THE HISTORY OF CORRUPTION

Each week we have delved further into the wicked and sinful heart of man. Shortly after the Fall (we are unsure of the time), Adam’s firstborn son, Cain, murders his brother Abel in a fit of jealousy and rage (). Then we observed how Cain’s wickedness expanded through his seed () through the means of murder and polygyny. A short break occurs in which the godly line of Adam appears (). However, even within that focus we see God’s judgment over the sinfulness of man, as promised in .

We begin a new section of Genesis tonight, and with it a new era of corruption. This is the idea contained in the first seven verses of . Corruption involves bad behavior, thoughts, and desires. There are several interesting aspects that connect the opening of this chapter with the temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

CONNECTIONS TO THE GARDEN

Before diving into this section and dealing with the History of Corruption, I want to look at some of the words, especially at the beginning of this chapter. For instance, the singular man in verse 1 denotes that this involves the children of Adam (think back to ), that is, those who are after Adam’s image, which we realized last week was marred from its original righteousness. I have referenced many times throughout our study of Genesis, but I believe it is worth reading tonight.

Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Keep this verse in mind as we read , particularly the beginning parts.

However, there are a few other points that connect this section with the Garden of Eden. Notice next the phrase on the face of the land or the face of the earth. Look at , and even , ; ; . Man, the Hebrew word adam, and ground (or earth, or land) is the Hebrew word adamah. And the connections found through these chapters in Genesis cannot be missed. Furthermore, the words used to describe the sons of God’s actions, saw and took. That is, they say the daughters of men and then took them. Check out , “the woman saw....she took.”

These small nuances connect this event with the Garden of Eden, and while Adam and Eve endured the judgment of God (and by extension, all humanity), the people in this account will face the wrath of God through the Flood (Deluge).

I. THE EXTENSION OF CORRUPTION- ,

Genesis 4 ESV

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.” And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.

Genesis 6:1–2 ESV

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.

Genesis 6:1–2 ESV

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.

Genesis 6:4 ESV

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.

In our study of the History of Corruption, we note first the Extension of Corruption. That is, we see the continual and downward spiral progression of sin.

Sin never gets better.

We saw Adam and Eve’s rejection of God’s Word and goodness in . We saw Cain’s anger at God in . We saw Cain’s hatred and murder of his brother, Abel in . We saw Cain’s bold-face lie to God in . We saw Lamech’s disregard for God’s standard of marriage between one man and one woman in .

And in our passage before us, we see corruption take its next progressive step. As humanity increased upon the earth (“man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them”), we see something enter the picture: the sons of God.

Now, this is a passage that has been debated for many centuries. Good and godly men and women differ on how to interpret this section.

There are three primary ways of interpreting this passage:

the sons of God are fallen angels

the sons of God are the righteous seed from Seth

the sons of God are the rulers of the society

I want to briefly cover each argument and then discuss which position I believe is most faithful to Scripture. Now, before we dive into these views I want to make a statement that is important: with each view there are inherent difficulties.

THE SONS OF GOD- FALLEN ANGELS

The first view, and the view held most consistently throughout history (dating back to the second century BC), is that the sons of God refer to the fallen angels. The question, then, is how do we arrive at this conclusion?

First, the phrase sons of God is used to describe angels in other places in Scripture. and 2:1 describe a “day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD...”. Now, we are not given any other information with regard to their purpose for coming before the LORD, the result, or anything. In fact, it seems that the only reason this is mentioned is in connection with the appearance of Satan. But the connection with cannot be missed. And as one older statement of faith states,

The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture us the Scripture itself: And therefore when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is not manifold but one) it must be searched by other places that speak more clearly.

Thus, we seek the Scriptures use of the phrase the sons of God, and see that in accordance with Job, the angelic interpretation is plausible. Furthermore, we see other passages of Scripture that seem to connect back to this passage. , , and all help provide a clearer picture to this view.

- spirits in prison for not obeying God during Noah’s time

- angels were not spared when they sinned and were sent to hell (the Greek word is tartarosas, a term used in Greek mythology to refer to the abode in the underworld for the titans to be judged)

- the angels left their “proper dwelling” or “their own habitation” and now are kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness; Jude also states they, like the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, pursued “unnatural desire,” or “strange (i.e. different) flesh”

The result of this cohabitation between the fallen angels and females of the human race were “mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.” That is, these were incredible men of great power and reputation. This is view number one.

THE SONS OF GOD ARE THE RIGHTEOUS SEED OF SETH

This view holds that Seth’s descendants, those who “call upon the name of the LORD” () are intermarrying with the wicked seed of Cain. This view traces the comparisons between Cain’s and Seth’s descendants, contrasting the wickedness of Cain with the righteousness of Seth. The Sethites picked wives (the Scripture does not exclude or include polygyny) as they chose, not limited by any moral reasons. Scriptures that prohibit intermarriage with other people groups (think culturally and religiously) are: and .

THE SONS OF GOD ARE THE RULERS OF SOCIETY

Some Jewish interpreters view this as human rulers. They take the phrase sons of God as referring to those who rule as judges (, seem to indicate a similar idea). Combined with the term Nephilim and the mighty men of renown, the view expressed are deity-kings, much like Caesar was viewed in the ancient empire of Rome.

These are the three prominent views, and, as I mentioned, they are held by a variety of godly men and women. However, I believe that the Scriptures, when compared and contrasted with themselves, favor the first view. Undoubtedly, the concern there is how the angels can procreate with a woman. seems to indicate that it is an impossibility with angels. However, I still believe this interpretation best suits the passage and the revealed Scripture at our disposal concerning the topic.

THE EXTENSION OF CORRUPTION BEGINS IN THE HEART

Before moving on, I want to note one more aspect of the Extension of Corruption, and that is the heart. Notice God’s estimation: every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. As one commentator notes,

“ Wickedness is an inner compulsion that dominates their thoughts and is not just overt action; they plot evil as a matter of lifestyle.”— Kenneth Mathews

Wickedness is an inner compulsion that dominates their thoughts and is not just overt action; they plot evil as a matter of lifestyle.

II. THE EVENTUALITY OF CORRUPTION- ,

Genesis 6:5–7 ESV

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. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 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.”

Genesis 6:3 ESV

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

Genesis 6:3 ESV

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

Genesis 6:5–7 ESV

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. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 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.”

The eventuality of corruption is a separation from God and an expectation of judgment. Paralleled with the Garden of Eden yet again, we see that God’s Spirit, the very means by which Adam was given life, is now taken away from men. The goal of Adam and Eve, eternal life as picture in the Tree of Life was taken away from Adam, and now the life of man is limited to 120 years. Though men would live to much longer ages afterwards (including Abraham), the general rule is that men will not live longer than 120 years (a time reduced to 70, and possibly 80, see ).

God saw man’s great wickedness. He notes that “every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” This is a sad estimation of God is that there is no hope for the human race.

Now, in reading verses 6-7 it is important that we remember that God is displayed in anthropomorphic terms. That is, God is said to have a mighty arm and a strong hand (), but we know from that God is spirit, not flesh. We speak of God on terms in which we can understand. This is called God’s condescension. He reveals Himself in gracious ways for us to understand Him (though not completely). So, when we read this, it is not as if God is surprised that humanity turned out the way it did. In fact, the New Testament authors say the opposite. Paul says that before God created a single particle, God planned the redemption of His people (). God knew exactly what would happen. But, lest we lose the significance of these verses, remember that God’s heart was broken. The very people He created by hand, the animals and life He spoke into existence, must be purged.

The eventuality of corruption is judgment. We saw in that the soul that sins will die, but there is a difference between death and this coming judgment from God. This judgment will be extensive, covering all human and animal life. It would be a catastrophic event.

Then a wonderful, small conjunction appears: but. Which leads us to our final point of consideration this evening.

III. THE EXCEPTION OF JUDGMENT-

Genesis 6:8 ESV

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

We have seen God’s grace displayed multiple times in this book so far, and Noah is another example. God’s estimation of the entirety of humanity is that they are corrupt and cannot have a single thought of goodness. Yet, here is Noah, a righteous man who walked with God (sounds like Enoch in 5:22 and 24).

Now, the Scripture here does not declare how Noah attained this righteousness, it simply states that he has it. When we compare Scripture with Scripture, however, we know that the righteousness Noah has comes from God. This is Paul’s argument in Romans chapter 4. We do not have the time to read through it, but Paul describes Abraham, a man of great faith, having received the righteousness of God because of God’s grace, not his own works. also describes this. Those who enjoy the exception of judgment are individuals who, through faith, receive the precious gift of God’s grace. In Abraham is accounted righteousness because of his faith. Paul picks this up in the last few verses of chapter four ().

Romans 4:23–25 ESV

But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

All those who through faith trust the Gospel will not face judgment. What a glorious truth! The history of corruption is a terrible account of the continual, downward spiral of sin and depravity. But even in this depravity the righteousness of God will be displayed in judgment. Additionally, the exception to this judgment is faith in Jesus Christ, or the truth God has revealed (a theme we will pick up next week).