Heroes (Genesis 6)

 Heroes

In the first few verses of Genesis 6 the process towards the general wickedness of the earth is represented.
We have already seen wrong marriage relationships and the pronunciation of judgment by God who would not let His Spirit strive with men forever.
But another factor in Genesis 6 is the exaltation of heroes.
It says:

[Gen 6:4 NKJV] 4 There were giants 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.

These were men of renown. They were physically strong and mighty. The way they are described, ‘men who were of old, men of renown’ makes it sound like these were considered almost as legends in the day of the writer. We can assume that in their own day they already had quite some respect and greatness.
Now obviously some people may deserve our respect. And some people may be physically greater.
But it is hero-worship that is dangerous. These men seem to be exalted to a status that made them legends. Mighty giants of renown.
Humanity has a tendency to exalt each other, especially if there is some good reason for it. We love to present people as legends and give them honor that sometimes results in a form of idolatry.
It can be a factor in the kind of wickedness that led to the flood in Genesis 6.
Even today we are quite good at exalting our ‘giants’ even though they may not be physical giants as in the days of Genesis 6.
But let us be exceedingly careful not to fall into that trap that feels so natural to us.
When people have greater achievements or greater power, we may have the tendency to see them in a separate category. As if they are much more than man. And then the honoring starts which has done so much damage.
But oh so much for greatness! All these powerful giants of renown were destroyed in the flood.
But even then their reputation often remains for quite a while. They are presented as great legends.
In the verse this factor is directly connected to the marriages between sons of God and the daughters of ‘men’, to the flesh.
This perhaps suggests that part of this process of corruption is that after the wrong kind of connection with unbelievers is made, the exaltation of humans is the next step. A similar pattern is seen when the Israelites married the Moabites in the desert. 
The very next verse says:

[Gen 6:5-6 NKJV] 5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every intent of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

We can see the problem.

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