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6 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.
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.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
(ESV)
What does the text mean when it says the “sons of God” saw the “daughters of men” were beautiful and took wives for themselves?
The phrase “sons of God” is used in other places of Scripture to describe angelic beings (Job 1; Job 2; Job 38). The Jewish context for this phrase would have been understood to mean angels. The daughters of men clearly means human daughters.
It is probable that the master plan of Satan was for his angelic beings (demons) to infect the genetic race with their corrupt nature. This would have been effective in stifling the coming Salvation of Jesus since demon possession would have been rampant and possibly even infected the lineage of Christ.
What happened to these evil spirits of Noah’s time that rebelled against God and tried to infect the human race? Jude gives a summary of the entire ordeal…
And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
Jude 1:6-7 NASB
After Jesus died on the cross, and before He rose again in victory, He paraded through the dwelling place of these spirits demonstrating His absolute authority over them. The plan Satan hatched long ago had failed.
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.
1 Peter 3:18-20 NASB
What an amazing scene to imagine! Jesus preached (or proclaimed) to the spirits there who had been chained since their disobedience in Noah’s time. I do not believe this was evangelistic, but judgmental in nature. Even the evil that occurred before the flood would not escape the justice of God.
When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.
Colossians 2:15 NASB
Consider just how long it took for a portion of that justice to unfold. The evil that was committed before the flood was not condemned in victory until Jesus’ time. And it is safe to say that the final judgment for these evil powers will not take place until the Second Coming of Christ. So, in all this, we have a picture of God’s timing. God is not slow, but patient and meticulous. His details are microscopic. He will be true to His Word even when we don’t see it and can’t fully believe it. This is a timeless truth that we can bank on.