Episode244 "Rest from our toil" - Genesis 5:1-32

Gen. 5:1 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.

Gen. 5:6 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.

Gen. 5:9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan. 10 Enosh lived after he fathered Kenan 815 years and had other sons and daughters. 11 Thus all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.

Gen. 5:12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel. 13 Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 Thus all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died.

Gen. 5:15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared. 16 Mahalalel lived after he fathered Jared 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17 Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.

Gen. 5:18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he fathered Enoch. 19 Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.

Gen. 5:21 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.

Gen. 5:25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech. 26 Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.

Gen. 5:28 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.

Gen. 5:32 After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

It is so tempting to just jump over genealogies and “get to the good stuff.” But I’m reminded of what the apostle Paul writes to his disciple Timothy, “All Scripture given by inspiration from God is useful for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness in order that the person of God may be thoroughly equipped.” (2 Tim 3:16-17 my paraphrase) Let’s see what we can find in this family tree that may be useful for us.

The first thing that I observe is that this is not an exhaustive genealogy. Cain and Abel aren’t listed. Abel is now dead, and Cain and his descendants are not in consideration for this genealogy. Clearly, the author has a purpose. That purpose is not primarily for future generations of this line to figure out who their third cousins are twice removed. This genealogy traces the lineage from Adam through his son Seth, the son appointed by God to replace Abel, all the way down to Noah. In other words, it’s leading us down a family line of men who, from all evidence we have in the Scriptures, are following the LORD.

I’m sure these men weren’t perfect. However, the extremely long life spans recorded for many of these individuals may indicate God’s blessing of life and his desire to use them to fulfill his will to fill the earth with other people who reflect God’s image. Of course, that logic has its limitations in a way when the narrative informs us that Enoch only got to live 365 years. Why? Because he “walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” (Gen 5:24) Wow! Enoch’s obedience to and fellowship with the LORD led the LORD to give Enoch a bypass on the death experience. Unless I’m mistaken, Enoch and Elijah are the only two people in Biblical history who don’t die. The LORD simply takes them into his presence.

In verse 28 we read about a man named Lamech. Wait a minute. Haven’t we already read about Lamech? Wasn’t he a descendant of Cain who also committed murder and mocked God? Answer: Different Lamech. This Lamech had a son that he named Noah and we are given a proclamation or prophecy concerning Noah. Lamech says, “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.” (v. 29) What I get from this is that by the time we get to Lamech after all these generations, God’s promise of a “seed of the woman” who will crush the head of the serpent and bring resolution to the conflict of the curse has not been forgotten. It has been passed down through this line of descendants.

This genealogy of chapter five advances the greater story that hope in deliverance from the curse has not been lost. There is so much more we could ask about this chapter. For instance, “How was it possible that people lived so long?” All I can say is that this genealogy seems to present each of these people as historical individuals who are born, grow up, marry, have sons and daughters, and die. The literature does not suggest in any way that they are mythical creatures. So, I suggest we just take it at face value, and maybe someday we’ll understand these things.

My “take home” from this chapter is that God values a faithful relationship with us and wants us to have life. Furthermore, we must not just accept God’s promises for ourselves but pass them on to other generations. May the LORD help us walk with God as did Enoch, and look forward to the ultimate fulfillment of God restoring all Creation to his will and completely removing the curse.