BREATH 5 — Corruption, Grief, Waters Rising, Mercy Remaining

Published on January 29, 2026 at 8:00 AM

When the world fell apart, mercy learned how to float

Genesis 6:1 – Genesis 8:14

 

My apologies for the late posting of last weeks post. I didn't want to post it rushed to get it because of a deadline I gave myself over being correct. I fully believe that God leads and directs our steps and for whatever the reason be life failed to allow me the opportunity until now to complete both. All that said, here is a direct link to last week once you are caught up with what you want to learn there is enough for a short college lecture over there. I get it. That said come back when you are ready and we can dig in and find out what God does have for us this week. 

 

I would like to emphasize that we have lost so much in history when it comes to scriptures. Often due more to man's views accepted as God's words. When nothing was ever said from God like that. So, we will explore multiple aspects of scripture this year. Part of that includes learning the various parts of the story and keeping with the flow before and after. To do that I will use a lot of literary terms. I wanted to take a moment to explain these to anyone who may not understand. why it is important. 

For a clearer detailed explanation please see the main page for this blog. 

I have added the text we have gone over this week. It has a lot to dig into. That said I hope you pick up a shovel and get busy. The version below is WEB. I have only removed the verse numbers and put in a regular reading paragraph style. No other modification has been made to the text. If you would like to follow along with a printable list of questions that will bring insight to your reading, click the link below to access the first of many google docs free for you.

 

Together let's take scripture a breath at a time. 

📜 BREATH 5 — SCRIPTURE FRAME 

Primary Reading

Genesis 6:1 – Genesis 8:14

This range covers:

• the spread of corruption
• God’s grief
• God’s decision to cleanse
• the calling of Noah
• the instructions for the ark
• the entry into the ark
• the rising of the waters
• the full undoing of the earth
• God remembering Noah
• the recession of the waters
• the ark coming to rest
• the drying of the ground

Scripture-Genesis 6:1 – Genesis 8:14

When men began to multiply on the surface of the ground, and daughters were born to them, God’s sons saw that men’s daughters were beautiful, and they took any that they wanted for themselves as wives. 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[a] 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.” But Noah found favor in Yahweh’s eyes.

This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God. Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. God saw the earth, and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. God said to Noah, “I will bring an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them and the earth. Make a ship of gopher wood. You shall make rooms in the ship, and shall seal it inside and outside with pitch. This is how you shall make it. The length of the ship shall be three hundred cubits,[b] its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a roof in the ship, and you shall finish it to a cubit upward. You shall set the door of the ship in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third levels. I, even I, will bring the flood of waters on this earth, to destroy all flesh having the breath of life from under the sky. Everything that is in the earth will die. But I will establish my covenant with you. You shall come into the ship, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. Of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ship, to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, of the livestock after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort will come to you, to keep them alive. Take with you some of all food that is eaten, and gather it to yourself; and it will be for food for you, and for them.” Thus Noah did. He did all that God commanded him.

Yahweh said to Noah, “Come with all of your household into the ship, for I have seen your righteousness before me in this generation. You shall take seven pairs of every clean animal with you, the male and his female. Of the animals that are not clean, take two, the male and his female. Also of the birds of the sky, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive on the surface of all the earth. In seven days, I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights. I will destroy every living thing that I have made from the surface of the ground.”

Noah did everything that Yahweh commanded him.

Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth. Noah went into the ship with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, because of the floodwaters. Clean animals, unclean animals, birds, and everything that creeps on the ground went by pairs to Noah into the ship, male and female, as God commanded Noah. After the seven days, the floodwaters came on the earth.

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the sky’s windows opened. It rained on the earth forty days and forty nights.

In the same day Noah, and Shem, Ham, and Japheth—the sons of Noah—and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered into the ship—they, and every animal after its kind, all the livestock after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. Pairs from all flesh with the breath of life in them went into the ship to Noah. Those who went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him; then Yahweh shut him in.

The flood was forty days on the earth. The waters increased, and lifted up the ship, and it was lifted up above the earth. The waters rose, and increased greatly on the earth; and the ship floated on the surface of the waters. The waters rose very high on the earth. All the high mountains that were under the whole sky were covered. The waters rose fifteen cubits[a] higher, and the mountains were covered.

All flesh died that moved on the earth, including birds, livestock, animals, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. Every living thing was destroyed that was on the surface of the ground, including man, livestock, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ship.

The waters flooded the earth one hundred fifty days.

God remembered Noah, all the animals, and all the livestock that were with him in the ship; and God made a wind to pass over the earth. The waters subsided. The deep’s fountains and the sky’s windows were also stopped, and the rain from the sky was restrained. The waters continually receded from the earth. After the end of one hundred fifty days the waters receded. The ship rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on Ararat’s mountains. The waters receded continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were visible.

At the end of forty days, Noah opened the window of the ship which he had made, and he sent out a raven. It went back and forth, until the waters were dried up from the earth. He himself sent out a dove to see if the waters were abated from the surface of the ground, but the dove found no place to rest her foot, and she returned into the ship to him, for the waters were on the surface of the whole earth. He put out his hand, and took her, and brought her to him into the ship. He waited yet another seven days; and again he sent the dove out of the ship. The dove came back to him at evening and, behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters were abated from the earth. He waited yet another seven days, and sent out the dove; and she didn’t return to him any more.

In the six hundred first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth. Noah removed the covering of the ship, and looked. He saw that the surface of the ground was dry. In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.

Key Words Meaning
Shachath Corruption, ruin, decay from within. Not surface level sin. but deep internal collapse affecting everything it touches
Chamas Violence, injustice, wrong done to others includes physical harm but also explotation and abuse of power.
Nacham To grieve, to be deeply moved, to ache. Used of God here, expressing sorrow rather than rage.
Tevah Ark, container, chest. The same word later used for Moses' basket, linking rescue through water.
Ruach Breath wind spririt. God's unseen presence moving over chaol again, just as in creation.

Over the coming week, each day will feature a focused breakdown to explore in greater depth. We will begin with the historical background, examining details such as the absence of the Torah at the time and the population context. Next, we will consider the role and literary function of the story, identifying the type of text and how this knowledge helps us respond critically when interpretations are misapplied. For instance, as discussed in Breath 1, God established the Sabbath before the division of mankind; thus, by definition, it applies to all humanity across all time. We will also analyze the various entities within the passage, noting who is speaking and who is listening. The action sequence will be reviewed to understand what happens, when, and how, along with identifying recurring motifs. Finally, we will trace the holistic narrative arc, compile notes for retention, and highlight key words to store for future reference, recognizing how scripture often reuses them to deepen understanding.

 

B — Background / Historical Context

(Locate this Breath in time, space, and story)

  1. Where does Genesis 6–8 fall within the primeval narrative?

  2. What events immediately precede Genesis 6?

  3. What social or moral conditions are described as existing on the earth at this point?

  4. What institutions or structures are still absent from human society?

  5. How is humanity described collectively rather than individually?

  6. What indications are given that population has expanded?

  7. What has changed since violence first appeared in Genesis 4?

  8. How does the text signal that corruption has become widespread?

  9. Why does the narrative widen from family stories to the entire earth?

  10. What question about humanity’s future does this Breath appear to confront?

R — Role / Literary Function (Answers)

(Identify what kind of text this is and why it exists)

  1. What literary form best describes Genesis 6–8?

  2. Is this passage functioning as law, genealogy, symbolism, or narrative?

  3. How does this section differ in scope from earlier Genesis episodes?

  4. Why does the narrative slow and become highly detailed here?

  5. How does repetition function in the flood account?

  6. In what way does this Breath act as a narrative reset rather than a moral lesson?

  7. How does the text present events without explaining motives or justifications?

  8. What does this Breath establish that later Scripture will build on?

E — Entities / Speakers & Listeners (Answers)

(Track presence, voice, and silence)

  1. Who are the primary entities active in Genesis 6–8?

  2. How is God portrayed in terms of observation, emotion, and action?

  3. How is humanity portrayed — individually or as a collective?

  4. How is Noah distinguished from the rest of humanity?

  5. What role does creation itself play in this narrative?

  6. Who speaks directly, and to whom?

  7. What divine speech is internal rather than spoken aloud?

  8. Who does not speak during the flood, and what is the effect of that silence?

  9. Who listens, and how is listening demonstrated?

  10. Who is the implied audience of this Breath?

A — Action / Sequence

(Follow what happens, in order)

  1. What conditions characterize the earth at the beginning of Genesis 6?

  2. What does God observe before any action is taken?

  3. How does the narrative emphasize God’s grief before judgment?

  4. What warning or announcement is given, and to whom?

  5. What instructions are given for the ark, and how are they described?

  6. What actions does Noah take in response to those instructions?

  7. How are the waters released, and from what sources?

  8. What boundaries are undone during the flood?

  9. What contrast exists between the inside and outside of the ark?

  10. How does the text describe the duration of destruction?

  11. What marks the turning point from judgment to renewal?

  12. How does the earth begin to re-emerge?

  13. What actions does Noah take to discern the state of the land?

  14. How does the narrative close at the end of Genesis 8?

 

T — Themes / Motifs (Literary Only)

(Observe patterns without interpretation)

  1. How is violence described in scope and intensity?

  2. What role does grief play before judgment occurs?

  3. How do the waters function in relation to creation imagery from Genesis 1?

  4. How is obedience portrayed in Noah’s actions?

  5. What does the ark represent structurally within the narrative?

  6. How are time and waiting emphasized?

  7. How does creation participate in both destruction and renewal?

  8. What contrasts are highlighted between chaos and order?

  9. What patterns are repeated through language and sequence?

H — Holistic Arc / Narrative Connection

(Place this Breath within the larger story of Genesis)

  1. How does Genesis 6–8 build on the spread of violence in earlier chapters?

  2. How does this Breath reflect the undoing of creation order?

  3. What aspects of Genesis 1 are reversed during the flood?

  4. How does this Breath restrain rather than eliminate corruption?

  5. How does Noah function as a transitional figure in the primeval story?

  6. What trajectory does this Breath establish for future divine action?

  7. How does this passage prepare for what follows in Genesis 9?

E — Examine / Notes for Memory

(Capture what should not be overlooked)

  1. What details emphasize violence as the reason for judgment?

  2. What precedes destruction in the narrative sequence?

  3. How is Noah described — morally, relationally, or behaviorally?

  4. What evidence is required for obedience in this story?

  5. How does the narrative emphasize God’s remembering?

  6. What role does wind play in the turning of the story?

  7. What assumptions does this passage make about earlier chapters?

  8. What should be remembered when reading later judgment narratives?

Anchor Question — Genesis 6–8

What happens when violence becomes systemic, and how is life preserved when creation itself collapses?

B — Background / Historical Context

1. Where does Genesis 6–8 fall within the primeval narrative?
After the spread of humanity, the first murder, and the tracing of generational lines; before covenant formalization and nationhood.

2. What events immediately precede Genesis 6?
The expansion of human population, the divergence of family lines, cultural development, and escalating violence culminating in genealogical contrast.

3. What social or moral conditions exist on the earth?
Widespread corruption, systemic violence, and moral deterioration described collectively rather than individually.

4. What institutions or structures are still absent?
No nation, no Torah, no priesthood, no temple, no codified law.

5. How is humanity described collectively rather than individually?
As “man” and “all flesh,” emphasizing shared condition rather than personal stories.

6. What indicates population expansion?
Explicit reference to humanity multiplying across the surface of the ground.

7. What has changed since violence first appeared in Genesis 4?
Violence has moved from a single act to a defining global condition.

8. How does the text signal corruption is widespread?
By repeating language of “every,” “continually,” and “all flesh,” and by describing the earth itself as corrupted.

9. Why does the narrative widen from family stories to the entire earth?
Because the disorder is no longer relationally isolated; it affects creation at every level.

10. What question about humanity’s future does this Breath confront?
Whether life can continue when violence has reshaped the entire created order.

R — Role / Literary Function

1. What literary form best describes Genesis 6–8?
Foundational narrative describing collapse and preservation.

2. Is this law, genealogy, symbolism, or narrative?
Narrative, with genealogical framing and symbolic imagery, but not apocalyptic or legal.

3. How does this differ in scope from earlier Genesis episodes?
It addresses global conditions rather than individual or family-level conflict.

4. Why does the narrative slow and become detailed here?
To emphasize intentionality, sequence, and the weight of the unfolding events.

5. How does repetition function?
It reinforces scale, duration, and completeness (time markers, rising waters, totality of destruction).

6. How does this function as a narrative reset?
Creation is undone and preserved simultaneously, allowing continuation without erasing humanity.

7. How does the text present events without justification?
By recording observation (“God saw”), emotion (“God was grieved”), and action without explanation or defense.

8. What does this Breath establish for later Scripture?
Judgment as response to violence, preservation through obedience, and restraint rather than annihilation.

E — Entities / Speakers & Listeners

1. Primary entities active in Genesis 6–8:
God, humanity (collective), Noah, creation (earth, waters, animals, sky).

2. How is God portrayed?
As observing, grieving, deciding, instructing, remembering, and acting.

3. How is humanity portrayed?
Collectively corrupt and violent, without individual distinction.

4. How is Noah distinguished?
As walking relationally with God and responding with obedience.

5. Role of creation itself?
Active participant in judgment and renewal (waters released, earth submerged, land re-emerges).

6. Who speaks directly, and to whom?
God speaks directly to Noah.

7. What divine speech is internal?
Expressions of grief and regret recorded narratively rather than spoken aloud.

8. Who does not speak during the flood?
Humanity; no debate, resistance, or plea is recorded.

9. Who listens, and how is listening shown?
Noah listens through action and obedience; creation responds through compliance with command.

10. Implied audience?
Future generations receiving the record of what unfolded.

A — Action / Sequence

1. Conditions at the beginning:
Humanity multiplies; corruption and violence fill the earth.

2. What does God observe?
The extent of human wickedness and corruption of all flesh.

3. How is grief emphasized?
God’s sorrow is recorded before judgment is announced.

4. What warning is given?
That all flesh will be brought to an end due to violence.

5. What instructions are given?
Detailed, precise instructions for building the ark as an ordered vessel.

6. Noah’s response?
He does all that God commands.

7. How are waters released?
From the fountains of the great deep and the windows of the sky.

8. What boundaries are undone?
Separations between waters and land collapse; creation order reverses.

9. Contrast inside vs outside the ark?
Inside: ordered preservation of life.
Outside: total unmaking.

10. Duration of destruction?
Forty days of rain; waters prevail for one hundred fifty days.

11. Turning point from judgment to renewal?
God remembers Noah.

12. How does renewal begin?
A wind passes over the earth; waters recede.

13. Noah’s actions to discern land?
Sending birds, waiting, observing signs of life.

14. How does Genesis 8 close?
With dry ground restored and life ready to re-emerge.

T — Themes / Motifs (Literary Only)
  • Violence as systemic condition
  • Grief preceding judgment
  • Waters as un-creation (reversal of Genesis 1)
  • Obedience without spectacle
  • Ordered refuge within chaos
  • Waiting and time as narrative tools
  • Creation participating in justice and renewal
  • Restoration without perfection

H — Holistic Arc / Narrative Connection

1. How does this build on earlier violence?
It shows violence spreading from individual acts to global condition.

2. How does it undo creation order?
Boundaries established in Genesis 1 collapse.

3. What Genesis 1 elements are reversed?
Dry land, separation of waters, breath of life.

4. How does this restrain rather than eliminate corruption?
Humanity survives; violence is limited but not removed.

5. Noah’s function?
Transitional figure preserving life through obedience.

6. Trajectory for future divine action?
Warning precedes judgment; preservation accompanies destruction.

7. Preparation for Genesis 9?
Life resumes; covenant restraint becomes necessary.

E — Examine / Notes for Memory

1. What triggers divine action?
Violence, not disbelief.

2. What comes before judgment?
Observation and grief.

3. How is Noah described?
Relationally (“walked with God”), not morally argued.

4. Evidence required for obedience?
None beyond instruction.

5. Emphasis on remembering?
“God remembered Noah” marks narrative reversal.

6. Role of wind?
Signals transition from chaos to order.

7. Assumptions about earlier chapters?
Reader knows Eden, creation order, and spread of violence.

8. What should be remembered later?
Judgment paired with preservation; obedience creates refuge.

Anchor Answer — Genesis 6–8

When violence becomes systemic, creation collapses, yet life is preserved through obedience within ordered refuge.

    In this Breath, the story moves from unchecked corruption to divine grief, from chaos spreading across the land to God choosing preservation over annihilation. Violence fills the earth, relationships fracture, and humanity drifts farther from its original purpose. God observes, grieves, and decides not to abandon creation but to cleanse it. One man walks in closeness with God while the world rushes toward ruin. An ark is prepared in obedience, rain begins, waters rise, and life is undone and then slowly restored. The Breath ends not with destruction, but with survival, patience, and a quiet promise carried forward.

“The ark bore not only bodies, but hope.”

 Ephrem the Syrian

The ground feels heavier here.
Something in the air has shifted, thick with grief and violence, like a sky holding back a storm it can no longer contain. Humanity has multiplied, but so has cruelty, and the earth itself seems to groan under the weight of it. God sees every step, every intention, every hidden thought, and the seeing breaks His heart. Yet in the middle of all this noise, one man walks quietly, steadily, unseen by the crowds. While the world races toward destruction, God begins to whisper instructions that sound impossible. Wood is gathered. Measurements are spoken. A door is planned before the rain ever falls.

The waters rise,
but You do not leave.
You grieve before You cleanse.
You warn before You wash.

While the world breaks open,
You build quietly.
While chaos screams,
mercy learns how to float.

 

When violence becomes tradition, judgment follows...
Not because God is impatient,
but because mercy has been exhausted.

    Ancient listeners would have heard this story through the lens of un-creation and re-creation. In the ancient Near East, water symbolized chaos, threat, and loss of order. Creation began when God separated the waters; judgment comes when those waters are allowed to return. This was not random destruction but a reversal of chaos so that order could be restored again.

     The word translated as “corruption” carries the sense of ruin from within, not merely bad behavior. Violence was not an accident but a cultural norm, woven into daily life. When the text says God “grieved,” it uses deeply human language to express sorrow, not rage. This is not a distant deity flipping a switch, but a God who feels the weight of what humanity has become. The ark itself would have been understood not as a boat, but as a mobile sanctuary, a space where life is protected in the midst of collapse.

"In the ancient Near East, water symbolized chaos, threat, and loss of order. Creation began when God separated the waters; judgment comes when those waters are allowed to return."

    This Breath is often used to portray God as quick to anger and eager to destroy. That reading misses the long patience described in the narrative. God observes for generations before acting. Another distortion is the idea that Noah was morally perfect; the text instead emphasizes relational closeness, not flawlessness. This story is also misused to justify fear-based obedience, when in reality it highlights trust built over time. The ark was built long before the first drop of rain, showing faith rooted in relationship, not panic.

Violence was not an accident but a cultural norm, woven into daily life.

“God did not destroy the world because He hated it, but because He refused to abandon it to corruption.”
Irenaeus

    The rain does not fall forever. The waters recede slowly, patiently, like grief itself. The ark rests, the door opens, and the world begins again, fragile and quiet. God does not rush the process; He waits for dry ground. A leaf appears, small but undeniable. This Breath ends not with triumph, but with trust. The next Breath will follow humanity stepping back onto the earth, carrying both memory and promise. 

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