Life and Death
We can trust God to keep His promises.
Genesis(23) (Part of the Origins(23) series)
by Stuart Johns(25) on June 23, 2024 (Sunday Morning(32))
Promise(1), Trust(4), Walk with God(1)
Origins
Life and Death
(Genesis 5:1-32)
INTRODUCTION
“Who knew spitting into a plastic tube would become such a popular pastime? Ancestry.com has more than 23 million members in its DNA network and 23andMe boasts more than 12 million customers worldwide. It’s never been easier to track down that great-great-grandmother from Norway.
We’re also watching professional historians do it on television. We tune in to shows like Antiques Roadshow, Who Do You Think You Are?, and Finding Your Roots. Ancestry sells. Genealogy is having a pop culture moment.
But why now? What are we searching for? Genealogist Bernice Bennett says, ‘There may be some people who are looking to find that they’re connected to Pocahontas, trying to find somebody famous, but you also have others who are saying there’s something missing. Who am I? How can I find that information, and how can it make me feel whole?’
In other words, we’re searching for belonging. We want to recognize ourselves. Our own sense of being and purpose can be reaffirmed when we see ourselves in the generations that have come before us. We are hard-wired for such connection, but many of us feel adrift. Genealogy research and programs tap into an unmet need.”
Source: Erin Rodewald, “Family Ties and the Gift of Belonging,” The Washington Institute (Accessed 7/10/23).
[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2024/february/genealogy-sites-reveal-our-search-for-roots.html].
BODY
ME
Death
I have an aunt on my father’s side who has done some extensive genealogy work for the Johns family tree
I don’t know that we are related to anyone famous
I had a great uncle that used to tell people that we were related to the founder of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD
The name of the hospital is not a meshing of two last names
The founder of Johns Hopkins, a man named Johns Hopkins
He was a philanthropist who never married or had children
Genealogies look back to those who have passed away, who have experienced death
Life
Genealogies also represent life as they show the progression of a family line from generation to generation
The Lord has blessed us with three sons
They have a lot of pressure on them to carry on the family name
My father was the only boy in his family
My brother and I are the only sons in our family
My brother only had girls
My great uncle only had one boy and he only had girls
So, you see, my sons are the only Johns boys left to carry on the family name
Our oldest son has a boy (at least one more generation)
Our middle son has two girls
Our youngest son is not married yet
WE
How many of us have traced our genealogy? (Any famous ancestors?)
How does our future look?
In Genesis 5:1-32 we see the first official genealogy listed in the Bible. Through this genealogy, we will see that God kept His promise to Adam and Eve concerning blessing through life and the consequences of sin through the curse of death. We can learn from this genealogy that . . .
BIG IDEA – We can trust God to keep His promises.
Let’s pray
GOD (Genesis 5:1-32)
Second toledot [to-led-aw’/toe-lay-doth’] (v. 1a)
Genesis 5:1 begins the second of ten “the account of…” sections
This is the account “of Adam’s line through his godly offspring” [Gangel & Bramer, Holman Old Testament Commentary, Genesis, 59]
It concludes at Genesis 6:8 (as we will see in a couple of weeks)
Creation (vv. 1b-2)
We see a return to Genesis 1:26-28 (Read it)
“It is important to recognize that man is unique in all creation because he alone was made in the likeness of God (see Gen. 1:26-27).” [Gangel & Bramer, 59]
What God did when He created human beings
Made them in His likeness (image bearers)
“The disobedience of the Fall did not destroy God’s image.” [Waltke, Genesis: A Commentary, 113]
PRINCIPLE #1 – We are God’s image bearers.
Jon Cromer did an excellent job two weeks ago of reminding us that we are image bearers
We either bear the image of a god we have created in our own image or we bear the image of the only true God
We are not to make anything a god, make God into something He is not, or marginalize God by using his name flippantly
Bearing God’s image is a privilege and a sacred responsibility
Are you bearing the image of the only true God or are you bearing the image of a god you have created in your own image
#1 – My Next Step Today Is To: Make sure that I am bearing the image of the only true God.
God not only made Adam and Eve in His own likeness, but He also defined gender and limited it to only two
Defined two genders (male and female)
God only created two genders, male and female, and He did not make a mistake when He created you (God is perfect)
“In his book Transgender, author/pastor Vaughn Roberts draws on a distinction made by John Wyatt between the ‘Lego kit’ view of the human body and the ‘art restoration’ view of the human body. According to the ‘Lego kit’ view, if we have just emerged from the primeval slime by chance, then there is no design whatsoever in how we happen to be. The structure of the human body is value free, so if you want to change your sex, that's fine.
The ‘art restoration view’ acknowledges that we are not machines; we are flawed masterpieces. If you see a work of art and you're asked to restore it, you don't look at it and say, ‘Well, I think he would look much nicer with a pair of spectacles.’ Or, ‘This scene would look better with a car instead of a hay cart.’ To do that is to break the code of the art restorer. Art restorers respect the work, and know that their job is to bring out the artist's original intention. They work at cleaning and restoring the vivid colors. They study the work and the painter so they can carefully get it back to what it once was. They work so that people can see the original in all its glory.
Roberts’ states further, ‘The aim is to restore the Creator's intention: but we are not to try to change it. And that will certainly mean accepting the sex that he has given us.’”
Source: Vaughn Roberts, ‘Transgender’ (The Good Book Co, 2016), pages 36-37
[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2017/october/7100217.html]Let’s celebrate God’s creation of us, instead of questioning it
Satan is attempting to do the same thing in our culture that he did with Eve in the garden
He is trying to create reasonable doubt about God’s goodness – “Did God really say . . .”
He is trying to create doubt about God’s holiness and perfection in creating – “God actually made a mistake when He created you a male or a female”
We can trust in God’s attribute of holiness, He is perfect without sin (He does not make mistakes)
God made them in His likeness, both male and female, but He also blessed them
Blessed them (be fruitful and increase in number)
The listing of ten names in this chapter indicates completeness, but also blessing [Mathews, The New American Commentary, Vol. 1A, Genesis 1-11:26, 308]
Every one of these names listed also includes the phrase and had other sons and daughters
This is a clear indication of blessing
Each generation was fruitful and increased in number
So, God created two genders in His likeness and blessed them, but He also identified them
Identified them (“man”, Hebrew adam)
God is the One who identified Adam and Eve as adam (man)
In our modern day and age we would say, God identified us as human beings, which is another way of saying “man”
After a short review of creation, the narrator begins the genealogy of Adam
“Genealogies are a brisk and efficient way of communicating the passage of time and the development of a story, a little like the speeded-up summaries of ‘previously on’ that sometimes open episodes of a television series.” [Goldingay, Bake Commentary on the Old Testament, Pentateuch, Genesis, 113]
This happens mostly between seasons now, since streaming services almost always provide an entire season all at once
Growing up it happened more frequently between episodes, because we had to wait an entire week for the next episode to air
We now transition from creating to procreating
Procreation (vv. 3-32)
Genealogical pattern
Name of the individual
Their age when they became a father
Name of their son
How long they lived after having their son
They had other sons and daughters
Total number of years they lived
The individual died
There are a couple of exceptions to this pattern that we will address when we get there
The account of Adam
Adam was 130 years old when Seth was born and he lived another 800 years during which he had other sons and daughters before he died at 930 years old (vv. 3-5)
We are told that Adam had a son in his own likeness/image
“God passes on his image by creating; Adam passes on his image by procreating.” [Goldingay, 118]
Seth was 105 years old when Enosh (en-ohsh’) [“man or a man”] was born and he lived another 807 years and had other sons and daughters before he died at 912 years old (vv. 6-8)
Enosh (en-ohsh’) was 90 years old when Kenan (kay-nawn’) [“possession”] was born and he lived another 815 years and had other sons and daughters before he died at 905 years old (vv. 9-11)
Kenan (kay-nawn’) was 70 years old when Mahalalel (mah-hal-al-ale’/mah-ha-lal-ale/) [“praise of God”] was born and he lived another 840 years and had other sons and daughters before he died at 910 years old (vv. 12-14)
Mahalalel (mah-hal-al-ale’/mah-ha-lal-ale/) was 65 years old when Jared (yeh’-red) [“descent”] was born and he lived another 830 years and had other sons and daughters before he died at 895 years old (vv. 15-17)
Jared (yeh’-red) was 162 years old when Enoch (khan-oke’/khan-oak’) [“dedicated”] was born and he lived another 800 years and had other sons and daughters before he died at 962 years old (vv. 18-20)
Enoch (khan-oke’/khan-oak’) was 65 years old when Methuselah (meth-oo-sheh’-lakh/mah-thoo-sheh’-lack) [“man of the dart”] was born and he walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters before God took him away at 365 years old (vv. 21-24)
Seventh generation from Adam
Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam through Seth
Last week we saw that Lamech was the seventh generation from Adam through Cain
Lamech was self-centered, boastful, and prideful, while Enoch walked with God
These two men were polar opposites
As was mentioned last week there were two lines that came from Adam, one was godless (Cain) and the other godly (Seth)
Enoch walked with God
It is mentioned twice that Enoch walked with God (vv. 22, 24)
It can literally be translated as “walked about with God”
“This rare expression (only 5:22, 24; 6:9; Mal. 2:6) denotes to enjoy supernatural, intimate fellowship with God, not merely to live a pious life.” [Waltke, 114-15]
Noah was the only other person who walked with God prior to the flood (Genesis 6:9)
It seems as though the birth of Methuselah had an incredible impact on Enoch
It was after his birth that Enoch began to walk with God and did so for the next 300 years
How long have you been walking about with God in intimate fellowship with Him?
Perhaps today could be the beginning of an intimate fellowship with God or returning to an intimate fellowship with God
PRINCIPLE #2 – God is pleased when we walk with Him.
What does walking with God and having intimate fellowship with Him look like?
“When we were in Scotland, I was working on my Ph.D. thesis, and I was writing a chapter on the theology of Jurgen Moltmann, a contemporary German theologian who was writing some very significant theology for the church today. It happened that while I was working on that chapter, Jurgen Moltmann paid a visit to Edinburgh to give a theological lecture. When I heard he was coming, I was so excited. I wanted to meet him. I wanted to talk with him. After all, I was writing a chapter of my thesis on his theology. I wanted to tell him my main criticism and see what he would say. I wanted to bounce my ideas off him. I didn't know whether I would get a chance to talk with him, but I hoped that I would. Because of that hope, I prepared myself. I read every book I could find written by Jurgen Moltmann. I thought about Jurgen Moltmann all day long. All night long I dreamed about Jurgen Moltmann. I was preparing myself to meet Jurgen Moltmann.
The great night came, and I sat in the front row for his lecture, because I wanted to get right to him. But immediately after his lecture he went out the door. I went racing after him. It was a dark, winter night in Edinburgh, with pouring rain. I grabbed him by the arm, and I said, ‘Herr Professor, I want to talk with you.’ I told him I was writing about his theology and I had some questions to ask. (I really had some criticisms to make, but I put it politely at first.) He had an umbrella, and he said, ‘Come under this umbrella.’ We were standing face to face, and we had a great and memorable conversation. I had prepared myself for that moment. All of my thoughts were focused on meeting him.
Friends in Christ, you will stand before the King of Kings. That ought to focus your attention in this life. We are, even now, in the presence of the King of Kings.”
Source: "Blessed Are the Pure in Heart," Preaching Today, Tape No. 83.
[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1997/october/887.html]It is putting Him first in your life above everything else (relationships, occupation, hobbies, etc.)
It is focusing on Him and preparing to meet Him
It is spending time with Him in prayer and the study of His Word
It is being obedient to His will for your life
It is being a bold witness for God
Jude 14-15, Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
#2 – My Next Step Today Is To: Walk with God by _______________.
Something supernatural happen to Enoch because of his supernatural, intimate fellowship with God
God promoted Enoch (khan-oke’/khan-oak’)
We are told in this passage that God took Enoch away
Hebrews 11:5-6, By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Enoch “channeled all his love and desire into fulfilling the will of God.” [Qimchi cited by Goldingay, 120]
Because of Enoch’s supernatural, intimate relationship with God, he experienced a reward that only one other person in the Bible experienced – leaving the earth without experiencing physical death
Elijah was the only other person (2 Kings 2:11)
The Lord will reward us also when we please Him
He is pleased when we come to Him in faith and believe that He exists
It requires more than just believing that He exists
We have to have faith in Him
Hebrews 10:22-23, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 11:1-3, Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
Ephesians 2:8-10, For it is by grace you have been save, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
I don’t know what our reward will look like for having a supernatural, intimate relationship with God – it will probably be different for each person
We learn in the New Testament about the crown of life that is a reward for those who are steadfast under trial (James 1:12) and the crown of glory for the elders who have been good shepherds of God’s flock that is under their care (1 Peter 5:1-4)
Enoch did not experience death as a reward for his supernatural, intimate relationship with God
Enoch only lived on the earth for 365 years before God took him away, which represents the shortest “lifespan” of the ten names listed
What is interesting is that his son, Methuselah (meth-oo-sheh’-lakh/mah-thoo-sheh’-lack) had the longest lifespan of the ten names listed
Methuselah (meth-oo-sheh’-lakh/mah-thoo-sheh’-lack) was 187 years when Lamech [“powerful”] was born and he lived another 782 years and had other sons and daughters before he died at 969 years old (vv. 25-27)
Lamech was 182 years when Noah (no’-akh) [“rest”] was born and he lived another 595 years and had other sons and daughters before he died at 777 years old (vv. 28-31)
Lamech explains that Noah will comfort them in their labor and painful toil in working the ground to produce food
Noah sounds like the Hebrew for comfort
I’m not sure how Lamech thought Noah would bring comfort
We know that eventually his family is the only family chosen to survive the destruction of the earth through the flood
Noah was 500 years old when Shem (shame) [“name”], Ham (khawm) [“hot”] and Japheth (yeh’-feth) [“opened”] were born (v. 32)
We will see the rest of genealogical formula for Noah in Genesis 9:28 – he lived 350 years after the flood and died at 950 years old
The order Noah’s sons here is not their birth order
Japheth is the oldest (Genesis 10:21)
Shem was the middle
Ham was the youngest (Genesis 9:24)
Shem is probably listed first, because the Lord uses his line to bring Abraham into the picture
Application
PRINCIPLE #3 – God keeps His promises.
Life
God kept His promise to Adam and Eve concerning blessing them through life
Genesis 1:28, God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Through God’s blessing, Adam and Eve increased in number and filled the earth
We saw ten generations that came from the first family
Death
God kept His promise that as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s sin they would surely die
Genesis 2:16-17, And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
We saw that Adam died, as did all of his descendants (except Enoch)
We can trust God to keep His promises.
God’s promises
He will give us peace (Isa. 26:3; 54:10; John 16:33; Phil. 4:6-7)
He will be with us (Deut. 31:8; Isa. 41:10; 43:2)
He will strengthen us (Isa. 41:10; 40:29, 31)
He will help us (Isa. 41:10, 13)
He will teach us (Ps. 32:8)
He will give us rest (Matt. 11:28-29)
He will forgive and save us (1 Pet. 2:24; Ps. 91:3; 1 Jn. 1:9; 2 Chron. 7:14; Jn. 3:16)
He will fight for us (Ex. 14:14)
He will provide wisdom when we ask (Jms. 1:5)
He will provide for us (Mal. 3:10)
He will discipline His children (Heb. 12:6-8)
#3 – My Next Step Today Is To: Trust God to keep His promise of ____________________.
YOU
Are you bearing the image of the only true God?
In what way(s) are you ready to walk with God?
What promise(s) are you going to trust God for?
WE
CONCLUSION
“In his book, Faith That Endures, Ronald Boyd-MacMillan tells the story of a number of conversations he has had with Wang Mingdao, one of China's most famous church pastors of the last century. The first time he met this famous—and persecuted—Chinese pastor, they had the following interchange:
‘Young man, how do you walk with God?’ I listed off a set of disciplines such as Bible study and prayer, to which he mischievously retorted, ‘Wrong answer. To walk with God, you must go at walking pace.’
The words of Wang Mingdao touched me to the core. How can I talk about the Christian life as walking with God when I so often live it at a sprint? Of course, we ‘run with perseverance the race marked out for us,’ but we may fail to run with ‘our eyes [fixed] on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith’ (Heb 12:1-2). Jesus is inviting me to walk with him. Too often, I find myself running for him. There's a difference!
On another visit, Boyd-MacMillan asked Wang Mingdao about his twenty-year imprisonment for proclaiming Jesus in China. That cell became a place of unchosen unhurried time for Mingdao. There was nothing to do but to be in God's presence, which he discovered was actually everything. Boyd-MacMillan summarizes what he learned from Wang Mingdao:
One of the keys to the faith of the suffering church: God does things slowly. He works with the heart. We are too quick. We have so much to do—so much in fact we never really commune with God as he intended when he created Eden, the perfect fellowship garden. For Wang Mingdao, persecution, or the cell in which he found himself, was the place where he returned to ‘walking pace,’ slowing down, stilling himself enough to commune properly with God.”
Source: Ronald Boyd-MacMillan, Faith That Endures (Revell, 2006), p. 307; Allan Fadling, An Unhurried Life (IVP, 2013), pp. 13-14
[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2020/may/secret-of-walking-with-god.html]
