[Prayer]
Today’s message is from Genesis 5:1 through 6:22, the end of chapter 6. It gives the genealogy of the line of Noah from Adam and Eve’s son Seth on and also and account of how the world became wicked to the point that only Noah and his family were acceptable to God. We won’t read the entire passage because of its length. You can read it in your Bible. I’m just going to read a few selected sections of Genesis 5:1-6:22 and talk about them. In any case, it’s all the word of God. It teaches us what our Creator and our Redeemer wants us to know about him—about his mind and heart and about his ways of doing things.
So, as always, I encourage you to read your Bible every day. Pray and try to understand what the Lord wants to show you. You have to ask him to give you understanding and you also have to make every effort to understand it yourself as though it depended entirely on you, although it really doesn’t. It depends on God. But ask him.
Before I go on, let’s review. So far, we’ve seen that it was God who created the heavens and the earth. He created everything—the sun, the moon, the stars, the seas and the dry land. He created all the living creatures; and he created man in his own image, male and female. He created all things and proclaimed his creation “very good”!
In Genesis chapter 3, sin came into the world when man disobeyed God; along with sin came separation from God and death. (Cain murdered his brother Abel because he was jealous.)
But the Lord God, even as he was rebuking the man and the woman and declaring the consequences of their sin, hinted at his plan of redemption. He told the serpent, who had tempted and deceived the woman into disobeying him, that his offspring (seed in the HCSB) would strike the heel of the woman’s offspring, but that the offspring of the woman would strike the head of the serpent’s offspring. The serpent’s offspring is Satan the devil, but the woman’s offspring that would strike the head of the serpent’s offspring is Jesus Christ our Lord and our Savior!
The end of Genesis chapter 4 says that Adam and Eve had a son whom they named Seth to replace Abel whom Cain had murdered. Seth had a son Enosh and at that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.
Now let’s go on to chapter 5, the beginning of today’s passage. Verses 1 and 2 say:
1These are the family records of the descendants of Adam. On the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God; 2He created them male and female. When they were created, He blessed them and called them man. (Genesis 5:1-2)
At this point, the Lord God, writing through Moses, is going to give us the line of descent from Adam to Noah. But first he reiterates the fact that he made man in his own likeness and that he made them male and female—both in his likeness. It’s important to know that we are made in the likeness of God. When God made the man and the woman, he blessed them. When they disobeyed the Lord God—when they sinned—that blessing was taken away. The rest of chapter 5 is the genealogy from Adam, the first man that God created through Noah and his sons.
Now, before I go on to the rest of chapter 5, let me repeat the last two verses of chapter 4. Here’s what they say:
25Adam knew his wife intimately again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, for she said, “God has given me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” 26A son was born to Seth also, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord. (Genesis 4:25-26)
God had given Adam and Eve another son, Seth, to take the place of Abel whom Cain had murdered. Abel was the one who had made his offering to God by faith. The writer of Hebrews says, “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By this he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through this.” (Heb.~11:4) Abel made his offering by faith. Cain had not. Faith is what the Lord God wants to see. The first thing he wants us to do is to trust him. It’s in the New Testament and in the Old Testament too. He wants us to start with faith, to live our lives by faith and to finish our lives with faith!
By the way, someone asked last week where all the other people came from that Cain was afraid would kill him when the Lord sent him away after he had killed Abel. When you read the text in chapter 4, it sounds as though Adam had only three sons, Cain, Abel and Seth. But people lived much longer then than they do now. Adam was 130 years old when he fathered Seth. The Lord had told them to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:28). It’s common today for families to have, on the average, two kids. But I’ve heard of a family that had 28 kids (no twins, either). Adam had lived 130 years when Seth was born. He could have had great, great grand children by then and all of them being fruitful and multiplying. Adam’s wife said that God had given her another son in the place of Abel. That was not just another son, a third son, but another son who would be pleasing to God because he would live his life before God by faith.
Now let’s go on to the rest of chapter 5. According to verses 3 through 5, Adam was 130 years old when he fathered Seth. Actually, it says that Adam had lived 130 years when he fathered Seth, so we don’t really know his biological age. The Lord God may have created him to have a biological age of 21 years. It seems clear that the Lord God had created Adam as an adult, and Eve also. Not that it really makes any difference, but the point is these events, as well as the rest of creation, were supernatural events, so you can’t really tell the age of anything by its appearance. Adam’s life, according to verse 5, lasted 930 years, and then he died.
When Adam’s son Seth was 105 years old, he fathered Enosh. This, according to chapter 4, verse 26, was when men began to call on the name of the Lord. Seth’s line of descent was the line of men who were seeking the Lord God from whom they had been separated. You see men had been separated from God through Adam’s sin and were now looking for him. Well, Seth had other sons and daughters and then died when he was 912 years old.
Seth’s son Enosh also had a son, Kenan. Kenan had a son Mahalalel. Then, after a while, Kenan died. Mahalalel had a son Jared. Then, eventually, Mahalalel died too. Then Jared had a son Enoch. You know what? Jared died too. They all died. Sin had come into the world, and with it, death. Let me read a couple of verses from the New Testament. The first one is from Romans 5:12. This is the apostle Paul speaking:
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5:12)
All of us die (and all of us sin) because sin entered the world through one man, Adam. Nevertheless, I have to add, God holds us individually accountable for our sin. The next quote, also from the apostle Paul, is from 1 Cor. 15:20-22:
20But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. 22For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)
“For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” Jesus is called the second Adam. (Remember, Adam means man.) The first Adam sinned and died. Through Adam, all of us die. Jesus lived a perfect life, free of sin. He was perfectly obedient to God. He died, not for his sin, but for our sin—and he rose from the dead. Through him, all of us will rise from the dead. (And I have to add that that’s all of us who trust in him.)
Well, let’s get back to the genealogy. Jared had a son Enoch. The story of all these people is pretty much the same until we come to Enoch. Let me read what verse 21 through 24 say about Enoch:
21Enoch was 65 years old when he fathered Methuselah. 22And after the birth of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and fathered sons and daughters. 23So Enoch’s life lasted 365 years. 24Enoch walked with God, and he was not there, because God took him. (Genesis 5:21-24)
These verses say that, after Enoch’s son Methuselah was born, he walked with God 300 years. None of the other people are said to have walked with God. Also, it says that everyone else died, but Enoch simply “was no more, because God took him.” You would normally assume that “God took him” would mean that he had died. That’s what I thought the first time I read these verses. But the writer of Hebrews says something different. Listen while I read Hebrews 11:5,6:
5By faith, Enoch was taken away so that he did not experience death, and he was not to be found because God took him away. For prior to his transformation he was approved, having pleased God. 6Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:5-6)
Enoch did not experience death. Moses says that Enoch walked with God, and God took him. But the writer of Hebrews gives us more detail. He says that Enoch did not experience death. And furthermore, it was because of Enoch’s faith! Enoch was seeking God and he found him! Do you think faith is important? The writer of Hebrews says that without faith it is impossible to please God!
Well, before he was taken away, Enoch fathered Methuselah. (And did you know? Adam was still alive when Enoch fathered Methuselah? I did the arithmetic. Adam was 874 years old. All these people would have known exactly what had happened in the garden. They would have been able to have heard it from the horses mouth, so to speak. (You probably also know that Methuselah was the oldest recorded living man. He lived 969 years. He was “as old as Methuselah”. I really don’t know why the earliest people lived so long, But for the next 2700 years, or so, life spans, little-by-little, became shorter until they were similar to our life spans today—I presume, another effect of sin entering the world.) Methuselah fathered Lamech and Lamech fathered Noah. It was 1,056 years from the time of God’s creation of Adam to the time of Noah’s birth. When Noah was 500 years old, he fathered Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Now let’s go on to chapter 6. I’m going to read verse 1 through 4. Here’s what they say:
1When mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves. 3And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain in mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years.” 4The Nephilim were on the earth both in those days and afterwards, when the sons of God came to the daughters of man, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men. (Genesis 6:1-4)
Verse 1 says, “When mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them…” This does not refer to Noah’s time, but goes back to Adam’s time. All the time the descendants of Seth were increasing—all the people I’ve just talked about and all their relatives—the descendants of Cain were also increasing—those who did not call on the name of the Lord. Verse 2 says, “The sons of God saw that the daughters of man were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves.” Who were “the sons of God” and who were “the daughters of man”? The first time I read this, I assumed that “the sons of God” were the descendants of Seth who called on the name of the Lord, while “the daughters of man” were Cain’s descendents. However, I was surprised to find out that quite a few people think “the sons of God” were angels and “the daughters of man” were just people. The reason they give for thinking this is that in the book of Job angels are called “the sons of God”. Sounds like a good reason. But, you know what? I still think “the sons of God” are Seth’s descendents and “the daughters of man” are Cain’s descendents. I’ll give you a couple of reasons. First of all, verse 4 says that they had children: “The sons of God came to the daughters of man, who bore children to them.” I don’t think angels can have children. Jesus says that, in the resurrection, we will not marry, but be like the angels. I presume that this means that in the resurrection we will not have children, so I presume that angels don’t have children either. Another reason that I don’t believe these “sons of God” were angels is that, if they were angels, they were doing something that displeased God. They were apparently fallen angels. They might have been called “sons of the devil” (Do you remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees, “You are sons of your father the devil”). They might have been called “sons of the devil”, but they never would have been called “sons of God.”
In verse 3 the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain in mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years.” I believe that Noah took 120 years to build the ark. Then the flood came.
Now let’s look at verses 5 thorough 8. I’ll read them:
5When the Lord saw that man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time, 6the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7Then the Lord said, “I will wipe off the face of the earth: man, whom I created, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky—for I regret that I made them.” 8Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:5-8)
“The Lord saw that man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time.” Every scheme, nothing but evil, all the time! There was absolutely nothing they thought or planned or did that was not evil! You would have thought that they might have all killed each other off by this time. But even men who do evil ungodly things will help others in order to advance their own evil plans.
But before I go on, I want to point something out. The sons of God, the godly descendents of Seth, married the ungodly descendents of Cain. The sons of God married the daughters of man. What happened? Did the daughters of man become godly? Every scheme their minds thought of was nothing but evil all the time! The apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18:
14Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? 15What agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16And what agreement does God’s sanctuary have with idols? For we are the sanctuary of the living God, as God said:
I will dwell among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be My people.
17Therefore, come out from among them
and be separate, says the Lord;
do not touch any unclean thing,
and I will welcome you.
18I will be a Father to you,
and you will be sons and daughters to Me,
says the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)
Corruption spreads naturally. Godliness only spreads with great effort.
The Lord regretted that he had made man and decided that he would wipe him off the face of the earth, together with all of the birds and the animals. Only Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. The Lord preserved Noah and his family. Evidence from the New Testament shows that Noah preached righteousness while he was building the ark, but no one repented.
Now let’s look at verses 9 and 10. Here’s what they say:
9These are the family records of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God. 10And Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Genesis 6:9,10)
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God. Now, we know that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It says so in the Bible. We know that only Jesus was free of all sin. Noah must have sinned. We also know that being righteous means doing what is right before God. How could Noah have been a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries? Is righteousness relative? Was Noah righteous only relative to those around him who were much more sinful? I’m going to quote from Hebrews again. This is from Hebrews 11:7
7By faith Noah, after being warned about what was not yet seen, in reverence built an ark to deliver his family. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11:7)
Noah built the ark by faith…and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith! Do you think faith is important? It’s the only, only way that you may be righteous before God! There is no other way!
21But now, apart from the law, God’s righteousness has been revealed—attested by the Law and the Prophets 22—that is, God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction. 23For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 24They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:21-24)
Now let’s go back to Genesis. The rest of chapter 6 tells us that God told Noah about his plans to wipe all life from the face of the earth by means of a flood and described the ark that Noah was to build to preserve his family and pairs of animals and birds that God wanted to preserve. Noah was to build the ark 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. He was also to stock it with food for his family and for all the animals. Verse 22, the last verse in chapter 6, says, “And Noah did this. He did everything that God had commanded him.” I believe it took him 120 years. And he did it by faith!
Now I want to make some comments about the flood—about God’s choosing to destroy all life from the land. Do you think it seems harsh that he would do this? Or how about the fact that 8 or 900 years later, God commanded the Israelites to wipe out every man, woman and child from the land they were to take possession of. These people were apparently corrupt beyond redemption and would certainly have corrupted the Israelites. The Israelites, by the way, failed to completely wipe out the inhabitants of the land, and were, in fact, corrupted by their idolatry. Does it seem cruel and harsh that God would destroy all these people—that he would want the Israelites to destroy so many people—or any people for that matter? It does seem so to me, and to most people as well.
Now, the reason we are studying the Bible is to learn about God, about how thinks and about how he does things. One thing is clear, God demands perfection! If we had been brought up on the Old Testament as the Jews of Jesus’s time had been, we would know this more clearly—and we would know the hopelessness of ever being righteous before God. We would know that we deserved to be wiped off the face of the earth—and the words of the apostle Paul that I quoted a minute ago would sound all the more wonderful:
21But now, apart from the law, God’s righteousness has been revealed—attested by the Law and the Prophets 22—that is, God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction. 23For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 24They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:21-24)
We are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God demands perfection. But he loves us and is not willing for any to perish. We deserved to be wiped off the face of the earth (and much worse), but Jesus was wiped off of the earth in our place. He chose to do that. God loves us and sent his Son to be punished in our place. And it was not because of anything we did (except to believe it!), but all by God’s grace and mercy! We praise the Lord! We praise Jesus! Thank you so much our Father! Thank you Lord Jesus! Amen! Amen! Amen!
[Prayer]