Genesis 5:25-6:4

A Tale of Two Peoples

Introduction

Looked thus far at two separate lines

Those of the devil, works, flesh, ungodly

Those of God, faith, spiritual, godly

What happens when these intermingle?

What happens when we blur the lines of faithfulness by incorporating ungodliness?

The result of the Book of Judges, “Everyone did what was right, there was no king, no serving of Lord

More important to context, wickedness of man increases to the point of absolute judgment

Precedent set before us today to be unmovable, unwavering, in walk with God

Main points

Text

Doctrine/Theology - Intermingled

Application

Text

relief (5:25-32)

Contrast to godly Lamech vs. ungodly

Ungodly Lamech’s revenge = 77 fold

Godly Lamech’s life = 777 years

The godly blessed far beyond the ungodly

Remember the importance, however, of ungodly Lamech’s kingship

Lamech’s life is total/complete as Heb numbers typically work

Noah is given

Name = rest

Noah is a type of Christ who gives rest to those who would find refuge in him

Noah’s life contrasted with evil Lamech’s

Three sons to Lamech, all related to worship

Three sons to Noah

Shem - Heb word for name/reputation, important in OT

Japheth - to shine forth

Ham - often used in association with Egypt (Ps 78.51; 105.23, 27; 106.22)

Shem

God will establish His people through this people, God’s name/reputation will be brought forth

Japheth

He will shine forth as the people of God included into covenant community

Genesis 9:27 “May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.””

True relief from curse will be found through Noah

One line - Ham - will persecute the people of God (seed of serpent)

One line - Shem - will be called to be the people of God (seed of woman)

One line - Japheth - will be included into the people of God (branches grafted into the seed)

renown (6:1-4)

A lot of debate centered around

Sons of God

Nephilim

Context thus far

What has been the focus?

Natural division of text

Songs

“These are generations of”

Two different genealogies given

No presumption of angels

Declaration of God in vv. 5-8

Judgment on the created beings of the earth

“daughters of man”

Cain’s lineage

Phrase only used in Gen 6.1-5.

Daughters of “Adam”

Ground, dust, those in Adam

Those who are not in Christ

Those who are in flesh, works, devil

New nature of putting on Christ has not come

“sons of God”

Premise: Seth’s lineage

Scriptural support

Where else is sons of God used?

Job 1:6 “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.” (and 2:1)

View that sons of God are angels

they would see this as angels and Satan coming to Lord

What do we know scripturally?

During time of Seth, “people began to call upon the name of the Lord”

Assumed Job is before the Flood narrative

Sons of God are coming to present themselves before the Lord by way of sacrifice

Like Abel’s offering

In NT, sons of God is far greater than angelic beings

Matthew 5:9 ““Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

Romans 8:14 “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Romans 8:19 “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.”

Galatians 3:26 “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.”

God’s pinacle of creation was man

Being a son of God refers to being led by the Spirit

The Holy Spirit is only given to Christians, not angels

Theological support

Angels are created beings but not with same rights as humans

Biggest problem is Christ’s words regarding angels

Matthew 22:30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”

Angels do not possess the privilege of pro-creation as man does

Counter arguments

Many appeal to two passages in NT for support that these are angels

Jude 6 “And 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—”

2 Peter 2:4–5 “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;”

Implication is that Peter is referring to sparing angels with Noah’s flood

What does text say?

God cast them into hell and chains of darkness

Not “he let them roam the earth to have relations with women”

Likewise, Jude states they left their proper dwelling

Left heaven above

Probably during Satan’s rebellion as posited during Gen 1.26-27 .

Luke 10:18 “And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

Indication that he took others with him

Fallen angels, demons, etc.

Sum

Taken all into account, it seems best scripturally and theologically and textually/contextually, the sons of God refer to Seth’s line

The focus is upon “man” and “sons” in text

What is the problem then?

Quite serious - intermingling of ungodly and godly lines

Same sin pattern as in the Garden

SoG “saw” and then “took”

“any they chose”

Could be reference to polygamy like that of evil Lamech

Lord’s curse upon mankind for their role in unequally yoked marriage and sin against covenant of marriage

Genesis 6:3 “Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.””

Lord withdrawing His providence over mankind by limiting their years

No longer will they be blessed with long life but their days will be cut short

Apart from supernatural provision (like Abraham)

Nephilim

lit. in Hebrew “the fallen ones”

Given a definition of who these people are

Genesis 6:4 “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.”

The fallen ones were in the earth because the line of Cain and Seth intermingled

Focus is not so much on their title, or lineage, but on their function

Sons of God in addition to mighty men and men of renown refers to their function

Review: Adam as PPK

Sons of God resembles kingship

Psalm 82 “A Psalm of Asaph. God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.” Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations!”

Result

Mighty men

Men of renown

Kings making a kingship for themselves instead of being kings of the King of kings

Sad reality of depravity as we move further east of the Garden.

The fallen ones, would remain in the world even after Noah

Not giants, not angelic half-beings

But the ungodly line and godly line together

The Lord declares to people of Israel (godly line, sons of God, adopted, etc)

Do not intermarriage with Caananites

Daughters of man

Israel should know what has happened already

Application

Use 1. Be discerning in entering into the marriage covenant

Paul’s admonition in Corinth.

1 Cor 7 and importance of marriage

Unqeually yoked

Little leaven

Jesus’ warning to leaven/teaching of Pharisees

Comparable to false teaching, worldliness

It didn’t take much to topple Eden, nor Jerusalem

Look at result of ungodly and godly marriages

Lord withdraws Spirit

They incur judgment

Hearts are led away from Lord

Love is powerful

Love applied wrongly

YA/Youth

Find godly spouse

Be patient - God’s timeline

Not yours

Not parents/family

Be content - single/married, whichever lot

Not marry in order to convert, no proselyte engagements

Marriage based on Christ

Ephesians 5:22–24 “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.”

Use 2. Be diligent in raising covenant children

Unsure why things changed from Enoch

Walked with God

Children walked with God

As text indicates, the major problem was intermingling with world

Precedent before parents: Keeping them from influence of world

ABCs of parenting (claiming dibs)

Appeal (pray to God, petition)

Bible (read it to them, sing it with them, etc)

Catechesis (doctrine, faith/practice)

Children, be willing to be discipled and “raised”

Be like Christ who was a willing disciple

Angels/messengers ministered to him in wilderness

Christ was obedient to His own parents as God!

Enoch’s children benefitted from relationship as their father had

his children benefitted from his walk

Exodus 20:12 ““Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”

Ephesians 6:2 ““Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise),”

Use 3. Be dedicated to covenant fidelity.

What were the fruits of Enoch’s walking with the Lord?

Communion/fellowship with God

Acted as a son of God (Heb 11.6ff).

To be a son of God is to be a creational king

Ruling subduing family life and culture

What else were functions of a king?

From Deut 17:14-20.

A member of the covenant (v. 15)

One who lives by humble means (v. 16)

Not a polygamst (v. 17)

Not one whose heart is led away by temporal riches (v. 17)

Writing copy of God’s Law (v. 18)

Most important, vv. 19-20, “And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.”

A son of God is a creational king who is dedicated to covenant fidelity (rel. to points above as king)

Live a life as one who is a member of the covenant people of God

Live with humble means

Committed to marriage between one man and one woman

Not an adulterer

Be focused upon the spiritual kingdom, not temporal

Be devoted to God’s Word, write it upon your hearts

What happens when captivated with the world? Not acting in covenant fidelity

Lord draws away His Spirit from us

WCF 17.3 “[Christians] may, through the temptations of Satan and of the world, the prevalency of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of the means of their preservation, fall into grievous sins; and for a time continue therein: whereby they incur God’s displeasure,i and grieve his Holy Spirit; come to be deprived of some measure of their graces and comforts; have their hearts hardened, and their consciences woundedn hurt and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves”

Lord punishes our iniquity

Lord also promises His Spirit to those who know Christ

What hope do we have?

Christ as the faithful one

One who bore our iniquity

Flood waters to come pale in comparison to the glory Christ gives to His people

As wickedness of man increases, the Gospel becomes even more prominent