Genesis Framework

 

GF 57 Genesis 6:3
October 16, 2016
Part 57

 

NKJ Genesis 6:3
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."

NKJ Genesis 6:1-8
6:1 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them,
6:2 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.
6:3 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."
6:4 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.
6:5 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.
6:6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
6:7 So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."
6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Of that first verse in which God had spoken, there are three phrases of concern:

1. "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever,”

2. “for he is indeed flesh;”

3. “yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."

We will take the phrases out of their original (1-2-3) order, and by following their more logical (2-3-1) order, we will hopefully avoid partiality of influence from any preconceived pattern of common interpretation you may have already acquired.

2. “for he is indeed flesh;”

3. “yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."

1. "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever,”

And Yahweh said,
2. “for he is indeed flesh;”

(be-shag-gam,) 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.”

What is Calvin actually saying?

“I wonder that the emphasis contained in the

denoting; in addition, also.

Now, let’s take it in proper order…

To be more specific, if I may; the Hebrew word in Genesis 6.3 to which Calvin refers is be-shag-gam, and it is composed of three elements;

I. (be) preposition: by means of

II (sha-gag) verb: to go astray, to commit sin

III. (gam) particle, used as an adverb, denoting; in addition, also

“by means of committing sin (man) also…”

Very important meanings often come out of seemingly
insignificant words of Hebrew.

Let me geek you out by analyzing this compound word
carefully, beginning right to left.

I. (be) preposition: by means of

This is the easiest part, and we take it just as it is.

II (sha-gag) verb: to go astray, to commit sin

This part is potentially more ‘fruitful,’ as it takes us to the ancient Hebrew pictographics where we often discover interesting explanations of our biblical text.

Showing this word in its ancient form, we find

The correct Root of this word is

Action: to err

Abstract: error

two front teeth, representing the idea of double.

is a picture of a foot, here representing the carrying of a burden.

the combined Root meaning is “double burden,” as in when a work is found to be in error, the work must be redone.

Even in the modern world, carpenters have a saying that explains this idea quite well:

“Measure twice, cut once; measure once, cut twice.”

What does that mean?

The idea expressed is more than an error caused by mere accident, it expresses and error as sinning or going astray from God as the result of sloppy and careless, sinful living that ignores the will of God and of His ways, where a person concentrates only on doing their own
flesh-driven will.

Notice that our word has the second character (gimal) duplicated to form a first-born child word with a more intensified and particularized meaning: to err, which denotes a double-double-burden, denoting an exaggerated carelessness, which has been translated in
the KJV variously as err, flesh, sin, deceive, astray.

III. (gam) particle, used as an adverb, denoting; in addition, also

This is the ‘particle’ to which Calvin was referring when he said, “I wonder that the emphasis contained in the particle (be-shag-gam,) has been overlooked by commentators;…”

This part is in its Root form already

Notice there’s another foot involved.

Action: to gather

Concrete: a foot

a foot is the means of walking.

is any flowing or gathered fluid substance, most commonly water.

the combined meaning is ‘walking to water,’ where the watering well or other place of water is a gathering place for people, animals, and plants for drinking.

Men and animals may walk great distances to arrive at watering holes, while plants also grow there in abundance.

So, this particle can mean ‘gathering’ in the sense of ‘also’ or ‘in addition to,’ through the idea of a gathering of objects or ideas.

The idea is this; as if the fruit of the mass sinning was not enough to affect mankind in a most negative way, in addition to that, in the process of sinning so radically, mankind in addition became “flesh” in an absolute sense.

Now we put it all together with these three elements by means of, to go astray, in addition and the adjacent words:

“by reason of their going astray (committing sin), for that (result) he also became flesh.”
Calvin

“by means of their going astray (committing sin), in the process of their profound self-will, they have also gathered themselves into a state of ‘absolute-flesh.’” Our translation

Compare this once again with Calvin’s take;

“I wonder that the emphasis contained in the particle (be-shag-gam,) 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.”

Implication:

This does not stress the inherent weakness of man as flesh, rather the idea of ‘flesh’ is a standard figure for ‘carnal’ in the sense of having become ‘flesh,’ being totally worldly, and void of all spiritual perspective, virtually displacing the original traces of the image of God by flesh, that His own image has been transformed into flesh, rendering men incurably corrupt and totally sensual, not spiritual.

In Mary’s college, they said, “man is not a spiritual being, he is a sexual being.”

In this manner, God describes the unrepentant world of mankind prior to the Flood in the terms of what he had “he is flesh;”

Put more explicitly, “he is dead meat.”

This is the correct frame of mind the reader is intended to have as he approaches the next translated statement in words coming directly from the mouth of God:

3. “yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."

So, where did we first get the idea that in Genesis 6.3 is God’s decree to limit the life expectancy of man to within a 120 year span?

According to John Calvin, “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.”

Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius was an early Christian author (c. 250 – c. 325) who became an advisor to the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine I, guiding his religious policy as it developed, and a Latin tutor to his son Crispus.

Lactantius followed Crispus to Trier in 317, when Crispus was made Caesar (a lesser co-emperor) and sent to that city.

Crispus was put to death in 326, but exactly when and how Lactantius died, probably one year earlier, remains unknown.

His principal work, the “Divine Institutes" were an early example of a systematic presentation of Christian thought that depended more on the testimony of classical authors than on that of sacred Scripture.

While he was considered somewhat heretical after his death, Renaissance humanists took a renewed interest in him, as he was more known for his elaborately rhetorical Latin style than for his theology.

Is style more important than theology?

The following excerpt is from the Divine Institutes of Lactantius, Book 2, Chapter 14:

“Then when the earth was dry, God, execrating the wickedness of the former age, that the length of life might not again be a cause of meditating evils, gradually diminished the age of man by each successive generation, and placed a limit at a hundred and twenty years, which it might not be permitted to exceed.”

Back to Calvin…

“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.”

God rounds up.

1. "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever,”

First, the idea of ‘strive with’ is really not justified here.

 

1. "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever,”

Second, the preposition translated ‘with’ has a more proper meaning of ‘in’; which better conveys the true meaning; that the action of the verb (to strive in) is descriptive of something which God does within man, as a type of internal support to man, rather than an action denoting some an on-going external conflict (as in to strive with) occurring between man and the Holy Spirit of God.

NKJ 1 Peter 3:20
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.

The key word in this is the original word for the action verb often translated ‘to strive,’ actually means ‘to judge.’

It expresses an ancient Hebrew concept of the action performed by a judge as one who also restores life, since the goal of one who rules or judges is to bring peace and righteous life to the people.

Here the Spirit of God, the Father of spirits, which has been litigating and reasoning the point, as men do in a court of justice, in the attempt to press the truth upon their consciousness.

His does this by nature, by providence, or by ministers; in this case namely Enoch and Noah, called a preacher of righteousness.

NKJ 2 Peter 2:5
and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;

But when the judicial action of striving to correct comes to be in vain and of serving no further purpose, so God determines to no longer proceed in this way, but to execute the sentence of condemnation on them.

Yet, He would give them the space of 120 years for repentance before destruction.

The lesson from Scripture is clear and confirmed.

NKJ Hosea 4:17
"Ephraim is joined to idols, Let him alone.

The horrific truth is, that to reprieve is not the same as approval, but it merely is to postpone the reproof, the punishment for unrighteousness.

Many in our day make this fatal mistake.

They think that since God has not visited them with judgment for their sins, that there is no such thing as God expressing His disapproval; so they go merrily on in their sin and resolve themselves to enjoy the peace of following their own desires, since they believe that the pleasures of the world is all one could ever need.

Even in the simplest of terms, nature strives to teach us that before the greatest of tumultuous hurricanes, there are a limited number of beautiful days of calm, that can easily lull one into complacency and unpreparedness, yet the surprise to come awaits its time!

Many will be surprised on the Day of Judgment when they discover that it was just as the Word of God says; only the righteousness of Christ is able to save you.All men are sinners and no one can save himself. God is just, so He must punish sin; but He is also merciful, moreover gracious, and offers His Son as the perfect sacrifice in order to purchase a place for you in heaven, which He offers to you as the free gift of eternal life. As we continue to examine man’s earliest duties with regard to the covenant of works, although they can be categorically divided into two distinct types of classes; one in relationship with God, and the other in relationship with fellow man, all covenant stipulations are expressions of the will of the Lord. The law of the covenant is the law of man’s image-sonship.

Jesus is God Incarnate

In order to pay the debt of our sins, He came from Heaven, having been sent by the Father, where He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father even unto the shameful death upon the cross in order to pay the debt of your sins.This gift must be received by faith, believing that Jesus’ perfect life and Cross Work was His complete and necessary Atonement for your sins, in your behalf.Faith is a gift that comes by the Power of God the Holy Spirit working in a person’s innermost being. The Holy Spirit has the authority and power to quicken your dead spirit, to make it come to life. If you have not done so before this moment, ask Jesus to forgive you your sins, tell Him you’ve stop trying to be your own savior, and ask Him to come into your life right now, and to give you eternal life. Then, in faith believing, thank Him for the gift that He is giving you, the one He paid for in full in your place, in Jesus’ name,AMEN

 

Copyright October, 2016
Rev. Jim Craig
All Rights Reserved