Genesis 6:4 - Meaning and Application

This gives a fuller picture of how the old world fell into corruption. When the sons of God married the daughters of men, God was deeply displeased, but he did not destroy them at once. He waited to see what would come from these marriages and which side the children would follow. Sadly, as often happens, they followed the worse side.

The first thing to notice is the temptation they had to use force and do harm. They were giants and men of great reputation, so they became too strong for everyone around them and got their way. They did this in two ways: by their huge size, like the sons of Anak in Numbers 13:33, and by their famous name, like the king of Assyria in Isaiah 37:11. They became a terror to everyone in the land, and with that power they boldly trampled on the rights of others and broke what was just and holy.

This is a warning for us. People who have enough power to oppress others are often not strong enough to govern themselves. Great strength is a very dangerous trap. This corrupt line also despised the honor their ancestors had gained through virtue and faith. They made a name for themselves, but they built that name on the very thing that ruined their good name forever.

Now comes the charge against them, in Genesis 6:5, and the evidence is undeniable. God saw it, and that is enough, even without human witnesses. God sees all the wickedness among people. Nothing is hidden from him now, and if people do not turn from it, he will soon bring it into judgment.

What did God see? He saw the outward flood of sin in human life, and how widespread and deep it was. He saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth. This fits with what came before: the powerful men, the famous men, were also the sinful men. Wickedness is truly great when the most notorious sinners are admired in a land. Things are very bad when people are honored not in spite of their sin, but because of it. Sin was everywhere, among every class of people, and it was bold, open, and defiant toward heaven. Those who had authority did nothing to stop it or punish it. God saw all of this.

God also saw the fountain of sin inside the human heart. Anyone could see that wickedness was widespread, but God looked deeper. He saw that every purpose, every plan, and every thought in the heart was only evil all the time. That is a terrible sight, and it offended God’s holy eyes. This was the bitter root and corrupt source of all the violence, lust, and wild behavior in the world. Sin came from a ruined nature, because desire gives birth to sin (James 1:15). See also (Matthew 15:19).

The heart itself was corrupt. It was deceitful and desperately wicked. The inward principles were bad, and the habits and inclinations were bad too. Even the thoughts were corrupt. Sometimes “thoughts” means a settled judgment or opinion, and those were bribed and twisted. Sometimes it means the work of the imagination, and those imaginations were always empty or sinful, always either spinning useless schemes or producing evil ones.

Their imagination, that is, their plans and designs, was also wicked. They did not merely stumble into evil by carelessness. They planned it. They thought out how to do wrong. That was very bad, because they were only evil, always evil, and every plan was evil. There was no good to be found among them at any time. The stream of sin was full, strong, and steady, and God saw it, as in (Psalm 14:1-3).