Genesis 6: Sons of God and Daughters of Man
Journey through the Book of Genesis with me. The plan is simple. Read ONE chapter a day. Blog or journal 5* things you learned that you previously didn't know and ask 5* questions about the chapter that you'll ponder all week. Let's go!
** You'll probably learn way more than 5 things and have more than 5 questions about each chapter. That's totally fine. The more the merrier!
GENESIS 6:1-21
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Question 1: What exactly was the great wickedness of man and evil intentions of his thoughts and heart (verse 5-8) that caused God’s judgment to be visited on earth?
Question 2: What was it about Noah that attracted God’s favor? When it says “Noah was righteous and blameless in his generation” (verse 9), does this simply mean he did not go with the flow of the culture?
Question 3: If people began to call on the name of the Lord in Genesis 4:26, then how's it become so bad that by the time we get to chapter 6, only Noah is considered righteous? Shouldn't there be more righteous people on earth at this point? (Human depravity: It is in man's nature to go downhill from God)
Question 4: If the "sons of God" (v.2) were mere men (and not demonic beings/fallen angels), why contrast them with "daughters of man"? Why not just simply refer to them as “men”? In other words, there’s something unnatural/peculiar about the nature of these "sons of God." Since angels/demons cannot procreate, perhaps these “sons of God” (Job 1:6) were demonically possessed men who intermingled with “daughters of man” and produced some sort of demon-man hybrid? Nephilim? Or are fallen angels capable of taking on human form to impregnate a woman?
Question 5: Verse 3 - "his days shall be 120 years". What is this referring to? Everyone after Noah lives for less time than those dramatically lengthy periods prior to Noah. Is that what verse 3 is suggesting? Or is this simply a reference to the length of the time before the actual flood will happen?
Question 6: If the 120-year statement in verse 3 is indeed referring to the length of time man will now be able to live, is that judgment an act of mercy, in that God no longer wants mankind to live lengthy periods so that they're not wallowing in sin any longer than 120 years?
Question 7: How did Noah manage to rally every species of animal two by two in the ark right before the flood? Verse 22 says, "Noah did this: he did all that God commanded him", meaning he actually went out and gathered all these different animals? Practically, this would have been next to impossible, so how did God intervene in this process?
Question 7: Who were the Nephilim? (Heroes of old? Giants? Angel-man hybrid?) Numbers 13:33
WHAT I LEARNED
Insight 1: In Genesis 5:4, Adam had other sons and daughters aside of Cain and Seth; therefore it is the descendants of these children in whom evil has now reached its peak (human depravity mixed in with demonic influence which started with Cain – Genesis 4:7).
Insight 2: Contextually and historically, the Nephilim have been viewed as fallen angels, however, Jesus' words in Matthew 22:30 would seem to contradict the idea that angels can procreate.
Insight 3: When Jesus says in Matthew 22:30, “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven”, He is referring to holy angels in heaven. Fallen angels (demons) are not only in opposition to God, but Satan aims to undo and wreck everything sacred God has created. Though angels are spiritual beings, they're also able to appear in physical human form (Genesis 19:1-5, Mark 16:5, Hebrews 13:2), meaning, fallen angels are also capable of this. Hence, it is plausible that fallen angels are somehow able to take on human form and engage in sexual relations with women, hence the oddity of the Nephilim?
Insight 4: God's great offense at humanity's depravity in verse 3 may be a result of the intermingling of men and fallen angels (resulting in mankind becoming absolutely depraved—spiritually and morally putrid). This may also explain why certain angels were locked up in chains in Jude 6, "...the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day."
Insight 5: It speaks much of Noah (2 Peter 2:5) that after he was instructed by God to take on this incredible building project, he didn't argue, complain, or ask for an explanation (at least it's not reported that he did); but instead, he simply obeyed - "So Noah did this; according to all that God commanded him, that is what he did." (v.22)
