Corruption And Violence
Lamech’s song is the second song in history: “If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times” (Gen. 4:24). This is a song of ruthlessness, pride and hate. Lamech sang it to his two wives. A man can love one wife, or none, but to have two wives is to be committed to neither.

Notice what happened in Lamech’s song. The most obvious aspect was the brutality, the disproportionate response. Nothing was too great a retribution for injuring Lamech! His control would be unchallenged! Even in marriage, he would go for power over others, not love for them. But notice the change in the identity of the avenger. In Cain’s case, God promised that He would avenge any wrong done; but Lamech appointed himself as his own avenger! God was not just cut out of the picture; Lamech tried to take His place!

Then there was mention of marriage between “the sons of God” and “the daughters of men” (Gen. 6:2). No one is sure what this means, but it could be a reference to Babylonian/Canaanite-like fertility cults, involving ritual prostitution. These ceremonies were supposed to ensure a good harvest. Like all paganisms, it was an attempt to force God’s hand, to make Him do what they wanted. It could be an attempt to turn God into servant rather than Lord.

The “men of renown” or “mighty men” (Gen. 6:4 NIV, KJV) sound like great heroes and great warriors. But the word used in the Old Testament refers to men who were good at killing, and carries the secondary meaning of proud, insolent, arrogant men. These were men whose trust was in themselves. They did as they pleased, and too bad for anyone who got in their way – even God! Lamech is a typical example of what these mighty men were like.

What did God think of all this? His summary could not be more complete: “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time” (Gen. 6:5). “Every ... only ... all” – a three-fold superlative! That’s really bad.

A Righteous Family
The only exception to all this evil was Noah, a man who had proved himself to be “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time” (Gen. 6:9). And being 600 years old, there were a lot of people to compare with him!

Noah’s attitude toward God was different from others at that time. He accepted God’s rule over him, whereas his neighbors thought they could rule over God. Noah maintained this righteousness through all the ups and downs of a long life. And this would not have been easy. For 100 of those years he had been a parent! The implication is that his three sons and their wives were also righteous, since any fault in his family would be imputed to him, as its head.

Can humans bend God to their will? Can they thumb their noses at God and get away with it? Is God that easy to push around? Not at all. Instead of wicked practices ensuring prosperity – instead of establishing their control over the world in spite of God – their arrogance triggered their destruction in the devastating flood. God decided to do away with the first creation, and re-make it using Noah’s righteous family instead of Adam’s failed line.

A New Creation
The story of the global flood is deliberately written in the Bible to emphasize the parallels with the original creation. Except for the original creation itself, this is the only event in Genesis for which dates, precise to the day, are given. It starts with “the fountains of the deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened” (Gen. 7:11). In other words, the waters below and above were obliterated. Everything on the planet went back to a state of being “formless and empty, darkness was over the face of the deep” (Gen. 1:2).

The effect of the Flood is expressed in terms that recall the original creation (Gen. 7:21-23). The listing of the casualties – “birds, livestock, wild animals, all creatures that swarm ... and all mankind” – is in creation order. This is emphasized in verse 23 by saying “everything on dry land that had breath of life in its nostrils died,” and then repeating the animals in reverse creation order. Giving a mirror-image structure on either side of the central verse is often used in Genesis to emphasize a point. The end of the flood is then narrated as a re-capitulation of the original creation, disregarding light, sun, moon and stars as these were all in the heavens and therefore not affected by the corruption on earth.

“But God remembered Noah” (Gen. 8:1). This does not mean that Noah had slipped from God’s mind, and was suddenly recalled. It means He acted. When God “heard the groaning” of the children of Israel (Ex. 2:24), He acted to relieve that suffering. When He loves His people, He acts in love. And when He says, “I will remember your sins no more” (Heb. 8:12), it doesn’t mean that He will develop amnesia; it means He will not act on that knowledge.

So God remembered Noah, and acted. First, after 150 days, the rain stopped, the windows of the heavens were closed, and the fountains of the deep shut (Gen. 8:2). In other words, the separation of the waters above and the waters below was re-established, corresponding to day 2 of creation. Then dry land was separated from the waters, corresponding to day 3 (Gen. 8:5). Day 4 is skipped, since this affected only the heavens. Then birds were released to fly across the heavens on day 5 (Gen. 8:7-9), and finally the beasts and Noah’s family come out in their families, corresponding to day 6 (Gen. 8:16-19). They are then blessed and told to “be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth,” just like in the original creation (Gen. 9:1). In painstaking detail, the message is hammered home: this is a whole new start, a new creation, all over again, but with the best possible first family. Can they get it right this time?

When Noah got around to farming again, he is described as “a man of the soil” (Gen. 9:20). Some versions translate this differently, but “a man of the soil” is the literal translation. While nothing special in English, in Hebrew this phrase is significant. The word adamah is not the word for “field,” but “soil.” This reminds us of the first man, Adam, who was formed from the adamah. It reminds us also of the ground cursed because of Adam. And on both sides of this verse are reminders that Noah had three sons, like Adam.

The whole story could not be more pointed. Noah was the new Adam, but this time he had the added bonus of having learned from Adam’s mistakes. Surely this time things would be better! What chance would Satan have now?

Noah’s family included parents with a 600-year record of righteousness, through youth, marriage, parenthood – and even living with the in-laws! And all this while the world around them was hopelessly corrupt. If they could remain righteous in those conditions, then just think how well they’d manage with a brand-new world, cleansed of all the other sinners.

An Old Problem, A New Life
But Noah got drunk and naked, and as a result, his grandson Canaan was cursed and punished (Gen. 9:20-27). So, even the best people in the world, given a fresh start, will fall into sin. The story of Noah puts it beyond doubt that no one, not even the best of us, can measure up.

The flood shows that God judges sin, and sin pays off with death (Rom. 6:23). It also shows that all of us, including Noah’s family, are sinners. If anyone is to be saved, it must be by God’s doing; Noah couldn’t save himself. Noah was like Adam in many ways, and both lived in a fresh new world. But both sinned. The only way God could ever get a human to live a perfect life is if He came to earth as a human Himself! Can you imagine that? First, He would have to be born – how humiliating! Then He would have to go through all the frustration of a human life. And if He lived a better life than all the others, He would be victimized every day for it. Then, He would have to die!

Can you imagine that? But you don’t have to use your imagination because Jesus Christ was God living on earth about 2,000 years ago. You can read about His life and death in the Bible. All humans are sinners like Adam and Noah; but Christians are heavenly people like Jesus (1 Cor. 15:48-49).

By Bob Springett

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