Yahweh said, “My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; so his days will be one hundred twenty years.” The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when God’s sons came in to men’s daughters and had children with them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil. Yahweh was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart. Yahweh said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the surface of the ground—man, along with animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky—for I am sorry that I have made them.”
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv3–7 3. My Spirit shall not always strive. Although Moses…
3. My Spirit shall not always strive. Although Moses had before shown that the world had proceeded to such a degree of wickedness and impiety, as ought not any longer to be borne; yet in order to prove more certainly, that the vengeance by which the whole world was drowned, was not less just than severe, he introduces God himself as the speaker. For there is greater weight in the declaration when pronounced by God’s own mouth, that the wickedness of men was too deplorable to leave any apparent hope of remedy, and that therefore there was no reason why he should spare them. Moreover, since this would be a terrible example of divine anger, at the bare hearing of which we are even now afraid, it was necessary to be declared, that God had not been impelled by the heat of his anger into precipitation, nor had been more severe than was right; but was almost compelled, by necessity, utterly to destroy the whole world, except one single family. For men commonly do not refrain from accusing God of excessive haste; nay, they will even deem him cruel for taking vengeance of the sins of men. Therefore, that no man may murmur, Moses here, in the person of God, pronounces the depravity of the world to have been intolerable, and obstinately incurable by any remedy. This passage, however, is variously expounded. In the first place, some of the Hebrews derive the word which Moses uses from the root נדן(nadan) which signifies a scabbard. And hence they elicit the meaning that God was unwilling for his Spirit to be any longer held captive in a human body, as if enclosed like a sword in the scabbard. But because the exposition is distorted, and savours of the delirium of the Manichees, as if the soul of man were a portion of the Divine Spirit, it is by us to be rejected. Even among the Jews, it is a more commonly received opinion, that the word in question is from the root דון (doon.) But since it often means to judge, and sometimes to litigate, hence also arise different interpretations. For some explain the passage to mean, that God will no longer deign to govern men by his Spirit; because the Spirit of God acts the part of a judge within us, when he so enlightens us with reason that we pursue what is right. Luther, according to his custom, applies the term to the external jurisdiction which God exercises by the ministry of the prophets, as if some one of the patriarchs had said in an assembly, ‘We must cease from crying aloud; because it is an unbecoming thing that the Spirit of God, who speaks through us, should any longer weary himself in reproving the world.’ This is indeed ingeniously spoken; but because we must not seek the sense of Scripture in uncertain conjectures, I interpret the words simply to mean, that the Lord, as if wearied with the obstinate perverseness of the world, denounces that vengeance as present, which he had hitherto deferred. For as long as the Lord suspends punishment, he, in a certain sense, strives with men, especially if either by threats or by examples of gentle chastisement, he invites them to repentance. In this way he had striven already, some centuries, with the world, which, nevertheless, was perpetually becoming worse. And now, as if wearied out, he declares that he has no mind to contend any longer. For when God, by inviting the unbelievers to repentance, had long striven with them; the deluge put an end to the controversy. However, I do not entirely reject the opinion of Luther that God, having seen the deplorable wickedness of men, would not allow his prophets to spend their labor in vain. But the general declaration is not to be restricted to that particular case. When the Lord says, ‘I will not contend for ever,’ he utters his censure on an excessive and incurable obstinacy; and, at the same time, gives proof of the divine longsuffering: as if he would say, There will never be an end of contentions unless some unprecedented act of vengeance cuts off the occasion of it. The Greek interpreters, deceived by the similitude of one letter to another have improperly read, ‘shall not remain:’ which has commonly been explained, as if men were then deprived of a sound and correct judgment; but this has nothing to do with the present passage.
For that he also is flesh. The reason is added why there is no advantage to be expected from further contention. The Lord here seems to place his Spirit in opposition to the carnal nature of men. In which method, Paul declares that the
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‘natural man does not receive those things which belong to the Spirit, and that they are foolishness unto him,’ (1 Corinthians 2:14.)
The meaning of the passage therefore is, that it is in vain for the Spirit of God to dispute with the flesh, which is incapable of reason. God gives the name of flesh as a mark of ignominy to men, whom he, nevertheless, had formed in his own image. And this is a mode of speaking familiar to Scripture. They who restrict this appellation to the inferior part of the soul are greatly deceived. For since the soul of man is vitiated in every part, and the reason of man is not less blind than his affections are perverse, the whole is properly called carnal. Therefore, let us know, that the whole man is naturally flesh, until by the grace of regeneration he begins to be spiritual. Now, as it regards the words of Moses, there is no doubt that they contain a grievous complaint together with a reproof on the part of God. Man ought to have excelled all other creatures, on account of the mind with which he was endued; but now, alienated from right reason, he is almost like the cattle of the field. Therefore God inveighs against the degenerate and corrupt nature of men; because, by their own fault, they are fallen to that degree of fatuity, that now they approach more nearly to beasts than to true men, such as they ought to be, in consequence of their creation. He intimates, however, this to be an adventitious fault, that man has a relish only for the earth, and that, the light of intelligence being extinct, he follows his own desires. I wonder that the emphasis contained in the particle בשגם (beshagam,) has been overlooked by commentators; for the words mean, ‘on this account, because he also is flesh.’ In which language God complains, that the order appointed by him has been so greatly disturbed, that his own image has been transformed into flesh.
Yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years. Certain writers of antiquity, such as Lactantius, and others, have too grossly blundered in thinking that the term of human life was limited within this space of time; whereas, it is evident, that the language used in this place refers not to the private life of any one, but to a time of repentance to be granted to the whole world. Moreover, here also the admirable benignity of God is apparent, in that he, though wearied with the wickedness of men, yet postpones the execution of extreme vengeance for more than a century. But here arises an apparent discrepancy. For Noah departed this life when he had completed nine hundred and fifty years. It is however said that he lived from the time of the deluge three hundred and fifty years. Therefore, on the day he entered the ark he was six hundred years old. Where then will the twenty years be found? The Jews answer, that these years were cut off in consequence of the increasing wickedness of men. But there is no need of that subterfuge; when the Scripture speaks of the five hundredth year of his age, it does not affirm, that he had actually reached that point. And this mode of speaking, which takes into account the beginning of a period, as well as its end, is very common. Therefore, inasmuch as the greater part of the fifth century of his life was passed, so that he was nearly five hundred years old, he is said to have been of that age.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv3–7 Because man could not be won by God’s lenity…
Because man could not be won by God’s lenity and long sufferance whereby he strove to overcome him, he would no longer stay his vengeance.
Which term God gave man to repent before he would destroy the earth, 1 Pet. 3:20.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv3–7 Gen 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall…
Gen 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
Ver. 3. My Spirit shall not always strive,] that is, I’ll consult no longer, but resolve to ruin them, as some gloss it; or, I’ll pull the sword out of the sheath, the soul out of the body, as others gather out of the Hebrew word {a} here used. But they do best, in my mind, that sense it thus: My Spirit - whereby I hitherto "went and preached," by Noah and other patriarchs, to those "spirits" (once in pleasure, now) "in prison," {Ecc 11:9 1Pe 3:18-19} but prevailed not - shall not always strive with perverse men by preaching, disputing, convincing, in the mouths of my servants, whom I have sent unto them; nor in their own minds and consciences, by inward checks and motions, which they have made no good use of. Delicata res est Spiritus Dei . Grieve it once, and you may drive it away for ever. It "bloweth where it listeth," and will not be at your whistle.
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For that he also is flesh.] He is therefore the worse, because he ought to be better, {b} God expects singular things from his people, and takes it ill when they are "carnal and walk as men". {1Co 3:3} They should be higher than others by head and shoulders, as Saul was; and all that is in them, or comes from them, should be as the fruit of the trees in Paradise, fair to the eye, and sweet to the taste.
Yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.] It shall be so long ere I destroy. This longsuffering of God is celebrated by St Peter, {1Pe 3:19-20 2Pe 2:5} and well it may; for had he not been God, and not man, he could never have held his hands so long. Neither indeed did he; for so extreme was the provocation, that he cut them off twenty years of this promised count: that all the earth might "know" to their woe his "breach of promise". {Num 14:34}
{a} Sunt qui deductum volunt a Nadan, Vagina.
{b} Ideo deteriores sumus, quia meliores esse debemus - . Salv.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv3–7 The Lord said; either,
The Lord said; either,
1. To the men of that age by the mouth of Noah; or,
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2. Within himself; (see Psa 14:1) he determined.
Strive with man, or, contend, or, debate in or against men, as it hath hitherto done, by inward motions and suggestions in the minds and consciences of wicked men, or by the mouths and ministry of that small remnant of holy men, and particularly of Noah, who protested against and contended with the world of the ungodly, and by their doctrines, admonitions, threatenings, and examples, endeavoured to bring them to repentance: 1Pe 3:19; or dispute with, or concerning, or because of men, i.e. whether I should destroy or save him, as God disputes with or about Ephraim, Hos 11:8.
For that he also, i.e. even the seed of Seth, or the sons of God also, no less than the offspring of Cain; the pronoun being here put for the foregoing noun, and the singular number put for the plural, he, i.e. they, to wit, the sons of God. Both which figures are frequent in the use of Scripture. Or, he, i.e. man, all mankind, the sons of God not excepted,
is flesh; not only fleshly in part, or in some actions, but altogether, in regard of soul as well as body, minding nothing but making provision for the flesh to fulfil its lusts, Rom 13:14.
Not having the Spirit, Jud 1:19, nor heeding its good motions, but suppressing and resisting them.
Flesh not only in the condition of their nature, but in the baseness and corruption of their hearts and lives; as the word flesh is commonly used when it is opposed to the Spirit, as Joh 3:6; Rom 7:18; 8:5,7; Gal 5:17.
Yet, though he deserve a speedy destruction,
his days, i.e. the time allowed him for repentance, and the prevention of his ruin,
shall be an hundred and twenty years. During which time Noah was preaching; and, to assure them of the truth of his doctrine, preparing the ark. See 1Pe 3:20; 2Pe 2:5.
Quest. How did God perform this promise, when there were but a hundred years between this time and the flood, by comparing Gen 5:32, with Gen 7:11?
Answ.
1. The increasing wickedness of mankind might justly hasten their ruin, and forfeit the benefit of this indulgence.
2. This promise, though mentioned after that, Gen 5:32, yet seems to have been made twenty years before it; for that verse is added there out of its proper place only to complete the genealogy; and therefore, after this narration, it is repeated here in its due order, Gen 6:10. And such hysteron proterons are frequently noted in Scripture.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6 This comes in here as a token of God's…
This comes in here as a token of God's displeasure at those who married strange wives; he threatens to withdraw from them his Spirit, whom they had grieved by such marriages, contrary to their convictions: fleshly lusts are often punished with spiritual judgments, the sorest of all judgments. Or as another occasion of the great wickedness of the old world; the Spirit of the Lord, being provoked by their resistance of his motions, ceased to strive with them, and then all religion was soon lost among them. This he warns them of before, that they might not further vex his Holy Spirit, but by their prayers might stay him with them. Observe in this verse,
I. God's resolution not always to strive with man by his Spirit. The Spirit then strove by Noah's preaching (Pe1 3:19, Pe1 3:20) and by inward checks, but it was in vain with the most of men; therefore, says God, He shall not always strive. Note, 1. The blessed Spirit strives with sinners, by the convictions and admonitions of conscience, to turn them from sin to God. 2. If the Spirit be resisted, quenched, and striven against, though he strive long, he will not strive always, Hos 4:17. 3. Those are ripening apace for ruin whom the Spirit of grace has left off striving with.
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II. The reason of this resolution: For that he also is flesh, that is, incurably corrupt, and carnal, and sensual, so that it is labour lost to strive with him. Can the Ethiopian change his skin? He also, that is, All, one as well as another, they have all sunk into the mire of flesh. Note, 1. It is the corrupt nature, and the inclination of the soul towards the flesh, that oppose the Spirit's strivings and render them ineffectual. 2. When a sinner has long adhered to that interest, and sided with the flesh against the Spirit, the Spirit justly withdraws his agency, and strives no more. None lose the Spirit's strivings but those that have first forfeited them.
III. A reprieve granted, notwithstanding: Yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years; so long I will defer the judgment they deserve, and give them space to prevent it by their repentance and reformation. Justice said, Cut them down; but mercy interceded, Lord, let them alone this year also; and so far mercy prevailed, that a reprieve was obtained for six-score years. Note, The time of God's patience and forbearance towards provoking sinners is sometimes long, but always limited: reprieves are not pardons; though God bear a great while, he will not bear always.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv3–7 And the Lord said,.... Not to Noah, as in…
And the Lord said,.... Not to Noah, as in Gen 6:13 for, as yet, he is not taken notice of, or any discourse addressed to him; but rather to or within himself, he said what follows, or thus concluded, and resolved on in his own mind:
my Spirit shall not always strive with man; meaning either the soul of man, called the Spirit of God, Job 27:3 because of his creation, and is what he breathes and puts into men, and therefore is styled the Father of spirits; and which is in man, as some in Aben Ezra observe to be the sense the word used, as a sword in the scabbard; and so the meaning is, it shall not always abide there, but be unsheathed and drawn out; man shall not live always, since he is corrupt, and given to carnal lusts: or else, as Jarchi thinks, God himself is meant, and that the sense is, my Spirit shall not always contend within myself; or there shall not always be contention within me concerning man, whether I shall destroy him, or have mercy on him; I am at a point to punish him, since he is wholly carnal: or rather this is to be understood of the Holy Spirit of God, as the Targum of Jonathan, which agrees with Pe1 3:18 and to be thus interpreted; that the Spirit of God, which had been litigating and reasoning the point, as men do in a court of judicature, as the word signifies, with these men in the court, and at the bar of their own consciences, by one providence or by one minister or another, particularly by Noah, a preacher of righteousness, in vain, and to no purpose; therefore, he determines to proceed no longer in this way, but pass and execute the sentence of condemnation on them:
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for that he also is flesh; not only carnal and corrupt, but sadly corrupted, and wholly given up to and immersed in sensual lusts and carnal pleasures, so as not to be restrained nor reformed; even the posterity of Seth, professors of religion also, as well as the profane world and posterity of Cain:
yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years: meaning not the term of man's life, reduced to this from the length of time he lived before the flood; but this designs the space that God would give for repentance, before he proceeded to execute his vengeance on him; this is that "longsuffering of God" the apostle speaks of in the afore mentioned place, "that waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing"; and so both the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan interpret it of a space of an hundred and twenty years given them to repent: now whereas it was but an hundred years from the birth of Japheth to the flood, some think the space was shortened twenty years, because of their impenitence; but it is more probable what Jarchi observes, that this decree was made and given out twenty years before his birth, though here related, by a figure called "hysteron proteron", frequent in the Scriptures.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv3–7 My spirit shall not always strive with man -…
My spirit shall not always strive with man - The spirit then strove by Noah's preaching, 1 Pet. iii, 19, and by inward checks, but 'twas in vain with the most of men; therefore saith God, he shall not always strive, for that he also is flesh - Incurably corrupt and sensual, so that 'tis labour lost to strive with him. He also, that is, all, one as well as another; they are all sunk into the mire of flesh. Yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years - So long will I defer the judgment they deserve, and give them space to prevent it by their repentance and reformation. Justice said, cut them down; but mercy interceded, Lord, let them alone this year also; and so far mercy prevailed, that a reprieve was obtained for six score years.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv3–5 Verse 3. My spirit shall not always strive] It…
Verse 3. My spirit shall not always strive] It is only by the influence of the Spirit of God that the carnal mind can be subdued and destroyed; but those who wilfully resist and grieve that Spirit must be ultimately left to the hardness and blindness of their own hearts, if they do not repent and turn to God. God delights in mercy, and therefore a gracious warning is given. Even at this time the earth was ripe for destruction; but God promised them one hundred and twenty years' respite: if they repented in that interim, well; if not, they should be destroyed by a flood. See note on "Ge 6:5"
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv3–7 Gen 6:3. My spirit shall not always strive with…
Gen 6:3. My spirit shall not always strive with man — The Spirit then strove by Noah’s preaching, 1Pe 3:19, and by inward checks, but it was in vain with the most of men; therefore, saith God, he shall not always strive, for that he (man) also is flesh — Incurably corrupt and sensual, so that it is labour lost to strive with him. He also; that is, all, one as well as another; they are all sunk into the mire of flesh. Yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years — So long will I defer the judgment they deserve, and give them space to prevent it by their repentance and reformation. Justice said, Cut them down; but mercy interceded: Lord, let them alone this year also; and so far mercy prevailed, that a reprieve was obtained for six-score years; and during this time Noah was preaching righteousness to them, and, to assure them of the truth of his doctrine, was preparing the ark.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv3–6 His days shall be, &c. The meaning is, that…
His days shall be, &c. The meaning is, that man’s days, which before the flood were usually 900 years, should now be reduced to 120 years. Or rather, that God would allow men this term of 120 years, for their repentance and conversion, before he would send the deluge. (Challoner) --- He spoke therefore to Noe in his 480th year. (St. Augustine) --- Those who suppose, that he foretold this event 20 years later, think with St. Jerome, that God retrenched 20 years from the time first assigned for penance. The Spirit of the sovereign Judge was fired with contending; or, as others translate it, with remaining quiet as in a scabbard, and bearing with the repeated crimes of men. He resolved to punish them severely in this world, that he might shew mercy to some of them hereafter. (St. Jerome, 9. Heb.) (Calmet) --- If we suppose, that God here threatens to reduce the space of man’s life to 120 years, we must say, at least, that he did it by degrees; for many lived several hundred years, even after the deluge. In the days of Moses, indeed, few exceeded that term. But we think the other interpretation is more literal, and that God bore with mankind the full time which he promised. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv3–5 flesh--utterly, hopelessly debased.
flesh--utterly, hopelessly debased.
And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive--Christ, as God, had by His Spirit inspiring Enoch, Noah, and perhaps other prophets (Pe1 3:20; Pe2 2:5; Jde 1:14), preached repentance to the antediluvians; but they were incorrigible.
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yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years--It is probable that the corruption of the world, which had now reached its height, had been long and gradually increasing, and this idea receives support from the long respite granted.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv3–7 3. My Spirit shall not always strive with man…
3. My Spirit shall not always strive with man — דון, here rendered strive, occurs nowhere else, and its meaning is doubtful. Our translation assumes that it is the same as דין, following in this respect Symmachus (ου κρινει) and Kimchi. This is not impossible, as the verbs עוand עיoften interchange their middle radical. Gesenius renders the word to be made low, depressed; (so Vatablus and Ewald;) and, if this be the meaning, the sense of the text would seem to be, my Spirit shall not be trampled on, despised by man forever; language of weariness after long forbearance. Some (as Grotius) have favoured the translation ensheathed, and understand that Jehovah here threatens that his spirit (the soul breathed into man by God) shall not forever be sheathed in the human body, as a sword in the scabbard; that is, the human race shall be cut off. But most of the ancient versions, as well as the Targums, render, my spirit shall not abide, or dwell among men; and understand the words to threaten that the spirit breathed into man at his creation shall no more dwell on the earth, now that man has become brutalized with fleshly lusts. T. Lewis somewhat modifies this view, understanding by my spirit not simply the life principle, but the spiritual or rational in man, as distinguished from the carnal — (the πνευμα, as distinguished from the ψυχη,) — and, moreover, considers it a sorrowing prediction rather than a threat. The meaning shall dwell or abide, is more in harmony with the context than strive. The reason of the threat, or prediction, is because he is flesh. This would seem to be a reason why the Spirit should continue to strive, unless, indeed, we understand it as the language of weariness and hopelessness in view of man’s degradation. But this expression furnishes a reason, most forcible and appropriate, why God should refuse to allow his image to be longer defiled upon the earth. Man’s kinship with God, his sonship, (comp. Gen_6:2,) gives special flagrancy to his guilt. Man has dishonoured the divine image; it is the “Spirit of God that giveth him understanding;” that he has defiled, and, therefore, that “Spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Ecc_12:7. It was a resolution made in divine justice and mercy. It was a fearful sin for a son of God to prostitute his highest powers in the service of the flesh, a sin that called for the divine wrath. But the very enormity of the sin leads a merciful God to resolve on blotting out the race, to stop the ever-increasing flood of wretchedness that flows from increasing wickedness. So he drove man away from the tree of life, lest he should secure an immortality of sin.
For that he also is flesh — Or, because of their transgression, he is flesh, (Ewald, Nordh., Furst, Gesen.,) that is, he is all flesh. The flesh — the body, with its appetites and passions, has risen above the spirit. The divine has become quenched in the carnal. Jehovah describes the being whose nobler part was made an image of himself, as now wholly flesh. Flesh and spirit were originally made in happy, harmonious adjustment; but now all is flesh. From this text arose the Pauline phraseology carnal and spiritual, flesh and spirit, so common in the epistle to the Romans. The difficult word בשׂגם may also be construed with what precedes, thus disregarding the Masoretic punctuation and reading: My spirit shall not dwell with men forever in their errors. He is flesh, and his days, etc. In this case, the word is composed of the preposition ב, and pronominal suffix ם, connected with the construct infinitive of the verb שׁגג.
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His days — His allotted time on the earth.
Hundred and twenty years — This language is used of man, the race with whom God’s Spirit dwelt, not of individual men. It refers, then, to the duration of the then existing race, and not, as some have supposed, to the length of human life. It was then in the four hundred and eightieth year of Noah’s life that the antediluvian world received its sentence; but it was allowed a respite of one hundred and twenty years, during which, according to 2Pe_2:8, Noah was a “preacher of righteousness,” “when once the longsuffering of God waited” for the world’s repentance, “while the ark was a preparing.” 1Pe_3:20.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv3–7 3. And the lord said] It is not evident…
3. And the lord said] It is not evident in this verse, why the Lord should pass a sentence of condemnation upon man. In the two preceding verses, it is not man, but “the sons of God,” whose depravity has been described. Perhaps, however, the object of the words is, in view of the mixed marriages, to impose a more restricted limit upon the duration of human life. Man is warned, as in Gen_4:22, that on earth he has no immortality. The warning is administered to the progeny of the sons of God and the daughters of men no less than to the children of men generally.
Following this line of interpretation, we obtain some clue to the meaning of a most obscure verse. Its obscurities, indeed, are such that it may well be the case, that the original text has suffered corruption in the early stages of its transmission.
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1. The R.V. text may be paraphrased: “My spirit shall not for ever be contending with man; seeing that he also is carnally minded. His days are numbered: but I will not at once consume him. There shall yet be an interval of 120 years, before I bring upon mankind the catastrophe of the Deluge.” The objections to this are numerous: (a) the rendering “strive” is exceedingly doubtful; (b) the idea of the spirit of Jehovah striving with men is unsuitable; (c) the rendering, “for that he also, &c.” represents a Hebrew idiom found nowhere else in the Pentateuch, while the word “also” has no logical connexion; (d) the mention of “his days” being 120 years despite the Flood is, to say the least, strange—Noah is expressly stated in P to be 500 years old at the birth of his sons (Gen_6:22), and 600 years old when he entered the ark (Gen_7:6); (e) “flesh” is used in its metaphorical, not in its literal, sense.
2. R.V. marg. rule in. Better, according to many ancient versions, abide in … in their going astray they are flesh. The following paraphrase may be given: “the Spirit which I have implanted in man is not to abide in him for ever. (Still he shall not be judged too severely.) In their continual going astray men shew that they are frail flesh. Mortal life, therefore, shall be limited to 120 years (no admixture of the heavenly strain shall avail for the greater prolongation of life).”
It is objected that the lives of the patriarchs in P exceed this limit. But the passage is evidently an independent fragment from J. And it is a more serious objection that the words of the verse, taken literally, make no clear allusion to the illicit marriages, and are applicable to mankind generally.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv3–7 (3) And the Lord said.—As the Sethites are now…
(3) And the Lord said.—As the Sethites are now the fallen race, it is their covenant Jehovah who determines to reduce the extreme duration of human life to that which, under the most favourable sanitary influences, might still be its normal length.
My spirit shall not always strive with man.—The meaning of this much-contested clause is really settled by the main purpose and context of the verse, which is the Divine determination to shorten human life. Whether, then, God’s spirit be the animating breath spoken of in Gen_2:7; Gen_7:22, whereby human life is sustained, or the spiritual part of man, his conscience and moral sense—God’s best gift to him—in opposition to his flesh, the struggle henceforward is not to be indefinitely prolonged. In the first case, the struggle spoken of is that between the elements of life and death in the body; in the second, it refers to the moral probation to which man is subject. The versions generally take the former meaning, and translate “shall not dwell,” or “abide “; but there is much in favour of the rendering “shall strive,” though the verb more exactly means to rule, preside over, sit as judge. Literally, then, it signifies that the Divine gift of life shall not rule in man “for ever;” that is, for a period so protracted as was antediluvian life. (Comp. Deu_15:17, &c.)
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With man.—Heb., with the adam: spoken with especial reference to the Sethites.
For that he also is flesh.—So all the versions; but many commentators, to avoid an Aramaism which does not occur again till the later Psalms, translate, “in their erring he is (= they are) flesh.” But no reason for shortening human life can be found in this commonplace assertion; and if Abraham brought these records with him from Ur, we have an explanation of the acknowledged fact that Aramaisms do occur in the earlier portions of the Bible. Man, then, is “also” flesh, that is, his body is of the same nature as those of the animals, and in spite of his noble gifts and precedence, he must submit to a life of the same moderate duration as that allotted them.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv3–7 And the Lord Jehovah; not because due to the…
And the Lord Jehovah; not because due to the Jehovist (Tuch, Bleek, Colenso), but because the sin above specified was a direct violation of the footing of grace on which the Sethites stoodsaid, to himself, i.e. purposed,My spirit neither "ira, seu rigida Dei justitia" (Venema), nor "the Divine spirit of life bestowed upon man, the principle of physical and ethical, natural and spiritual life" (Keil); but the Holy Ghost, the Ruach Elohim of Gen 1:2shall not always strive. London:
1. Shall not dwell (LXX, ouj mhnh; Vulgate, non permanebit; Syriac, Onkelos).
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2. Shall not be humbled, i.e. by dwelling in men (Gesenius, Tuch).
3. More probably, shall not rule (De Wette, Delitzsch, Kalisch, Furst), or shall not judge (ouj krinei), as the consequence of ruling (Symmachus, Rosenm Keil), or shall not contend in judgment (arguere, reprehendere; cf., (Ecc_6:10) i.e. strive with a man by moral force (Calvin, Michaelis, Dathe, "Speaker"s Commentary," Murphy, Bush). With man, for that he also beshaggam. Either be, shaggam, inf. of shagag, to wander, with pron. surf. = in their wandering" (Gesenius, Tuch, Keil) the meaning being that men by their straying had proved themselves to be flesh, though a plural suffix with a singular pronoun following is inadmissible in Hebrew (Kalisch); or be, sh (contracted from asher), and gain (also) = quoniam. Cf. Jud_1:5:7 6:17; Son_1:7 (A.V). Though an Aramaic particle, it must never be forgotten that Aramaisms are to be expected either in the most modern or in the most ancient portions of Scripture" ("Speaker"s Commentary) is flesh, not "transitory beings" (Gesenius, Rosenm Tuch), or corporeal beings (Kalisch), but sinful beings; bashar being already employed in its ethical signification, like sarx in the New Testament, to denote "man"s materiality as rendered ungodly by sin" (Keil). "The doctrine of the carnal mind (Ro 8) is merely the outgrowth, of the thought expressed in this passage "( Murphy). Yet his days not the individual"s (Kalisch), which were not immediately curtailed to the limit mentioned, and, even after the Flood, extended far beyond it (vide Genesis 11.); but the races, which were only to be prolonged in gracious respite (Calvin)shall be a hundred and twenty years. Tuch, Colenso, and others, supposing this to have been said by God in Noah"s 500th year, find a respite only of 100 years, instead of 120; but the historian does not assert that it was then God either formed or announced this determination.
HOMILIES BY R.A. REDFORD Ver. 3.
Probation, approbation, and reprobation.
"And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man," &c. The life of man, whether longer or shorter, is a time during which the Spirit of God strives with him. It is at once in judgment and in mercy that the strife is not prolonged; for where there is continued opposition to the will of God there is continual laying up of judgment against the day of wrath. The allotted time of man upon the earth is sufficient for the required probation, clearly manifesting the direction of the will, the decided choice of the heart. Here is
I THE GREAT MORAL FACT OF MAN"S CONDITION IN HIS FLESHLY STATE. The striving of God"s Spirit with him.
1. In the order of the world and of human life.
2. In the revelation of truth and positive appeals of the Divine word.
3. In the constant nearness and influence of spiritual society.
4. In the working of conscience and the moral instincts generally.
II THE DIVINE APPOINTMENT OF SPIRITUAL PRIVILEGE at once a righteous limitation and a gracious concentration. That which is unlimited is apt to be undervalued. Not always shall the Spirit strive.
1. Individually this is testified. A heart which knows not the day of its visitation becomes hardened.
2. In the history of spiritual work in communities. Times of refreshing generally followed by withdrawments of power. The limit of life itself is before us all. Not always can we hear the voice and see the open door.
III THE NATURAL AND THE SPIRITUAL ARE INTIMATELY RELATED TO ONE ANOTHER IN THE LIFE OF MAN. He who decreed the length of days to his creature did also strive with the evil of his fallen nature that he might cast it out. The hundred and twenty years are seldom reached; but is it not because the evil is so obstinately retained? Those whose spirit is most in fellowship with the Spirit of God are least weighed down with the burden of the flesh, are strongest to resist the wearing, wasting influence of the world.
IV THE STRIVING OF GOD"S SPIRIT WITH US MAY CEASE. What follows? To fall on the stone is to be broken, to be under it is to be crushed. The alternative is before every human life to be dealt with as with God or against him. "Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!" The progressive revelations of the Bible point to the winding up of all earthly history. Not always strife. Be ye reconciled to God. R.
HOMILIES BY W. ROBERTS Ver. 3
The striving of the Spirit
implies
I THE DOCTRINE OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY.
II THE GRANTING OF GOD"S SPIRIT TO OUR FALLEN WORLD.
III That God"s Spirit is OPPOSED BY MAN.
IV That the effort of God"s Spirit for man"s salvation, even though not successful, COMES TO AN END.
V That the striving of God"s Spirit comes to an end not because God"s willingness to help comes to an end, but because HUMAN NATURE SINKS BEYOND THE POSSIBILITY OF HELP.
VI That it belongs to God as Sovereign to FIX THE DAY OF GRACE.
Learn
1. The richness of Divine mercy.
2. The possibility of falling away beyond the hope of repentance.
3. The fact that our day of grace is limited.
4. The certainty that, however short, the day of grace which we enjoy is available for salvation. W.R.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv3–5 My Spirit shall not always strive with man
Gen_6:3
My Spirit shall not always strive with man
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The striving of the Spirit
I.
WHAT IS IMPLIED IN THE ASSERTION, My Spirit shall not always strive with man? It is implied:--
(1) that the Spirit does sometimes strive with men;
(2) that men resist the Spirit.
II. WHAT IS NOT INTENDED BY THE SPIRIT STRIVING. It is no form of physical struggling or effort whatever. It is not any force applied to our bodies.
III. WHAT, THEN, IS THE STRIVING OF THE SPIRIT? It is an energy of God applied to the mind of man, setting truth before his mind, reasoning, convincing, and persuading.
IV. HOW MAY IT BE KNOWN WHEN THE SPIRIT OF GOD STRIVES WITH AN INDIVIDUAL?
(1) When a man finds his attention arrested to the great concerns of his soul;
(2) when a man finds himself convinced of sin;
(3) when the mind is convicted of the great guilt and ill-desert of sin;
(4) when men see the folly of seeking salvation in any other way than through Christ alone.
V. WHAT IS INTENDED BY THE SPIRIT NOT STRIVING ALWAYS? Not that He will at some period withdraw from among mankind, but that He will withdraw from the individual in question. There is a limit to the Spirits efforts in the case of each sinner; at some uncertain, awful point, he will reach and pass it.
VI. WHY WILL GODS SPIRIT NOT STRIVE ALWAYS?
(1) Because longer striving will do the sinner no good;
(2) because sinners sin wilfully when they resist the Holy Ghost;
(3) because there is a point beyond which forbearance is no virtue.
VII. CONSEQUENCES OF THE SPIRITS CEASING TO STRIVE WITH MEN.
(1) A confirmed hardness of heart;
(2) a seared conscience;
(3) certain damnation. (C. G. Finney.)
God striving with man
God strives with man in many ways by the working of His blessed Spirit within him; by the working of our own conscience, by various warnings from without constantly strewn in our paths; but if we grieve and resist the Holy Spirit of God, then He will not always strive with us, but will give us over to a reprobate mind.
I. Consider the great mercy of God, in consenting to strive with man at all.
II. The striving of the Spirit is a means of resisting the flesh.
III. The Spirit of God strives in many ways. His strivings have a meaning, a message, and a warning to us all. (Bishop Atlay.)
The Spirits influence
I. THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD DOES EXERT AN INFLUENCE ON MAN FOR THE PURPOSE OF SECURING HIS BEST INTEREST. Notice--
1. That this spiritual influence is universal. No doubt respecting its possibility. He who made man can influence him.
2. That this spiritual influence is essential to the production of good. Human nature is depraved, and therefore incapable of itself of producing anything good. As every drop of rain which falls from the clouds, and every spring that issues from the rocky mountains, comes from the mighty oceans; as the light which makes every planet and satellite gleam in the dark void of space comes from the sun, so does all good in man proceed from the Spirit of God.
3. That this spiritual influence is, in every case, limited by the conditions of mans free agency. Nothing compulsory in its nature. If religion be virtue, man in becoming religious must act from choice and not from necessity.
4. That this spiritual influence is effective in proportion to the adaptation of the means by which it acts upon mens minds. Nature. Providence. Chiefly the gospel.
II. THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD MAY CEASE TO INFLUENCE MEN FOR GOOD. This proved by facts. Saul (1Sa_28:15); Belshazzar (Dan_5:1-31); Jews in time of Jeremiah (Jer_15:1).
III. THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD CEASES TO INFLUENCE MAN FOR GOOD BECAUSE OF MANS CONTINUED REBELLION. For that he also is flesh. The word flesh is often used in Scripture to denote the sinfulness of man. This ceasing to strive may not be the result of a positive act of withdrawal of heavenly influences, so much as that of the law of nature which determines that the momentum of any moving body is diminished by constant resistance. In the moral universe, as well as in the physical, this law operates.
IV. THAT THE BENEVOLENCE OF GOD IS MANIFESTED IN THE MANNER IN WHICH SPIRITUAL INFLUENCES ARE WITHDRAWN FROM MAN. Yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
1. The withdrawal never happens till after a long period of existence.
2. It never happens suddenly, but gradually.
3. It never happens without sufficient warning. (Evan Lewis.)
The Spirit striving
I. A WONDERFUL FACT IMPLIED. The Holy Spirit strives with man.
1. Remarkable power. Man can refuse to obey the Creator.
2. Amazing Divine condescension.
3. Astonishing human obduracy.
4. A merciful reason. Why not abandon man? Love of God.
5. The benevolent purpose. That man may forsake sin.
6. The mysterious method.
II. AN ALARMING PACT STATED.
1. A calamity of awful magnitude.
2. Most melancholy. (Homilist.)
The time of Gods grace is limited
There is a time when God will strive; but when that time is gone, God will strive no more. To make this plain I will lay down these six things:--
1. I will let you see that it hath been so by testimonies of Scripture. (1Sa_15:23; Heb_12:16-18; Luk_19:41-42)
2. I will show in or after what manner God deals with a soul in giving it over.
(1) The Lord changes His mind, and repents of the good He has done to such rebellious and stubborn creatures.
(2) The Lord gives over that man to the power of that sin, which He never did before when He strove with him; we must either lose our sins or our souls; and if no means will serve to bring a man home, then the Lord gives him over to commit his old sin (Psa_81:11-12).
(3) As God gives a man over to the power of his lusts, so He doth blast a man in regard of all abilities and gifts that formerly he hath had. Look into the world, and you shall see this plain. Great scholars, learned doctors and preachers, their learning hath been blasted; they were bright candles, yet in the end they became snuffs, men of corrupt minds, etc. Look upon other common Christians, who have given hope of coming unto God when they were in sickness or necessity, etc. Yet at last it turns to nothing; He sent leanness into their souls (Psa_106:15). He gave them their request. One aims at honour; well, God gives it unto Him. Another will have profit; well, saith God, and thou shalt have it, but My Spirit and the excellency thereof thou shalt never have.
(4) The Lord hardens that man. He repents of the good that is done unto him; He gives him up to the power of his lusts, and blasts all his parts, so that he hardens his heart. And look by what means God sought to bring him unto Him, those means harden him; afflictions harden, him, which should have been the means to have recalled him. God brays a fool ten times in a mortar, and yet he is the harder, harder, and harder.
(5) The Lord lets that man build upon false bottoms, live by false principles: that man which hath been enlightened must have somewhat to hold upon; else he would be in a little hell, and ergo a man hath his shifts. Saul saith, I have performed the will of the Lord, I have done that which He commanded me. Have you so, says Samuel? What then means the lowing of the oxen? Oh, saith he, it is to do sacrifice unto the Lord.
(6) The Lord gives a commission to all means formerly used, that they shall never come to Him more; the Lord bids those judgments and mercies wherewith He sought to humble him before, never more to meddle with him. Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone (Hos_4:17).
3. I will let you see what persons they are.
(1) Those that have lived a good while under the means of grace, but are still unprofitable and no good is wrought upon them; it is likely such men are given over (Mat_23:34-37). And a man that hardens his neck when he is rebuked, shall suddenly be destroyed and cannot be cured Pro_29:1).
(2) Those that have much calling and means and also many secret workings of the Spirit on them, that when they have gone out of the house of God have determined never to be drunk more, never to swear, lie, nor steal more, etc., and yet these come to nought. He that hath had many proclamations, as Eze_24:13.
(3) Those that have much grieved the good Spirit of God in bringing in some sin contrary to the light of conscience and the suggestions of the good Spirit of God, as did the children of Israel, who resisted the good Spirit of God, and He sware, etc.
(4) Such as have a common, base, vile, and contemptible esteem of the gospel and ministers thereof. They mocked the ministers till the wrath of God broke out against them and there was no remedy (2Ch_36:16).
4. Now I come to the fourth thing which is the grounds of it, viz. Why the Lord in this life doth give men over and strive with them no more. The grounds of this point arise from these two attributes of God, His justice and His wisdom.
(1) God is a just God; and is it not just that those who have rejected Him, that He should reject them? I have called, but you answered not Jer_7:13).
(2) God is a wise God. A man that knocks at the door if he be wise, will not always lie knocking if none answer: he gives over and goes away; so the Lord knocks at our hearts by mercies to allure us, by judgments to terrify us: yet He can find no entrance. Is it not wisdom then to be gone? Why should I smite you any more, saith God? (Isa_1:5). (W. Fenner.)
Divine forbearance and justice
I. THE LONG SUFFERANCE OF JEHOVAH TOWARDS HIS WAYWARD CREATURES IS SET FORTH IS THE SCRIPTURES IN VARIOUS WAYS. It is stated in a multitude of passages, that longsuffering is one of His distinguishing attributes; and the truth of this is evidenced by the exceeding great forbearance manifested towards many whose character and conduct are recorded in Holy Writ (Exo_34:6-7; Num_14:8; Ps 2Pe_3:9). Consider, then, the fact of Gods exceeding great forbearance, and let it be the means of gently leading you to repentance. But, in addition to this, there is another consideration which ought to operate on your minds--namely:
II. THE WARNINGS AFFORDED TO SINNERS BEFORE THE POURING OUT OF HIS JUDGMENTS. There is nothing more clearly manifested in the account given us in the Word of God of His dealings with mankind, than the fact of the unwillingness with which the Almighty inflicts punishment on sinners. It is termed in the twenty-eighth chapter of Isaiah, and the twenty-first verse, His strange work, His strange act. Mercy is the work in which the Lord delights; and judgment when executed is performed as a matter of constraint, the effect of necessity. How many are the warnings which the Lord holds forth before He strikes the blow I This was remarkable in the case of the antediluvians. (T. R. Redwar, M. A.)
The danger of resisting the Spirit
I. THAT GODS TAKING AWAY HIS SPIRIT FROM ANY SOUL IS THE CERTAIN FORERUNNER OF THE RUIN AND DESTRUCTION OF THAT SOUL. This is clearly evinced from the words; for, although the flood did immediately terminate in the destruction of the body only, yet because it snatched these men away in a state of impenitence, it was consequentially the destruction of the soul.
II. THAT THERE IS IN THE HEART OF MAN A NATURAL ENMITY AND OPPOSITION TO THE MOTIONS OF GODS HOLY SPIRIT; outward contention is the proper issue and product of inward hatred: striving in action is an undoubted sign of enmity in the heart (Gal_5:17). Here we see there is a sharp combat between these two: and the apostle subjoins the reason of it: for these two are contrary. Things contrary will vent their contrariety in mutual strife.
III. THAT THE SPIRIT IN ITS DEALINGS WITH THE HEART IS VERY EARNEST AND VEHEMENT. To strive, imports a vigorous putting forth of the power: it is such a posture as denotes an active desire. There is none that strives with another but conquest is the thing both in his desire and in his endeavour.
IV. THAT THERE IS A SET AND PUNCTUAL TIME, AFTER WHICH THE CONVINCING OPERATIONS OF GODS SPIRIT UPON THE HEART OF MAN IN ORDER TO HIS CONVERSION BEING RESISTED, WILL CEASE AND FOREVER LEAVE HIM.
1. Scripture proof (Psa_95:10; Luk_19:42).
2. How the Spirit may be resisted in His workings upon the heart. Where we must first lay down, what it is in general to resist the Spirit.
And this I conceive is, in brief, to disobey the Spirit commanding and persuading the soul to the performance of duty, and the avoidance of sin. Now, the Spirit commands and persuades two ways.
1. Externally, by the letter of the word either written or preached.
2. By its immediate internal workings upon the soul, which I shall reduce to two:
(1) The illumination of the understanding.
(2) The conviction of the will. Now, suitable to all these ways of the Spirits dealings with us, there are so many different acts of resistance by which these dealings are opposed. Of all which in their order.
1. Concerning the resistance of the Spirit in disobeying the letter of the Word. The reason that disobedience to the Word is to be accounted an opposing of the Spirit, is because the Word was dictated and inspired by the Spirit itself.
2. I shall next show how it is resisted in its immediate internal workings upon the soul. Here we must reflect upon ourselves, and know that upon the unhappy fall of man, sin and the wretched effects of sin immediately entered upon, and took full possession of all his faculties: his understanding, that before shined clear like the lamp of God, was by sin overspread with darkness; his will, that bore a perfect conformity to the Divine will, was rendered totally averse from and contrary to the things of God.
(1) Concerning our resistance of it in illumination or its enlightening work. And these enlightenings both may be, and often are, resisted by the soul. Illumination in general may be described, the Spirits infusing a certain light into the mind, whereby it is in some measure enabled to discern and judge of the things of God. Now, this light is threefold.
(a) That universal light which we usually term the light of nature, yet so as it may also be rightly termed the light of the Spirit; but in a different respect. It is called the light of nature, because of its general inherence in all men; because it is commensurate and of equal extent with nature, so that wheresoever the nature of man is to be found there this light is to be found. It enlightens every man that comes into the world. But on the other hand, it is called the light of the Spirit, in respect of the Spirits efficiency, in that it is the producing cause of it as it is of every good and perfect gift.
(b) The second kind of light may be called a notional Scripture light; that is, a bare knowledge of or assent to Scripture truths. This light is begot in the mind of all professors by the mere hearing or reading the word; it is the bare perception of evangelical truths placed in the intellect, resting in the brain, treasured up there by a naked apprehension and speculation. So that the resisting this is almost the same with our resistance of the Spirit speaking in the word, only with this difference, that in the former we resist the word as considered in the letter, in this we resist it as it lies transcribed in the conceptions of the understanding.
(c) The third kind of light may be called a special convincing light, which is a higher degree of the enlightening work of the Spirit. This is the highest attainment of the soul on this side saving grace; it is like the clear shining of the moon and stars, which is the greatest light that is consistent with a state of darkness. Yea, it is such a light as does not only make a discovery of the things of God, but also engenders in the soul a certain relish and taste of them.
(2) We come now to the second, which is the conviction of the will, which conviction may be described in general. A work of the Spirit of God upon the will and affections, producing in them some imperfect liking of the ways of God, and dislike to the ways of sin. Now, the convincing works of the Spirit upon the will may be reduced to these three.
(a) A begetting in it some good desires, wishes, and inclinations.
(b) An enabling it to perform some imperfect obedience.
(c) An enabling it to leave some sins. In all these works the Spirit may be resisted and opposed.
3. Why, upon such resistance, the Spirit finally withdraws.
(1) The first reason is drawn from Gods decree.
(2) The second reason is because it is most agreeable to the great intent and design of the gospel.
(3) The third ground or reason why God withdraws His Spirit upon our resistance, is because it highly tends to the vindication of His honour. Now, God may vindicate His honour two ways in the Spirits departure.
(a) As it is a punishment to the sinner, that has dishonoured Him. Gods glory cannot be repaired but by the misery of the party that made a breach upon it.
(b) God may vindicate His honour by clearing His injured attributes from those aspersions that human mistakes might charge upon them.
(4) God withdraws His Spirit upon resistance, because this naturally raises in the hearts of men an esteem and valuation of the Spirits workings: and the reason of this is, because in so doing, men apparently see that God Himself puts an esteem and value upon them, otherwise why should He so severely bereave men of them upon their abuse? Were it not a treasure God would not be so choice of it. APPLICATION; And now, what can be more seasonable than to wrap up all in the apostles own exhortation, Quench not the Spirit (1Th_5:19). Now, as arguments to dissuade or deter you from this, and withal to persuade and excite you to the former, take these motives.
1. Our resisting of the Spirit in His precepts and instructions will certainly bereave us of His comforts.
2. The second motive why we should comply with the Spirit is, because the resisting of it brings a man under hardness of heart and a reprobate sense.
3. The third motive is, because resisting of the Spirit puts a man in the very next disposition to the great and unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost. (R. South, DD.)
Why Gods Spirit will not always strive
There is a certain point beyond which He will not go for sufficient reasons known fully to Himself, partly to us. Two of these we are to notice for our instruction.
1. He will not touch the free agency of His rational creatures. He can put no force on the volitions of men. An involuntary or compulsory faith, hope, love, obedience, is a contradiction in terms, and anything that could bear the name can have no moral validity whatsoever.
2. After giving ample warning, instruction and invitation, He will, as a just judgment on the unbelieving and the impenitent, withdraw His Spirit and let them alone. (Prof. J. G. Murphy.)
Neglecting the opportunity of grace
When I think of opportunities, I think I may liken us here tonight to a number of men in the Arctic regions. They have been frozen up for a long time, and the ship is high and dry on great masses of ice. The thaw comes on; but the thaw, however, will last but for a very short time. They set their saws to work; they see a split in the ice; there is a long and very narrow lane of water. If they can get the ship along there before the water freezes it up again, they may yet reach the shores of dear old England, and be safe; but if not, they are frozen in for another winter, and very likely will be frozen in forever. Well, now, tonight it seems just so with us. It seems as if the Spirit of God had purposely brought some of you here; and I do trust He is opening, as it were, the lane of mercy for you--causing your sins for a little time to loose their frosty hold, and opening your heart a little to the genial influences of the gospel. But, oh! if it should be frozen up again. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
The worlds treatment of the Holy Spirit
It is sad, when the physician, having exhausted all the resources of his skill, gives up his patient and retires. It is sad when the parent, having tried severity and kindness, correction and encouragement, in vain, at last, heartbroken and hopeless, desists from his endeavours to reform his wayward child. But it is sadder still when Almighty God foiled, as it were, by human obduracy, in all the manifestations of His grace and mercy, at last gives up His efforts for the salvation of men, and retires exclaiming: How often would I have gathered you under My wing, and ye would not. Such is the spectacle here. The Spirit of God has, all through, been connected with our world. It was He who moved on the face of the waters, reducing the discordant elements to order, and building up that fair and goodly structure, which has still so many traces of its original beauty lingering amid its ruin and decay.
It was He who was breathed into man, making him a living soul, spiritual, and like to God in wisdom, goodness, happiness, and truth. After the Fall, He did not forsake the work of His hands, but clave to the souls of men, seeking to help their recovery, and if that might not be, seeking to act as a drag on their downward progress. Oh, how long-continued, constant, and persevering have been His efforts for the good of man! What has been the treatment which He has received from them in return? God tells us what it was from the men before the flood. They were going on in evils ways, and the Spirit strove with them, tried to stop them, and turn them back. He pleaded with them, warned them, but it was in vain; they went on, and grew worse and worse. Like a mighty torrent they swept along, and drew even the godly along with them. At length it became time for God to decide and act, and so He did. My Spirit shall not always strive with man. Slowly and reluctantly, God comes to this determination. Oh, the evil of mans sin! It makes, as it were, a conflict in the Divine bosom. Mercy calls for delay, but justice says, It must be limited. Love to men, and unwillingness that they should perish, cry, Let alone a little longer, but God is jealous for the honour of His Spirit. And so a time comes when the blessed God must decide and act; and so He does. Man has become flesh, mere flesh; all, with one exception, flesh. The case is hopeless, Open the windows of heaven, and break up the fountains of the great deep. So it was with Israel. With growing light, unparalleled privileges, they grew worse and worse--more hardened, formal, hypocritical. The case was hopeless; Israel was mere flesh--a dead, corrupting carcase. Ho, ho, ye Roman eagles, come and devour! (J. Milne.)
The long suffering of God
The stroke of judgment is like the lightning flash, irresistible, fatal; it kills--kills in the twinkling of an eye. But the clouds from which it leaps are slow to gather; they thicken by degrees; and he must be intensely engaged with the pleasures, or engrossed in the business of the world, whom the flash and peal surprise. The mustering clouds, the deepening gloom, the still and sultry air, the awful silence, the big pattering raindrops, these reveal his danger to the traveller, and warn him away from river, road, or hill, to the nearest shelter. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
Sin beyond mercy
In an age of despotism, an Italian prince became celebrated for his forbearance, also for his severe punishment when aroused to do vengeance. He had an offending servant who was repeatedly admonished. With every pardon he became more reckless and impudent, and thought he could do anything with impunity. One day, he entered the presence of the prince with his hat on, and, when rebuked, said he had a cold. His much-enduring master said, I will take care that you never catch cold again. He immediately ordered the man to prison, and that the executioner should nail his hat to his head. One of the princes friends expressed surprise at this severe sentence, because the servant had been pardoned for more serious crimes. The prince took a goblet, and having half filled it with water, requested his friend to put an apple into it. This made the water rise to the brim. The prince then told his friend to drop in a coin. This made the water to run over. How is it? the prince asked, that the small coin caused the water to run over, whereas the large apple raised it only to the brim? The overflowing of the cup of Gods mercy is wrath and destruction to the impenitent.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v5 The Flood
The Flood
This narrative records the judgment of God upon the sinful forefathers of mankind, and His preservation of a righteous family, in whom the divine purposes for men might be carried out. The spiritual teaching of Noah's deliverance has always been recognised by Christians, who see in the ark a symbol of the Church into which they are admitted by baptism, God thereby graciously providing for their deliverance from the wrath and destruction due to sin. The story of the Flood was fittingly used by our Lord and the NT. writers to convey lessons of judgment (Mat_24:37; Luk_17:26; 2Pe_3:5-7), righteousness (2Pe_2:5), repentance (1Pe_3:20), and faith (Heb_11:7).
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No section of these early chapters of Genesis has excited more interest than the account of this terrible catastrophe. Traditions of a great primeval deluge, similar to the one here recorded, exist in the annals of many nations besides the Hebrews. Of these the Babylonian Flood story is the most closely allied to the Bible narrative. Josephus and Eusebius both preserve fragments of a history of Chaldea which was written by Berosus, a priest of Babylon 250 b.c., and which he had gathered from the archives of the temple of Bel at Babylon. Among these fragments is a record of the Flood story as it occurred in his country. Two thousand years later, in 1872, Mr. G. Smith of the British Museum discovered fragments of a tablet of baked clay at Nineveh, inscribed in the cuneiform character, and of greater antiquity than the chronicle of Berosus, which strikingly confirm the latter's account of the Flood. As is well known, the Hebrews and Babylonians belonged to the same Semitic stock, and the ancestors of the Hebrew race came from Babylonia. A comparison of the biblical and Babylonian stories shows clearly that they are two versions of the same narrative, although great differences exist in the religious standpoint. See art. 'Genesis and the Babylonian Inscriptions.' The question has been discussed whether the Flood was limited in its extent to the early home of man and the birth-place of the tradition, viz. Central Asia, or whether it was world-wide. Various scientific objections to a universal immersion of the earth have been brought forward, such as its inconsistency with the existing distribution of animals, the impossibility of the different species of animals finding accommodation in the ark, the want of sufficient moisture in our world, either in the form of vapour or in that of water, to cover the highest mountains, and the disturbance to the solar system which would have been caused by the sudden creation of the amount required. In considering these objections, we must remember that the impression of a general divine judgment would be quite adequately produced by the submergence of the comparatively small district inhabited at the time by man; also, that the preservation of the record could only be due to the survivors, whose ideas of the extent of the catastrophe were drawn from their personal experiences, and the limited geographical knowledge of the time. In this way the statements of Gen_6:17 and Gen_7:4, Gen_7:21-23 may be satisfactorily accounted for. 'The language relating to the catastrophe is that of an ancient legend, describing a prehistoric event. It must be judged as such. Allowance must be made, both for the exaggeration of poetical description and for the influence of oral traditions during generations, if not centuries, before the beginnings of Hebrew literature' (Bishop Ryle). We need not hesitate, therefore, to accept the opinion now generally held that the Flood was only local in its extent.
The scene of the Flood is indicated by the traditions. Both mention the mountainous range on the borders of Armenia, Mesopotamia and Kurdistan as the region where the ark rested. The Babylonian account also places the building of the 'ship' at Shurippak, a city on the Euphrates. This district was the original home of both Hebrews and Babylonians; and it is reasonable to conclude that the two accounts preserve the tradition of a calamitous occurrence in the early annals of their race, which left a lasting impression upon the two peoples, and which they both regarded as a divine visitation.
A word must be added regarding the natural phenomena which occasioned the catastrophe. The chief cause may have been, in addition to excessive rains, an earthquake which drove the waters of the Persian Gulf over the lowlying plains of Babylonia, turning them into an inland sea. Something of this kind is suggested in Gen_7:11. The same agency may have driven the ark towards the mountains. Such upheavals of ocean beds, or subsidences of the earth, resulting in a disastrous inrush of the ocean, have occurred in modern times. In 1819, in a district known as the Runn of Cutch in India, 2,000 sq. m. of land were turned into an inland sea, owing to sudden depression of land followed by an earthquake.
The whole story emphasises the righteousness of God, who is 'of purer eyes than to behold iniquity,' His stern punishment of sin, and His abundant mercy towards them that fear Him.
The narrative of the Flood affords an illustration of the composite character of Genesis. Many difficulties in the story are removed if we assume that the narrator made use of two distinct traditions. To the Priestly document may be assigned Gen_6:9-22; Gen_7:6, Gen_7:11, Gen_7:13-16, Gen_7:18-21, Gen_7:24; Gen_8:12, Gen_8:3, Gen_8:13, Gen_8:14-19; Gen_9:1-17. This furnishes the groundwork of the story; the vv. assigned to the Primitive document are Gen_7:1-5, Gen_7:7-10, Gen_7:12, Gen_7:16-17, Gen_7:22-23; Gen_8:2, Gen_8:3, Gen_8:6-12, Gen_8:13, Gen_8:20-22. In Gen_7:7-10 the Primitive account has, been modified by the introduction of some expressions from the Priestly narrative. The following are the chief points in which the two versions of the Flood story differ from each other. According to the Priestly narrative only one pair of every kind of creature is preserved in the ark; the cause of the deluge is the opening of the fountains of the great deep as well as of the windows of heaven; the waters prevail for an hundred and fifty days; it is five months after the beginning of the Flood when the ark rests on the mountains of Ararat; more than two months still pass before the mountain tops are visible; other two months elapse before the waters disappear; and almost two months more before the ground is perfectly dry; God's promise is, that He will not again destroy the earth with a Flood. According to the Primitive document, seven pairs of all clean beasts and fowls, and one pair of all unclean animals, are taken into the ark; the Flood is caused simply by a prolonged rain which lasts for forty days and nights; forty days after the rain ceases, Noah sends forth a raven and a dove; seven days later, the dove is sent out a second time, and again after other seven days; the ground is then dry; God promises to curse the ground no more, and to maintain the fixed order of all natural seasons. God's covenant with Noah is peculiar to the former, and Noah's sacrifice to the latter account.
6. It repented the Lord] The writer, as in Genesis 3, interprets God's acts from man's point of view, and explains them on the analogy of human motives. See on Gen_11:5.
9. Perfect] i.e. 'upright,' a man of integrity.
13. With the earth] rather, 'from the earth.'
14-16. The Hebrew word for ark means a 'vessel,' that which contains anything. It was shaped like a chest, with a flat bottom and a roof. If the cubit measured 18 in., the ark was 450 ft. long, 75 ft. broad, and 45 ft. in depth; and therefore smaller than many modern steamships. It had three decks, and was divided into compartments. It was built of gopher wood, which was probably the cypress; and was coated with pitch. The window of Gen_6:16 (RV 'light,' RM 'roof') was probably an open space for light and air left all round the ark, just under the roof, which was supported at intervals by posts.
16. In a cubit, etc.] RV 'to a cubit shalt thou finish it upward,' i.e. a space of 18 in. was to be left.
18. My covenant] see on Gen_9:9.
19. Every living thing of all flesh] This comprehensive command is limited in the Primitive narrative (Gen_7:2) to clean animals (such as sheep, oxen, and goats), and to beasts that are not clean (which by analogy means domestic animals, such as camels, asses, horses, etc.), and fowls. The inclusion of all living animals in the ark is the explanation which the tradition had to give, to account for a fact, otherwise inexplicable on its theory of a universal flood; namely, the presence in the world of so many different species of animals after such a destructive event.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv4–6 sons of God
sons of God
Some hold that these "sons of God" were the "angels which kept not their first estate" Jud 1:6. It is asserted that the title is in the O.T. exclusively used of angels. But this is an error Isa 43:6. Angels are spoken of in a sexless way. No female angels are mentioned in Scripture, and we are expressly told that marriage is unknown among angels. Mat 22:30.
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The uniform Hebrew and Christian interpretation has been that verse Gen 6:2 marks the breaking down of the separation between the godly line of Seth and the godless line of Cain, and so the failure of the testimony to Jehovah committed to the line of Seth Gen 4:26. For apostasy there is no remedy but judgment; Isa 1:2-7; Isa 1:24; Isa 1:25; Heb 6:4-8; Heb 10:26-31. Noah, "a preacher of righteousness," is given 120 years, but he won no convert, and the judgment predicted by his great- grandfather fell; Jud 1:14; Jud 1:15; Gen 7:11.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v5 God Resolves to Destroy Man
God Resolves to Destroy Man
v. 5. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Noah’s preaching had little or no effect. Jehovah saw that in spite of all His efforts to win the hearts of men the wickedness of man in general was increasing. No dam was able to hold back the flood of evil: the entire human race persisted in its mad course toward destruction. Every thought that took form in the heart of every man was wicked all the day long; every one of them was an adept in every form of vice, and all the planning of their hearts was ever directed to that which challenged the righteousness of God.
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v. 6. And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. The utter disgust of Jehovah over the conditions on earth is here expressed in the terms in use among men. So great was the universal wickedness that Jehovah repented of His having made man, who, by the impenitence and the hardness of his heart, was challenging Him to wreak His wrath upon the offenders. But, on the other hand, so great is the mercy of the Lord that the situation caused Him to feel deep grief and concern in His heart; He felt the pain of divine love because of the sin of men. But justice must reign and be carried out.
v. 7. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man and beast and the creeping thing and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them. The sentence of the Lord is comprehensive, referring to the entire sphere in which man is the head and chief. Man, whom He had created, He wanted to destroy utterly from the face of the earth. And the irrational beast that was created for man’s service is also included in his destruction: mammals and reptiles and birds together. Thus the immutable God did not change, neither in His essence nor in His counsels; but He was obliged to apply His punitive justice on account of the change in man which challenged His wisdom, holiness, and righteousness.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 5, 7 very tall, large people
Giants
very tall, large people
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This happened when
"The giants were born because"
sons of God
See how you translated this in Genesis 6:2.
These were the mighty men of old
"These giants were the mighty men who lived long ago" or "These children grew to become the powerful fighters who lived long ago"
mighty men
men who are courageous and victorious in battle
men of renown
"famous men"
translationWords
giant
sons of God
might
renown
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3–7 6:3 will not put up with: Many think that…
6:3 will not put up with: Many think that this is an announcement of God’s decision to withdraw the restraining influence of his Spirit from human society and allow human wickedness to run its full course. Others think it means that God would withdraw his life-giving breath from humans at an earlier age (ruakh, the Hebrew term for “spirit,” can also mean “breath”; see 6:17; 7:22; see also Ps 104:29-30). • normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years (literally his days will be 120 years): It is possible that this was a new restriction on the number of years individuals would generally be allowed to live (so the NLT). However, for generations after the flood, humans lived well beyond 120 years (see, e.g., Gen 11:10-26). An alternative interpretation sees this as a 120-year grace period before the arrival of the flood (see Jon 3:4; Matt 24:37-38; 1 Pet 3:20; 2 Pet 2:5).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.