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, 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.
God had said they would surely die...
But he also made a kippur-- a covering for anyone who, in the future, believes his Word. Only Noah and his family would believe the creation story and the message of God's great grace and love for mankind. They believed that a Redeemer was coming and looked forward to His Coming. The others simply refused to repent and believe.
"The sons of God — Those who were called by the name of the Lord, and called upon that name; married the daughters of men — Those that were profane, and strangers to God. The posterity of Seth did not keep to themselves as they ought, but intermingled with the race of Cain: they took them wives of all which they chosen — They chose only by the eye. They saw that they were fair — Which was all they looked at.” (Benson Commentary)
3 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.” 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.
"My spirit shall not always strive with man — The Spirit then strove by Noah’s preaching, 1 Peter 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...giants — Men so called partly for their high stature, but principally for their great strength and force, whereby they oppressed and tyrannised over others. For this is mentioned as another sin and cause of the flood.” (Benson Commentary)
Peter told of Noah, commending the righteousness of God to others. "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh BUT MADE ALIVE BY THE SPIRIT, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water."(1 Pet 3:14-20)
Many people believe this teaches that after Jesus died, He went and preached to people in hell. “The first clause 'being put to death in the flesh' is clear enough being a reference to the crucifixion of our Lord; but there is a wide disagreement among scholars as to the meaning of ‘made alive in the Spirit.’” (Coffman Commentary) There is one greek word for "made alive"—2227 zoopoieo; from the same as 2226 and 4160; to (re-vitalize (literally or figuratively): KJV-- make alive, give life, quicken.
John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life (zōopoiei | pres act ind 3 sg), so also the Son gives life (zōopoiei | pres act ind 3 sg) to those he chooses.
John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life(zōopoioun | pres act ptcp nom sg neut); the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Romans 4:17 As it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations.” He is our father, in the presence of God in whom he believed, the God who gives life (zōopoiountos | pres act ptcp gen sg masc) to the dead and calls into being the things that do not exist.
Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life (zōopoiēsei | fut act ind 3 sg)to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who lives in you.
1 Corinthians 15:22 For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive (zōopoiēthēsontai | fut pass ind 3 pl).
1 Corinthians 15:36 You fool! What you sow does not come to life (zōopoieitai | pres pass ind 3 sg) unless it dies.
1 Corinthians 15:45 So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving (zōopoioun | pres act ptcp acc sg neut) spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:6 who indeed made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, based not on the letter but on the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit imparts life (zōopoiei | pres act ind 3 sg).
Galatians 3:21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could impart life (zōopoiēsai | aor act inf ), then righteousness would indeed be by the law.
1 Peter 3:18 Because Christ also suffered once for our sins, the righteous on behalf of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive (zōopoiētheis | aor pass ptcp nom sg masc) in the spirit...
"For this reason the Gospel was preached also to those who are dead— that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the Spirit." (1 Peter 4:6) “Doesn't 1 Peter 4:6a say the gospel was preached to dead people? No, it says the gospel ‘was’ preached to those who ‘are’ dead. They are dead now, but the gospel ‘was’ preached to them while they were yet living.” (Joe Crews – Are the Dead Really Dead?) Even if this verse means that the Spirit of Jesus preached to dead people, it might not refer to the physically dead. "The phrase is quoted in 2 Timothy 4:1, as well as in Acts 10:42. I will look at Acts, but first the father of the prodigal son exclaimed: 'For this my son was dead, and is alive again.' (Luke 15:24) Of course, we know that he had not died physically; rather this is a reference to his spiritual status prior to salvation, as the following verses illustrate: Eph 2:1 affirms, 'And you hath he quickened,[or made alive] who were dead[nekros:G3498]in trespasses and sins;'And Col 2:13 declares, 'And you, being dead [nekros:G3498]in your sins and the un-circumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened [or made alive] together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.'"
5 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.” 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
It repented the Lord... “He had created man to live, but now determined on his destruction” (Sutcliffe's Commentary)-- to immediately exact the penalty for sin. And if they would die in their sins, they will not be spared the second, eternal death.
Excerpt from Back to the Present-- Encountering God in the 21st Century by Dr. Laurence Turner
"By inserting the Flood story as a large parenthesis into Noah’s genealogy, there can be no doubt about who is the main character of the story. But even this great hero eventually dies, like all those who perished in the Flood…
Regardless of their [THE SONS OF GOD] identity, what can we learn from these verses? The passage subtly indicates that the actions of the sons of God will result in disaster by echoing the fateful episode in the Garden of Eden. The parallels are clear in Hebrew, though often masked in English translations.
Genesis 3:6 / Genesis 6:2
a) When the woman saw (r’h) / The sons of God saw (r’h)
b) that the fruit was good (tob) / that the daughters of men were beautiful (tob)
c) … she took (lqh) / and they married (lqh)
Also, both incidents involve couples. And just as God’s judgment followed swiftly in the garden, so it does here (6:3), and in the same way limits the human lifespan (3:22-23). These connections tell us something about being human. Although we are now outside the garden, the same principles apply. Banishment from Eden has not changed human behavior. There is the same impulsiveness and inability to resist temptation. And God does not take that lightly. Just how seriously he takes it soon becomes very clear.
God’s assessment of the situation makes very sad reading... ‘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.’ (6:5) What the Lord saw here contrasts with what saw in the beginning: ‘Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good’ (1:31). The contrast between universal goodness and universal evil not only passes comment on the path humanity has taken, but also reminds us that the original temptation was ‘to know good and evil.’ And this is the result…
The most shocking aspect of this shocking news is God’s emotional involvement… ‘And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain’ (6:6). So, evil in the human heart produces pain in God’s heart. To understand how profound it is we need to look back to the sin in Eden. Back then God said to the woman, ‘I will greatly increase your pains (‘issabon) in childbearing; with pain (‘eseb) you will give birth to children’ (3:16). To the man he said, ‘Cursed is the ground because of you; thorough painful toil (‘issabon) you will eat of it all the days of your life’ (3:17). Now we learn that God’s ‘heart was filled with pain (‘asab)’ (6:6) The words used to describe woman’s pain in childbirth, the man’s painful work, and the pain in God’s heart, are all derived from the same Hebrew root (‘sb). In other words, just as people experience the pain of sin in their life, so God experiences the pain of human sin. God shares in our experience and suffers because of our sin. As we follow the bibilical story onwards it will eventually arrive at Calvary, where the incarnate son of God took that painful participation to its ultimate end.
Many people have difficulty with this biblical picture of God, because it seems to make him too human. However the language we use when we talk of God often employs abstract philosophical terms. So God, we say, is eternal, omnipresent, omniscient, immutable, etc. But that is not the language of the Bible itself. What the Bible emphasizes about God is not his abstract attributes, but his actions and feelings. God thinks, speaks, pities, loves, is angry, and so on (e.g. Exodus 34:6). Now all language we use about God is human language, the philosophical no less than the emotional. But the Bible does make it absolutely clear that God is a being who can be experienced personally. It is not possible to have a personal relationship with the God who is defined in abstract philosophical terms. To experience him we need the God of the Bible. So we should not be surprised when the introduction to the Flood story emphasizes the emotional involvement of God with his creation. What he is about to do is not taken lightly, for God himself suffers in this dilemma.”
Genesis 6:9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
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.
13 And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 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. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.”
22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.
Excerpt from "Christianity is Jewish" by Edith Schaeffer
"We know that at the time of Noah there were no people, outside of his family, left who believed God; the majority had rebelled and believed a lie rather than the truth. Noah was given a definite message from God to give the people, but they simply laughed at him, and in scorn declared that this message was not true. They were asked to believe that the word, the verbalized message of God, was true, just the same as Eve and Adam had been given a true statement to believe or not believe. Not only was Noah worshiping in the correct way with the right sacrifice demonstrating that he believed God, but when God told him to prepare an ark for the coming flood, he believed and acted upon that belief in the midst of a jeering crowd! The ark was open for a long time for any who would join Noah and his family before the flood came, but no one came to join them!...
In the book of Hebrews were told that 'by faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen yet, moved with fear (born of belief that the flood was really going to come), prepared an art to the saving of his family; by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of righteousness which was by faith.' (Hebrews 11:7) The writer of Hebrews is saying here that Noah inherited the same ‘righteousness' that later Abraham was going to be given because of his belief and faith in the truth of God’s statement. Noah, in other words, was not only saved from the flood because of his belief in God, but he had come to God in the right way, and followed along in the line of Abel, looking ahead to the fulfillment of the promises. Noah had sufficient knowledge to come to God even as Abel had come. But Noah preached to others, so it was not merely a matter of knowledge, but of believing God and then acting accordingly.”