Genesis

Genesis 6: God judges and shows favor

Begin in prayer

Before we read God's verdict on a violent world and His favor toward Noah, let us humble ourselves before Him. Ask Him to expose the evil we excuse and show us the mercy He gives through Christ.

Yahweh looked down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any who understood, who sought after God. They have all gone aside. They have together become corrupt. There is no one who does good, no, not one.

Psalm 14:2-3

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Help us understand the evil in our hearts and the weight of Your judgment. Show us Jesus, who rescues guilty people by grace. Make us more like Him, and please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

As people multiply, God's sons take the wives they desire, and the account mentions the mighty men of those days. Yet the Lord sees beyond their reputation to hearts whose thoughts are continually evil, and He is grieved by the world He made. He announces destruction, while Noah finds favor and walks with Him amid the corruption. Because violence fills the earth, God tells Noah that a flood will destroy all flesh with the breath of life. He also gives Noah instructions for a ship and promises His covenant, preserving his household and living creatures. Noah responds by doing all God commands.

As you read Genesis 6, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God judges the corrupt world and shows Noah favor, providing rescue through His promise.

The world God made good has filled with violence, and His inspection reaches the thoughts that produce it. Every imagination of the heart is continually evil, so the trouble lies beneath the harm people can see. God's grief shows His personal opposition to sin, while His sentence announces the destruction of the life He created. Noah finds favor before the account describes his righteous life, putting God's kindness at the beginning of his rescue. His blamelessness describes a whole life directed toward God, rather than freedom from every sin. Hebrews explains that Noah's obedience came through faith, and that his righteousness was received by faith (Hebrews 11 verse 7). The ship must have rooms, three levels and pitch inside and outside, giving a household and creatures shelter from the coming waters. God announces His covenant before the flood, so Noah works in reliance on a promise already spoken. Rescue begins with the God whose holiness also requires judgment, and His saving mercy reaches its fullness in Christ.

How does Genesis 6 show us that God judges the corrupt world and shows Noah favor, providing rescue through His promise?

God sees the evil in human hearts and announces judgment.

The opening describes God's sons taking the wives they want and mentions mighty men of renown. The chapter gives no explanation of the sons' identity, while God's verdict on human wickedness is plain. God sees the evil that fills human hearts and the earth, exposing the guilt only Christ can remove. God says His Spirit will not strive with man forever and adds, “so his days will be one hundred twenty years.”

God shows Noah favor, and Noah walks with Him.

Noah belongs to the same fallen human family as the people around him, and his rescue begins with God's favor. The account then describes him as righteous and blameless, living in fellowship with God. Grace produces an obedient life, so walking with God is the fruit of mercy received.

God promises His covenant and tells Noah how to preserve life.

God gives the ship's dimensions and tells Noah to seal it with pitch, a coating that keeps water out. His promise includes Noah's household, while male and female creatures and their food are to come aboard. Noah does all God commands because the announced judgment and promised rescue deserve trust. God's word provides the safety that human strength cannot invent, showing the mercy sinners finally receive through Christ.

Memorise

But Noah found favor in Yahweh’s eyes.

Genesis 6:8

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what evil am I excusing that I need to bring to Jesus for mercy?

After God names the evil of the human heart, we hear, “But Noah found favor in Yahweh’s eyes.” The Judge who announces destruction also provides a way to preserve life. Noah must trust the promise and follow the command of the God who sees everything.

Our hearts give us no claim to escape His judgment. Jesus lived without the evil that fills fallen hearts, then carried His people's sin and suffered God's wrath at the cross. His sacrifice paid their debt in full, and He was raised to life. The rescue He accomplished is complete, so no payment remains for those who rest in Him.

Come to Him in repentance and faith. Stop defending the sin God sees, and trust the Savior who has answered for His people. He grants forgiveness to all who repent and believe in Him. The holy Judge has given His Son, and His mercy is sufficient for the guilty who come.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God's judgment reaches the heart and that His favor is a gift, never a reward for family status. Noah's obedient life grew from grace, and Jesus alone saves sinners from the judgment their hearts deserve. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for providing rescue by grace, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so give each one space to confess a sin and ask for mercy if they want to.

Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God’s wrath through him.

Romans 5:9

Lord God, You see our thoughts and know the harm our sin brings. Thank You for showing favor and providing rescue. Please lead us to turn from sin and trust Jesus, who bore judgment for His people. Give us hearts that believe Your promises and obey Your Word this week. Amen.