Well, it goes something like that, but there are some significant pieces of the story - the most significant pieces - that are missing from that version.
Check this out...
The first thing to point out is the mating by the sons of God and the daughters of man that resulted in Nephilim.
Genesis 6:1-4:
When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with[a] humans forever, for they are mortal[b]; their days will be a hundred and twenty years." 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
This is new to me. The Nephilim were evidently some kind of abnormally giant being. There are a few theories as to what was actually going on here but nothing definitive. Regardless of which theory is correct, this is definitely a signficant piece of the story. Whatever was happening between the sons of God and daughters of men, God was not pleased with the outcome as is evidenced by the next passage.
Genesis 6:5-7
5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”
Even though we all know this part of the background for the story of the flood, we often don't think how deeply God felt about the condition of mankind. "His heart was deeply troubled." I think of how a father or mother would feel if their son or daughter had chosen an evil path to the extent that "every thought of their human heart was only evil all the time." Their hearts would be deeply troubled - likely wondering what they could have done differently or how they can help change them in some way. God realizes that the only solution is to "wipe from the face of the earth the human race he has created." Wow...now that's extremely sobering. Not exactly happy days leading up to the flood.
With that as the backdrop, I want to focus on Noah and God. Notice how God immediately changes his tone when Noah enters the picture.
Genesis 6:8-9
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. 9 This is the account of Noah and his family.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.
So, apparently there is one righteous person on the face of the earth and God chooses to tell him what His plan is for wiping out mankind... with one exception. He is going to spare Noah and his family by having him build an ark.
Noah's response? Yes, Lord.
Genesis 6:22
22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
Sounds cool here. God is blessing Noah because of his righteousness by saving him. However, there is one major fact that gets missed when you just read through the story. It likely took Noah 120 years to build the ark. Can you imagine that? Day in and day out for 120 years, Noah is working on othe ark. The "evil" people that God is planning to destroy are walking by and taunting Noah about when the rain is going to come. Noah's response. Yes, Lord. Do what God commanded. Day after day. Week after week. Month after month. Year after year. Yes, Lord.
Finally, the ark is completed. Now what? More instruction from the Lord.
It was over a year that Noah, his family and the animals were on the ark. And he waited on the Lord to come off.
Too often times, I will seek the Lord and clearly hear his direction for something and I will begin to do that. At some point, I take over and begin to do things based on what I think and forget to continually seek the Lord. Eventually, it ends in disaster. It's hard for me to imagine how Noah was able to "walk with the Lord" through 120 years prior to the flood and over 1 year on the ark without wavering in his obedience to the Lord. We know Noah wasn't perfect, but he was willing to do what God wanted him to do when God wanted him to do it. This is the way it should be done. My prayer for me and my family - and you and yours - is that we will have the character of Noah as we walk with the Lord in our lives, waiting for His instruction and having the courage to do it.
Sounds cool here. God is blessing Noah because of his righteousness by saving him. However, there is one major fact that gets missed when you just read through the story. It likely took Noah 120 years to build the ark. Can you imagine that? Day in and day out for 120 years, Noah is working on othe ark. The "evil" people that God is planning to destroy are walking by and taunting Noah about when the rain is going to come. Noah's response. Yes, Lord. Do what God commanded. Day after day. Week after week. Month after month. Year after year. Yes, Lord.
Finally, the ark is completed. Now what? More instruction from the Lord.
Genesis 7:1-5
1 The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3 and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. 4 Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.” 5 And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.
Not a single pushback from Noah. Not: how am I going to get the animals to go into the ark? Not: you are giving me seven days to round up exact numbers of every kind of animal and get them into the ark - in seven days? Not: how are we going to fit into the ark? Not: what are we going to eat? All he does is "all that the Lord commanded him." Yes, Lord.
So, seven days goes by and the Lord shuts up the ark. The rain begins. Can you imagine what that would be like? 120 years of building an ark with no rain and everyone making fun of you. Then, the day the rain begins is exactly the day the Lord had said it would. Eventually, you start to hear shouts from the people on the outside and they begin pounding on the door for you to let them in as the water begins to rise. This process must take days. What would be going through your mind on the inside of the ark? Then, the ark begins to float. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights and the waters flooded the earth for 150 days.
So, Noah and his family are caged up in the ark for 40 days and nights of rain and 110 more days of just floating on the water without any change. Don't you suppose Noah and his family might begin to wonder what God is going to do next? It doesn't appear that God has told Noah the plan after he destroyed the entire earth. Did they begin to wonder if God had forgotten about them? Good news. He hadn't.
Genesis 8:1
But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.
Okay, so the waters begin to recede at 150 days, which is 157 days since the began to enter the ark. At the beginning of the 10th month, the mountain tops became visible. After 40 days of seeing the mountain tops, Noah sends out a raven. It flew back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Then, Noah sent out a dove, waited a week and sent it out again, waited a week and sent it out one last time and the dove did not return.
At this time, Noah removed the covering from the ark and saw that the ground was dry. You would think that he would be ready to open the ark and get everyone off the ark to enjoy the fresh air and the space. Not Noah. He waits on word from the Lord to come out of the ark. Then, it comes.
Genesis 8:15-19
15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 17 Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.” 18 So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. 19 All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on land—came out of the ark, one kind after another.It was over a year that Noah, his family and the animals were on the ark. And he waited on the Lord to come off.
Too often times, I will seek the Lord and clearly hear his direction for something and I will begin to do that. At some point, I take over and begin to do things based on what I think and forget to continually seek the Lord. Eventually, it ends in disaster. It's hard for me to imagine how Noah was able to "walk with the Lord" through 120 years prior to the flood and over 1 year on the ark without wavering in his obedience to the Lord. We know Noah wasn't perfect, but he was willing to do what God wanted him to do when God wanted him to do it. This is the way it should be done. My prayer for me and my family - and you and yours - is that we will have the character of Noah as we walk with the Lord in our lives, waiting for His instruction and having the courage to do it.
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