God's favor — Faves of Dave - Bible Study

Gen. 6:1 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 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.

Gen. 6:5 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. 6 And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 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.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

I suspect there are few passages in all of Scripture that are more debated and discussed in church Sunday school rooms and parking lots than these first few verses in Genesis 6. What is meant by “sons of God” and “daughters of man”? Furthermore, who were the Nephilim? What is the point of all this? One common question is, “Does the term ‘sons of God’ refer to angels?” In other words, is the author suggesting that angels or demons had sexual relations with human women? I believe the definitive answer is that no one can be absolutely certain of the mysteries in this section. The original audience probably understood these terms and their significance. But it’s been lost over time.

One thing we can be certain of is that what transpired and is described here is an unholy union of marriages and procreation, and it led to problems. The context makes it clear that the actions described lead to more wickedness on the earth. Personally, I’m inclined to interpret “sons of God” as men in the lineage from Seth to Noah that was just given to us in chapter 5 and not supernatural beings. The emphasis appears to be on the contrast between “sons of God” to “daughters of man.” The author adds that these sons of God were attracted to these women based upon their beauty, and they chose any they wanted based on these criteria rather than a shared commitment to the LORD. Perhaps Hebrew scholars can better discern the nuances of the language and the narrative. It just seems that there is a contrast here of some men who are born within this lineage appointed by God who, like Eve, made decisions based upon what they saw and wanted and not God’s revelation. They married women who were from families that rejected God. Throughout the Old Testament Scriptures, the Israelites were constantly warned not to marry outside of Israel because the foreign wives worshipped foreign gods.

However one interprets this, these actions exasperated the LORD, and he determined that humans' life spans would be reduced and, generally speaking, not continue past 120 years of age. This is in stark contrast to the people who had lived hundreds of years.

Verse 5 makes it clear that something about the unholy marriages between these two classifications of people leads to increased wickedness throughout the earth. Speaking of humanity in the third person singular terms, he says, “every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen 6:5b) That is very significant.

Verses 6-7 emphasize the LORD’s grief concerning the wickedness of humanity and regret that he’d made mankind. Considering that humanity was his crowning achievement by his own will, this is tragic, and humanity as a whole was as far away from the presence of the LORD as possible. God determined that he would wipe out all living things. If we’re tracking with the greater narrative, this should prompt us to ask the obvious question, “What about the promised seed of the woman?” Is the LORD going to renege on his promise? Our fears are partially assuaged in verse 8. “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” Do you remember what Noah’s dad said when naming his son? He said, “Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” (Gen 5:29) In spite of how everything else has gone on around him and the overall wickedness of people in the world, Noah has lived favorably before the LORD. Is Noah the seed? Stay tuned.

The important thing for us is to identify themes that appear repeatedly and take them to heart. For one, God’s word and purpose for us are to be the guide and standard for our actions in life, not what we desire through our senses. Secondly, by the grace of God, may we find favor in the eyes of the LORD regardless of what the rest of the world is doing.