Genesis 6:1-4

Many Christians believe that the Old Testament has no application to the church (and their lives) today--except, of course, to use Biblical characters as moral role models (but shhh, don't tell anyone that David had an adulterous affair or that Moses was a murderer or that Noah got drunk and ran around naked!). I believe that many Christians have made the Old Testament irrelevant because many fail to understand the overarching story that God has been writing since the beginning of time--a story that is incomplete without the Old Testament.

But rest assured, God has not changed and His purposes have not changed. And so the Old Testament is still relevant to Christians and the church today. Sure, with the coming of Jesus God's story has progressed and some things of old are no longer practiced--at least in the same form--like animal sacrifice. But this does not mean that the sacrificial system and the covenants of old are meaningless to Christians (as we will discover throughout the Eat This Book Challenge)!

But what about Genesis 6:1-4? Are we really supposed to believe that humans (daughters of men) and angels (sons of God) created babies together? And more importantly, how are we supposed to apply this weird passage to our lives today? Believe it or not, this passage is a lot more simple and relevant than you might think at first glance. But we won't see this unless we first understand the passage in the context of God's BIG story. Let me explain...

THE BIG PICTURE
God originally created a very good world characterized by perfect peace and harmony (Genesis 1) and gave two humans, Adam and Eve, the responsibility to protect and guard this perfect creation order (Genesis 1:28; 2:15). However, Adam and Eve rebelled against God by eating from the 'tree of the experience of good and bad' (my translation) and because of their poor choice, bad was unleashed into the world in the form of painful curses (Genesis 2-3). After this, mankind's evil increased and began polluting God's good creation (Genesis 4). But all hope was not lost because in Genesis 5, God creates another line of humans (through the line of Seth) with the mission to counteract Cain's evil line of Genesis 4 and restore God's rule in the world. However, the story begins to take a turn for the worst in Genesis 6 as the line of Seth begins to falter in its God-given role.

GENESIS 6:1-4
Here's what the passage says,

"When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful [lit: good], and they married [lit: took] any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.’ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.”

What was happening here that made God so angry? Well, the 'sons of God' were marrying the 'daughters of men'. So who are the 'sons of God' and what's the big deal with them marrying the 'daughters of men'?

Many think the 'sons of God' is referring to angels because this title is used to refer to angels in Job 2:1. However, in Exodus 4:22, the nation of Israel is referred to as God's 'firstborn son'. So is the title 'sons of God' referring to angels or a godly line of people (such as the Israelites)? The storyline seems to suggest that the 'sons of God' is referring to the godly line of Seth as given in chapter 5 (which, by the way, is the genealogical line of the Israelites).

So why did it make God so angry that the 'sons of God' were marrying 'daughters of men'? Well, let me first say, the 'daughters of men' is referring to all the daughters alive at the time. And so, God couldn't have been mad simply because the 'sons of God' were marrying 'daughters of men.' NOPE. God was mad because the 'sons of God' were marrying ANY of the 'daughters of men' THEY CHOSE. You see, Genesis 6:4 makes it clear that within the 'daughters of men' was a group called the Nephilim (which literally means 'fallen ones') and that the 'sons of God' were marrying daughters of these 'fallen ones'. Numbers 13:26-32 seems to indicate that the Nephilim refers to any people group outside of God's chosen line. This would include the Amalekites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Jebusites etc. But why is marrying a 'fallen one' such a big deal? Well, these 'fallen' people groups worship other gods! This is why we read in Genesis 28:1 that Isaac instructed Jacob, "Do not marry a Canaanite woman."

A SECOND FALL
But one thing we learn about humans in the Bible is that when God tells them to do something, they seem to prefer to do their own thing. This was true with Adam and Eve and is true in this passage as well. In fact, when we compare Genesis 6:2 with Genesis 3:6 we see that the sons of God rebelled against God in a similar way as Adam and Eve. God set limits and humans rebelled against those limits. Take a look for yourself...

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye…she took some and ate it.” – Genesis 3:6

“…the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful [lit: good], and they married [lit: took] any of them they chose. – Genesis 6:2

THE BOTTOM LINE
So what is going on in Genesis 6:1-4? God's people are marrying women who worship other gods. And this IS a big deal. Why? Well, think about it. The line of Seth (the sons of God) were given the mission to counteract the evil and corruption being caused by people like the Nephilim ('the fallen ones'). BUT God's people are forming close attachments with the very people who are opposing God's rule in the world! And we all know what happens when we form close attachments with people who oppose God, right? Our attachment to God is weakened and ultimately compromised.

This is why Paul instructs Christians in 2 Corinthians 6:14-16, "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God."

THE BIG IDEA
Close attachments to anything impact the strength of our attachment to God and His mission.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
What are some of the things to which you are closely attached? Are any of these weakening your attachment to God and His mission in your life?

What are some specific ways you can actively counteract the evils of gossip, anger, cliques, bullying, self-centeredness, depression, loneliness, and greed in your sphere of influence?