Sermon Tone Analysis

*Genesis 6:1-2… *Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.

*Commentary*

            Genesis 6:1 is a flashback to Adam and Eve and the children they bore.

They had indeed obeyed the command of God to “be fruitful and multiply” (1:28), and now the earth is full of both the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman.

The writer of Genesis 6:1 is taking the reader back to the time when “men began to multiply on the face of the land.”

This account is about those many children – the “daughters [who] were born to them”

The spiritual children from both lines of Cain and of Seth began to intermingle in marriage.

Verse two says that the “sons of God” saw that the “daughters of men” were beautiful, and they took them as wives.

“Sons of God” is a phrase used in the OT to refer to angels.

This may be who is spoken of here (albeit fallen angels), but this is a difficult interpretation in light of what Jesus says about angels in Matthew 22:30 in that they “do not marry nor are they given in marriage.”

It could also be that these “sons of God” are prominent men such as princes and judges.

The word for “God” here is the Hebrew /Elohim/ – a word that is often used to reference the One True God, but it is also used in reference to the pagan “gods” worshipped by Israel’s neighbors as well as some of the rulers of those lands who thought of themselves as “gods.”

In this case these “sons” would be the male offspring of these wicked pagan rulers.

A third interpretation is that these “sons of God” were the godly offspring of Seth, and the “daughters of men” were the ungodly offspring of Cain.

Given the difficulty of the passage many scholars have adopted a both-and view by combining the angelic interpretation and the “sons of the judges” (gods) view.

What we end up with is prominent men of renown who are apparently under the influence of wicked angels (demons).

Though angels do not marry according to Matt.22:30, and these “sons of God… took wives for themselves, whomever they chose,” it is accurate and contextually acceptable to say that these are real /humans/ who are under the influence of demons.

The reason for accepting the angel view in some form is due to a handful of NT passages.

Jude 6-7 speaks of angels who did not stay within their given realm of activity but fell into gross immorality by going after “strange flesh.”

As a result, these angels will undergo punishment in eternal fire.

The Apostle Peter speaks of the abode of these angels as a result of their sin in 2 Peter 2:4 when he says that they are cast into “pits of darkness, reserved for judgment.”

Peter refers to these angels again in his first epistle (3:19-20) as the ones whom Jesus proclaimed his victory to after his death on the cross.

Peter says these angels “were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark…”

In sum, the “sons of God” appear to be despots ruled by fallen angels.

Whereas Eve in Gen. 3 saw that the fruit was good and took some for herself, these tyrants “saw” something “good” (women), and they “took” them as wives – “whomever they chose.”

*Food for Thought*

            The NT is replete with cautions concerning the evil spiritual realm.

The devil is said to be “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph.

2:2), and the Apostle Paul reminds his readers in 6:10ff.

that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against “principalities, powers, and rulers of this present darkness.”

Evil angels have the ability to “transform themselves into angels of light” (2 Cor.

11:15), so we must not discount Genesis 6 as myth.

Astrology, witchcraft, & all other forms of the occult continue to captivate the minds of many even today.

Steer clear of that.

*Genesis 6:3… *Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be 120 years.”

*Commentary*

            Verses 1-2 paint a morbid picture of the wickedness of that day just prior to the world-wide Flood.

The powerful and prominent rulers of that day behaved under the influence of the dark forces of evil to such an extent that it was a time of unprecedented wickedness that even the modern day doesn’t compare to.

As a result, God’s judgment was just around the corner, and in verse three He says, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh.”

In saying that His “Spirit shall not strive with man forever” God appears to be saying, in light of the great evil of that day, that the ministry of His Holy Spirit would eventually cease.

The ministry of the Spirit of God has always been, as John 16:8 says, to convict the world of sin and the judgment sin brings.

However, it appears that the moral corruptness of that day was so degenerated and so hopeless that God saw the people as beyond help – even the help of the Holy Spirit.

This is this same Holy Spirit that “hovered over the surface of the waters” in Genesis 1:2.

This Spirit of God was the initial Prime Mover that put all of creation and life into motion.

Now the creation and life that came from the Spirit has moved so far from its Life-giver that it is beyond saving.

God says that His Spirit will not “strive” with man forever.

This is a word used only once in scripture, and its meaning is somewhat obscure.

However, the context, along with an ancient cognate word, point toward a meaning akin to “protect~/shield.”

In other words, the wickedness of man had become so foul that God’s Spirit would eventually stop protecting and shielding man.

This fits well because God holds the world in His hands, and without His life-sustaining Holy Spirit, man, no matter how powerful he thinks himself, is as fragile as an egg.

The fact that man is said to be “flesh” reveals how fragile he is outside of the Spirit’s protection.

The second phrase of verse three is an attestation of God’s great patience even in the midst of great societal evil.

After proclaiming that His Spirit would not strive with man forever, He says, “nevertheless his days shall be 120 years.”

Though some have proposed that this 120 years would be man’s new life span, this is inconsistent with what follows.

In the years after the Flood man continues to live much longer than 120 years but much less than the 900+ years he had been living.

The 120 years spoken of here appears to be the time frame from that day to the Flood of Noah’s day.

In other words, God was declaring that in the midst of the great evil of that day there would be 120 more years until judgment.

Noah then had 120 years to build the ark and preach repentance to the world.

When he does step onto the ark 120 years later, however, it is clear that his preaching affected no one, for they all died, save Noah and his family.

*Food for Thought*

            God’s judgment on those who are evil and who reject His saving grace is not an obscure doctrine in the scriptures.

Isaiah 30:18 says that God “longs to be gracious… He waits to have compassion.”

Romans 2:4-5 says that the kindness and forbearance of God is there to lead us to repentance.

And 2 Peter 3:15 says that God’s patience is for our salvation.

In other words, God is not quick to destroy (as some so readily believe).

All through the scriptures God punishes evil, but He never acts quickly.

Instead He patiently waits for us to repent of our sins and walk in fellowship with Him.

What “pet sin” are you involved in today?

Remember that God will judge evil behavior.

If He doesn’t then He’ll have to apologize to the people of Noah’s day and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

He doesn’t take sin lightly, but He gives us every opportunity to repent.

Do it today while it’s still called today.

God doesn’t wink at sin but judges all of it.

*Genesis 6:4…*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.

*Commentary*

The “Nephilim” is a transliterated plural Hebrew word that means “giants.”

The root word is a verb that means “to fall,” and it suggests that these giants are “fallen ones.”

They are the likely offspring of the demon-possessed judges of that day following their sexual union with the “daughters of men” spoken of in 6:1-2 (though possibly the offspring of actual demons who took on human form and had the ability to procreate with human women).

These giants (no indication how big), according to the passage, were “mighty men… of prominence” in the days prior to the Flood.

The Nephilim are only mentioned one other time in the OT in Numbers 13:33 where the writer notes that the Anakites of Canaan were their descendents.

However, the Nephilim of that day could not have been related to the Nephilim of the pre-Flood era because that wicked generation perished while only Noah and his family were saved.

\\             When the text says that the Nephilim were on the earth in those days, “and also afterwards,” this must be understood as a parenthetical comment that was likely added to Noah’s account by Moses himself (the complier~/editor of Genesis).

He is explaining the existence of these giants and their presence on the earth after the Flood.

Again, there can be no relation to the antediluvian giants and the postdiluvian ones because the former passed away in the Flood.

The ones who existed in Moses’ day, the Anakites, of whom Goliath was a descendant, should not be seen as any larger than the large men of our day (Hakeem Olajuwan, Yao Ming, etc.).

Even though 1 Samuel 17:4 might imply that Goliath was over nine feet tall when he faced David, the actual Hebrew wording is corrupted and should read that he was about 6 feet, 9 inches (4 cubits instead of 6).

The postdiluvian giants, the Nephilim, were simply large people with a genetic makeup that brought about this distinction.

Hence, there is no relation to the pre-Flood Nephilim.

When the text says that these giants “came in to the daughters of men” it is referring to sexual relations between the two.

The Hebrew verb here (imperfect) refers to the ongoing nature of this sexual union that produced these hybrid (part human, part demon) offspring which brought about the unsurpassed worldwide evil on the planet of that day.

The final phrase, “those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown” is the final summation of who these men were.

“Mighty men” refers to “heroes” – men of notoriety – men who were known to be great warriors but who were known primarily for evil deeds.

*Food for Thought*

            Passages like Genesis 6:4, in speaking of giants, are difficult to believe for many.

Often they’re passed over as myth and legend.

Many scholars note the stories of antiquity that pre-date Moses which speak of giants, creation, and a flood, and they assume that some ancient writer made up his own story to insert in what would become the Bible.

The Nephilim, however, were men of notoriety, and their reputation was known to all.

And just like most notorious people, it is likely that their stories circulated the globe for many hundreds of years.

These “heroes” likely provide the historical base behind the obviously mythological accounts such as Gilgamesh and the like.