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Studies in Genesis, The Righteous Line, Lesson XV, Genesis 5:1-32
We have come to the place in our study where we are introduced to the righteous line.
And we call this line righteous, not because all in this line were perfect but only because it is the line that leads to Jesus Christ, promised by God to Eve.
Prior to this introduction God took us on the way of Cain.
The way of Cain is a way produced by the nature that Adam and Eve passed on to Cain after their fall, a nature of rebellion against God, a nature of disobedience to the Word of God.
It is called the unrighteous way, which produces the unrighteous line.
But remember God promised Eve that her seed would also bring forth a line which would bring one who would wound the head of the serpent who is Satan and that line is revealed to us in Genesis 4:25,26 and Genesis 5
So after seeing the darkness of Cain’s way we come to the light of Enos and Seth’s way for when they came on the scene then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.
God always has a light to shine in darkness for where sin abounds, grace did much more abound.
And here at this point in history it seems that the proclamation of God’s word had begun and men joined together in worship calling upon the name of the Lord together with other men.
So having focused on the unrighteous line we can read of the righteous line in Genesis 5.
And in the interest of time I will only read the first 8 verses of Genesis 5:
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; 2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. 3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth: 4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: 5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. 6 And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos: 7 And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters: 8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died. Now Genesis 5 prominently uses the word begat for in this short chapter this word is used 27 times.
Begat is used in the KJV of the Bible 139 times, 120 in the Old Testament and 19 in the New Testament.
It occurs 54 times in I Chronicles, 7 times more than in Genesis where it is mostly used in our chapter 5.
God has been careful to bring us to know that he indeed kept his promise to Eve that he would bring forth a deliverer and the word begat is important to that promise.
God gives us a trail to follow.
Chapter five lists the names of 13 men with the years from their birth to the birth of a son and the years given to them after that birth and their total age at death.
These 13 men, with their age at death are Adam 930 years, Seth 912 years, Enos 905 years, Cainan 910 years, Mahalaleel 895 years, Jared 962 years, Enoch 365 years, a short life on the earth for the Lord took him, Methuselah 969 years, Lamech 777 years, Noah 950 years and his three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Only Noah gets to list more than one son.
The genealogy of the fourth chapter was a short one compared to chapter five where we are brought from the family of Adam to the family of Noah, that family where God judged the world of sin and forever changed the world, environment and all.
Chapter five is one of many genealogies listed in the Bible.
When we read this one in chapter five it is not meant to be read as a complete list of the children from Adam to Noah for that is not the reason for the listing.
Here we are given an introductory listing of the line of generations with ultimately, in later parts of the Bible, leading to the deliverer promised to Eve.
In 1 Timothy 1:4, Paul warned Timothy about too much study and argument about genealogies so we are to just simply accept what is written and not try to discover things that are not revealed.
This genealogy is given along with many of those in the Old and New Testament to point to the Lord Jesus Christ as the seed of the woman, the deliverer promised to Eve after the fall.
The first sentence describes this chapter’s purpose for it is the book of the generations of Adam.
As we said before it does not completely describe all who came from Adam for we see the obvious omission of Abel and Cain and no doubt there are many others not included for otherwise who did Cain marry?
So ending with Noah and his family in the Ark of God, only eight human beings allowed to come into the post flood world, we know that this line is the line of the holy seed promised by God to deliver man from sin for nowhere on the Ark was a place found for those walking on Cain’s way.
So we will see the deliverance of Noah and his family is but an example of the ultimate deliverance of all who put their faith in that holy seed of God.
This chapter is indeed provided for a contrast between the line of Cain and the line of Seth.
There are even two Enochs and two Lamechs, one in each line, one each godly and one each worldly.
God is not careful to give us numbers of years in Cain’s line but in Seth’s line there is a definite numerical pattern.
We are given the age of the individual at the birth of the named son, the years lived after the birth of the son and the age of the man at his death.
It is interesting to note that this is like our dating system, BC and AD, Before Christ, and After Death, but in this case, Before Child and After Child.
Again this shows that each of these men are specially listed because they are in the line of men toward Christ.
And we are given to see the long lives of the men who lived before the flood, and their ability to procreate at what we would call advanced age.
This shows that great differences in health and environment were before the flood as compared to the age after the flood.
And another reason for long lives was to populate the earth fairly rapidly.
So this listing shows that man was originally intended to live many years even after the fall.
Note in this account how many of the men listed almost reached the 1000 year mark, the length of a millennium.
We know from Isaiah 65:20 that this will be the norm in the millennium kingdom.
20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old;
So what we consider normal today regarding age is really a deviation from the intentions of God, brought about by sin and the changes to the earth after the flood and even by our poor caretaking of the earth.
So the millennial period as far as age is concerned will be a time of regaining that which was before the flood.
Another contrast we see in chapter five is its emphasis on death whereas in chapter four pertaining to the descendants of Cain death is not mentioned.
I think this is expected, for the sinner without Christ avoids this subject for to him death is final.
I know from my own experience that this subject is one to be avoided with those who know not Christ but to those that know Him death is simply a promise by God given to Adam and Eve, but a promise followed by another to be delivered from its consequences.
Death to the believer is no more death but simply an entrance into the halls of heaven.
The significance of death in the context of the book of Genesis is connected to God’s telling Adam and Eve that they would surely die in the day they ate of the forbidden tree.
It is natural for God to list the day of perishing, even of the godly for the word of God is sure and God always keeps his word, in judgment and in salvation.
Chapter four lists the accomplishments of Cain and his descendants, boasts about this life and an avoidance of that which God said were the consequences of life without him, life in this world only, life filled with the satisfaction of self.
Is not this the norm of Cain’s way as we see this very thing filling our earth today.
Along Cain’s way the monuments of men are seen everywhere with the reality of death hidden away and avoided or even tried to escape from.
But Cain and his descendants are absent from the Ark of God, that saving vessel guaranteed to carry the small remnant into the new post flood earth toward the coming of Christ.
So the contrast in Cain’s line is stark, death not being mentioned but what is mentioned in Seth’s line is the name of the Lord.
Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.
We are given a listing of men, not of the achievements of the world but men of faith.
24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
And Lamech, who named his son Noah: saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.
Lamech looked back and understood that sin laid at the door of their troubles and he knew that comfort, that is redemption, would come from this line toward the Christ.
And though thousands of children were born in those days God preserved this line of men ending with Noah who was to be the new beginning for a great flood would begin the earth anew.
God’s promise could have easily been broken by the flood and all men destroyed but he insured by this single thread of life in Noah and his descendants that the Savior was indeed to come.
Eve’s seed was preserved and God’s word carefully shows this by this genealogy.
We are reminded of 2 Timothy 3:16-17, All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
So we are to know that even God’s, sometimes laboriously read genealogies, are very profitable! So studying these two chapters, prominent with genealogies provides us with God’s priorities of life. I think of what is to take place as we all stand before God, pictured for us in: Revelation 20:12-15, And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
So I read in this of no mention of a man’s contributions to civilization and to culture, to the arts or to the sciences or even to the mundane ordinary routine of life.
There is nothing here that speaks of your reputation or your fame, or your education or the number of children you brought into the world, or your faithfulness or loyalty to your mate.
What is that which God approves?
What God approves is whether your name is written down in the book of life.
Those on Cain’s way did not appear in that book for they were wrapped up in the building of cities, and the herding of cattle and the development of music and the creation of invention.
They were of the line that would lead to Jacob’s brother, Esau who despised the birthright and sold it for a mess of porridge.
But those listed in chapter five were those who began to call upon the name of the Lord.
For they were those among men who recognized personal sin and its abomination to a holy God.
They were those who believed the promise to Eve of one to come, one who would release them from the chains of sin and bring them into the presence of their Creator.
They were of the ones who believed that faith is that which pleases God and their works had no merit in the presence of an Almighty God.
There are only two genealogies given here so it is clear that all who come into this life will claim one of them.
You are in Adam or you are in Christ.
Adam begat Cain and Adam begat Seth.
Two boys, two results.
One a man of the world, one a man of God.
After looking intently in the book of life his name, this man of the world, will not be found and he will be cast into the lake of fire.
But the other, because he looked afar off and saw a city, not made by Cain, but made by God, his name will be found in the book of life and this man of God will be welcomed home to live with his deliverer for all of eternity. |