.
†. Gen 6:3a . . And the Lord said: My Spirit shall not strive with man
forever
Some translations have "abide" instead of strive. But the Hebrew word is
diyn (deen) which means: to rule; by implication: to judge (as umpire); also
to strive (as at law). It can also mean to plead the cause of; or to contend in
argument.
So. How did "My Spirit" accomplish this striving with man? In person
Himself? No; just like He always has: via a holy man.
"Noah, a preacher of righteousness" (2Pet 2:5)
NOTE: According to 1Pet 3:18-20, the Spirit of Christ and My Spirit are one
and the same spirit. In point of fact; according to 1Pet 1:10-11, all the Old
Testament preachers (a..k.a. prophets) were motivated by the Spirit of
Christ. (cf. Rom 8:9 and 1Cor 6:19 where the Spirit of Christ and The Spirit
are seen as one and the same spirit)
†. Gen 6:3b . . for they are only mortal flesh.
A problem with flesh is it's brevity. The human body eventually loses its
vigor, so God has a limited amount of time to work with people before they
pass on. Were humans immortal, He would have plenty of time to turn
people around; but alas, without access to the tree of life, such is not the
case; which is why I sometimes advise certain folk to use what time they
have remaining to begin preparing themselves for the worst when they pass
on.
†. Gen 6:3c . . yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.
Some feel that God set the limits of human longevity in that verse. But
people still continued to live long lives for a great number of years
afterwards. Even Abraham, who lived many, many years after the Flood,
didn't die till he was 175 years old. It's reasonable to conclude that God was
announcing a deadline. They had 120 years left to get ready to meet their
maker. But you think that alarmed anybody? Heck no. They went right on;
business as usual.
†. Luke 17:26-27 . . And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in
the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they
were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the
flood came and destroyed them all.
The time of God's patience is sometimes long; but never unlimited; viz :
reprieves are not pardons-- though God bear a great while, He never bears
forever.
†. Gen 6:4 . .The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also
afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men,
and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who
were of old, men of renown.
The Hebrew word for "giants" in that passage is nephiyl (nef-eel') or nephil
(nef-eel') and I have no clue why the KJV's scholars translated it giants
because it doesn't mean that at all. For one thing; it's an ambiguous word
with more than one meaning. It can indicate someone who cuts, knocks, or
brings things down, or a killer; and/or bullies and tyrants.
Now; granted that some bullies are big guys; but not all tyrants are big
guys. Take for example Kim Jong-Un of North Korea, He isn't especially
imposing but Mr. Kim sure knows how to exercise power excessively and
brutally.
In other words: nephiyl doesn't necessarily indicate a special race of people;
but simply people whose ambition is to dominate others; even if they have
to completely destroy their culture and kill them all off to do it; viz: nephiyl
personalities are not good followers nor are they very good team players. It
can be accurately said of nephiyl personalities that they would rather rule in
hell than serve in heaven. In other words: if they can't conquer God, then
they would just as soon have nothing to do with Him.
Historical examples of nephiyl types would be men like Genghis Khan of
Mongolia, and Alexander the Great of Greece; Napoleon of France, Peter
Alekseyevich Romanov of Russia, Chandragupta Maurya of India, shogun
Minamoto no Yoritomo of Japan, conquistador Hernando Cortes of Spain,
Timur: founder of the Timurid dynasty, and Zahir-ud din Muhammad Babur:
founder of the Mughal dynasty that ruled the Indian subcontinent for over
three centuries.
FAQ: If all the nephiyl types drowned in the Flood; then how did their
characteristics manage to resurface down the road?
A: Well; from whence did nephiyl types originate in the first place? Same
place every other personality type originated: from Adam's genes; viz: since
Noah and his wife, and his sons and their wives, were Adam's biological
descendants, then nephiyl characteristics survived the Flood by riding it out
in the DNA of the people aboard the ark.
Cont.
/
†. Gen 6:3a . . And the Lord said: My Spirit shall not strive with man
forever
Some translations have "abide" instead of strive. But the Hebrew word is
diyn (deen) which means: to rule; by implication: to judge (as umpire); also
to strive (as at law). It can also mean to plead the cause of; or to contend in
argument.
So. How did "My Spirit" accomplish this striving with man? In person
Himself? No; just like He always has: via a holy man.
"Noah, a preacher of righteousness" (2Pet 2:5)
NOTE: According to 1Pet 3:18-20, the Spirit of Christ and My Spirit are one
and the same spirit. In point of fact; according to 1Pet 1:10-11, all the Old
Testament preachers (a..k.a. prophets) were motivated by the Spirit of
Christ. (cf. Rom 8:9 and 1Cor 6:19 where the Spirit of Christ and The Spirit
are seen as one and the same spirit)
†. Gen 6:3b . . for they are only mortal flesh.
A problem with flesh is it's brevity. The human body eventually loses its
vigor, so God has a limited amount of time to work with people before they
pass on. Were humans immortal, He would have plenty of time to turn
people around; but alas, without access to the tree of life, such is not the
case; which is why I sometimes advise certain folk to use what time they
have remaining to begin preparing themselves for the worst when they pass
on.
†. Gen 6:3c . . yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.
Some feel that God set the limits of human longevity in that verse. But
people still continued to live long lives for a great number of years
afterwards. Even Abraham, who lived many, many years after the Flood,
didn't die till he was 175 years old. It's reasonable to conclude that God was
announcing a deadline. They had 120 years left to get ready to meet their
maker. But you think that alarmed anybody? Heck no. They went right on;
business as usual.
†. Luke 17:26-27 . . And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in
the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they
were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the
flood came and destroyed them all.
The time of God's patience is sometimes long; but never unlimited; viz :
reprieves are not pardons-- though God bear a great while, He never bears
forever.
†. Gen 6:4 . .The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also
afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men,
and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who
were of old, men of renown.
The Hebrew word for "giants" in that passage is nephiyl (nef-eel') or nephil
(nef-eel') and I have no clue why the KJV's scholars translated it giants
because it doesn't mean that at all. For one thing; it's an ambiguous word
with more than one meaning. It can indicate someone who cuts, knocks, or
brings things down, or a killer; and/or bullies and tyrants.
Now; granted that some bullies are big guys; but not all tyrants are big
guys. Take for example Kim Jong-Un of North Korea, He isn't especially
imposing but Mr. Kim sure knows how to exercise power excessively and
brutally.
In other words: nephiyl doesn't necessarily indicate a special race of people;
but simply people whose ambition is to dominate others; even if they have
to completely destroy their culture and kill them all off to do it; viz: nephiyl
personalities are not good followers nor are they very good team players. It
can be accurately said of nephiyl personalities that they would rather rule in
hell than serve in heaven. In other words: if they can't conquer God, then
they would just as soon have nothing to do with Him.
Historical examples of nephiyl types would be men like Genghis Khan of
Mongolia, and Alexander the Great of Greece; Napoleon of France, Peter
Alekseyevich Romanov of Russia, Chandragupta Maurya of India, shogun
Minamoto no Yoritomo of Japan, conquistador Hernando Cortes of Spain,
Timur: founder of the Timurid dynasty, and Zahir-ud din Muhammad Babur:
founder of the Mughal dynasty that ruled the Indian subcontinent for over
three centuries.
FAQ: If all the nephiyl types drowned in the Flood; then how did their
characteristics manage to resurface down the road?
A: Well; from whence did nephiyl types originate in the first place? Same
place every other personality type originated: from Adam's genes; viz: since
Noah and his wife, and his sons and their wives, were Adam's biological
descendants, then nephiyl characteristics survived the Flood by riding it out
in the DNA of the people aboard the ark.
Cont.
/
