Genesis 6:1–8 (ESV)
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.
How Should We Read This Text?
Well, this is a passage that really introduces the story of the flood. Right up to this point, we've been seeing this long line of Adam and his descendants, and we've seen a glimpse of how sin has taken root. But now the problem of sin gets even bigger.
And this text speaks of these sons of God marrying the daughters of man. Now we have to recognize that this is a tricky passage. We don't quite understand necessarily what's going on here. This is one of the most debated moments in the book of Genesis.
Some interpret these sons of God as fallen angels. Others see them as the tyrannical human rulers of the time. Others see them as the descendants of Seth mixing with the descendants of Cain's line. My personal opinion is that these are in fact the fallen angels. The word Nephilim literally means the fallen ones. Whatever the case is, the bottom line that we need to see here is that something is happening that is going against God's design. And because it's against God's design, it is sort of increasing and accelerating the sinful decay of both humanity and the world.
And so then we see God's declaration that his Spirit is not going to abide with man forever. It's as though the corruption—the sin in humankind—has reached this kind of critical mass. And so God is going to bring an end to how long humans live. We saw in the passage before just how long some of these folk were living: 800, 900 years. But now God brings an even closer limit to human lifespan.
Then we meet these Nephilim. They were the mighty people of old. Scripture doesn't tell us much about them, but they are part of this picture of the moral decline in the world.
But the key phrase in this passage, even though we want to focus on these fallen ones who have these Nephilim children, the key phrase here for us really is in verse 5: The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great. So humanity has grown in number but it has grown in evil. The hearts of humans are described as continuously bent towards wrongdoing and sin.
That's a pretty severe diagnosis, if we're honest with ourselves. Sin isn't just these occasional little slip-ups that happen. It's actually a deep problem that's in the heart of human beings that infects our desires, our thoughts, our wants—everything. And all of our heart problem is pointing towards sin all the time.
Then comes perhaps one of the most heartbreaking lines in at least the start of the book of Genesis: The Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. Some translations say here that God was sorry that he had made the people. It highlights this deep sorrow that is in God.
Now we have to be careful here because we don't want this to be read as, you know, we don't want to understand this as God has made a mistake in the same sense that humans make mistakes. But rather it shows us how sin so deeply offends his holiness that it ultimately breaks his heart.
And so God says something that really should shock us to the core: I will blot out mankind, for I am sorry that I have made them. The truth is that sin will always result in God's judgment. That's a terrible, terrible truth for us to wrestle with.
And yet even here, even in the midst of this proclamation of judgment, there is still this moment—this hint of hope: But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
It's a single line but it shows this consistent pattern of how God deals with the world. Yes, there is evil in it. Yes, the world is terrible. But there is always hope. There is always hope. Even in a corrupt world there is one who stands out.
Now, this is Noah in this story, but ultimately this points us to Jesus, of course, who is the ultimate point of hope, the ultimate true one who is without sin, in whom there is great favor. When God talks about Jesus, he says, This is my Son, whom I love; with whom I am well pleased.
How Should the Text Read Us?
Well, the theme of widespread evil in the hearts of human beings seems a little bit far away from us when we really consider the state of our own hearts, right? This passage describes these people whose thoughts were fixed on evil all the time. And probably we feel as if we're not quite that bad. You know, we're not planning a global rebellion against God, after all.
But if we're honest with ourselves, each of us knows that sin can twist our own desires and wants and motives in this world. It's true. We hold grudges. We chase selfish gain. We let envy push us. We want what other people have and we resent them for having those good things.
When we read that the earth was full of corruption, we should actually pause and think—well, isn't that true of our world today? Isn't it true that our world is a world that is filled with corruption, where people have set their hearts on things that are evil most of, if not all the time?
We should remember that God is not distant from all of this. He made us in his image, and so our choices matter to him. When we walk on a path that dishonors him constantly with our hearts bent on evil, Scripture gives us a picture here of a God who has been grieved in his heart.
Now, maybe we are tempted to think that that's only for serious crimes—for serious sins—but the reality is that any sin, anything that departs from God's plan and path for our lives, is really creating this gap between us and God. And that's an important thing for us to wrestle with.
Why? Because judgment is coming. Judgment came on the earth when God ultimately flooded it in the days of Noah, and judgment will come again when Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead. And so to ignore the fact that human beings' main problem is that we have this heart that is bent on evil all the time is to ignore the fact that judgment is one day coming.
But at the same time, this passage shows us the way out: Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Ultimately, Noah sinned. But Jesus was the one who ultimately saved us out of all of this sin.
For those who are believers in God, who trust in the Lord Jesus, they have already had all of their sin put on him. The judgment that God has on our sin has already been poured out on Jesus. And so we have safety and security even in the midst of all this evil because of our Lord Jesus Christ whom we love and serve. And that's a pretty special place to be.
Prayer
Lord,
Today we come before you with, I guess, a sober heart.
We recognize that sin can spread in our world and in our own lives, and that without you and the work of your Holy Spirit in our hearts, our hearts are bent on evil all the time.
Please forgive us for this, we pray.
Thank you that in Jesus we have a way forward, that we are safe from the judgment on sin.
Thank you for the privileged position we're in.
In Jesus’ name we pray,
Amen.
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