The Pattern of Judgments (A Cycle Beginning with New Creation and Ending with Judgment) - Part V
Minor Cycle #3, Genesis 6 and 7
Introduction
As stated in Part I, Genesis 1-3 contains a group of sixteen themes/events1 which combine to form a particular pattern that is repeated numerous times throughout the Bible. I call this the Pattern of Judgments. The Genesis 1-3 thematic pattern starts with Adonai (God) initiating some form of New Creation and ends with Adonai meting out judgment upon those who have transgressed His commandments in some egregious manner. The first example of this cycle can be seen in Genesis 1-7, where Adonai initiates the cycle with the creation of the heavens and earth (Genesis 1:1-2), and then the cycle is brought to an end with the judgment of Noah’s flood (Genesis 7). Thus, Genesis 1-7 is what I call a major cycle of this Pattern of Judgments. Chapter 8 then starts a new major cycle with a “New Creation” of the earth out of the chaotic waters of Noah’s flood.
In addition to the major cycles there are also minor cycles. They are minor cycles because they only contain a few of the sixteen themes presented in Genesis 1-3, as opposed to a major cycle which will contain most of them. Despite this, minor cycles have clearly defined beginnings and endings. Genesis 1-7 is Major Cycle #1, and can be divided thematically as follows:
Genesis 1-3—The sixteen foundational themes for the Pattern of Judgments
Minor Cycle #1—Genesis 4:1-24
Minor Cycle #2—Genesis 4:25-5:32
Minor Cycle #3—Genesis 6:1-7:24
As you can see, Genesis 1-3 establishes the full array of themes found in the Pattern of Judgments, and then Genesis 4-7 contains three minor cycles. In Part III we completed Minor Cycle #1 and then went on to study and complete Minor Cycle #2 (Genesis 4:25-5:32). This article will focus on Minor Cycle #3 (Genesis 6:1-7:24), the last minor cycle in Major Cycle #1 (Genesis 1-7).
Minor Cycle #3—Genesis 6:1-7:24
The key to 1) understanding how the pattern repeats itself, and 2) how to perceive this pattern when/as it occurs, is to always thematically connect the events in the Biblical narratives back to the sixteen foundational themes established in Genesis 1-3. So, let’s get started by studying and thematically connecting verses in Genesis 6:1-7:24 to the sixteen themes presented to us in Genesis 1-3. Many of the connections are very subtle. But this is the nature and reality of how Adonai has supernaturally arranged His precious revelation to us.
Genesis 3:15—Enmity of the Seed
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
We’ll start our journey through Minor Cycle #3 by making connections to the theme, Enmity of the Seed, which is one of the major themes introduced in Genesis 1-3 that is repeated over and over throughout the entirety of the Bible. This theme is thematically connected to Genesis 6:7-9 and 7:1 as follows:
So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:7-9).
Then the LORD said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation (Genesis 7:1).
Thus far, the Scripture has developed two spiritual lineages, the lineage of the seed of the serpent and the lineage of the seed of the woman. This began with Cain, the father of the seed of the serpent, and Seth, the father of the seed of the woman. Furthermore, in these early chapters of Genesis, the Bible is concentrating our attention on the differences between these two seeds. The seed of the serpent (Cain, Lamech and their descendants) have demonstrated their serpent-like tendencies through their acts of adultery, murder, glorification of man, etc. In contrast, the seed of the woman has demonstrated her character through acts of redemption—offering sacrifices of righteousness, martyrdom, and calling upon Adonai’s name. The story of the generation of the flood, is simply a continuance of these contrasts.
Pertaining to Noah:
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD (Genesis 6:8).
This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his
generations. Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9).
Pertaining to the generation of the flood:
And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is
indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years” (Genesis 6:3).
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them” (Genesis 6:5-7).
The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth (Genesis 6:11-12).
Thus, the seed of the woman is traced through Noah and will continue through his progeny, specifically Shem. Noah is clearly thematically connected to Enoch, for the Scripture tells us they both walked with God (Genesis 5:24 and 6:9). The rest of humanity are therefore of the seed of the serpent!
We saw in previous articles how the seed of the serpent was traced through Cain. His descendants continued to multiply and have become the remainder of those who populated the earth during the pre-diluvian (flood) period.
Genesis 6:1-7—Fall into Sin
Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. 4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown (Genesis 6:1-2 and 4).
These verses recount how all humanity fell into sin. Their sin was cohabitation with the sons of God (angels), creating a race of giants, super humans, men of renown. At this point, we would do well to remember the role of the woman, Eve, in the first human sin. Notice, the serpent did not directly attack the man, Adam. It appears the serpent chose to work through the woman in order to get Adam to sin. In other words, his plan focused on corrupting the woman, who would then help in the man’s downfall. By comparing Adam’s sin with the sin of the generation of the flood, we can see an important thematic parallel. Just as the serpent, himself a fallen son of God, worked through Eve by attacking her and corrupting her mind, so likewise, the sons of God worked through the women of the generation of the flood by physically corrupting them through their forbidden sexual union. The union of mankind with angels was a grievous sin, an example of what the Bible calls a forbidden mixture. Note how Peter discussed the sexual sins of the angels cohabiting with humans in 2 Peter 2:4-6:
For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly.
Here we are told that those angels who sinned (at the time of the flood) were cast into hell and bound with chains of darkness until the day of their judgment. The word translated hell is a translation of the Greek word tartarus, which apparently is a place where extremely wicked angels are confined in darkness.
Although Peter did not specifically mention their sin as the sin of cohabitation with humans, notice how he mentions the sins of the angels along with the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, clearly connecting them to the sin of forbidden sexual unions, this time between men and men. Nonetheless, Jude explicitly indicts the sons of God for the sin of forbidden sexual union with humans!
And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 1:6-7).
Notice how once again, the sin of the angels is mentioned in connection with the sin of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, which we know to be the sin of forbidden sexual union. Also, notice how Jude 1:6 states that certain angels, “left their own abode.” The word abode is translated from the Greek word, oikētērion, which means a dwelling place, habitation. This Greek word is used only one other time in the Bible, 2 Corinthians 5:2:
For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked (2 Corinthians 5:2-3).
Here, oikētērion is translated as habitation. The meaning is clear. Habitation is being used as a word for body. Thus, Jude 1:6 is informing us that the angels left their own abode (body) in the sense that they cohabited with humans. The primary point Adonai wants us to see through this connections is that the generation of the flood fell into sin as did Adam, through a corruption of the woman. The fallen son of God, hasatan, corrupted Eve spiritually through deception, but the sons of God corrupted the daughters of men physically through sexual union.
Genesis 3:8-13—Adonai Investigating Sin
Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” (Genesis 3:9-11).
After Adam and Eve’s sin, we see Adonai investigating the situation, seeking first-hand testimony that something had gone awry. So likewise, Adonai investigated the sins of the generation of the flood:
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every
intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth (Genesis 6:5,11-12).
Genesis 3:20-21—Acts of Redemption
And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
Genesis 3:20-21 records what I call an Act of Redemption as one of the sixteen themes defining the Pattern of Judgments. Sometimes an act of redemption is performed by Adonai, while at other times it is performed by the seed of the woman. An act of redemption is basically some action that helps to heal the separation between Adonai and man. In this instance, Adonai provided a covering to conceal Adam and Eve’s guilt and shame as manifested in their nakedness.
Noah also performs an act of redemption when he builds the ark for the saving alive of his family and the animals of the earth.
Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch (Genesis 6:14).
Before looking at the last clear connection to the themes of Genesis 1-3, I’d like to look at another way the Bible connects the events concerning the generation of the flood to the creation account.
Subtle Allusions to the Creation Account Woven Through Genesis 6-7
Besides the fairly straightforward thematic connections between some of the sixteen themes of Genesis 1-3 and the account of the flood in Genesis 6-7, the Holy Spirit also whispers more subtle connections between these two passages, hoping that we will notice them. I will list the verses that are thematically connected and use bold-italicized text to highlight the connections.
Genesis 6:1 (Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them) is thematically connected to Genesis 1:28 (Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”). Here, Genesis 6:1 speaks of how men began to multiply on the face of the earth, which is exactly what was commanded in Genesis 1:28!
Genesis 6:7 (So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.) is thematically connected to Genesis 1:27 (So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.).
Genesis 6:5-7 (Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”) is thematically connected to Genesis 1:31 (Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.). When Adonai made the heavens and earth and all its creatures He said it was very good. This is thematically connected to Genesis 6:5-7 where Adonai reassesses His creation and finds it corrupt and devoid of the goodness He’d originally seen.Genesis 6:11-12 (The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.) is thematically connected to Genesis 1:1-2 (In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.). Remember how we learned that the Hebrew words translated form and void combined to give the sense of total destruction, devastation, chaos and ruination? With that in mind, we can see how Genesis 6:11-12 is showing us that man has corrupted Adonai’s beautiful creation to such an extent that it is as if the earth has returned to its description before Adonai’s creative acts which transformed it from waters of chaos into a paradise.
Genesis 6:17 (And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.) is thematically connected to Genesis 2:7 (And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.). It was Adonai who put the breath of life into every creature during the creation. In Genesis 6:17, we see that our Creator is about to remove the breath of life from his creation.
All these connections strengthen our understanding of the repeating themes of Genesis 1-3 throughout the early account of Genesis 4-6, and further establish that the sixteen themes of Genesis 1-3 are a template or prophesy of how the future will unfold. At this point, let’s look at one last clear connection to Genesis 1-3 from Genesis 6.
Genesis 3:22-24—Judgment/Exile
Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
Adam’s sin was punished by his banishment from the Garden of Eden. Thematically, his punishment of exile is actually the punishment of death! Adam was told that the day he partook of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would die. Did he die? Yes, he did in a sense. The Tree of Life was also in the garden. Once he was cut off from the Tree of Life he was cut off from the source of LIFE. In this manner, Adam suffered a type of spiritual death.
This is thematically connected to the punishment of the generation of the flood.
Genesis 6:7—So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
There is a poignant connection between Noah’s flood and the theme of judgment/ exile from Genesis 3. We saw how Adam and Eve were literally banished/scattered/ exiled from the garden. This theme is echoed in the judgment of the flood where the bodies of all of mankind were literally scattered over the face of the earth. As the flood waters rose, men lost their lives and their bodies were carried away by the waves of the chaotic waters, displacing them from whatever lands that had been their ancestral homes. Furthermore, with the onset of the flood, the earth will now once again return to its creation stage of lacking form and emptiness (tohu va bohu). Noah’s waters have replaced the waters of chaos of Genesis 1:1-2, signaling that is time to begin again with a new creation!
At this point we have reached the end of Minor Cycle #3. But more importantly, we have reached the end of Major Cycle #1! Remember how Genesis 1-3 ended with the theme of judgment/exile. With the onset of the events in Genesis 6-7, we have concluded one complete cycle of new creation leading to judgment, with Noah’s flood providing the ending of the first cycle.
Here is a list of the 16 themes:
Genesis 1:1-25 – New Creation of the Universe
Genesis 1:26-28 – Man, God’s Image-Bearer, Commissioned to Exercise Dominion Over Creation
Genesis 1:29-31 – Man’s Diet
Genesis 2:1-3 – The Sign of the Sabbath
Genesis 2:4-9 – Man’s Work in His Ancestral Plot of Land
Genesis 2:10-14 – Natural Riches of the Creation
Genesis 2:15-17 – The Choice Between Life and Death
Genesis 2:18-25 – A Virginal Bride for the Man
Genesis 3:1-7 – Fall into Sin
Genesis 3:8-13 – Adonai Investigating Sin
Genesis 3:14 – The Curse on the Serpent
Genesis 3:15 – Enmity of the Seed
Genesis 3:16 – Pain in Childbirth
Genesis 3:17-19 – Curse on the Land
Genesis 3:20-21 – Acts of Redemption
Genesis 3:22-24 – Judgment