Welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Genesis. This is study #8 of Genesis, chapter 6 and we are continuing to look at Genesis 6:4:

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.

At the close of our last study, we saw that “mighty men” referred to the assault of Babylon and the Babylonians were said to be “mighty men.” That was not accidental. It was God’s purpose that those tares that were within the congregations were identified with “mighty men.” It says in Jeremiah 49:20-22:

Therefore hear the counsel of JEHOVAH, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them. The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea. Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

Edom is Esau and it identifies with professed Christians within the corporate churches and God speaks of them as “mighty men” and, in this case, they are in their pangs like a woman. Also, in Jeremiah, chapter 51 there is a reference to Babylon in Jeremiah 51:55-57:

Because JEHOVAH hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered: Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for JEHOVAH God of recompences shall surely requite. And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is JEHOVAH of hosts.

It is the judgment upon the “mighty men” of Babylon that identify with princes, the wise, captains and rulers. In Zephaniah, chapter 1 the Lord goes into a great deal of detail to describe Judgment Day. It says in Zephaniah 1:14:

The great day of JEHOVAH is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day JEHOVAH: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

In our verse in Genesis, chapter 6 there were mighty men of old, just like there are mighty men today, spiritually speaking. God relates being mighty men to those that have identification with the name of Christian and with the Word of God, so the “mighty men” are children born to the sons of God and daughters of men and they are “men of renown.” The Hebrew word for “renown” is Strong’s #8034 and it is found a few times in the Bible. We will see how it is used and what it really means, but first let us go to Numbers 1:5-7:

And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur. Of Simeon; Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. Of Judah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

It goes on to describe the other tribes of Israel and the names of men that would stand with you. Then after listing the tribes and their men, it says in Numbers 1:16:

These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.

These were the “renown” of the congregation and it is a different Hebrew word, Strong’s #7148, and our word back in Genesis was the Hebrew word that is Strong’s #8034, so this is a different word but it is using a connection with our word in Numbers 16:1-2:

Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:

The word “renown” in this passage is the same Hebrew word used in Genesis 6:4. It is Strong’s #8034, but the word “famous” is Strong’s #7148 which was translated as “renown” in Numbers, chapter 1 and it is only used three times in the Old Testament: one time it is translated as “renown” and two times it is translated as “famous.”

The word “famous” is used in a similar way that we use it today. What does it mean? Whether it refers to a sports personality or a movie star or a politician, people know of this person and this person has power and authority because they are known. It has that type of idea and these men were “princes of the assembly” and “famous in the congregation, men of renown.” In the wilderness sojourn these men were leaders over Israel and they had probably been known as leaders in Egypt, where families were important; they were prominent in their families and they ruled over the people, as it said back in Numbers, chapter 1, where it said they were princes and “heads of thousands in Israel.” These men were rulers over other Israelites. During the church age, we would say they were pastors and elders and they would direct their congregations. It even says they were famous in the assembly or congregation, men of renown, and 250 of these men rose up against Moses and Aaron, as it says in Numbers 16:3-4:

And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and JEHOVAH is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of JEHOVAH?

These men were the famous ones. They were the leaders of Israel and, yet, God did something unique in delivering the Israelites out of their cruel bondage and captivity in Egypt because God did not really use these men, did He? When we read the account in the Book of Exodus, God came to Moses and He told Moses that Aaron would be his mouthpiece. God would speak to Moses and Moses would speak to Aaron. God put His Word in Moses’ mouth and Moses gave these Words to Aaron to speak and there was also the rod. That was all and that is how God delivered the Israelites through His mighty power. He used primarily these two men and He sent them to Pharaoh. God did not come to the princes of the congregation, the men of renown. He just used these two Levites and, of course, God wrought His great deliverance and everyone came out of Egypt. They were happy at first for a short while until the hot sun started beating down upon them and the food and water was not certain and there was the judgment of God causing them to wander for 40 years because of the evil report of 10 of the 12 spies and only Joshua and Caleb gave a good report.

So these princes were frustrated and they were not able to exercise their authority and power in the wilderness. God spoke only to Moses and laid down the Law and Moses relayed the Law to the people. They could not see God. They just saw Moses and they heard Moses speak, so they get the wrong idea that because Moses and Aaron are telling them what to do from God that it was actually the ideas of Moses and Aaron. You can see that from what it says in Numbers 16:3-4:

And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and JEHOVAH is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of JEHOVAH?

You can see that they are offended because these two men were not princes in the congregation or famous men of renown and, yet, they are the ones giving the orders and relaying the commandments of God, so they accuse them of trying to set themselves up as rulers.

We know what happened. It says in Numbers 16:31-35:

And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. And there came out a fire from JEHOVAH, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

God made it known that these famous men of renown in the congregation were under His wrath. They had been heads over thousands and, yet, they had never become saved and they were under the wrath of God, so when they attempted to usurp the authority of Moses and Aaron that had been given by God, then God judged them. They were destroyed by fire and if you are destroyed by fire it is a big indicator that you are unsaved and under the wrath of God. We know that these 250 men were tied together with another 14,700 others that died in a plague. It says in Numbers 16:49:

Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.

We can add the 14,700 to the 250 and we get 14,950 and this number breaks down to “5 x 10 x 13 x 23.” God definitely has the atoning work of Christ in view (5), as well as completeness (10) and the end of the world (13) and the time of the Great Tribulation (23) when God would destroy the wicked, the mighty men of renown. Again, it would relate to those that have the name of God but are not saved.

Now let us look at what the Hebrew word translated as “renown” actually means. It is Strong’s #8034 and it was used in Genesis, chapter 5 and many other times in Genesis. It says in Genesis 5:2-3:

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, after his image; and called his name Seth:

Also, it says in Genesis 5:29:

And he called his name Noah…

It is the word “name.” Remember when we were going through the genealogies, we said there was a clue phrase in the Hebrew which was “qârâ – shêm” or “called his name,” which indicated an immediate father/son relationship. The word “shêm” is “name” and it is Strong’s #8034. So when God says, “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,” it literally means “men of a name.” What name is that? It is obvious that it is the name of God. It says in Isaiah 4:1:

And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man…

The “seven women” here relate to the seven churches spoken of in Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, representing the entire corporate church. The “one man” is the Lord Jesus Christ. It goes on to say in Isaiah 4:1:

…saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

They want to eat their own bread which is their own doctrine. They want to wear their own apparel which means they will not submit to the idea that we are saved by the faith of Christ and salvation is all His work and His righteousness. They develop their own salvation program to obtain their own righteousness to wear as their apparel, but they are taking hold of the Lord Jesus Christ and they start out by saying, “We do not want the true Gospel. We do not want your righteousness, but we want our own righteousness". However, at the end of the verse, they add, “only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” They want to be called by the “name” of renown and they want to be famous in the congregation and men “of a name.” They want the name of Christ and they want the name of Christian.

You can look at a world full of corrupt churches today and you can see that they eat their own bread and they wear their own apparel. They do not want the true doctrine of Christ and the Bible. They do not want His righteousness, but they do want His name, so the Pentecostal churches call themselves “Christians” and the Lutherans called themselves “Christians.” Those that add to the Bible call themselves “Christians” and those that take away from the Bible call themselves “Christians,” and so forth. They still want to be “men of a name” or “men of renown.” It is just the same today as it was in ancient times before the flood. There were these “mighty men” or “men of a name.” They were in the line of God and they had a name or reputation for being aligned with the true God, the Creator who created all things.

Yet, notice that God emphasizes that the “sons of God” came together with the “daughters of men” to produce “men of a name” in the preliminary movement that led to the destruction of the flood. God is setting up the historical situation prior to the flood by revealing that the spiritual condition of the world of that time was one of apostasy. They had fallen away from truth. They were just like the corporate churches at the end of time. Then God would come in judgment, as typified by the flood, and it would be the time of the final judgment of the world.