CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
October 17, 2010
25424 Aldine-Westfield, Spring, TX. 77373
www.blakehart.com/cypresswoodbulletin.htm
PRAYERS AND PRAISE:
God’s will for our congregation Various friends, relatives and co-workers
Our nation, military and leaders The spread of the good news
THE COSMIC BATTLE - 3
“When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and the daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose” (Genesis 6:1-2).
Paul tells us that we live in the heavenly realms and as such, do battle with principalities and powers in that realm with weapons not of this world (see Ephesians 6:10-17; 2 Corinthians 10:4). The unseen battle often enters into our realm in various ways. We have seen a part of this battle when God attacked the gods of Egypt and rescued His people from slavery (1).
God created out of chaos an orderly world and placed humans in it. After they sinned, chaos began to return. We see in Genesis 3 that the earth is cursed because of the sin of Adam and Eve and that some animal died so that they would be clothed. This happened because of the Accuser who tempted them to disobey God. By the time we get to Genesis six, we have seen the first murder, and more. In chapter six, we are introduced to several groups that will ultimately cause massive chaos.
The first group is that of the sons of God marrying the daughters of men (2). Much debate has centered around the meaning of this text. One view takes it simply to mean godly men in the line of Seth and the women were in the line of Cain. or to say it another way, normal men and women. This has been the popular Christian view through the years. Another view sees the sons of God as rulers, powerful and tyrannical, kings and such. This has been a Jewish view. A third view is that the sons of God were some type of divine being, possibly angels. This is typical of the mythologies found in the ancient Near East among the peoples from the Babylonian area (3).
Whatever view one takes, the problem is that the boundaries between the divine and human that were established at the creation were ignored at this time, and was considered an act of rebellion. It was a rejection of the created order and would result in chaos. Genesis 6:4 introduces us to another group that is difficult to identify. The Nephilim appear to be powerful beings, even giants. Who they were and where they came from are not known. In the TNIV, it implies that they were not the Sons of God but in other translations they might have been.
In Genesis 6:5, we see that God had seen that the human race had become evil and wicked. It appears in reading this context that the first four verses was the reason for this. It appears that it was a very violent time and as such God would bring judgment on this world. When God created humans, they were to be holy, that is, set apart. Having failed at this, the violence of society was such that God regretted having created this world. One has to keep Genesis 9:6 in mind here because God states that when a human is murdered, then the guilty shall be put to death.
God judged the world by bringing chaos. As we have stated in previous articles, the one who controls the water rules the world. God opened up the storehouses of water both from above and below and flooded the earth. Noah, the righteous one, and his immediate family of seven were saved as the world was destroyed. Human sin was costly, especially to the innocent. Creation had become chaotic, so chaos destroyed it. Jim McGuiggan calls this un-creation. God then began creation again after cleansing the earth with the flood. What had been very good (Genesis 1) was now evil all the time (Genesis 6:5). There is much more in the text that raises question which can be debated (4).
Once again a covenant is made to have humans work and care for the land, a priestly idea. A number of scholars have suggested that the earth, or creation, is the Temple of God, and as such, we are priests in that Temple. This idea is seen throughout scripture as each succeeding temple is developed (5). Re-creation occurred as God started over with eight people. It is interesting that Peter uses Noah and the Flood as an example or metaphor for baptism (immersion) as a cleansing.
This creation/re-creation or order/chaos becomes a theme in a number of texts throughout scripture. Israel in the chaotic wilderness as an ordered society is just one example. One last idea, when God comes in judgment, chaos to order will occur one more time. The earthy will be cleansed and a new creation in the new heavens and earth, the new Jerusalem, will once again see re-creation as God had intended it (see 2 Peter 3; Revelation 21-22). Until then, we continue in a order/chaotic world seeking to be re-created in the likeness of Christ, looking forward again to the Temple of God in the Garden of Eden.
George B. Mearns
(1) See bulletins from 10/3 and 10, 2010.
(2) Peter Enns, Gilgamesh, Atrahasis, and the Flood, Part 2, http://biologos.org
(3) Some suggest that there was much more going on than what is written in Genesis, and while fascinating to read, we really have no way to verify it. See for instance Greg Boyd on this suggestion.
(4) Was the flood a local or universal event? How did the Nephilim survive the flood? Was it in the genes of Noah and family? I’m sure many of you will raise other questions from the text.
(5) The Tabernacle in the Wilderness, the Temple in Jerusalem, and the Temple of the Spirit, Christians and the church.