Genesis 6:4-8 "There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. "
We learned in the first few verses of this chapter that the sons of God began to take wives of the daughters of men. These daughters of men were fair to look upon. This is a warning to us today who would serve God faithfully. We must be careful not to marry ourselves to things of this world that may look attractive but will soon lead us away from drawing near to God.
There were giants in the earth in those days. Without entering any lengthy debates about how large the giants were, I would rather focus on the meaning behind the word translated as giant. Strong’s give the meaning as being “properly, a feller, that is, a bully or tyrant.” The language also does not say there were giants on the earth in those days, but rather that there were giants in the earth. Are we guilty in our lives of having giants “in the earth.” Do we have desires or fears that bully us into doubting God or to thinking that we know better than He does?
The children that were born of the sons of God marrying the daughters of men became mighty men of renown. They were deemed to be people to be reckoned with. Again, the Strong’s definition of the “mighty men” was to be “a warrior or a tyrant” (another word for bully). God looked upon this bullying that was in earth and saw that man’s wickedness was great. While we do not always like to admit it, man’s wickedness in the earth is still great. We often hear the expression that someone has a good heart. This is only true if God has taken away our hard and stony heart and given us a heart of flesh (Ezekeial 36:26): otherwise, the imagination of our hearts is only evil.
God was not surprised by the road that men had taken. This does not mean that it did not grieve Him. As we look around us today, we must realize that the only thing that keeps Him from being so grieved with us today is the blood of Jesus Christ. That does not mean that we get a free pass when we live contrary to God’s word. However, it should be evident that, like Noah, we have found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Let us look to Him, walk in His grace, and defeat the bullies that dwell in the flesh.