The early part of the sixth chapter of Genesis presents to us a question that has been considered for thousands of years. We have before us two questions. Who are the sons of God and the daughters of men? Also, from where giants come that are mentioned.
One popular theory is that angels had carnal knowledge of human women from which came giants. Before we consider the matter any further, let us suggest why this theory is not adequate.
- Angels have no gender to marry. (Matthew 22:30)
- Angels of questionable character have already been thrown from heaven and are reserved unto judgment in a special place in hell. (Jude 1:6)
- Angels only come to earth for the interaction with mankind on a mission from God that he directs. (Daniel 10: 14)
Now, who are the daughters of men? On many occasions throughout the Bible the reference to the daughters of men speaks of humanity. They perform good and evil deeds from murder to prophecy. With this being said, let us suggest a more logical answer to the question.
The previous chapter of Genesis immediately records the life of Seth, the third son of Adam and Eve. Shortly after the mention of Seth is the lineage of sons of God. Since Cain had already been exiled and went to live in the land of Nod, and considering the behavior of his descendants, they could easily qualify with that label of being the daughters of men.
This means that the higher likelihood is that sons of Seth intermarried with the daughters of Cain. Keep in mind that immediately after the verses listed here, the Bible shares how God decided to respond to the wickedness of mankind (6: 5-7) with the great flood and the rescue of Noah and his family alone. After the flood, giants are mentioned again in Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua. The giant Goliath stood in the valley and mocked the Israelites until he was slain by David. In other words, it is unlikely the offspring from angels marrying human women before the flood were the source of giants on the earth.
Lessons learned— our sins have consequences that could affect many others later on. It is true that temptations can be very strong even for the most righteous creating those consequences. What we do contrary to the will of God will be addressed by him in ways that we may not prefer. The simple fact is that we need to constantly have a vigil against temptations. What we do in the short span of our lifetime will have a result that reaches on to other generations after we leave this earth. We are accountable for our own lives and what affects others we may never see.
Christian Writer 