18 Feb 2024
Of Old
Greetings!
Today I've been reading through Genesis chapters 6 - 10. I found something that's a little bit kind of funny and maybe ironic for the first time. You know how that goes with stuff in the Bible you read. Maybe you've read it tons of times before and you come to it and you look at it with some fresh eyes.
So as I read through the beginning of chapter 6 where it has a bunch of stuff that just seems like it's out of, you know, a Marvel movie or whatever, about some different characters, the Nephilim, whoever they were. They're described for us as Mighty Men of Old.
Really fascinating!
I mean, who were they? You know? I mean, I have questions about what's going on here. The 'sons of God' and the 'daughters of men.' It's just some weird formulations of phrasing.
Anyway, here's what I read that I thought was really interesting. Verse 4:
"The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the Mighty Men, who were of old, the men of renown."
The men of renown.
The men of renown. Mighty Men of old.
Some of these words, when I read them, conjure up thoughts of, you know, the heroes. That's why I mentioned Marvel. You know, the godlike heroes of the past. Mighty Men of old. Incredible. You know, maybe like if you ever read these books at one time or another: Conan the Barbarian, or Paul Bunyan, or Odysseus, or someone like that, people like that.
But here's the funny thing. These "Mighty Men of old," these "men of renown" — where are their names? Where is the list of their names, and the list of their deeds and the list of the mighty things that they have done, and the amazing feats that they're known for?
Where are they?
They're not listed. They're not written. They're nowhere to be found.
So when I read that and realized they weren't there, there were no names, there were no lists, I thought maybe I'm meant to read these words with a sense of irony. Maybe with a bit of chuckle.
"These were the Mighty Men Who were of old, the men of renown."
Their deeds are forgotten. Their names are forgotten. Everything about them has come to nothing.
They are not remembered.
But only a few verses later in chapter 6, there is this sentence.
"But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord."
Noah.
Named. Honored. Remembered.
We who live in such a selfie reflective age should look and see and think.
Love, to my West Coast Willseas!
Willsea About...Many Things! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johnwillsea.substack.com/subscribe (https://johnwillsea.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)
