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The Wickedness of Men
v. 1. And it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
v. 2. that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. The Cainites had long since forsaken the Lord and His worship and lived according to the lusts of their mind. But in the course of time this corruption spread also to the families of the pious, to the sons of God, to the believers, showing itself first of all in a laxity of morals. In fifteen centuries a most remarkable increase of the human family took place, and it became increasingly difficult to maintain the discipline which the Lord desired. The men belonging to the tribe of Seth permitted carnal considerations to influence them in the choice of their wives. The daughters of men, those that lived only for this world and made the enjoyment of all that this world offers their end and goal, very naturally made the development of mere physical beauty their aim. This beauty proved the snare which captivated the sons of God, the men from the generation of believers. They took wives to themselves of all that they chose, no longer as pious helpmates in a marriage in chastity and honor, but for the mere gratification of their sensual desires. Thus the corruption of the Cainites was brought into the Church of God before the Flood.
v. 3. And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh; yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. The Spirit of the Lord had been present in the midst of men, in the Word which was preached to them. But this could not remain thus very much longer on account of the willful defection of men, on account of their deliberate erring. They refused to heed His warnings and reprimands, for they had turned to their carnal desires. So God concluded to give them a final one hundred and twenty years as respite. Noah, as the preacher of righteousness 2Pe_2:5, was to lift up his voice once more, and if men would not listen to his words, the punishment should come upon them.
v. 4. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. The conditions before the Flood are further characterized. Wild, lawless men, tyrants there were on the earth in those days, offspring of marriages that did not meet with God's approval, children of wild passion, men that defied order and authority and became mighty men, whose names were mentioned with bated breath as those of unparalleled champions and heroes. The whole earth was full of outrage and violence. Cf Mat_24:38-39. This is a picture of our own days, of the period immediately preceding the final Judgment, full of the most impressive warning for all that will heed the signs of the times.