Genesis 5-

Chad Myhre

Genesis • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

0 ratings

· 5 views

Notes

Transcript

Intro:

If you are reading ahead… you are thinking: “Oh no… a genealogy.”

But… let me lay out a bit of information about genealogies.. and why they are important.

They kept track of names… for a reason, and from Cain to Noah… that reason becomes obvious.

The promise given to Eve, was not forgotten.

The hope, that the serpent would be defeated, was not forgotten.

The implication… that defeating the serpent would reverse the curse… was not forgotten.

From generation to generation, they were looking for the seed.

So… hundreds and hundreds of years have passed by… and the promise remained on the minds of the people.

It began right away.... with Eve thinking that Cain would be messiah.

And when we end the genealogy, with the naming of Noah… we will see that Lamech believed the same thing about his son.

Genesis 5:1–5 ESV

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.

We are reminded here, that the genealogy doesn’t start with Adam… - It actually starts with God. In vs. 1-2, it is made clear, that God made both Adam and Eve.... and there’s an emphasis here… THEY WERE MADE in God’s own likeness.

But as we move into verse three… in contrast to verse one… Seth was fathered in Adam’s likeness.

Now… there’s a difference between image and likeness.

In chapter one, it said, ‘let us make man in our own image’

And here in chapter five, it says that Adam was made in God’s likeness.

The meanings of the two words are very similar… but we need to distinguish…

For if we didn’t, we might walk away thinking that Adam and Eve were the only ones created in God’s image.

…and all others were created in the image of their fathers.

This isn’t true… and it’s important to distinguish.

For to bear the image of God to the world we live in… is a responsibility we all have.

It would mean nothing for me to bear the image of my earthly father.

But as I read the scriptures… especially into the NT… I see that a transformation process is taking place in my life… in our lives as believers....

Colossians 3:10 ESV

10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV

18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Ephesians 4:24 ESV

24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Romans 8:29 ESV

29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

We are all products of earthy fathers… who were also products of earthly fathers…

But we all bear the image of God..

and for the Christian, there comes a responsibility....

Our new self is being renewed in knowledge after the image of it’s creator

We are being transformed into a different degree of God’s image…

Our new self, is in God’s likeness… but un like the old self… it bears righteousness and holiness.

Yes, all humans bear God’s image… but we, the believer, are destined to be conformed into the image of Jesus.

When we get to the 10 Commandments, we will discover, what it really means to ‘not take the Lord’s name in vain’.

That commandment isn’t about using God’s name as a cuss word. The word ‘name’ means the same as ‘image’. That commandment is about us, bearing God’s image. We shouldn’t, like the heathens do.... bear it in vain. We should instead, bear God’s image with purpose.

Israel was called to bear God’s image, with purpose, to the heathen nations… hoping to show them a better way… - We who are redeemed and then indwelt by God’s spirit…

We too, are called to bear God’s image… with purpose. It’s not enough to show people that you are a human, descendant of an earthly father. The image we bear… through the process of renewal, transformation and conformity… is meant to show our world, who Jesus is.

So… back to our study...

We are given a list of names, ages and deaths..

Adam, to Seth, to Enosh, to Kenan, to Mahalalel, to Jared, to Enoch…

Let’s pick up in vs. 21.

Genesis 5:21–24 ESV

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.

Enoch is an interesting character. Outside of Genesis, he’s not mentioned much. He does get a mention in the genealogy of Jesus by way of Joseph in Luke three… Jude 14 mentions him in a quote from the book of 1 Enoch… and he’s included in the Heb. 11 Hall of faith.

Hebrews 11:5 ESV

5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.

We’ll talk about the Jude passage in a moment, and in turn… just what the books of Enoch are...

But this thing, about Enoch not dying, is significant.

For it stands as an example to all… that there is such a thing, as a resurrection.

There is… such a thing, as a life that continues beyond the physical life that we have now.

Job 19:25–27 ESV

25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, 27 whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!

Job believed in the resurrection. He believed… that, in spite of the destruction of his flesh… that he would have a body… he would see God while inhabiting his own flesh.

Mark 12:26–27 ESV

26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”

Notice what Jesus is saying to these skeptics. He is literally telling them that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob are alive. If our God is the God of Abraham… and our God, is the God of the living… then Abraham is alive.

Much of what the ancient world believed about resurrection… started with Enoch.

Now… concerning the passage in Jude. What we have there, is a quotation from a book called 1 Enoch. - There are three books of Enoch… only one of which was written between the OT and the NT. They were not, of course, written by Enoch, but rather… they are written about Enoch.

1 Enoch had a big influence upon the Jews in a time period referred to as the second temple period, which roughly refers to the time period of 600 BC - 70 AD. Anyone in Jesus’ day who grew up with a Jewish education would have been knowledgable of the book of Enoch… and it would have definitely informed their worldview.

Enoch, is of course, not considered to be inspired scripture. It doesn’t meet the same standards as our 66 books… - But just as we use supplemental books and commentaries to help us understand the things that are written in the Bible… Jews of this time period used books like 1 Enoch to inform their understanding of the OT.

1 Enoch is quoted in two places in NT… showing us that it was considered to be valuable information to the early church...

Jude 14 ESV

14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones,

2 Peter 2:4 ESV

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;

Does a couple NT quotations lend inspirational validity to the entire book of 1 Enoch? No way. But, the parts that are quoted do appear in the inspires scripture… so we can believe that Enoch did prophecy as Jude 14 mentions… and that Peter’s reference to angels committed to chains in darkness is also true.

Let’s read on.

Genesis 5:25–32 ESV

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

Now… with Lamech… we get another cool thing from this genealogy.

If we look at his explanation for naming Noah… which means ‘rest’… we will realize, that Lamech believed the same thing about his son, that Eve believed about her first son… that he would be the savior promised by God, to Eve back in Gen 3.

Why do we say this?

Look at the language in vs. 29… - Noah / rest / - would give relief from the ground that God cursed… Noah would give them relief from their work and the painful toil of their hands.

This is the same ‘curse language’ that God used with Adam.

They were still hoping, that this promised seed would would crush the serpents head, and reverse the curse. Lamech believed that Noah would be that seed… just as Eve believed that Cain would be the seed.

Of course… they were wrong...

But as we look forward, we see that God kept narrowing it down...

The seed would come through Abraham...

Then Isaac… then Jacob… then through the tribe of Judah..

Eventually, we learn, that He would come from the lineage of David…

This one promise… given from God… to Eve… continued on through the history of Israel… It continued to be a VERY significant part of who they were as a people…

This is why genealogies are important.

When you read a genealogy… you need to remind yourself. This is here, because of Jesus. They kept track of these generations… because of a promise given, by God, to Eve. This was serious stuff… and they, as a people… were mindful of this promised seed… generation after generation.

Genesis 6:1–2 ESV

1 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.

This is where things get real interesting in the Bible.

And we can go one of two ways to explain what’s going on here.

And as we determine which way to go… we have to make a decision based on a few things.

What is the clearest reading of the Word actually say?

How does this clear reading fit into the rest of scripture? ie: will I have to change things, or make excuses, or work hard to re-define what is written ahead, bot justify the manner in which I interpret this passage, right now?

So… let’s start with the traditional view.

This translation rejects anything supernatural from this passage.

In the traditional view… the ‘sons of God’ refer to the generations of people, who are believers. These are the ones who know the promise and believe in Yahweh. - The daughters of man… are considered to be, the unbelieving women from the lineage of Cain.

This is what most of the church fathers teach… this is what Martin Luther taught, and this is pretty much the main-line interpretation of this passage.

Does it work? Well… we have to explain away a few issues to make it work.

First off… the majority of OT references to the ‘Sons of God’ refer to spiritual heavenly beings.

Notice, I’m not saying ‘angels’. An angel is a messenger. The word angel speaks of a function that one might have…

The generic term for any being inhabiting the spiritual realm is elohim…

So multiple times in Job, and in Deut 32:8, the ‘sons of god’ referred to the spiritual beings who were in the heavenly realm, or who served in God’s divine counsel.

Can ‘sons of god’ refer to men? Absolutely. Does it fit in this passage. As long as we don’t read on a few verses… it does work that the sons of God could be mere men.

Next issue we would need to work out… If the sons of God were the faithful believers… the good guys… - then why are they going out taking unbelieving women as their wives? This action is kind of a contradiction to the fact that they are to be the faithful believing people of the day.

Next issue that needs to be figured out.

Genesis 6:3–4 ESV

3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.

Why would the union of a mere man and a mere woman… produce a Nephilim as an offspring? If we read on through the Bible, we learn that the Nephilim were giants. We don’t have to go to Enoch to realize this… it’s clear just by reading Genesis.