Verse 1. “This is the book of the generations of Adam.
In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.”
The “generations” of Cain, son of Adam and Eve, were
compromised in God’s sight because Cain became a murderer in thought and in
action. The “generations” of Abel never happened because he was murdered by his
brother, Cain. As we saw in Genesis 4:25-26, we are now looking at a new
generation, the line of Seth, son of Adam and Eve. Humanity has often missed it,
but the importance of these events is that a line, a generation, would start
from this young man and it would lead to the birth of the Messiah, the "Seed," Christ Jesus,
thousands of years in the future. And note the phrase, “this is the book.” As we
saw in Chapter 4, the people of antiquity built cities, invented musical
instruments, fashioned metals and this verse suggests they had also developed
the skill of writing. “The book” of this verse was very likely brought by Noah
from the old world to the new, and then read and copied in later times, forming
a portion, the beginning of the first Book of Moses.
Again we must wonder about this “likeness” or “image” of
God, mentioned here and in places like Genesis 1:27. To look at it from a merely
anthropomorphic standpoint is insufficient. When we consider our limitations,
our failures and our frailties, we must confess that our bodies and our minds
fall short of the glory of God as He is seen in Scripture. Something of GOD
Himself had been in Adam, and in Eve as well, but it was then lost. We must find
the answer in the Word of God, for only He knows what it means, and in 2
Corinthians 4:4, we find the words, “Christ… (is)
the image of God.” The
“likeness” of God is found in Jesus Christ.
Verse 2. “He created them male and female, and He
blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created.”
The word for “Man” in this verse is the name “Adam.” In
Genesis 1:26-27, we find that the first “man,” which is to say, mankind, was
created “in the image of God.” And that image was expressed as “male and
female...” The “image of God” is not merely physical in nature like a human is
physical, because if it was, then if God is “male,” he would not be “female” and
if “female,” He would not be "male." And further, “God is Spirit” as it says in
John 4:24. He is infinitely more than a person in a mere physical body. He is
God.
Galatians 3:25-29, refers to the “likeness of God”
as in Genesis 5:1, as “Sons of God.” The verses in
Galatians refer to them as “neither male nor female” and it continues, “for
you are all one in Christ Jesus.” You may want to read Galatians 3 on this
subject, for it defines our relationship with God as one based on “faith,” as it
always has been for the people of God. The Hebrew boys who went into the
furnace, acted on the basis of faith in the Lord (Daniel 3:17-18), and so it was
for all who followed God in what we call the “Old Testament.” The “likeness of
God” (Verse 1), whether in a male or female, is restored in us through faith in
the Lord.
Verse 3. “When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty
years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his
image, and named him Seth.”
It has seemed preposterous to many that Adam (and Eve)
would have a child at the age of “one hundred and thirty years.” That’s because
we really don’t understand either the people of antiquity or the power of the
living God. Very few in modern times have ever even LIVED to 130, let alone
producing a child at such an age. “In the beginning,” the earth was a much more
protected environment than it is at the present time. The air, water and land
were pure and uncontaminated.
Adam and Eve had none of the genetic damage that has
occurred to humanity through the millennia this race has been on earth. They
were to live literally hundreds of years, and if you carefully read the
genealogies of Genesis as to the pre-Flood world, the people of that time didn’t
even reach puberty until around 65-years of age. Seth may or may not have been
the third child of his parents because Adam and Eve had “other sons and
daughters” (Verse 4), but he is named specifically because he was the one
selected by the Lord to be in the line that would lead to the Messiah, Jesus, the
Christ of God (Luke 3:23, 28).
And note that Adam produced Seth “in
his own likeness,” not in the likeness of God.
Verse 4. “Then the days of Adam after he became the
father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters.”
In this Chapter we will view a genealogy of Adam through
his son, “Seth,” which will reach to the Messiah, thousands of years in the future
from the moment of this verse. Reading these verses, some have missed the
important statement in this verse that Adam (and Eve) “had other sons and
daughters.” It is said that if each of the couples intimated by these verses
just had six children, the earth would have been populated by 120,000 people in
just 800 years.
Adam and Eve had failed God and they knew it. To know
God and then to have failed Him is very difficult for anyone and they would have
subsequently tried to please Him in every way possible, such as in relation to
His command that they “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). Adam had a lot
more than “six” children – the importance of Seth, by the way, was that God
accepted him as an ancestor of the Messiah who was to come (Luke 3:38 &
context).
Verse 5. “So all the days that Adam lived were nine
hundred and thirty years, and he died.”
Adam was “one hundred and thirty years” old when his
son, “Seth” was born (Verse 3). After the birth of Seth, he lived “eight hundred (additional) years” (Verse 4). In this verse the math is done for us, and we see
that the total life span of this man who had been in Eden where there was no
death, was “nine hundred and thirty years.” And then came the crushing
fulfillment of God’s warning, “in the day that you eat of (the tree of knowledge
of good and evil) you shall surely die.” Adam
"died."
It’s interesting how God’s timing is so much different
than the way we view what we call, "time." It is entirely likely that when Adam bit into
whatever the fruit of that tree was (Genesis 3:6), he was expecting Eve to die right
before his eyes, and he thought he would physically die with her. As it says in
places like 2 Peter 3:8, “with
the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day.” Yes Adam and Eve would die physically, but
not for a long time. God does keep His Word, and as it says in this verse,
Adam subsequently “died.”
Father, we know that You love us. We are
sinners from a race of sinners and we cannot live, except You give us life.
We confess our sins and we trust in Your Word, Your Son, the "Seed" of God,
understanding that He died for our sins and we are safe in Him. We receive
You and we praise Your Holy Name. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Genesis 5:6-20
Verses 6-8. “Seth lived one hundred and
five years, and became the father of Enosh. Then Seth lived eight hundred and
seven years after he became the father of Enosh, and he had other sons and
daughters. So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he
died.”
“Seth” was the son of Adam,
the first human being on earth, and this younger man lived “nine
hundred and twelve years” years, a little less in longevity than his dad,
who lived to be “nine hundred and thirty” (Verse
5). As stated previously, Seth is named as an ancestor of David, the second king
of Israel, and also of the Messiah, as listed in Luke Chapter Three and in other
places. One of Seth’s “sons and daughters”
was the man “Enosh” ("mortal") named in this verse. "Enosh" is listed as "Enos"
in some translations.
Verses 9-11. “Enosh lived ninety years,
and became the father of Kenan. Then Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years
after he became the father of Kenan, and he had other sons and daughters. So all
the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died.”
One of Seth’s sons, probably the first son, was named “Enosh”
or “Enos,” which means “mortal.” By the time of
this verse, every mother and father absolutely knew that they and their children
were mortal. They knew that the promise of God was true, from the day He stated
the words, “you shall surely die,” to the present time of this verse
and on into the unforeseeable future. And much like the others, Enosh had “other
sons and daughters” – to our possible credit, humanity did seem to
respond well to God’s command to mankind: “Be fruitful and
multiply” (Genesis 1:28). Enosh lived "nine
hundred and five years," a very great age by modern standards, and
neither the Bible nor God is worried if you don't accept it that ancient humans
lived for so long a time. The fact is, Scripture says they did, and we are
allowed to be like
judges who can choose whether we believe it or we don't.
Verses 12-14. “Kenan lived seventy
years, and became the father of Mahalalel. Then Kenan lived eight hundred and
forty years after he became the father of Mahalalel, and he had other sons and
daughters. So all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years, and he
died.”
“Kenan” was the son of Enosh,
seen in the preceding verses, and he was the grandson of Seth, son of Adam. “Kenan” has also been translated as “Cainan”
which can mean “possession.” Like Enosh, Seth and Adam, "Kenan"
was in the line that would lead to the human birth of the Messiah, as seen in
places like Luke 3:37. You have to wonder: What if you lived “nine hundred and ten years” before you “died?”
What would you do with your long life? The people then were at least as curious and
creative as we are today. It may well be that they reached a high level of
scientific achievement and cultural advancement before it all ended at the time
of the Great Flood in Genesis Chapter Six. The time and people of these verses
may have been much more sophisticated and complex than most have thought.
Verses 15-17. “Mahalalel lived
sixty-five years, and became the father of Jared. Then Mahalalel lived eight
hundred and thirty years after he became the father of Jared, and he had other
sons and daughters. So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and
ninety-five years, and he died.”
“Mahalaleel,” sometimes
translated, “Mahalalel,” is, to the best of the ability of the
translators, a word that means “Praise of God.” He is the son of Kenan (see
previous verses) and the direct descendent of Seth, son of Adam. A slight,
insignificant reduction in his lifespan is seen here as compared to his
predecessors, but an actual trend toward a reduced life expectancy will not be
seen until after the Great Flood, which will be discussed in the next chapter.
Verses 18-20. “Jared lived one hundred
and sixty-two years, and became the father of Enoch. Then Jared lived eight
hundred years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and
daughters. So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and
he died.”
The meaning of the name, “Jared,”
is not clear, except that some have said it is from the word “Descent.”
Actually, the language spoken and probably written during these Pre-Flood times
was not Hebrew, the language of Moses, who wrote down these words, but it was
actually a “proto-language” of all languages that have existed since that time.
Translations of their names are interesting and possibly helpful, but no one is
truly certain about them. It is also interesting that nobody really knows how
these words and places were pronounced, either. And the same goes for ancient
Hebrew and for that matter, New Testament Greek. No one is absolutely certain
about how they pronounced those historic, biblical words. And if someone makes
fun of you about how you pronounce a word in the Bible, you can quote me –
nobody really knows.
Father, thank You for the words of this Chapter that
tell us about our earliest ancestors. Help us to understand that the homeless
man who begs on the street and the rich people who ignore us, and everybody else,
are all our very close relatives, for we have a common ancestry. Help us
to care for those we don't even know. And You know US, Lord. Help us when
we are the most lonely, to feel Your touch and know Your love. In Jesus Name.
Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Genesis 5:21-32
Verse 21-23. “Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became
the father of Methuselah. Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after
he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. So all
the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.”
The name, “Enoch,” likely meant “consecrated.” At first
glance, everything looks about the same for this man as it was for his
predecessors. He reached puberty and began to have children at “sixty-five
years” of age. But reading carefully, there is a difference – at the time of his
son, Methuselah’s birth, Enoch began to “walk... with God”
as we will see in Verse 24. In other words, the
suggestion is that he did not walk with the Lord previously to that time.
Something in relation to the birth of his son caused him to look to he Lord.
Also, as it will be discussed further in the next verse,
Enoch had a remarkably short life span for the time. If you accept these verses
as “gospel;” in other words, if you believe the words of Scripture that these Pre-Flood men and women
actually lived nearly 1000 years, then we must note that Enoch’s life was surprisingly less in length than
the others. The end of his life on earth will be discussed in Verse 24.
Verse 24. “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for
God took him.”
It says in this Verse and it was also written in Verse
22, that Enoch “walked with God.” Psalm 1:1 says, “Blessed is the man who walks
not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in
the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law
he meditates day and night.” In other words, even though, as we will see in
Genesis 6:5 and its context, “wickedness” filled the world of Enoch’s time,
he came to be someone who “walked with God.” He looked to the Lord and trusted in Him. Enoch
became a man
who had faith in his Maker.
Hebrews 11:5 says exactly that – “By faith Enoch was
taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had
taken him…” And Enoch was a prophet who told others to turn from sin and he
spoke of the Lord, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His
holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of their
ungodly deeds…” (Jude 14-15). Like Elijah, who was to come much later in time (2
Kings 2:11 & context), faithful Enoch did not die, “for God took him.”
Verse 25-27. “Methuselah lived one hundred and
eighty-seven years, and became the father of Lamech. Then Methuselah lived seven
hundred and eighty-two years after he became the father of Lamech, and he had
other sons and daughters. So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and
sixty-nine years, and he died.”
We now take a closer look at one of Enoch’s children. We
know that this man, "Methuselah" was not the only son because it is reported that Enoch “had
other sons and daughters” (Genesis 5:22). “Methuselah” is from a phrase that
means, “man of the javelin.” It can suggest that this person was an outdoorsman who
liked to hunt with the spear. It can also imply that he was a warrior who
hunted other men. Also we can notice in this verse that Methuselah must
have had other compelling interests in life, for unlike his contemporaries who
began to have children at around age 65, Methuselah finally found the time to
reproduce at "one hundred and eighty-seven years"
of age.
And, as is typical for the people of that time, who were
responding to God’s command, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28),
Methuselah “had other sons and daughters.” It is likely that even in modern
terms, the population of earth was becoming very large at the
time of this verse. Millions or more may have been walking this earth at the
same time. And it is interesting that Methuselah lived the longest of
any of the patriarchs in Scripture, by surviving for 969 years.
Verse 28-29. “Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two
years, and became the father of a son. Now he called his name Noah, saying,
‘This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising
from the ground which the Lord has cursed.’”
The name, “Lamech” is variously translated “young man…
over-thrower… wild man…” or even “man of prayer.” The latter translation seems
unlikely because of God’s view of mankind at that time: “ALL flesh had corrupted their
way upon the earth” (Genesis 6:12). Somehow though, Lamech did have some idea
that his son Noah would do a special work that was to benefit mankind.
It probably was not understood by him, though, that his
son’s work was to build a great ship which would enable him and only seven others
to survive a Great Flood that was about to take mankind away from the land of
the living. Humanity would have “rest from (their)
work and from the toil of (their)
hands” because most would no longer be alive. Lamech’s
probable feeling was that
mankind was about to be released from the curse that God had placed on the very
ground we walk on (Genesis 3:17).
Verse 30-31 “Then Lamech lived five hundred and
ninety-five years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other sons and
daughters. So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years,
and he died.”
Lamech lived on for “five hundred and ninety-five (more)
years after he became the father of Noah” and his total life span
was “seven
hundred and seventy-seven years,” and then he died like everybody else of that
time. As God put it in His curse upon mankind, “to dust you shall return”
(Genesis 3:19). It is very interesting that Lamech’s relatively short life ended
in or shortly before the year of the Great Flood. And like his predecessors, Lamech had an unknown
number of “other sons and daughters.” The earth was becoming heavily populated.
Over-population is nothing new on this earth. And unfortunately, neither
is sin.
Note there was another “Lamech” at that time who was
descended from Cain. That person is mentioned in Genesis 3:18-24, as a man who
had “two wives” who “avenged” himself by killing two other people. The two Lamechs were distant relatives, but were not the same person.
Verse 32. “Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah
became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
“Noah,” whose name meant “rest,” seems to have been
something of a nonconformist, an outsider, in relation to the society in which he
lived. As God viewed that place and time, “… the earth was filled with violence…
it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth” (Genesis
6:11-12). Noah, however, “was a righteous man, blameless in his time,” and
Scripture continues that he “walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). His standing with
God was further described in Hebrews 11:7, as being “by faith” in the God who
“warned (him) about things not yet seen…”
Another way Noah was somewhat out of step with his
generation was the fact that he, for whatever reasons, waited
until he was “five hundred years old” to begin to have children. And this
verse does not say he “had other sons and daughters” as the Scripture has
reported about his ancestors. His son, “Shem,” which means “name” or “fame,” was
born 98 years before the Flood (Genesis 11:10) and was to be the progenitor of
the Semitic peoples, including Israel and the Arabs. “Ham” which possibly means “hot,” was Noah’s youngest son,
born perhaps 96 years before the Flood, and he was to be the father of the Hamitic peoples,
including the tribes and nations principally located in Africa today. “Japheth” (“God
will enlarge”) has been thought to be Noah’s oldest son by some scholars, though
he is listed last in this verse.
Father, help us to have the kind of faith seen in
Noah. Give us hearts that respond to Your leading and carry out Your will.
In Jesus Name. Amen.
