V1-8
The sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful (v2)
Maybe the sons of God were rulers who styled themselves as gods just as later emperors did in Rome. These rulers may then have selected the most beautiful women to be their wives. The ‘Nephilim’ were considered the heroes of old, and in those days, their lifespans were extremely long. Perhaps people stopped worshipping the Lord and worshipped these powerful men instead.
Maybe God reduced their lifespan so that men would be seen as mortals again. Nevertheless, fewer and fewer people followed the Lord.
The Hebrew word for renown in verse 4 is הַשֵּֽׁם 9 (haš·šêm) from the Noun שֵׁם (shem), which means a name, fame, renown, reputation, a name after death, memory, a monument.
They were the heroes of old, men of renown (v4)
The men of renown were also men of pride. It sounds at first as if the author of Genesis is commending them, but then God condemns the human race because they have nothing but evil desires.
1 Samuel 16:7 says, “People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
The Hebrew word for deeply troubled in verse 6 is וַיִּתְעַצֵּ֖ב (way·yiṯ·‘aṣ·ṣêḇ) from the verb עָצַב (atsab), which means to grieve, to travail, suffer pain, provoke.
His heart was deeply troubled (v6)
God felt the pain of rejection when almost all the people he had made turned away from him. The constant struggle to draw those people back into a relationship with him caused God to feel deeply troubled. He could not stand by and watch without acting. When they did not repent he destroyed them all, except Noah’s family.
Ephesians 4:30 tells us not to grieve the Holy Spirit. As Christians, the Spirit of God lives inside of us. He feels pain when we sin and joy when we obey him. The God who loves us lives in us. Why would we want to cause him pain?
V9-22
The Hebrew word for ark in verse 14 is תֵּבַ֣ת (tê·ḇaṯ) from the Noun תֵּבָה (tebah), which means a box, chest, basket.
Make yourself an ark (v14)
God called Noah to build the ark long before any sign of a flood appeared. First, he received a prophetic word from the Lord, then he had to spend time in preparation, and finally, he saw the word of God become a reality.
When God calls us to do something, he may ask us to start acting and preparing a long time before anyone else can see why. We have to be prepared to look stupid in the eyes of other people if we obey God.
Make lower, middle and upper decks (v16)
The ark was by no means a primitive boat. It had three stories.
Noah did everything just as God commanded him (v22)
Noah was fully obedient to the Lord. He walked by faith and not by sight. He took the word of God seriously and did something that no one else had ever done before. Being obedient to God may mean stepping out and doing something entirely new.
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