Jun 19, 2016

Genesis 4:25-5:32

As we note last Sunday, after killing his brother Abel and refusing to respond to the loving appeal of God to repent, Cain sets out creating for himself a world without God. Not only is he successful in his pursuit, but as this society progressed further and further away from God the more immersed into its own perversions it became.

By the time we get to Genesis 6 we see the sad result of Cain’s rebellion. “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. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” What would soon follow? God’s judgment!

And yet… While the world was progressing away from Almighty God, not all men had been swept up in this tide. As we’re about to see, God still had a remnant of the faithful - light bearers in the darkness - a group of people who willingly rejected the things of this world possessing instead the desire to live their lives according to the truth of God’s Word.

Before we move on I want to set up a contrast between the results of rebellion against God and a life in communion with God. Because of Cain’s unwillingness to repent of his sin choosing instead a life apart from God, his life was not only ruined, but he would always live as both a “fugitive” (wanderer) and a “vagabond” (a man without a home).

And yet, if you’ve been restored with God through Jesus those very three things are inverted. Instead of ruin, God restores your life from the effects of sin. Instead of being a wanderer without a home, as Peter wrote (1 Peter 2:11) you can now live as a “pilgrim” (headed to a specific destination) and “sojourner” (the ultimate destination being a home in heaven).

What would you prefer - a life of aimless wandering always filled with discontentment over a life that never seems to satisfy, or a life of purpose, direction, and satisfaction knowing this world is not your home for you’ve been given a destiny with God in heaven? It’s your choice!

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Genesis 4:25-26, “And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord. 

Genesis 5:1-5, “This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.”

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Though Cain was the first-born son of Adam and Eve followed by Abel, it is likely Seth was not the third son in chronology but instead the third in significance. Note: Adam was 130 years old when he had Seth making it highly unlikely he was only his third son by this point.

We’re also told that upon having this boy Eve names him “Seth” believing “God had appointed another seed for me instead of Abel.” While Eve may have initially thought Cain was the promised Savior, it appears she’d come to see Abel as somehow being significant to God’s plans. However, now that Abel was dead, she’s come to recognize it would now be through Seth’s family lineage that a Savior would be born. Note: “Seth” means “appointed.”

Isn’t it interesting that while Cain, no doubt Satanically influenced to commit such a heinous act, was seeking to eliminate the Messianic line in the killing of Abel, we’re told following such a catastrophe Eve “bore again!” You see Seth was the product of a new birth followed by the tragic death of an innocent and righteous man! 

Seth played no role in the process. He did nothing to earn or deserve such a standing. It was only by God’s grace that Seth was simply appointed and given this privilege after Abel’s death! How incredible it is that we are recipients of the same favor of God the exact same way… From the tragic death of the innocent and righteous man Jesus we are born again and included into the family of God! 

Before we dive into the first of a four part study through the genealogy of Genesis 5 (I kid), know there are two reasons why the genealogies of Scripture are so vitally important. 

First, genealogies bolster the historicity of Scripture. Because these lists provide the family histories of significant Biblical characters, we understand the Scriptures to be far from a mere story, allegory, or parable. The genealogy is evidence Adam lived and was preceded by Seth… etc. They were real people who lived actual lives of faith in the promises of God.

Second, genealogies substantiate Jesus as the Promised Savior. In Genesis 3:15 God made a promise to Adam and Eve that it would be through “her Seed” that He would provide a Savior. Then, following the death of Abel, God more specifically revealed that it would be through the family lineage of Seth whereby this Savior would descend. Note: God would later single out Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, then Boaz before whittling the lineage of the Savior down through the household of King David. 

Understand, these genealogical records provide proof that Jesus was the promised Savior because His family lineage could be traced back through these specific individuals. In Matthew 1 Jesus’ lineage is taken back from His adopted and legal father Joseph all the way to Abraham through the family line of David giving Jesus a rightful claim to the throne. 

Then in Luke 3 we’re given the genealogy of Jesus through his mother Mary which traces His family lineage all the way back to Adam through Seth. Why is that important? 

In Genesis 1:26 we’re told the first man Adam was “created in the image and likeness of God;” and yet, according to Genesis 5:3, because of Adam’s sin the rest of humanity (his offspring beginning with Seth) would be begotten “in his own likeness, after his image.”

Understand… This tells us every man that would descend from the seed of Adam would be born with his nature marred by sin. Upon birth we’re all born in the “image and likeness” of Adam meaning we all immediately “fall short” of the original image and glory of God. Case in point sinning doesn’t makes you a sinner - you sin because you’re born a sinner. And if you doubt this reality consider what comes easier: the wrong thing or the right one?

And yet, there is one singular exception to this… Because Jesus descended from Adam through His mother Mary, because He was born without the seed of Adam through a miraculous conception, Jesus would become the only man to be born as Adam originally was… “In the image and likeness of God.” As such Jesus was not warped by a sin nature. He was sinless because He possessed the nature of God and not the fallen nature of Adam.

Well… As it pertains specifically to the flow of this story laid out in Genesis, notice Moses includes this genealogy to transition us from the godless culture descending from the family of Cain (Genesis 4) to a Godly remnant who’d placed their faith in this coming Savior! 

In a chapter filled with godlessness we’re provided a silver-lining when we’re told in the final verse that when Seth was born “men began to call on the name of the Lord.” In a world growing godless by the day there still existed a group of people actively seeking the Lord.

Now before we dive into this list of names I do want to answer a question that often surfaces… How did people live into their 900’s? (We just read that Adam lived 930 years.) For starters, it should be pointed out that this phenomena only existed in a pre-diluvian world with the life-spans remaining rather constant (Adam lived 930 years and Noah 950). 

Secondly, the Bible then documents an immediate decline in life-expectancy in the post-diluvian world following the flood. Noah’s son Shem lived 600 years, but nine generations later Abraham only lived to 175. Moses, who came 500 years after, lives to 120; and yet, this was considered abnormal in a day when the life-expectancy now hovered between 70-80.

While we know death was never part of God’s original design for humanity (our bodies were created to live forever) and that physical death resulted from the addition of sin to the human condition, it does seem the Bible points to there being ecological factors that enabled men to live much longer before Noah’s flood - factors that no longer existed afterwards.

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Genesis 5:6-32, “Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot Enosh. After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died.

Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan. After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died.

Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel. After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.

Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared. After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died.

Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died.

Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died.

Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. (Note: For context consider that Lamech would have been 55 when Adam finally died) And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed.” After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died. And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”

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As we consider this list of names I want to point out an interesting aspect of the genealogical record you would be hard pressed to have seen in just a cursory reading. As we have already noted in Genesis, names are not given because they were trendy. Names were given in order to communicate important realities. The same is true here…

Let’s go through this list… “Adam” - Man; “Seth” - Appointed; “Enosh” - Mortal; “Cainan” - Sorrow; “Mahalalel” - The Blessed God; “Jared” - Shall Come Down; “Enoch” - Teaching; “Methuselah” - His Death Shall Bring; “Lamech” - The Afflicted; and “Noah” - Rest.

What makes this fascinating is what’s communicated when you put all of their names together. This is how it reads: “Man is appointed mortal sorrow; but the Blessed God shall come down teaching that His death shall bring the afflicted rest.” WOW! How incredible that within this genealogy we have presented a hidden message of the Gospel!

Before we move on there is one more aspect of this genealogy that demands our contemplation… And that’s this fascinating and in many ways mysterious man Enoch (seventh generation from Adam). Look again at Genesis 5:21-24, “Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”

The plain reading of this text tells us something very important about this man of great mystery. We’re told “Enoch walked with God” or literally he went away with God “and was not” or was nowhere to be found because “God took him.” In the Hebrew this word “took” is riveting because it means “to take, fetch, lay hold of, seize, or snatch away.”

The reason this detail jumps off the page, aside from the obvious, is that seven times in this chapter we’re given this phrase “and he died” in reference to everyone else listed in the genealogy. The emphasis of this phrase served to communicate that in the fallen world death was inescapable for everyone - accept Enoch. Instead of dying as all those who came before and afterward, we’re given this interesting phrase “God took him!”

This reality is actually confirmed in Hebrews 11:5 where we’re also given a bit more insight into why God may have taken Enoch instead of allowing him to taste death. We read, “By faith Enoch was taken away (literally he was “put in another place”) so that he did not see death… For before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”

It would appear, in a world darkened by sin, this man Enoch provided a contrast by being a shinning light! He was known by everyone who knew him (literally “he had this testimony”) that he was a man of faith who “walked with God.” Beyond this, Enoch “pleased God” not because of the things he did or the sacrifices he made for God, Enoch’s faith in God and walk with God were the primary and singular motivators of God’s pleasure with him!

It’s interesting how often in the N.T. the idea of “walking” is used to describe our spiritual life in Christ. You see walking signifies activity. It denotes continuance. It’s aim is a destination. And yet, walking is rarely associated with work or exertion. As a matter of fact, up until the last few centuries, walking was simply the most base form of human transportation. Walking was the very minimal activity a person had to do to get from one place to another.

Understand… A walk is not only functional, but can also be enjoyable and more often than not communal and relational. Enoch was not working for God or running to God; instead, Enoch was simply walking with God and God was walking with him! How interesting that after all the activities involved with Creation ceased what do we see God doing? 

In Genesis 3:8 we read that Adam and Eve “heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day!” In a sense Enoch joined God in a walk God was already engaged in. As such Enoch possessed a relationship with God that would impact his daily life. His focus was not the activities of earth, but aligning himself with the activities of heaven. He would walk with God and therefore go wherever it was God would lead him!

C.H. Mackintosh writes, “The sons of Cain might spend their energies in the vain attempt to improve a cursed world, but Enoch found a better world, and lived in the power of it. His faith was not given him to improve the world, but to walk with God.”

Keep in mind, Enoch’s walk with God subsequently determined his interactions with the world. His faith not only “pleased God,” but his faith in God was observed by the world around him! Note: This word “testimony” literally implies Enoch was a witness to the world!

With that in mind we must consider… What was Enoch a witness to? In addition to his life naturally demonstrating a walk much different from the “way of Cain,” it’s interesting that the only other place Enoch is mentioned in Scripture is in Jude 1:14-15… In this passage we’re told Enoch, specifically addressing those caught up in this godless society founded by Cain, “prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’”

What this tells us is that Enoch, who’s name we’ve already pointed out means teaching, was a prophet who’s message intended to warn the “ungodly” of the imminent judgment of God - that “the Lord was coming with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all!” 

It’s really interesting that while everyone up until this point had been looking towards the first coming of Christ when He’d save the world from sin, Enoch was the first to look towards His second coming when Jesus would judge the world for sin.

As with most of the O.T. prophets who saw into the future a coming judgment, it is likely in addition to seeing the ultimate End of Days as referenced in Jude, Enoch was also given insight into a global judgment coming much sooner than anyone would have expected. Note: Most Biblical prophecies possessed a dual fulfillment: one in the days the prophecy was made with the other extending out into the future. This dynamic was designed to insure a future prophecy could be trust because a present prophecy was fulfilled.

Notice when our text says a change manifested in Enoch’s life. We’re told his “walk with God” began “after he begot Methuselah.” Apparently, there was something about the birth of this son that rocked his world and would forever alter the trajectory of his life. 

So what was it? As we’ve already noted, naming a child intended to communicate a message. Consider that Enoch names his baby boy “Methuselah” meaning “his death shall bring.” And what happened in the year Methuselah died? God judged the earth with a flood!

Our text gives the impression that what changed Enoch’s life was this prophetic glimpse given to him by God upon the birth of Methuselah. Enoch was not only able to see that a future judgment of this wicked world was imminent, but that it would come when his son died! 

What I find important about this development is how the knowledge of such things impacted the life of Enoch. Not only did this reality provide clarity as to what was most important in his own life (he begins “walking with God”), but Enoch would spend the rest of his days warning this godless society that the divine judgment of God was on the horizon.

It’s interesting that only three categories of people existed when it came to this judgment: As we’ll see next week - You have Noah and his family who were preserved through the judgment followed by a wicked world who was destroyed in the judgment. However, we see here a third - Enoch whom God snatched away before the judgment.

Enoch - a man of faith who pleased God - a man who testified to the world of a coming judgment was supernaturally removed from the earth before that judgment came! Enoch not only didn’t experience a physical death as everyone else, but he was “snatched away” from the earth by God before these events transpired. What a powerful picture of the rapture!

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, “The Lord will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord… Comfort one another with these words.”

It’s sad we live in a Christian culture that has largely diverged away from eschatological evangelism in favor of a more ecclesiastical approach. Instead of telling people that Jesus wants to save them from the coming judgment of God, most churches prefer to avoid such topics by focusing on the ways God wants to improve your life today. In actuality most churches avoid discussing the coming judgment of God altogether.

And while I do agree it’s important we communicate the transformative influence the Gospel message should have on a person’s life presently, as opposed to simply presenting the Gospel as the golden ticket we need to escape future judgment by going to heaven, Enoch illustrates an undeniable reality the American church has tragically forgotten… 

Properly grasping the reality that there is a coming judgment God should naturally yield an immediate impact on your present “walk with God” and should also motivate you to testify of these things unto a fallen world you’ve been commissioned to love like Jesus headed towards this day of reckoning.

Tragically, such an approach has become synonymous with goofy platitudes like “Get right or get left” or worse still the famous line “Turn or burn!” To make matters more disheartening the majority of those heralding such a message are wing nuts who stand outside sporting events yelling at the world through a megaphone that Jesus is coming soon to judge the gays! 

I understand why many people shy away from such a message - who wants to be lumped in with loons or accused of being alarmist, judgmental, or fanatic? Honestly, I also understand the fear of some that such an approach can led to Christians becoming overly obsessed with leaving earth than reaching her. The truth is that as of today the church hasn’t been raptured, Jesus hasn’t returned, and judgment hasn’t commenced - meaning the church’s job of being a witness in the world hasn’t ceased. And yet, there is a reality that God’s judgment is nigh!

You see, as a type for the church, Enoch does illustrate the reality that our knowledge of a coming judgment should manifest in both a greater passion for God and love for the lost! I mean how can we honestly claim to love someone if we’re not willing to warn them of a coming judgment? Enoch didn’t yell, nor did he judge. He simply spoke the truth and allowed his “walk with God” to testified that there was a better life than the “way of Cain.”

Finally, there is one more observation I find to be rather incredible… While God’s judgment may have been inevitable the day Methuselah was born, this judgment wouldn’t come until Methuselah died! With that in mind, I don’t think it’s an accident of all men he would live to the ripe old age of 969 making him the oldest man to have ever lived.

You see… Though God’s judgment was clearly inevitable, I’m convinced - in another act of His amazing grace - God intentionally prolonged Methuselah’s life to give humanity every possible chance to repent and be saved. Sadly, they wouldn’t heed His warnings.