If God Can Find Just One Who is Righteous.

The text in this lesson, Genesis 6.1-8, is a short segue into the flood. Chapter five of Genesis lists all the descendants of Adam, and their family lineage, etc. These verses read like a string of one-liners, and have very little supporting material.It does not make for good teaching material, and people often skip those verses when reading, but these are important verses, and they tell us a great deal, in very few words, about what happened over the course of hundreds of years.   To sum up Genesis 5 it should be noted that these ancient persons quickly became debased and self-destructive, and that their long lives exasperated their problems. Getting older did not make them wiser but made them more cunning and it gave them time for their evil thoughts to brew, ferment and they became drunk on their wicked ideas. On the heels of that chapter, the final straw for God seems to be these events of Genesis 6.1-8, when man seeks to once again become like God in power without being like God in character. These people even try to circumvent death through ambitious marriages, breeding outside of species, to produce immortal heirs who are godlike super-humans. To this end God will have no more of man, and is ready to blot out creation, but hope is held out because of one man. This is a theme often repeated throughout the Scriptures, of one man. It is one man who brings the fall to all, and through one man, shall all be saved. The message to all of us is that even when we stand alone, all it takes for God to intervene is for one man to stand up and do what is right. Therefore, even if the whole world is doing what is wrong, you can make a difference by doing what is right. The solution is never to give into evil just because everyone else is doing it.   

Read Genesis 6.1-8: When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

We begin our analysis with the sons of God and the Daughters of men. Who are they?
There have been many suggestions over the years but three main theories capture all the commentaries on this subject. The first and oldest theory is that these sons of God are angelic beings, and that the daughters of men are human women.

The second theory put forth that sons of God is a reference to the the family line of Seth. This idea became popular in the second century AD among Jews who wanted to elevate the idea of Jews being superior to other humans, and to suggest that giving ones daughter to a Christian or someone who is not of Jewish descent was sinful and that God would judge them for it.

The third theory was that these were noblemen who were taking women from families against family wishes, proving that mankind was truly evil, and that family line of Seth, Noah, and eventually the Jews was noble and did not take advantage of their position.

The second and third interpretation are while wildly popular among post-enlightenment readers because they lack supernatural beings, but are hotly contested, and they are out-of-step with the larger context. These two explanations do not explain why God was so grieved, and they do not explain why the Nephilim are on the earth after the flood. Neither do they explain why the Nephilim would have been heroes or super human.  It is interesting how a people who believe in the Virgin birth of Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and placed in the womb of Mary, would have difficulty believing that angels and human women could have relations, yet the other two theories continue to be put forth, especially in cessation circles, because they can’t believe that angles, who do not marry, and are not given in marriage, are able to have relations with humans. 

In contrast, there are more than a few good reasons to believe that these are supernatural beings, engaging in inter-species relations with human women, which would explain why this event would be God’s last straw before resorting to the flood.

The first clue is that these relations are given as the explanation for who the Nephilim are, and why they are on the earth both before and after the flood, since the original Nephilim were wiped out in the flood. How could there be Nephilim after the flood? Unless angels, who were not destroyed in the flood, had relations with other daughters of men (descendants of Noah) after the flood? As well, Numbers 13.33 and the Apocryphal books of Baruch, Sirach and Wisdom all speak of the Nephilim in their days, which were after the flood.  In every account, both before flood and after the flood, the Nephilim are said to be supermen, heroes, or mighty men. There is something about the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men that gave their offspring some kind of advantage. Even ancient pagan writings from among the Canaanites tell of times when angels had relations with human women and produced super-human offspring, like giants, who ruled Canaan.

Second, consider that in the bigger context of Genesis, beginning with Creation, the species each produce their own kind. Each animal gives birth according to its own kind, each plant yields its own kind. Even humans give birth to humankind. Inter-species relations are not spoken of at all, but it is notable that there is no suitable helper for Adam among the rest of creation, making it clear that he must have a mate that is human, not animal. When you look through the Biblical text, inter-species relations is forbidden, and punishable by death (Leviticus 20.16). In fact, they were told not to even cross-breed plants (Leviticus 19.19, Deuteronomy 22.9-11) because these things are a corruption of the created order. Such attempts are seen as a challenge to God’s authority. That being so, consider the challenge to God’s authority that the cross-breeding of angels and humans might be? The angels are eternal beings, and although they will face eternal damnation for their rebellion, they are do not die like humans. Might the humans have been grasping at eternal life after loosing the tree of life? Humans on the other hand, are more like God than the angles because they are uniquely created in the image and likeness of God. A human with the power of angles would be akin to a god on the earth.  Also it should be noted that the New Testament writers, Jude and Peter, both speak of a time when some of the angels were cast into hell because they sought out human relations, and did not keep their place, which would seem to be a reference to this and or similar events.

Thirdly, consider the similarity to the fall. Just like in the fall, the first temptation is of the eyes. Eve saw the fruit was good for food and to make one wise. In this context, the sons of God see that the daughters of men are beautiful, and they desire them. Consider also, what young woman in those days married without fatherly consent? Presumably, good old dad would have given his consent, because the remarks about relations and marriage indicate that there was no rape, or forced marriage. Instead, and once again, the men are silent when it comes to sin, and allow their daughters (last time it was Adam's wife) to do what is forbidden. Or worse yet, maybe the men gave their hearty consent to what they were doing, something that even pagan religions taught was reprehensible. Thus their unnatural, and forbidden, relations become more than God is willing to bear, and God decides to wipe out man from the earth. God is convinced that all of man’s every thoughts are evil. It might be noted that the angels are also at fault also, and the question might be asked what happened to them. Well, rest assured that Jude and Peter both indicate that God dealt with them, but what grieves God about the human role is that we humans are made in God’s image, unlike the angels. This sin is like beasteality. God is brokenhearted, and the men, like Adam, is at the center of it again. Although not explicitly stated man always seems to be silent. The text tells us that God was so grieved that God wished he had not even made mankind. So even if you don't agree with those conclusions, it is clear that God is finished with mankind, and everything looks very hopeless.

Consider one last point about this being angels and humans; the judgment in this passage. Remember earlier in this lesson it was noted that angels live forever? Notice how God’s response fits that crime. Human life is reduced to 120 years. It has been that way every since. People often live less, but no one lives longer. There have been claims of people living beyond that, but no one has verified their claims, they cannot produce any proof.  So when man reached beyond the tree of life, to the angels, to secure his/her grasp on living forever, God’s fitting response, was not only will do they die because they ate of the tree of good and evil, but they will die sooner rather than later because long life only seems to tempt them.  But where God is, there is always hope.

Even in the midst of the greatest darkness, the light of hope still shines. Light and dark are opposites, but they are not equals. Even the smallest amount of light can dispel the greatest darkness.  So in the midst of total depravity and darkness, the light of Noah is all that God needs to continue. When you think that what you do does not matter, think again. The world was full of people in sin, and God found one man, one person, who was willing to do what was right, and that was enough for God to bet the farm on him. God was willing to wipe out the whole world and start with just him and his family. It is still true, what you do matters to God!

As well, the sons of God and the daughters of men remind us that just because you can do something does not mean you should. Just because you want something does not mean it is good for you. Your wants and your desires, your abilities and proclivities, are not the measure of what is right or wrong. The retelling of these ancient people’s story, a story almost forgotten by time, people almost forgotten by time apart from these accounts, are a grim reminder of how their past actions have impacted the present. They speak from beyond the grave, and those living today feel the consequences of their actions. In contrast the faithful actions, of one man, Noah, standing against the tide of evil, tells the reader why the faithful walk with God regardless of the cost. 

Two responses are needed. First, remove from your list of excuses, "that's what everyone else does." Second,  do what is right in the face of great difficulty, because it may be your actions, your solitary convictions, that could save you, your family, a generation, or even the world. Not because you did something extraordinary in eyes of the world, but because you did something extraordinary in the eyes of God. If you remain faithful under trial, in the end, when all stand before the Creator and give an account, only God’s pronouncement will mater. Not your pastor, not your friends, not world leaders, just the words of God alone. What will it be? Well done good and faithful servant come into your master’s happiness? Or depart from me I never knew you, you worker of iniquity? One persons righteousness matters more than what everyone else may do.