Every Woman's Bible Genesis sampler - Flipbook - Page 23
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sons and daughters. 23 enoch lived 365 years,
24 walking in close fellowship with God. Then one
day he disappeared, because God took him.
25 When Methuselah was 187 years old, he became
the father of Lamech. 26After the birth of
Lamech, Methuselah lived another 782 years,
and he had other sons and daughters.
27 Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died.
28 When Lamech was 182 years old, he became
the father of a son. 29 Lamech named his son
Noah, for he said, “May he bring us relief* from
our work and the painful labor of farming this
ground that the Lord has cursed.” 30After the
birth of Noah, Lamech lived another 595 years,
and he had other sons and daughters.
31 Lamech lived 777 years, and then he died.
32
GeNeSIS 6
After Noah was 500 years old, he became the
father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
A World Gone Wrong
Then the people began to multiply on the earth,
and daughters were born to them. 2 The sons of
God saw the beautiful women* and took any they
wanted as their wives. 3Then the Lord said, “My Spirit
will not put up with* humans for such a long time, for
they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal
lifespan will be no more than 120 years.”
4 In those days, and for some time after, giant Nephilites lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God
had intercourse with women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors
of ancient times.
6
5:29 Noah sounds like a Hebrew term that can mean “relief” or “comfort.” 6:2 Hebrew daughters of men; also in 6:4. 6:3 Greek
version reads will not remain in.
6:1-4 Obviously the birth of daughters was nothing new, but
in this passage, the daughters take center stage. Their stunning
beauty attracted some unlikely suitors. Scholars have suggested
three possibilities for the identity of the “sons of God” in this
passage: angelic beings who left their stations to cohabit with
Come Close
women, royalty who intermarried with commoners, or members
of Seth’s family who married women from Cain’s family. Language reminiscent of 3:6 (“saw . . . took”) shows the rebellious
nature of this act. The result of these unions was a warrior race
known for its wickedness.
NEEDING FAVOR: FINDING GOD’S GIFT
SCRIPTURE CONNECTION: GENESIS 6:5-9
Favor. It’s something we pray for often. Favor in
our jobs. Favor in our relationships. Favor in our
personal endeavors. We read about the lives
of women and men in the Bible such as Abel,
Abraham, Noah, Hannah, and Jesus’ mother,
Mary, who all experienced the favor of God in
one way or another. Whether it was for a season
or a lifetime, the blessing of God’s favor truly
changed the lives of these individuals. God’s
favor still has the power to do so for us today.
There are quite a few mentions of God’s
favor (or “grace,” depending on the translation) in the Bible. In a famous proverb, quoted
multiple times in the New Testament, favor
is attached to the character trait of humility
(Proverbs 3:34; see James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).
Could it be that our humility moves God to
grant us favor? When we think of others who
lost God’s favor, such as Cain or King Saul,
could a lack of humility have contributed?
Favor is a gift; we can’t work ourselves into
it. We accept and receive it by faith through
our relationship with God. As we learn to love
the Giver more than the gift, we will begin to
see strands of his favor weaving throughout
our lives.
REFLECT “For you bless the godly, O
Lord; you surround them with your shield
of love.” PSALM 5:12
Lord, thank you for the gift of your gracious favor. May I walk humbly before you
all the days of my life. Amen.
CONSIDER “Humility is the gateway into
the grace and the favor of God.” HAROLD
WARNER
God’s favor is a gift;
greater still is knowing
the gift-Giver.
QUANTRILLA ARD, PhD, is a faith-based
personal and spiritual development author,
speaker, Bible teacher, and literary agent who
believes in the power of collective strength,
community, and fellowship.
