05/23/2008 Genesis 6:1

05/23/2008

Genesis 6:1 - 8 (HCSB)

¹When mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them, ²the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves. ³And the LORD said, “My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years.” ⁴The Nephilim were on the earth both in those days and afterwards, when the sons of God came to the daughters of man, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men.

⁵When the LORD saw that man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time, ⁶the LORD regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. ⁷Then the LORD said, “I will wipe off the face of the earth: man, whom I created, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky—for I regret that I made them.” ⁸Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

Nearly every civilization on earth has an ancient record of a global flood. Yet modern historians and anthropologists insist there is no data to support the story—never mind that oceanic fossils have been found as far inland as Nebraska and the Dakotas. Nonetheless, the fact that so many civilizations contain stories of the flood only emphasizes that it did happen and all civilizations must have come from a common ancestry; preserving the catastrophic event in their folklore.

In chapter 5 of Genesis, we see that Adam lived 930 years, Seth lived 912 years, Seth’s son lived 905 years, and his grandson lived 910 years. There are 9 generations from Adam to Noah and each of them is recorded as living ten times longer than today. By very conservative estimates, the population could easily have grown to a million. By more liberal estimates, the population could have been over 100 million.

This passage contains a particularly interesting account “The sons of God saw that the daughters of man were beautiful and they took any they chose as wives for themselves.” This is a controversial passage because it is so difficult to come to terms with what it means exactly. The phrase “sons of God” is elsewhere in the Old Testament translated as “angels.”

Let me suggest a theory—and this is supported by many (but not all) theologians. The “sons of God” is a reference to demons who had the power to manifest themselves physically and “the daughters of men” are human women. While this sounds like an unlikely union, the result is described as “Nephilim” that is, giants, or ogres.

I am struck with the similarity of this passage with Greek mythology. Heracles (Hercules in Roman myth) was the son of Zeus, a god, and Alcmene, a mortal woman. There are many characters in Roman and Greek mythology where gods have relations with humans producing unusual, sometimes grotesque offspring. These offspring were notable by their strength and stature. Note what the scripture says: “They were the powerful men of old, the famous men.” My point is this, Greek and Roman mythology are not far off from what Genesis Chapter 6 says about angelic beings and humans. I do not find it implausible that these stories were preserved by Noah and his family and became Greek and Roman mythological fodder.

In the midst of all this, God looks down and is displeased with the state of humanity. He makes two declarations: “Their days will be 120 years” and “I will wipe off the face of the earth: man, whom I created.” Yet, it is said of Noah that he walked “with” God. This is also said of Enoch, Noah’s great-grandfather. These are statements reminiscent of the Garden of Eden where God would walk in the Garden. We get from this passage that most of humanity did not have an intimate relationship with God. However, Enoch (who did not die but was taken away by God) and Noah (who is also preserved from destruction), did have this intimate relationship.

The question of the “120 years” is not clear. The flood occurs approximately 100 years after this statement—it could have been 120 years. But then we see after the flood that life-spans drop dramatically and for millennia, a lifespan of more than 100 years is quite rare. There is not universal agreement over the meaning of the passage. I subscribe to the idea that life-spans were limited.

Yet, Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. When God looks at you and your life, does he find favor in you? Do you have a close, personal relationship with God?

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