Episode 246 - "Noah walked with God" Genesis 6:9-10

These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

You may already be thinking, “What! That’s it? Two verses?” I was tempted to include the next section. But it is a bit long, and there are some essential elements of this text concerning the greater narrative that I thought deserved our undivided attention.

First, did you notice any repetition in this text of what has already been covered in Genesis up to this point? How about the term “generations?” Go back and check out Genesis 2:4 and Genesis 5:1. The first occurrence of this term speaks of the “generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.” (Gen 2:4). The second introduces the genealogy of Adam through Seth’s descendants up to Noah. Now, this third occurrence speaks only of Noah and his three sons. What’s up with this?

The Hebrew term transliterated “toledot” is often represented by the English word “generations.” But it’s more than just a word for descendants or generations. It is a structural marker in the narrative literature. It advances the greater narrative by focusing on a specific group of people because they are going to be important in the continuation of the story, leading the reader toward the solution for the crisis revealed in Genesis chapter 3. The “generations of the heavens and the earth” toledot focus on Adam and Eve and their two sons, Cain and Abel. With the murder of Abel by Cain, neither of them can fulfill the role of “the seed of the woman” who will crush the head of the serpent. So, the next occurrence of “generations” helps us focus on Adam’s descendants through Seth, whom God appointed as a substitute for Abel. But then mankind became very wicked, and God determined to wipe out humanity. Of course this problem makes us wonder how the seed of the woman could appear to fulfill the promise God had made. But the section concludes with “but Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” (Gen 6:8) So, now this “toledot” signals a focus on Noah and his three sons. It seems to me this suggests the LORD was serious about wiping out all living things from the face of the earth (Gen 6:7). But Noah, finding favor in the eyes of the LORD, would be spared this judgment along with his family.

Why would the LORD do this? Was God’s choice arbitrary? Was it fair and just? I believe this section answers that. The text delivers a three-fold description of why Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. First, “Noah was a righteous man.” That means that his thoughts, words, and actions were deemed consistent with the LORD’s character and expectations for mankind. His life stood in stark contrast to others in the world at that time. How righteous was he? The second description tells us that he was “blameless in his generation.” I don’t think this means that he was a sinless person all his life. But according to the LORD’s assessment, he was blameless. In the end, isn’t that the only assessment that really matters? Finally, the text tells us that “Noah walked with God.” Hold the horses! We’ve heard that before, haven’t we? There is some more repetition. Back in Genesis 5:21-24, it is twice mentioned that Enoch walked with God. In verse 24, Enoch is the first person of whom it is said did not die. God just took him. Therefore, walking with God seems to suggest that this is the highest assessment from God that one can receive. Why is that?

Walking with someone suggests that you want to be with that person. In being with that person, you are listening to what they have to say, understanding what they value, sharing the same values and interests. This is why Noah found favor with the LORD. Noah walked with God, and it impacted his life rather than letting the culture around him influence his thinking and his actions.

With verse 10 naming Noah’s three sons, we have an indication that humanity would continue regardless of the destruction that would soon come upon the earth. Is Noah the seed? One thing is certain: his father’s pronouncement that Noah would bring rest from their labors would be fulfilled for a while.

The primary things I wanted to point out is how this story of Noah is a sub-story of the greater one that began in Genesis 1, and we need to keep thinking about the meta-narrative as we progress through Genesis and the Scriptures. Secondly, our desire in our own life of faith is to walk with God.

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.