates the example of God’s order and takes to himself two wives. Then in verses 23 and 24 of this chapter he brags openly of having murdered a man who had wounded him. Then he twists the record of God’s dealings with Cain after his murder of Abel, stating that as God had avenged Cain in his murder of Abel, God would have to avenge Lamech seventy-seven fold.
Also the sin listed in our text is the same as Eve’s! These at first “saw” the women, as Eve “saw the tree,” that it was “pleasant to the eyes.” Then she “took of the fruit thereof.” And these sons of God did the same. They were only concerned with the outward appearance. And if looking only upon the outward appearance was the rule with the Prophet Samuel, one of Jesse’s older sons, and not David, would have been chosen king of Israel! 1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
It’s the inner, spiritual beauty which God desires. Proverbs 31:30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. As with Eve, it was the ‘eye-gate’ that began the sin. For it states that they “saw,” then “they took” wives of whom “they chose!”
Listen at our Lord’s instruction concerning this matter. Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
And totally unlike the matter of Samson’s looking upon Delilah being a secret purpose of God, this brought down the entire human race into the jaws of death. Judges 14:3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. 4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
And it was so great a sin for it was a Satanic plot to ruin God’s plan for future Incarnation! For in God’s purpose there would be a supernatural ‘overshadowing’ of God upon a human female to bring in The God-man, our Lord Jesus Christ! Luke 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
And also our Lord clearly stated that this condition shall again prevail upon the earth! Matthew 24:37 But as the days of Noe (Noah) were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
And this shall be such a wide spread sin that it prompted our Lord to ask a question that should disturb us all. Luke 18:8 … Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? For so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
But coupled with the desire of the eyes is another member of the human faculty which must be conquered. For having not been brought under control, it had the responsibility of the wrath and judgment of God laid at its feet. Let us reread verse five in our sixth chapter of Genesis to discover what it was. 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. It is the imagination!
Here is God’s definition of sin. 1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. The absence of God’s love within man is here attributed to having the heart filled with the love of the world. And the entirety of sin is shown to be connected with the lust of the eyes. And the lust of the eyes is seen to be connected with both the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. That is a powerful combination and most difficult to bring under control! For the believer must bring under control his fallen imagination!
But there is hope! Consider these instructions concerning our imaginations. 2 Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And we must give ernest heed to the words, “mighty through God.” For we know by experience that we can accomplish nothing without his effectual power. We have our Lord’s words concerning this; “…for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
And, by far, the main reason for purity in marriage is the purpose for which it was given. Not every human throughout the world shall hear, or has heard a preached gospel message revealing God to them. But there has never been a single human being who is not exposed to the created order, rendering them inexcusable for not knowing God! Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
And that which is called a “great mystery,” but is now revealed to us, is that the marriage of the male with the female is to reveal the spiritual relation of the born again believers to Christ. For after seemingly writing several verses on human marriage, the Apostle Paul states he was actually writing concerning Christ’s spiritual relation to the church! Ephesians 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
The eyes and ears of those privileged to have seen and heard the gospel are most blessed. For many more glorious men have not had that privilege afforded them. Matthew 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
But there are none who have not had the things of the natural order to reveal to them the things of the spiritual! Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice (that is, the ‘voice’ of the created order), is not heard. For no matter what the word for the sun, moon and stars is in every language and dialect of every tribe and nation, these still ‘speak’ to every soul, of every nation, of God’s sovereignty! Thus rendering all “without excuse.” (See Romans 1:20 in the previous column.)
Romans 10:16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound (here again, the ‘sound’ of the witness of creation), went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
But what shall be the result of this same situation reoccurring at the end of the age? Well, God is the same Holy God! And this sin that once caused him to destroy all creation upon earth by water, shall be responded to in the same way. But this time it will not be just an earthly creation cleansed by water. For this second time, it shall be a universe purged by fire.
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 ¶ Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting 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?
But this second and final time shall not be followed by grace and mercy for the forgiveness and cleansing of a single sin! Hebrews 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin (that is, without any provision for another single sin!), unto salvation.
Noah’s sacrifice brought satisfaction to God after the flood. Genesis 8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; But the benefit of Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary will then be ended! God have mercy!
Pastor Gene Breed
November 15, 2019
