genesis 6: 1-8; a counter melody, and the source of science fiction and horror movies

after the long genealogy of chapter 5, one might expect the next character to be noah. instead, there is a desription of the circumstance in which noah appears, a situation very different from the first themes of genesis in which "god saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good."

"and it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of god saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 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.

"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. and god saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. and it repented the lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." (6:1-6)

one question that comes to mind is who are these sons of god? it has been suggested that they are angels, fallen, but originally part of those who, we are told in job, "when the morning stars sang together, all . . . sang for joy." as the church began to understand that what we usually call "angels" are creatures without bodies, then it was often speculated that the "sons of god" were seth's descendants, and the "daughters of men" those of cain, on a supposition of good guy seth and bad guy cain. however, if we look at the descriptions of the births of cain and seth, god seems equaly involved in each, at least according to eve. if there is a difference, the title "son of god" seems perhaps more applicable to cain.

this deceptively simple little piece of dark music carries a lot of meanings. it is an instance once again, if the sons and daughters are those of cain and seth, of the use of the second son in the working out of our redemption. there is perhaps a warning even against taking wives "of all which they chose." the wives who will be pivotal in the story of salvation, srah, rebekah, rachel and leah, are all chosen.

then there is the matter of the spirit of god. the jerusalem bible,perhaps more helpfully than the authorized version's "strive with man," translates verse three as "my spirit must not forever be disgraced in man, for he is but flesh." we will not hear again the echo of these words until the annunciation to the virgin, a daughter of man upon whom the holy spirit will come in redemption of the world. and of course we will hear much of man's fleshliness in the writings of paul.

mary's son will be little regarded by the powers of the world, who agree that "here 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." (v.4) this idea has been the source of all numbers of science fiction and horror films, from "spawn" and "rosemary's baby" to the italian peplums "the sons of hercules."

god sees things differently: "and god saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (v. 5)

the solution, although grievous to the lord, is plain: "and it repented the lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. and the lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them." (vv. 6-7)

but god chooses something later theologians in writing of the holy one's ultimate act of redemption will call "the scandal of particularity:"

"noah found grace in the eyes of the lord."

genesis 5: the dance of the generations

this is the book of the generations of adam.
in the day that god created man, in the likeness of god made he him; male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name adam, in the day when they were created.
and adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name seth:
and the days of adam after he had begotten seth were eight hundred years
and he begat sons and daughters:
and all the days that adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. and seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat enos:
and seth lived after he begat enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of seth were nine hundred and twelve years:
and he died.
and enos lived ninety years, and begat cainan:
and enos lived after he begat cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.
and cainan lived seventy years and begat mahalaleel:
and cainan lived after he begat mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
and mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat jared:
and mahalaleel lived after he begat jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.
and jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat enoch:
and jared lived after he begat enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
and enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat methuselah:
and enoch walked with god after he begat methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
and enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
and methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech.
and methuselah lived after he begat lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
and Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:
and he called his name noah, saying, this same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the lord hath cursed.
and lamech lived after he begat noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.
and noah was five hundred years old: and noah begat shem, ham, and japheth.

now come we to the "begats." often in an opera there is a ballet. if we look at the bible as the libretto to the opera dei, the works of god, then i suggest the begats function most often as the dance between acts.

the works of god is not a small story. for most people, the bible is as big a book as we will ever read: it is big enough. but between all the stories that we treasure and remember, or that we remember and find horrorible, many generations live and die. they show up as the dance of the generations, the ballet of the begats.

often we skip over them. there are even editions of the bible which exclude them, or put them in smaller type to make them harder to read. this is a mistake. a careful reading of the genealogy above, for instance, reveals something rather amazing: noah was born before adam died, but as soon as noah was born, all of these people began to die all around him. it is probably worth putting a book mark at the longer lists of genealogies so when the names in them are mentioned later, we can put them into the story.

not everyone in every list may seem important to us. i have a maternal cousin who several years ago began to explore our genealogy. he was much impressed that we were related to thomas jefferson and john calhoun. of course we were also related to many thousands of less famous folk. we are much more selective than the holy one:

"god is working his purpose out
as year succeeds to year:
god is working his purpose out,
and the time is drawing near;
nearer and nearer draws the time,
the time that shall surely be,
when the earth shall be filled
with the glory of god
as the waters cover the sea." (arthur campbell ainger)

so when matthew begins his gospel, he begins it with a ballet, the dance of the generations which ties the acts of god together in one wonderful work.