WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: Begin by offering a prayer of humble acknowledgement that we have no right to understand God’s ways with us.

Strange and scary
Today’s passage is undeniably weird. No one can confidently claim to know who the ‘sons of God’ are in verse 2, or the obscure and mighty Nephilim in verse 4. Are these supernatural beings, or are they symbolic representatives of scarily powerful humans?

Nor can we be completely clear about the wickedness of our depraved forefathers. Even the instructions to build the enormous ark are decidedly strange when taken as they stand starkly in the text.

Horror story
Of course, the custom is to colour these details for children: our images of Noah’s ark are mostly of amiable Mr and Mrs Noah with their pairs of smiley wooden animal.

This may be fine but it overlooks the truth that here we confront the origins of a horror story, of a catastrophe for mankind. Almost everyone is going to die.

God’s judgement
One crystal-clear aspect is the attitude of the Lord towards the unholy mess which humankind has made of his creation. He is decisive and resolute in acting against the people who have spoiled his plan.

It is interesting that, though absolutely just, God is a far from dispassionate judge of this case (see v 6). There is no reasoning with God here, of the kind found with Cain in chapter 4, with Abraham in chapter 15 and often afterwards.

Respond: Give thanks that our ancestors were not destroyed in the flood. Instead, we have inherited the blessings bestowed upon Noah.

http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-01-09