Deep Dive into Sons of God and Daughters of Man: Covenant Compromise and Divine Judgment (Genesis 6:1–4)

Genesis 6:1–4 functions as a critical literary hinge, explaining the devastating transition from a humanity containing a worshiping line to a state of such universal wickedness that the flood became a necessary judgment. The passage answers the question of how the world became totally corrupt by documenting the moral failure of the covenant community.

The favored interpretation, the Sethite view, identifies the "sons of God" as the godly human descendants of Seth—the visible locus of God’s saving purposes—and the "daughters of man" as the ungodly humanity, primarily the Cainite line. The crisis occurred when the sons of God abandoned their spiritual distinctiveness and chose wives purely on the basis of sight and desire, taking "any they chose." This pattern of compromise—sight leading to desire and self-willed action—consciously mirrors Eve's original sin in the Garden of Eden.

This covenant infidelity dissolved the spiritual barrier between the godly and the world, resulting in a culture of "mighty men" and "men of renown." These figures embodied an almost totally corrupt race that exalted power, violence, and reputation over righteousness, justifying the subsequent divine verdict of systemic depravity.

The passage also reveals the limit of God's patience. God declared that His Spirit would not "abide in man forever" because humanity had become "flesh," meaning morally weak and frail. The specified period, "his days shall be 120 years," establishes a fixed period of grace and forbearance until the flood, underscoring that God's patience is not infinite. This entire narrative keeps the focus squarely on human sin and the failure of covenant people, distinguishing it from the problematic angelic view, which is challenged by Jesus' teaching that angels do not marry and distracts the narrative toward speculation. The collapse of the covenant line ultimately magnifies the necessity of Christ, the true Son of God, who alone preserves a holy people.

Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologian

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