This passage is one that elicits many questions. Who are the Sons of God who marry the
daughters of men? Who are the Nephilim? It doesn’t make sense to interpret the Sons
of God as angels as that contradicts Jesus’ words that in the new creation we
don’t marry one another, we are like the angels. If angels don’t marry, then this passage
can’t refer to angels. If the first couple
of verses recap chapter 5 then it makes sense that the sons of the godly ones
referred previously are the Sons of God.
The Nephilim, mighty ones of old, is a term that is used elsewhere to
refer to the renowned ones or the ones of great size who were in the Land prior
to the Israelites, the ones of whom they were afraid in Numbers 13. It was at this time that the Lord set a limit
on the lifespan of men of 120 years. We
also see that the Lord grew weary with mankind due to the proliferation of sin
on the earth. Because of the sin of man
the Lord determined to wipe out everything and start again. All life would begin again, a new creation
out of the old.
In our first reading you could get the impression that
perhaps there was some problem with marriage.
John tells us that the first sign Jesus did was at a wedding and we
speak of this in our marriage ceremony as proof that the Lord approves of
marriage. For those who would make Jesus
out as grimly pious, this is certainly a corrective. His first sign enabled the party to continue
and the hosts to avert shame that would have accrued to them for failing to
provide adequately for the feast. The
water pots were for the ceremonial washing of hands that were lavish rituals in
first century Judaism and the volume of wine Jesus provided was enormous. The wine was of the finest quality. It is certainly not where or how anyone would
expect Jesus to have done the first sign to authenticate Himself, but it
reveals His power over the created order and was done in loving concern. I wonder if Mary had a wry smile on her face
when the master of the feast spoke so glowingly of the quality of the wine.
An unbelieving heart can take many forms. We can fail to believe in Jesus at all or we
can fail to see Him at work around us.
There are many today who call themselves Christians who would fall into
this second camp of unbelievers. We are
not to be so gullible that we fall for any who claim to do great things
constantly in the name of Jesus but we are likewise not to be so cynical or so
educated that we are unable to believe He continues to reveal Himself
today. Science is a wonderful thing and
I am glad to live in an age when scientific discovery is valued but science
cannot be allowed to keep us from seeing that God can do things science can’t
explain like this sign or the flood. We
need to keep our eyes and our minds open about such things and not grow cold or
unbelieving. We need to make room for
miracles in our thinking.
O higher than the
cherubim,
More glorious than the seraphim,
Lead their praises, Alleluia!
Thou bearer of th’eternal Word,
Most gracious, magnify the Lord.
More glorious than the seraphim,
Lead their praises, Alleluia!
Thou bearer of th’eternal Word,
Most gracious, magnify the Lord.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia!
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