Fallen
1 When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal ; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days–and also afterward–when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
5 The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth–men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air–for I am grieved that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
9 This is the account of Noah.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.
Genesis 6:1-12

The beginning of Genesis chapter 6 seems like a science fiction story. Were extraterrestrials or angels attracted to human women and produced children with them? This is too imaginative an interpretation. Instead, it seems that the human race divided into two groups: the descendants of Cain, who were of this world in the way that they lived, and the descendants of Seth, who followed God.
But even the sons of God were drawn to the attractions of this world as they looked at the daughters of men and saw that they were beautiful. They married with them and the children that resulted were the “Nephilim” coming from the Hebrew word naphal, meaning “he fell.” Some scholars think that this refers to their fighting ability as they fell on the enemy. Or perhaps it means that they fell away from God.
Everyone who follows God must be wary of the attractions of this world. To give in to its attractions has consequences, not only in our own lives but in future generations. In particular, marriage is a special relationship, and marriage with non-believers makes for special difficulties. A person with a non-believing spouse might remain faithful to God, but the children can grow up without clear parental examples. And a generation that forgets God can lead to future generations that don’t know God.
Since the time of Noah, the world has challenged us in the way that we live. Our salvation is a gift from God, but we need to make efforts in our walk with God. Noah gives us an example of a man who walked with God and was righteous. Are you making the efforts that you should in your walk with God?

Prayer:
• Do you make efforts to walk with God? By daily Bible reading; prayer; spending time alone with God? What should you be doing? Pray for God to lead you ever closer to Him.
• What things about this world attract you and could lead you away from God? What do you need to stay away from? Pray for God’s wisdom.