John Calvin Commentary Genesis 6:13

"And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." — Genesis 6:13 (ASV)

And God said unto Noah. Here Moses begins to relate how Noah would be preserved. And first, he says that the counsel of God regarding the destruction of the world was revealed to him. Secondly, that the command to build the ark was given. Thirdly, that safety was promised him if, in obedience to God, he would take refuge in the ark.

These key points are to be distinctly noted, just as the Apostle, when he proclaims the faith of Noah, joins fear and obedience with confidence (Hebrews 11:7). And it is certain that Noah was warned about the dreadful vengeance which was approaching, not only so that he might be confirmed in his holy purpose, but also that, being constrained by fear, he might seek more ardently the favor offered to him.

We know that the impunity of the wicked is sometimes the occasion for luring even the good to sin; therefore, the denunciation of future punishment should be effective in restraining the mind of a holy man, lest, by gradual decline, he should eventually relax into the same lasciviousness.

Yet God gave special attention to the other point: namely, that by continually keeping in view the terrible destruction of the world, Noah might be more and more stirred to fear and solicitude. For it was necessary that, in utter despair of help from any other source, he should seek his safety, by faith, in the ark.

For as long as life was promised to him on earth, he would never have been as intent as he should have been on building the ark; but, being alarmed by the judgment of God, he earnestly embraces the promise of life given to him. He no longer relies on the natural causes or means of life; but rests exclusively on the covenant of God, by which he was to be miraculously preserved.

No labor is now troublesome or difficult to him, nor is he broken down by long fatigue. For the spur of God’s anger pierces him too sharply to allow him to sleep in carnal delights, or to faint under temptations, or to be delayed in his course by vain hope; he rather stirs himself up, both to flee from sin and to seek a remedy.

And the Apostle teaches that an important part of his faith was that, through the fear of those things which were not seen, he prepared an ark. When faith is considered simply, mercy and the gratuitous promise are taken into account; but when we wish to express all its parts and to examine its entire force and nature, it is necessary that fear also be joined with it.

And truly, no one will ever seriously resort to the mercy of God except one who, having been touched by God's warning, dreads the judgment of eternal death it denounces, abhors himself on account of his own sins, does not carelessly indulge his vices nor slumber in his pollution, but anxiously sighs for the remedy for his evils.

This was truly a unique privilege of grace: that God warned Noah about the future deluge. Indeed, He frequently commands His warning to be presented to the elect and reprobate alike, so that by inviting both to repentance, He may humble the former and render the latter inexcusable. But while most of mankind, with deaf ears, reject whatever is spoken, He especially directs His discourse to His own people, who are still curable, so that by the fear of His judgment He may train them to piety.

The condition of the wicked might at that time have seemed desirable in comparison with the anxiety of holy Noah. They were securely flattering themselves in their own delights, for we know what Christ declares concerning the luxury of that period (Luke 17:26). Meanwhile, the holy man, as if the world were about to be ruined at any moment, groaned anxiously and sorrowfully. But if we consider the outcome, God granted an inestimable benefit to His servant by warning him of a danger he must beware of.

The earth is filled with violence through them. God intimates that men were to be taken away so that the earth, which had been polluted by the presence of such wicked beings, might be purified. Moreover, in speaking only of the iniquity and violence, the frauds and acts of plunder, of which they were guilty towards each other, He does this not as if He were intending to forgive His own claims against them, but because this was a more blatant and tangible demonstration of their wickedness.