The Heart of God

Nov 13, 2023

Genesis 6:1-22

QUES

THE HEART OF GOD

Genesis 6:1-22, Key Verse 6:8

PART I: THE TIMES OF NOAH (6:1-7)

  1. Read verses 1-4. Who are "the sons of God" and "the daughters of men"? What two standards does this passage use to show the corruption of Noah's time (2,4)? 
  2. What were the results of their corruption (3,5,6,7)? Read verse 2 once again. What does the Bible point out as the cause of the total corruption of Noah's time?

PART II: NOAH FOUND FAVOR IN THE EYES OF GOD (6:8-22)

  1. Read verses 8-12. What kind of person was Noah (8-10)? How much was the world corrupt (11, 12)? 
  2. What instructions did God give to Noah (14)? Draw diagrams for the Noah's ark (13-21). How did Noah obey God's command?

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DuPage Bible Study Materials

Copyright © 2025 DuPage. All Rights Reserved.

The Heart of God

Nov 13, 2023

Genesis 6:1-22

MSG

THE HEART OF GOD

Genesis 6:1-22, Key Verse 6:8

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”

Last week we learned about Cain and Abel and how Cain did not do what was right before God and sin mastered his life. In this week’s passage at first glance it seems to be about Noah and the ark. But at a closer look it really is about God and the heart of God. God’s heart is immensely grieved by his children’s sin. He cannot contend with it and has to wipe out his creation. But there is hope and amazing grace from God. Noah found favor in God’s eyes and was saved by God’s grace upon his life. We too are saved only by God’s one-sided grace upon our lives. Let us deeply think about the heart of God who judged the whole world by the flood.

Part I – God’s heart (1-8)

God has a big and gracious heart. Think about what we have learned so far in the Genesis story. We learned how God created the heavens and the earth. We learned how he made everything good. We learned how God made man and woman very good. We learned how God provided a suitable helper for man and supplied all food and shelter and fellowship needs. God was man’s companion and gave them a mission to be fruitful and multiply and rule over the earth. In verse 1 we see that man is now increasing in numbers across the earth. 

Look at verse 1, “When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them,” this was God’s will but there was a catch. Adam had two children, Cain and Seth. Cain was the father of the line of disobedience to God. Seth was the father of all those who called on the name of the LORD. But as time went on the influence of Cain’s descendants was too heavy. The descendants of faith in God lost their identity. Look at verse 2, “the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.” God’s heart was for man to be united with one wife and work together as a suitable helper. But instead the sons of God chose their wives from among the unbelieving woman. Their standard was not what God had created but now it was their own standard marrying for beauty and vitality. Maybe the sons of God married the best party girl they could find, or the most famous magazine model. The passage even hints that they married any of them they chose, implying multiple marriages which is directly against God’s command in Genesis 1:28 and 2:24. 

Look at verse 3, “Then the LORD said, “My spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.” The LORD God was not happy at this. After everything God provided this was how man acted. Let’s look at the text closer. The word “contend” can be translated “abide” or “dwell in.” The LORD God could not dwell within people in their sin. The LORD God would not put up with man anymore and is setting the stage for a serious response. God is making a serious statement of judgment of sin here. God’s holy purpose for marriage was that two may become exclusively one in God and live to serve God’s mission raising a God fearing family. God would not contend with man as he broke the sanctity of marriage and lost his identity in God. 

God would now remove his hand of protection from man because man had become corrupt and lost the image of God. God would also reduce man’s days to 120 years so that the amount of evil caused would also be reduced. But in that as well God would give man time to repent and return to God. Romans 1:28 tells us, “Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.” God was not pleased and his heart was broken by this lack of thankfulness to God and lack of regard for God.

How did sinful man react to God’s response in verse 3? Look at verse 4, “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old and the men of renown.” What God would not contend with, sinful man thought was great! The children born to these mixed marriages were heroes of old and men of renown! They were like heroes from Greek mythology; Hercules, Odysseus, Achilles, Athena, Nike, and Aphrodite. What sinful man thought was great, God would not contend with. 

Look at verse 5, “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.” In God’s opinion man’s sinfulness and disobedience was catastrophic. God saw that his children he had created had become, “…only evil all the time.” God would not contend with this. The sons of man had completely absorbed the sons of God because of compromising their faith. God saw that their thoughts had fled from carrying out the mission of God. Thoughts of praise and calling on the name of the good and merciful LORD were gone, and replaced with violence, wickedness, and thoughts of marrying anyone they chose. The sons of God had turned from a good life in fellowship with God to a life of great wickedness apart from God. 

This grieved the LORD’s heart. Look at verse 6, “The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.” The passage says that figuratively God’s heart was filled with pain. He had to look upon his whole creation and see them stewing in evil and living apart from God. This grieved his heart as he had to look at his children and realize that he soon had to wipe them out because of sin. Here we learn that God is a Holy and righteous God. God cannot dwell in the presence of sin we learned. Also because God is holy, righteous and loving, he has to judge sin. If God would let man live in sin and rebellion, he would not be a loving God. Then with a grieved and loving Father’s heart he decided to wipe man from the face of the earth. This passage is not about God taking vengeance or revenge. But it is about his heart and his nature. God is Holy. 

Look at verse 7, “So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground and birds of air—for I am grieved that I have made them.” This was God’s testimony before he took holy action. The entire world was full of sin. Even the animals and the birds had to suffer God’s judgment because of man’s wicked sins. The entire shape of the earth would be changed by God’s judgment through the flood. 

Here we learn how sin and wickedness grieved the LORD’s heart. When man turned away, when nations turn away, it grieves God’s heart. There seems to be no hope then, as all men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God according to Apostle Paul. To be honest there is no hope. Mankind cannot do enough good works before God to be saved. Man cannot be saved by his righteousness. Mankind can only be saved by the grace of the loving God. When man forgets this loving one-sided grace he brings grieving to God’s heart and loses his original image of God. 

Look at verse 8, “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” When we hear this message our hearts are heavy at the weight of our sin. But God has hope in mankind and grace. He called one man, Noah, to be a remnant for mankind. God chose Noah to be saved from the coming flood. And each of us here today are chosen by God and by his sovereign grace to be saved from the penalty of our sins. Romans 6:23 tells us, “The wages of sin is death…” Though man is sinful and brings grieving to God, God by his grace saved and called man and restored him to his image through the blood of Jesus Christ. 

Part II - God called Noah (9-22)

Look at verse 9, “This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” Noah seemed to be a regular man with no special accolades. He was old, the passage says; 500 years. He had three children and a job as a farmer (9:6). Noah had some faults as well (9:6) like when he drank too much wine and passed out naked in his tent. But verse focuses on Noah from God’s point of view. Noah was a righteous man the passage says. This is not a title he won in a competition, but something that God said about Noah. Noah had a right relationship with God from God’s point of view. With this God called Noah by his sovereign grace just as he calls us

Look at verse 11 and 12, “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.” Noah should have perished in the flood but God chose him and saved him. God gave us hope when he called Noah. 

Look at verse 13, “So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them,. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.” In verse 12 and 13 you can perhaps hear a tinge of pain and disappointment in God’s words. God saw how corrupted down to the last person they had become. Then God told Noah his plan. The command of God that came next was probably a bit surprising. Look at verse 14, “So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.” God called Noah and told him to build an ark. At that time in the world there was no fear of God. But God would show his justice through saving one man and his family through the ark. 

God continues to speak in this passage and in fact, Noah does not actually do any talking at all. Look at verse 15, “This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle, and upper decks.” The ark to be built by God’s command was roughly bigger than an NFL football field! It was like a command to build a football stadium by yourself! Why on earth did Noah proceed with this kind of adventure? Noah trusted God’s punishment and really, really believed God’s commands. This is no joke from God, so he absolutely prepared the ark for salvation. Noah saw God’s grace to be saved and proceeded to build the ark as a sign of salvation for himself but also for his family and possibly others around him who would see and fear God. 

Through Noah being saved God also allowed his whole family to be saved as well. Verse 18 tells us, “I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.” Maybe Noah wondered, “Why me?” All because God saved them by his amazing one sided grace. God’s grace is so amazing. His heart is so amazing that he saves anyone at all. My wife and I fully believe that God has saved us and that he will save the unbelieving family members on both sides of our families through his grace. Finally look at verse 22, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him. Praise God that Noah obeyed the Lord and made the ark for the salvation of mankind. 

Through this passage I realized God’s heart. God loves his creation. I see that sin causes God grieving. I realize that I am a very self-righteous man before God. I realize that I can easily find all other people’s faults but not see my own. My proud mind tells me that I have done much for God deserving something. I have lived in the church building for 6 years. I have studied the Bible, I have been a speaker at Bible Conferences. Before man maybe this may be something, but before God this is actually very little, not deserving of any grace or favor from God. 

What can I learn here from God’s heart and calling of Noah? I learned that I should not be proud but be very humble before God. Where did I come from? I was a wandering teenager lost in my sins. Where was I going? I was doomed for destruction in hell. How did I come to be a Christian? The LORD himself saved me. I remember his sweet, sweet, grace upon my life. The line from the hymn, “Wonderful Story of Love,” echoes through my mind. “Sinner oh won’t you believe it, wonderful story of love.” I have been a poisonous man pointing out others faults and remembering transgressions against me. God gave me the best fellowship filled with Bible believing Christians. He gave me the best spiritual wife, and the best county for ministry. Best of all he saved me from sin and eternal destruction through his one and only Son Jesus. Yet by his one and only Son he still calls me to be a Son of God in this generation. That is the heart of God. That is the nature of God. His love covers all sins and saves to the full.

I repent of my self-righteous attitude and want to throw it away before God and thank him for his grace as he should abandon me to waters of the flood. He called me to be as a son of God in this generation. He called me to walk with him and to be blameless amongst the people of this generation. I cannot do this except by his grace. Perhaps our nation brings grieving to God’s heart. But by the grace of Jesus, God wants to save it starting from Dupage County ministry.

Lord, as Easter approaches I decide to let the Holy Spirit change my proud heart and repent of my self-righteousness. I can be a blessing to others by encouraging them and co-working with them. By the power of the LORD Jesus Christ I pray to invite 3 people to this coming Easter Conference, Alex, Steve Peterson, and Nick. So that they may meet the Lord who is holy and righteous but also loving and merciful. He is loving and merciful because he gives his grace to those he chooses. 

Conclusion ** - Through this passage we learned that God is grieved by our sins. Our sins separate us and demand a terrible cost of death and eternal hell. But God is gracious and chose one man Noah and provided a way of salvation through the ark, which is a shadow of our Lord Jesus Christ. May God bless this coming Easter Conference to show the grace of Jesus and make an ark of salvation that many students may receive the grace of Jesus and be saved. May God bless the co-working spirit between NIU, Triton, and Dupage ministries this Easter Conference.

Attachment:

Genesis0608m


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Copyright © 2025 DuPage. All Rights Reserved.