City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

“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.”

Genesis 6:1-4 (ESV)

“Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”

John 21:25 (ESV)

Megan’s Musings

According to Andrew E. Steinmann’s book Genesis, this passage opens three theories:

1. The sons of God were fallen angels who married humans. 

While this sound like a YA novel series, it’s not implausible. Angels were referred to as sons of God (Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7, and Daniel 3:25). Peter and Jude speak of the angels who sinned (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6-7). And Jesus made it clear angels do not marry (Matthew 22:30, Mark 12:25), if they did, they had fallen. 

2. The sons of God were human rulers. 

It could be a reference to aristocrats marrying commoners (it was a very classist society back then). Psalm 82:1 and 6-7 refer to them as (quote on quote) “gods,” in a sarcastic manner, as though pointing out their arrogance. Maybe they thought their wives would convert upon marriage (your spouse has an influence on you, whether you see it or not). 

3. The sons of God came from Seth’s line and the daughters of men from Cain’s. 

The sons of God were the faithful worshippers of God, from Seth’s line, and the daughters of men, Cain’s line, had turned away from God. This is the most likely correct interpretation of Genesis 6:1-2. Those who love and obey God are called His children (John 1:12, 11:52, Philippians 2:15). 

Why did God choose to shorten humans’ lifespans from nearly one thousand years to one hundred and twenty? I assume dementia and other aging-related illnesses weren’t prominent back then. Or maybe their 100s were our 20s or 30s. Maybe so they wouldn’t make the same mistake Adam and Eve did, wanting to be seen as deities, and we would depend on God and not on our own strength. 

Moses (who wrote the book of Genesis) assumes the reader knows about the Nephilim. Who were they? And why were they mentioned here since they had nothing to do with the intermarriage of the sons of God and the daughters of men? The Nephilim were described as giants, mighty and powerful (in Numbers 13:33, the spies gave an exaggerated report out of fear), but ceased to exist after the flood. Maybe Moses wrote about the Nephilim here to emphasize the spies’ report as false. 

Lots of mysteries here. Lots of mysteries in the Bible. We don’t even know all of Jesus’ miracles (John 21:25). It might be frustrating to not know, maybe that’s the beauty of the mystery of God. We don’t know everything, and it makes us hunger for more. 

Application

So many questions to ask God when we get to heaven: Since You made the world in six days, on what day did You make the dinosaurs, and on what day did they go extinct? Did You create life on other planets? If You knew humans would mess up and You would have to pay a high price to get us back, why did You bother creating us (hint: because He is Love [1 John 4:16]). What day will Jesus come back (don’t bother asking this one, God hasn’t even told His Son [Matthew 24:36])? 

What questions would You ask God? Any parts of the Bible that seem confusing and need clarity? Research it, ask questions, and ask the Creator Himself. 

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank You for clarifying the mysteries of Your Word, for revealing what needs to be revealed, and concealing what needs to be concealed until the day all will be made right. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.