In The Beginning | From Adam To Noah: Principles From Genealogy
In the Beginning: (Part VII)
FROM ADAM TO NOAH: PRINCIPLES FROM GENEALOGY
Genesis 5:1-8 (ESV) 1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. 2 Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created. 3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. 4 The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters. 5 Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died. 6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh. 7 Seth lived after he fathered Enosh 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8 Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.
How many of you have submitted your DNA in order to discover your ancestry? In the past couple of years, there have been so many ancestry testing businesses that were started because people, especially here in the United States, have become really interested in discovering their ancestry. Since the technology is available and very reliable (many say more than 90% reliable), many people are taking advantage of it in order to find out at least the following information:
• The Percentages of Ethnicity – to identify your race and where your ancestors lived.
• Validate Family Stories – To determine if family stories about their ancestors are true.
• Famous People – To find out if they are related to someone famous.
• Trace Medical Conditions –To assess the risk of getting certain medical conditions that tend to run in their families.
• Find Biological Parents – To determine the birth parents of an adopted child. Alternatively, to find children given up for adoption.
So, would you be interested in knowing your ancestry? Certainly, there are some undeniable benefits in tracing ancestries. And this is the main reason why even in the Bible, you have passages where genealogies are recorded. For example, in the book of Genesis, there are two places where we can find a record of genealogies. First, we have Genesis 5, which the genealogy from Adam to Noah. Then, you have Genesis 11 – the genealogy from Shem, the son of Noah, to Abraham. The question now is: Since we are studying the book of Genesis, are we going to skip the chapters on genealogies because they simply mention names and how long they lived on earth? Definitely not! Our conviction about the Bible is based on 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV): 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Because the Bible plainly states, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching,” then, we must carefully examine our passage and try to uncover some of the important principles here.
Before we dive into some of these principles, let’s just quickly review what we have studied already from the previous chapters: 1. God created everything, including Adam and Eve, the first human beings. 2. Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord and were thrown out of paradise.
3. Sin brought corruption to human nature, as well as in relationships resulting to Cain killing his own brother, Abel.
As we come to chapter 5, we will find families growing and expanding. In order to vividly present this growth, we have been given a family tree or a genealogy. What can we learn from this?
I WE MUST ESTABLISH A GODLY SEED
As we begin to read this genealogy, especially verses 1-4, it is quite clear that Cain was not mentioned here. If you go back to chapter 4:17-24, the line of Cain is listed separately. Last Sunday, we ended our sermon looking at the tragic decision of Cain: Genesis 4:16 (ESV) 16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Instead of humbling himself and repenting from his sins, Cain decided that he did not want anything to do with God, so he lived far away from the Lord.
However, I want you to see a contrast: Genesis 4:25-26 (ESV) 25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” 26 To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.
While Cain’s decision was to move away from the Lord, Seth took the opposite route. He set his family in the culture of calling in the name of the Lord. Therefore, when the family line of Adam was established, it is based on the godly seed, Seth, and not on the ungodly line of Cain.
Now, I want us to jump to Luke 3:37-38 (ESV): 37 “[T]he son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.”
Luke 3, starting from verse 23 to 38 is the record of Jesus’ genealogy. If you consider these last two verses, Jesus Christ was literally traced back from the godly line of Seth. This is really significant in terms of the salvation that God has promised in Genesis 3:15 (the “offspring of the woman” who will bruise the serpent’s head).
What kind of a family line are you establishing today? Are you building a godly line or an ungodly line? Remember, God keeps a record of our family line, and He is interested in us establishing a godly heritage. I would like to believe that John was conscious of this when he wrote: 3 John 1:4 (ESV) 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
My prayer is that our children and grandchildren will continue the follow the godly paths that we are setting for them.
II WE MUST EMBRACE DEATH
The next principle we can draw from this genealogy is the fact that, whether we like it or not, all of us are heading to the grave. In the whole chapter, there are seven patriarchs who are mentioned. Let me give you the rundown of how long they lived on earth.
Patriarchs Age at Birth of Years lived after Total age
ADAM 130 SETH 800 930
SETH 105 ENOSH 807 912
ENOSH 90 KENAN 815 905
KENAN 70 MAHALALEL 840 910
MAHALALEL 65 JARED 830 895
JARED 162 ENOCH 800 962
ENOCH 65 METHUSELAH 300 365
METHUSELAH 187 LAMECH 782 969
LAMECH 182 NOAH 595 777
NOAH 500 SHEM, HAM, JAPHETH
If you read the genealogy, it’s a repetition of these patriarchs living and dying, living and dying, etc. Although, during these early times, many of them lived more than nine hundred years of age, they still ended up dying. This validates the warning that God gave Adam and Eve in Genesis 2:17 (ESV): 17 “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Yes, the penalty of sin is death. All of us must embrace this reality first in order for us to appreciate what God has provided in order to escape it. Here are two great passages: Romans 6:23 (ESV) 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The only way we can escape death is by receiving the eternal life that is found in Jesus Christ. God is giving this to us for free. The moment we open our heart to Jesus Christ and accept Him as the One who can cleanse us from our sins, we also receive His eternal life. The next verse is: John 11:25-26 (ESV) 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
In this verse, Jesus is clearly teaching about the resurrection from death to life. This is important – even if we die, if we died believing in Jesus Christ, we are guaranteed with the hope of the resurrection. So, it is as if we never died. I hope and pray that we will not take this truth for granted.
III WE MUST ELEVATE INTIMACY WITH GOD
The third principle from the passage is found in Genesis 5:21-24 (ESV): 21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 22 Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
Everyone of the patriarch lived and died except Enoch, the father of Methuselah. Instead of death, God decided to take him alive. Throughout the Bible, there were only two Bible characters who experienced being taken to heaven alive – Enoch and Elijah.
What made Enoch unique and special? The passage described it twice as “Enoch walked with God.” (vv. 22, 24). This idea of “walking with God” is understood in the Bible as an expression of “having an intimate friendship with God.” It carries the picture of two close friends going in the same direction and enjoying each other’s company. The next usage of this phrase in Genesis will be found in Genesis 6:9 (ESV) 9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
Notice, “Noah walked with God” as well. Without a doubt, Noah’s quality of friendship with God spared him and his family from the judgment of the great flood. How close are we to God? I recently read this story:
A boy asked his father: “Dad, what is the size of God?” Then, the father looked up at the sky and saw a plane and asked his son: “What is the size of this plane?” The boy replied, “it is very small. I can hardly see it.” Then, the father took him to the airport and as they approached a plane, he asked, “Now, my son, how big is the plane?” The boy replied, “Wow dad, it’s really huge!” Then the father told him, “In the same way, God’s size depends on how close or far you are to him. The closer you are to Him, the greater and greater he will be in your life!”
What a great story and so true! Often, we fail to experience the greatness of God in our lives because we are too far from Him. Let’s do our best to elevate walking intimately with God.
IV WE MUST ENJOY OUR REST IN GOD
Lastly, we want to read the description of Lamech, the father of Noah in Genesis 5:28-31 (ESV) 28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son 29 and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” 30 Lamech lived after he fathered Noah 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31 Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.
When Lamech finally had a son, he named him Noah because of his desire to find relief from their burdens coming from their “work and painful toil.”
It is true that because sin brought us multiple curses, our life on earth is full of heavy burdens. King Solomon reinforced this truth in Ecclesiastes 2:22-23 (ESV) 22 What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
I believe you will understand this better if you read this in the New International Version: Ecclesiastes 2:22-23 (NIV) 22 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
Notice verse 23, “All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest.” How many of us are overwhelmed because of all the burdens of life? Let me encourage you to enter the rest that is found in Jesus Christ. There is a passage in Hebrews that addresses this truth: Hebrews 4:8-11 (NIV) 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
During the time of Joshua, every Israelite thought that entering the Promised Land will give them the rest they were longing for. However, they didn’t realize that it was only a symbol of a much greater rest that God has prepared in Jesus Christ.
Beloved, if we are in Christ today, all these burdens are temporary. We are looking forward to the day when all our griefs and pains will be gone. Listen to how it is described: Revelation 21:3-4 (NIV) 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
As I close, I trust that we don’t just live our lives without aspiring to experience everything that God has prepared for us. I pray that we will totally understand that our best life is found only in Jesus Christ!