“Genesis 6:1-8”

Saturday, October 26, 2019

“Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. Then the Lord said, 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.' The Nephilim were 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. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The Lord said, 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.' But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

---End of Scripture verses---

“The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves...” (verse 2). It is a popular belief to view “the sons of God” in this verse to be angels (Job 1:6; 2:1), and that what is depicted is supernatural and human inbreeding that produces some sort of hybrid, giant superheroes. While this is fascinating and exciting to think about, I have to reject this fanciful notion in favor of a much more likely scenario, and one that fits the preceding and current context much better. I am in total agreement with James Burton Coffman as to why “the sons of God” in this passage cannot be angels:

“No angels have been mentioned in the Bible up to this point, and the supposition that they make their first appearance in the Scripture under the title 'sons of God' is untenable. There are only two classes of angels, the holy angels, and the angels of Satan (fallen angels); and neither class could be viewed here. Holy angels would not have induced men to sin; and fallen angels, in a million years, would never have been designated by the Holy Spirit as 'the sons of God!' Note too that these 'sons of God' 'took them wives of all that they chose,' an unmistakable reference to marriage; and Jesus our Lord flatly declared that angels do not marry (Matthew 22:30). If angels, or other supernatural creatures, had been to blame for the gross wickedness about to envelope mankind, then God would have announced their punishment and destruction, instead of the punishment and destruction of men... God's punishment always falls upon the guilty, and...it was men, not angels, who received punishment here. The two classes of men visible in these verses had already been carefully introduced in Genesis 4 and Genesis 5, the sons of men (in their hardened state) being of the Cainites, and the 'sons of God' being the people of the line of Seth.” Remember Genesis 4:26 tells us that when Enosh was born to Seth, “Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.”

“My Spirit shall not strive with man forever.” This word “strive” can mean “to judge, contend, plead”. This is a tricky statement but I take it to mean that God would not continue to “plead” with, or try to reach out to, wicked mankind by godly men such as Enoch and Noah, because they were so far gone. Another way to look at it is that God would take away His “restraining grace” because nearly every person on the face of the earth was determined to do wrong. We see this in Romans chapter 1 in regard to the wickedness of the Gentiles where on three separate occasions the Apostle wrote that “God gave them over” to their wickedness, and they spiraled downward into the depths of depravity (Romans 1:24, 26, 28).

“His days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” I view this as God's “grace period” or “window of grace” before He would wipe most of the world's population out with a flood. 1 Peter 3:19-21 tells us that God continued to reach out to sinful man until the waters of the flood came. “In which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.” “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) The “one hundred and twenty years” could possibly be a reference to the shortening of the average human lifespan after the flood, but it seems to me the statement applies to what would happen before the great deluge.

“The Nephilim were on the earth in those days...” (verse 4) Nephilim can mean “giants”. The faithless spies were terrified by the inhabitants of the land of Canaan in Numbers 13:32-33, and reported: “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” The Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary says of the Nephilim, “it describes a class of men of worthless and at the same time of violent character,” and that the word can “signify either fallen ones, apostates, or falling upon others.”

“Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.” (verse 4) “Their violence and lawlessness was spread so far and wide, they obtained lasting notoriety. In subsequent ages of ignorance and idolatry they were exalted by different nations into the demigods of pagan mythology.” Although it is tempting to equate the Nephilim and the mighty men of renown, the text differentiates the two classes of men. It sates that the Nephilim arrived on the scene first, then “afterward” the “sons of God” and the “daughters of men” produced the “mighty men....of renown.” What is being described in these verses is a time of extreme violence, lawlessness and brutality. And God had taken in His fill from His throne on high and was about to put an end to it.

“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (verse 5) Quoting Nahum Sarna on “every intent of the thoughts of his heart”: “The term for the innate impulses or drives in human beings that dispose them to good...or evil...and that can be controlled and directed by the exercise of the will. God's observation is a judgment on the moral state of man at that specific time.” What God saw made Him “sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” (verse 6) “God's decision is made in sorrow not in anger” (Nahum Sarna). It “grieved” Him to have to see what He saw, and do what He was about to do.

“The Lord said, 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.'” (verse 7) It was time to start over. Wash out and clean up the entirety of the earth's population. Make all things new. But why destroy the animals and plants along with the guilty, vile and sinful humans? The truth is that the plants and animals were made for mankind and not for themselves. Destruction is the consequences of sins. They weren't created with an immortal soul to live forever anyway. But man was. And this judgment by God was not Him giving up on humanity but giving it a fresh start and opportunity through His abundant grace. He had suffered long with them but His patience had reached its limit with the pre-flood world.

“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

Please read Genesis 6:9-16 for tomorrow.

Have a great day!

- Louie Taylor

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