Day 3 - Genesis 6-9

A man who finds a wife, finds what is good, however...

Subtitle: My spiel on marriage, because I think it's an important issue

How does one choose a mate? Should the decision be based on physical appearance, character, societal status or family background? While these are significant factors, in Genesis chapter six, it seems as though God was hoping that his people would choose based on an altogether different criterion. In the beginning of the chapter, we see that as men increased on the earth, the men of Seth's line (the sons of God) began to notice the women of Cain's line (the daughters of men). He who finds a wife, finds what is good, as the proverb goes. However, how one goes about finding their wife is an important matter to God. The men who at one time called upon the name of the LORD chose to leave God out of the process of finding suitable wives. They essentially based their decision on physical beauty and their own desires. To be sure, physical beauty is a good thing created by a good God. We are not to be like the Gnostics who regarded the physical body as completely evil and the soul as the only thing that is good. On the other hand, we can also fall into hedonism, which is essentially a lifestyle of solely enjoying the physical world and all of the pleasures that it has to offer. Man is a dualistic creature, i.e. both material body and immaterial soul. When we ignore our need to care for and appreciate either aspect, we tend to fall into some kind of error. Marriage is one major construct where this happens. The account in Genesis six sounds exactly like what's going on in our day. People ignore God, they shack up with whomever they want and God's heart is grieved because of this. God's heart is grieved because relationships where he is not present is tantamount to hell on earth. Left to ourselves, we corrupt, wound and destroy each other. This is not just an inter-personal matter either, but an affront to God's plan for our lives. People don't like to hear this today, but while God is a God of love, he is also a just God. This means that he must punish and do away with corrupted creation, including corrupted people. Common sense shows that when godly people shack up with godless people, God is by and large put on the back burner. This is exactly what happened in Noah's times.

Contrary to popular belief the divorce rate among Christians is actually lower than their secular counterparts. Those who believe in God are supposed to set the tone in terms of cultural influence (Matt 5:13). But all too often, we drop the ball in this arena, especially in terms of opposite sex relationships. What this basically proves is that all people are sinners, both the godly and ungodly alike. This sin causes unspeakable agony. It leads to broken relationships, broken people and an irreparably broken world. We see this not only in verse 6, but also in our world today. I am the child of divorced parents and this has given rise to some deep psychological wounds. God is deeply pained when he sees his people go astray and essentially destroy themselves. It doesn't matter how many Nephilim, i.e. superstar athletes, Nobel Laureate scientists and movie stars are produced. God wants our hearts to be with him and moreover he wants us to escape his judgement upon sin. According to Malachi 2:15, God wants people who unite in matrimony to produce children who will call on His name. This is His blessing to people; that life may go well with them and that they may be in a faithful relationship with each other and Him. Relationships, especially marital ones, are tough. It’s easier to simply go after what we want. But in the long run, authentic, edifying and lasting relationships are forged through God’s guidance and the power that accompanies his help.

In today's society, it seems as though marriage is a joke, but we know that there is something much more to it. When we decide to be with someone of the opposite sex, we literally become one flesh with them. We become united on a body and soul level. Who we choose to enter into a relationship with is a matter of extreme importance. I know that this is a tough issue to decide about though; in our hook-up culture, it's much easier to ignore this importance and instead take the easy route. Early on in my Christian life, I made a very bad decision in regards to this matter. I did exactly as the men did in Genesis six. In my early twenties, I became involved in a sexually immoral relationship. By God's grace I got out of that relationship and am currently married to a godly woman. But during that immoral relationship, I grieved God's heart deeply. In addition, I still have spiritual wounds from that time, which God is graciously healing. If you have made a similar mistake, there is hope for healing and restoration. But take my warning, it's better to not make this particular mistake at all. How much better is it to call on the name of the Lord, not grieving his heart, but instead enjoying Him for a lifetime? We may feel bombarded by our culture's corrupted, self-centered and yet extremely attractive outlook on relationships. So how can we keep ourselves pure and learn to value what God values?

The nature of Noah's righteousness

We find the answer to our last question through Noah. Everyone knows Noah as the person who essentially carried on the human race after God's judgment through the flood (or the Great Deluge). The Bible says that God found Noah as a righteous person. He walked faithfully with God and was blameless among the people of his time. Apart from Abraham, we like to look to Noah as the quintessential model of righteousness in the Old Testament. But all too often, the explanation of his righteousness is distilled down to his moral character. We reason that Noah was called righteous because his actions and character were pure, unlike the godless heathens around him. But in reality, who is truly good or righteous? No one actually; all people, including Noah were and are sinners (Rom 3:23). Noah had a corrupt heart, just like all of us. We see his outward corruptness in chapter eight when he over-indulges in wine. Moreover, I’m sure he struggled with temptation in his heart on a daily basis, just like we do. What set him apart actually had little to do with him. First, we see that Noah was set apart by God from birth, as it was prophesied that he would bring comfort to his people. Second, Noah's righteousness came by faith. Hebrews 11:7 explains his righteousness like this:

"By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith."

Third, Noah knew about the coming flood because God revealed it to him. This means that apart from God's revelation, Noah would have been swept away as well. Moreover, God was the author of the faith or trust that was in his heart (Heb 12:2). Noah simply responded to the faith that was given to him. He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness, much like Abraham. Indeed, Noah is a model of righteous conduct. But it was not a righteousness of his own. It came from faith, which was given to him as a gift. So it is with us. God gives us faith; he prompts us to trust in him for reasons which might not be crystal clear to us at first. In the same way that Noah believed in God’s salvation from judgment, we similarly obey God in view of his coming judgment upon sin, revealed through the Bible.

Righteousness does not stem from our good moral behavior. Rather God makes us righteous through faith and any inclination to do good things stems from our right standing before God. Through God’s work in us, he prompts us to do things which are in accordance with right living before him. Though we are corrupted by our inner thoughts and the outside world daily, we have the final assurance of purity and righteousness through God-given faith planted in our hearts; he purifies us through the blood of Christ (Heb 9:14). In this way, we can make decisions that please the One who saved us from a corrupted life. And if we should find ourselves in corruption again, we can come back to God for forgiveness through faith. But let us, through faith, obey God not grieving his heart through sin, but pleasing him and rejoicing in his good plans for us (Rom 8:28, 29). Daily let's remember his initial grace of salvation as well as his continual grace of sanctification each day.

Many things can be said about the other parts of the passage. What do you think about them?

Do you regard the way we marry and choose relationships as an important matter?

When presented with temptation do you think about how it will grieve God's heart?

Did you know that Ham was about 500 years old when he scoffed at Noah because of his drunkenness? (Maybe this is where we get the expression, 'stop being a Ham or you're such a Ham')

let me know what you think!