1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:06,520 This morning and we will in front of the wrong I'm good this 2 00:00:06,520 --> 00:00:11,560 morning we will be in Genesis chapter 5 and as I said we will 3 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:16,960 cover the entire chapter today. So we're flying now. 4 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:19,520 We'll slow down again next week. Don't worry. 5 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:24,440 Today is actually largely genealogy. 6 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:29,360 So that's the reason we're not, we're not going to examine every 7 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:34,240 single verse here. But Genesis 5 is where we'll be. 8 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:39,880 And Genesis 315 feels like such a long time ago in our study, 9 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,080 right? But it was last year. 10 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:48,240 But it's important that we don't forget it. 11 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:52,640 Genesis 315 said, I will put enmity between you and the 12 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:56,040 woman, in between your offspring and her offspring. 13 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:00,800 He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. 14 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:06,240 So this was the first time that the good news was proclaimed in 15 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:08,000 Scripture. And it's something that we call 16 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:13,240 the proto evangelion, the very first good news. 17 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:18,400 But it also speaks to the inaugurated war between good and 18 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:23,440 evil, 2 offsprings at war with each other, and the offspring of 19 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:28,360 the woman will continually be in conflict with the serpents until 20 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:34,120 the war is completely ended. Last week, as we looked at 21 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:37,600 chapter 4, we examine Cain's line, which of course begins 22 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:41,720 with Cain and it ended with the evil Lamech. 23 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:45,560 And as the chapter closed, we were given a little glimmer of 24 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:50,240 hope. Maybe things won't always be 25 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:54,360 like this. In Genesis 425, we saw Eve 26 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:59,280 looking forward to the fulfillment of the promise, it 27 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,080 read. And Adam knew his wife again, 28 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:03,640 and she bore a son and called his name Seth. 29 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:08,479 For she said, God has appointed for me another offspring instead 30 00:02:08,479 --> 00:02:14,040 of Abel, for Cain killed him. So Eve was hopeful that that 31 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:18,400 this son of hers, Seth, Seth would be the one to to make 32 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:22,120 everything right again, and he would be the one to strike the 33 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:27,280 serpent's head. The King's line was way 34 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:33,280 different than Seth's line. King's line had no mention of 35 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:39,600 God, but Seth's line does. As Genesis 426 reads. 36 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:45,240 At that time, people began to call upon the name of the Lord. 37 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:50,960 That verse serves as a as a signal that something's coming 38 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:55,560 in chapter 5, and it connects God's faithfulness from Adam all 39 00:02:55,560 --> 00:03:00,160 the way through to Noah, and then ultimately to all those who 40 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:03,600 belong to the line of Noah through their faith in Jesus 41 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:07,360 Christ. So if you're able, would you 42 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,200 stand as we read from our opening text this morning? 43 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:14,840 Genesis 5 will read verses one through 5. 44 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:19,760 This is the book of the generations of Adam. 45 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:26,200 When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God, male 46 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:29,200 and female. He created them and he blessed 47 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:32,720 them and named them man when they were created. 48 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:37,080 When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered his son in his own 49 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:40,120 likeness after his image and named him Seth. 50 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:44,560 The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years and 51 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,160 he had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days that Adam 52 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:51,520 lived were 930 years and he died. 53 00:03:52,040 --> 00:04:01,040 You may be seated so this this is a review that we start out 54 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:08,160 with here at the beginning of chapter 5, Genesis 126 through 55 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:13,320 28 said God said, let us make man in our image after our 56 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,320 likeness. And then he goes on to say 57 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,480 exercise dominion over fish, birds, livestock and land 58 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:21,959 animals. And then verse 27 says, so God 59 00:04:21,959 --> 00:04:25,840 created man in his own image in the image of God. 60 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:31,680 He created him male and female. He created them and God bless 61 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:34,480 them. So there are four specific 62 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:39,480 statements made here in in chapter 5 that tie explicitly 63 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:43,200 back to these verses in chapter 1. 64 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:46,280 God created humanity. First of all, God created 65 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:50,360 humanity in the likeness of himself, and then he created 66 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:54,560 them male and female. And lastly, he blessed them. 67 00:04:55,080 --> 00:05:00,920 So all these statements find find their roots back in chapter 68 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:04,360 1. So this section serves as a as a 69 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:09,840 bridge connecting the creation account to the section following 70 00:05:09,840 --> 00:05:13,360 this, which is Noah and the flood narrative. 71 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:18,600 It's like Moses is saying, OK, let's try this again but from a 72 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:23,880 different angle this time. But when we read this passage, 73 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:28,000 something jumps out to you, especially if you are new to the 74 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:33,280 book of Genesis. All the ages listed are way 75 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:37,320 longer than than we would think is humanly possible. 76 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:40,600 Right? Verses 3 through 5 read when 77 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:47,120 Adam had lived 130 years. So at 130 years, Adam fathers a 78 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:52,040 son, then it goes on to say in his in his own image and named 79 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:54,120 him Seth. And days of Adam after he 80 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:57,720 fathered Seth were 800 years. And the final conclusion is that 81 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:02,960 Adam lived 930 years and then he died. 82 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:09,880 So Adam fathered a child at 130 years old, which is amazing, 83 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:14,600 right? And he lived a total of 930 84 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:17,600 years. As you read through the entire 85 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:23,440 chapter, you will see that the ages listed in this chapter are 86 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:27,640 primarily in the 9 hundreds, and a few fall a little short of 87 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:30,240 that or significantly shorter than that. 88 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:37,160 But all of the numbers, every single one is a number of times 89 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:43,120 the normal lifespan that we would expect today, which is 78 90 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:47,560 years for men and roughly 81 years for women. 91 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,920 Critics of the Bible take these numbers as as evidence. 92 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:56,520 Oh, look at these numbers. These can't happen. 93 00:06:56,560 --> 00:06:59,960 So we can toss out the Bible. We can completely discount what 94 00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:03,440 the Bible says because of these numbers here. 95 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:12,280 Now I'd like to remind you that if you believe what we have 96 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:17,120 already read in the first 3 chapters of the Bible, that it's 97 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:22,040 nothing to believe that people live to being nearly 1000 years 98 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:26,560 old. The God who created the world 99 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:30,400 out of nothing. He created the world out of 100 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:34,400 nothing. So it's easy enough for him to 101 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:39,720 have humanity live to such a long age. 102 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:45,400 The Greek speaking Babylonian historian Barossas riding near 103 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:47,800 the time of Alexander the Greats. 104 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:53,080 He mentioned the names of 10 kings who each lived thousands 105 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:57,120 of years before what is termed a great deluge, Of course, which 106 00:07:57,120 --> 00:08:00,960 is the flood. The Sumerian kings reigns were 107 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:06,400 said to have been between 18,600 years and 43,200 years. 108 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:12,280 Now those aren't actual years, but when we convert those 109 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:15,600 numbers from the Sumerian system, doing a bunch of 110 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:19,320 mathematical things that I don't understand because I'm not a 111 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:21,040 math person. But when we convert the numbers 112 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:28,160 from the Sumerian system to our normal decimal system, then the 113 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:33,440 numbers completely line up with what we see revealed to us in 114 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:38,919 scripture. Some people trying to do the 115 00:08:38,919 --> 00:08:41,960 Bible a favor have suggested alternative options. 116 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:44,600 Oh, perhaps the numbers are symbolic. 117 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:50,200 Well, maybe it actually meant moon cycles. 118 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:55,240 Or maybe the Hebrew, the Hebrew calendar back then was was 119 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:59,520 significantly shorter. So that that's how you end up 120 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:02,680 with these large numbers. You know, because the Hebrew 121 00:09:02,680 --> 00:09:06,280 calendar was shorter than our Gregorian calendar that we live 122 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:10,760 by now. Scripture doesn't need your 123 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:17,000 help. There are a couple reasons we 124 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:20,680 can expect to see long lives at this point in time. 125 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:25,720 First of all, while the wheels of death were set in motion 126 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:30,480 immediately, it may well have been possible that it it took a 127 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:34,680 long time for the impacts of sin and death to become a full 128 00:09:34,680 --> 00:09:39,160 reality in humanity, especially before the flood. 129 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:44,960 See, we're only just a few generations at this point from 130 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:53,960 God's perfect, complete creation of humanity, so they easily 131 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:59,120 could have lived longer. Second, we can assume that the 132 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:02,800 first humans, Adam and Eve, had partaken of the fruit of the 133 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:07,080 Tree of Life. They've been told they could eat 134 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:12,040 of every tree, and so I would think they probably ate of the 135 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:17,440 entire garden before they'd even gotten to the Tree of the 136 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:22,080 Knowledge of Good and Evil. And of course this seems to make 137 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:25,240 sense because God's response then after they partake of that 138 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:31,200 tree is to is to block their access to the tree of life. 139 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:38,680 The numbers that the ages that are listed here should be taken 140 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:44,320 at face value. Theologians have long believed 141 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:47,760 that there are significant changes that will come after the 142 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:53,400 flood, both in the geology of the earth and and the biology of 143 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:56,720 its inhabitants, and we'll look at some of those things when we 144 00:10:56,720 --> 00:11:01,280 get to the Flood. Now, throughout this narrative, 145 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:08,120 the text utilizes the format when so and so had lived X 146 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:13,320 years, he fathered blank. So and so lived after he 147 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:16,160 fathered blank and had other sons and daughters. 148 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:21,600 Thus all the days of so and so were X years, and he died. 149 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:27,760 This specific formula is used nine times throughout this 150 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:34,040 chapter, but on the 7th time, on the 7th time that it's used, it 151 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:39,720 pauses to draw our attention to Enoch. 152 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:46,640 Look there at verses verses 21 through 24 in your Bibles when 153 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:50,640 Enoch had lived 65 years. By the way, this Enoch is 154 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:54,920 different than the Enoch from from Cain's line. 155 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:59,480 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 156 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:03,000 Enoch walked with God and after he fathered Methuselah 300 years 157 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:04,800 and had other sons and daughters. 158 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:09,320 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 159 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:14,880 At this point the formula would normally say and he died, right? 160 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:18,640 But it doesn't. The text says in verse 24 Enoch 161 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:23,080 walked with God and he was not, for God took him. 162 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:27,480 The break in motif gives us pause. 163 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:31,800 It causes us to stop and examine Enoch for a moment. 164 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:38,240 Yes, Enoch is special in that he is the father of Methuselah, who 165 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:44,840 at 969 years of age is the oldest person recorded in 166 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:49,320 Scripture. But there's more to Enoch than 167 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:55,880 just that. In verses 22 and 24, twice it 168 00:12:55,880 --> 00:13:01,760 says that Enoch walked with God. Enoch walked with God. 169 00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:10,280 He's the first example of someone to to walk with God 170 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:14,160 explicitly. Scripture regularly uses the 171 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:17,600 metaphor of walking to describe our relationship with God. 172 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:24,320 Genesis 69 As we'll see here in a couple weeks, Noah walked with 173 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:25,880 God. Deuteronomy 86 Keep the 174 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:28,400 commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways. 175 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:32,160 Isaiah 3021 You shall hear a voice behind you saying, this is 176 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:35,080 the way. Walk in it then. 177 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:38,800 Romans 64 We were buried therefore with Him by baptism 178 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:42,520 into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead 179 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:47,680 by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of 180 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:50,560 life. And this is just a small sample 181 00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:56,160 size of the huge numbers of verses that speak to our walk 182 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:59,840 with God. So our relationship with God is 183 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:02,840 understood in in terms of walking. 184 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:08,760 So what does it mean to say that Enoch walked with Glock with 185 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:11,280 God? Clearly, as we'll see, as we'll 186 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:15,680 examine in a moment, this is something exceptional, something 187 00:14:15,680 --> 00:14:19,560 that that we don't see in in all of the other generations that 188 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:23,800 are listed. First of all, to walk with God. 189 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:29,720 It suggests intimacy. It suggests intimacy in 190 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:36,280 relationship. We haven't seen this kind of 191 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:43,920 intimacy for hundreds of years, since before the fall in the 192 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:47,360 garden. Adam and Eve would presumably 193 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:52,440 walk with God, as it says they had heard God walking in the 194 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:54,280 garden. So it sounds like they were 195 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:57,880 accustomed to walking with Him. They had fellowship with Him. 196 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:00,600 There was intimacy. There was closeness in their 197 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:05,600 relationship. But when sin entered this scene, 198 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:08,880 the first humans had hid themselves from God. 199 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:16,400 That closeness had been broken. Now here we are a couple 200 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:19,720 chapters later, and Enoch is walking with God. 201 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:24,880 We don't know the details of of his walk with God, what exactly 202 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:28,200 that might have looked like, but we can conclude Enoch had a 203 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:32,720 lifestyle characterized by his devotion to God. 204 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:38,520 Walking with God also means living in faith. 205 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:43,720 It means living in faith. Enoch had faith in God. 206 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:46,640 He would have had faith that Yahweh was going to keep the 207 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:50,800 promise he'd made to Adam and Eve, that that Eve would bear an 208 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:53,400 offspring who would defeat the serpent. 209 00:15:56,280 --> 00:16:00,360 This intimacy and relationship and living in faith led to Enoch 210 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:06,280 being taken up into heaven. Verse 24 continued Enoch walk 211 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:12,560 with God and he was not an interesting phrase for God took 212 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:14,560 him. Some have taken this to mean 213 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:19,640 that God took Enoch in the sense that we might say God took so 214 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:24,320 and so home. That's one possible 215 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:28,080 interpretation of that phrase, but that is not what is intended 216 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:29,800 here. First of all, at this point the 217 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:34,440 formula would normally say and he died instead for for Enoch 218 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:38,280 the formula diverges and says and he was not to meet meaning 219 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:43,160 and he did not exist. If death were in view here, 220 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:48,480 Moses would have written and he died just like he has written 221 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:50,960 eight other times in this chapter. 222 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:55,680 But clearly Enoch is exceptional in the text, so it makes the 223 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:59,160 most sense to understand the statement to mean that God 224 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:04,680 transported Enoch straight to heaven, bypassing death. 225 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:08,880 Hebrews 11/5 shed some more light on this. 226 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:14,400 It reads By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not 227 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:19,319 see death, and he was not found because God had taken him. 228 00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:25,079 Now before he was taken, he was commended as having pleased God. 229 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:29,640 The writer of Hebrew settles the matter for us. 230 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:36,000 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death. 231 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:41,920 Death has always been assumed. Ben Franklin famously said. 232 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:47,600 In this world, nothing can be certain except for death and 233 00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:52,960 taxes. Thanks Ben Franklin, we 234 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:56,880 appreciate it. That is true for the vast 235 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:02,760 majority of humanity, but there are three people in all of 236 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:08,720 history who've not experienced death in any sense of the word. 237 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:15,440 Those three people are Enoch, Elijah, and can you guess the 238 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:19,080 third one, Not Jesus. He did die in some sense, right? 239 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:23,280 Any guesses as to the third one? I don't. 240 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:27,200 The rest of us in the end. Melchizedek. 241 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:33,040 Melchizedek. Because in Hebrews 11 is it in 242 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:35,160 Hebrews 11, I don't remember where it is. 243 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:38,000 It Hebrews 7, that's where it is. 244 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:42,160 It says he doesn't have beginning of days or end of 245 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:44,880 days. There can be some discussion on 246 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:49,960 that, but a lot of theologians suggest that Melchizedek also 247 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:54,040 did not die and we'll look at Mechazedek probably in a few 248 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:59,960 months when we get there. The fact Enoch walked with God 249 00:18:59,960 --> 00:19:03,720 and and didn't see death is certainly special in and of 250 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:08,720 itself, but if we look a little deeper we'll see even more 251 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:13,440 happening under the surface. A comparison of the line of Cain 252 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:19,280 versus the line of Seth. Moses goal in chapters 4 and 5 253 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:22,600 was to draw our attention to the differences between the 254 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:26,360 descendants of Cain and descendants of Seth. 255 00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:32,480 Cain's line of faithful faithless living leads to 256 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:37,680 rebellion, and Seth's line of faithful living leads to 257 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:39,840 righteousness. Let me say that again. 258 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:43,280 Kane's line of faithless living leads to rebellion. 259 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:48,080 Seth's line of faithless living leads to righteousness. 260 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:50,400 I just realized I completely skipped over a verse there. 261 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:53,560 Sorry about that Banu. Some of you may have saw it on 262 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:55,240 the screen. That was Hebrews 11/6. 263 00:19:55,920 --> 00:20:01,120 The Kane's line is markedly, drastically different than 264 00:20:01,120 --> 00:20:04,640 Seth's line. Now Enoch is the 7th generation. 265 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:09,960 If we started at Adam, Adam is the first generation we continue 266 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:13,240 to countdown. Enoch is the 7th generation 267 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:17,880 through Cess line. You may recall from last week 268 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:22,720 that if we go through Keynes line, the 7th generation from 269 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:31,000 Keynes line was Lamech. So this is an intentional design 270 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:34,720 pattern in both Keynes and Seth's genealogies. 271 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:40,840 Pause at the 7th generation. The text calls attention to the 272 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:44,640 2 lines, the wicked line of Cain contrasted with the righteous 273 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:49,520 line of Seth. Cain's house is characterized by 274 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:55,480 the murderous Islamic, whereas the lion, the sons of Seth, are 275 00:20:55,480 --> 00:21:01,640 shown to be righteous. Of course, they're still 276 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:06,600 sinners, as we will see. What scripture reveals to us 277 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:10,560 about Enoch stands in stark contrast to the way of Cain. 278 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:14,360 Cain sought to establish his own legacy. 279 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:18,800 He was fixed on outward success and accomplishments. 280 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:26,000 But Enoch shows us that when we seek honoring God as our legacy, 281 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:30,480 then that'll lead us to go about life differently. 282 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:34,360 We have a different heart posture when our legacy isn't 283 00:21:34,360 --> 00:21:38,720 based on credentials, but rather based on character. 284 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:44,240 We act differently when we're trying to please God and not 285 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:50,600 please others. Enoch shows us that walking with 286 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:56,160 God is the best way to shape our legacy. 287 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:02,240 These two genealogies in chapters 4 and five share 2 288 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:04,640 names in common, Enoch and Lamech. 289 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:07,600 This Lamech, coming from the line of Seth, stands in stark 290 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:11,240 contrast to the vile Lamech we examined last week. 291 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:18,800 And if you look at verses 28 through 32 in your Bibles, we 292 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:23,920 have a new Lamech. When Lamech had lived 182 years, 293 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:28,720 he fathered his son and called his name Noah, saying out of the 294 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:32,760 ground that the Lord has cursed. This one shall bring us relief 295 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:36,280 from our work and from the painful toil of our hands. 296 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:41,200 Lamech lived after he fathered Noah 595 years and had other 297 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:43,680 sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Lamech were 298 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:49,920 777 years, and he died after Noah was 500 years old. 299 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:52,960 Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 300 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:58,760 Now Lamech is the 9th generation mentioned and he bears no 301 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:01,240 resemblance to the Lamech descended from Cain. 302 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:06,760 That one was a malevolent, violent, vengeful murderer and 303 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:10,240 polygamist. While this Lamechs life is is 304 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:16,400 marked by prayerful hope that God is going to act. 305 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:20,960 He'd fathered this child and he named him Noah because because 306 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:26,800 he's looking for rest. The name Noah means rest. 307 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:32,600 Rest is an appropriate name when you're hoping that the son of 308 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:34,880 yours will help make life easier. 309 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:41,440 Lamech, as we just read, was lamenting the sorry state of 310 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:44,080 man. How hard, how burdensome life 311 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:47,240 was under the consequences of the cursed ground. 312 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:53,280 Life had beaten him up and and he was looking for a reprieve. 313 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:59,120 He's clearly cognizant of the curse and promise found in 314 00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:03,760 Genesis 315. So he, like Eve was, was hopeful 315 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:09,400 that this offspring of his might be the one to conquer the 316 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:15,720 serpent. Lamech lived 777 years and then 317 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:21,880 he died. Now the Astutes Bible scholar 318 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:25,520 looks at that and says, oh, that's important. 319 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:28,960 That's a symbol. Yes, that is a symbol, but I 320 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:32,120 think we can still take it as an actual number. 321 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:35,560 This number draws our attention, first of all to the other 322 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:41,920 Lamech. His vengeance was 70, sevenfold. 323 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:48,120 But more than that, this Lamech living to 777 years of age, it 324 00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:52,920 points to the final complete generation before God would 325 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:58,520 bring judgement on humanity. Lamex generation was the last of 326 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:02,680 those who could have, who could have known the very first 327 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,840 humans. From this point on, connections 328 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:11,880 back to the Garden could no longer be a first hand telling 329 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:19,360 directly hearing from Adam and Eve, but would now be a third 330 00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:23,400 person relaying of the truth of God's character and God's 331 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:29,680 promise. In chapter 5 closes after Noah 332 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:34,320 was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 333 00:25:35,360 --> 00:25:39,120 We'll examine Noah more in a couple weeks, but this brief 334 00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:42,840 introduction to Noah ends with his fathering three sons. 335 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:46,400 The text almost seems incomplete, as as you expected 336 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:48,880 to keep going after it, says Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 337 00:25:49,120 --> 00:25:52,880 You expected to tell us more about them, or at least tell us 338 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:55,800 about their deaths. But that's not what happens 339 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:58,760 here. No deaths are listed in this 340 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:02,200 portion of the genealogy, only births. 341 00:26:03,360 --> 00:26:07,880 When genealogies recount deaths as they do so, it's a reminder 342 00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:12,480 that things right now are are not the way that they are 343 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:18,120 supposed to be. But when they recount births and 344 00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:25,680 leave it open-ended like this, it's a sign that that God is 345 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:31,320 still in control. God is still working here and 346 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:34,640 there is still hope for humanity. 347 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:42,320 Shem, Ham and Japheth, we can say, are part of God's rescue 348 00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:46,000 plan. Now, of course, one line in 349 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:50,440 particular will be singled out. Shem. 350 00:26:51,120 --> 00:26:52,840 But they are part of God's rescue plan. 351 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:57,040 They're the ones through whom God will begin his restarts on 352 00:26:57,040 --> 00:26:59,280 humanity. He'll judge the world in the 353 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:02,560 coming chapters, but he won't just leave it at that. 354 00:27:03,360 --> 00:27:06,840 Noah's family will be used to bring rest, comfort, and rescue 355 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:10,560 to the world, albeit not in not in a manner any of them could 356 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:18,120 have hoped for or anticipated. So what do we get out of a 357 00:27:18,120 --> 00:27:23,440 passage like this? If I had to hazard a guess, I 358 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:27,120 would venture to say most of us aren't holding out hope to just 359 00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:28,880 be translated straight into heaven. 360 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:33,600 Well, some might be, you know, of course, oh, maybe the rapture 361 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:36,040 will happen in our lifetime. You know, there's kind of just 362 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:42,080 this faint, faint hope in that. But I think most of us probably 363 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:45,960 expect that we will face death at some point. 364 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:50,680 Here are three things we can take away from this passage. 365 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:58,840 First we need to walk with God by daily fellowshipping with 366 00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:02,160 Him. Walk with God by daily 367 00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:07,480 fellowshipping with him. When you walk with God, you 368 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:13,600 include him in everything, the UPS and the downs of life. 369 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:16,800 You navigate life together. You spend time with one another, 370 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:23,320 you talk, you listen. Intimacy with God is only 371 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:32,200 developed through time spent. Faith isn't a weakened 372 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:36,960 obligation, a simple check mark on the box of Christian duties. 373 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:44,200 Intimacy is only fostered in the day in and day out moments of 374 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:50,320 life, treating intentional prayer time and time in the Word 375 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:57,880 as absolutely essential to my survival, my source of life. 376 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:08,000 So fellowship with him. Second, maintain integrity in a 377 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:12,960 corrupt environment. Maintain integrity in a corrupt 378 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:16,360 environment. Enoch lived in a wicked 379 00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:21,240 generation before the flood, yet he still remained faithful, 380 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:25,960 speaking about people who walked in the way of Cain. 381 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:32,080 Jude 14 and 15 reads. It was also about these that 382 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:36,560 Enoch the 7th from Adam prophesied, saying, Behold, the 383 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:40,720 Lord comes with 10 thousands of His holy ones to execute 384 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:44,040 judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their 385 00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:47,360 deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an 386 00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:50,960 ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly 387 00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:56,960 sinners have spoken against him. Jude was recalling something not 388 00:29:56,960 --> 00:30:02,400 found in our text here in Genesis, but which sheds more 389 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:08,240 like light on who Enoch was. Enoch was apparently, we learned 390 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:13,000 here he was a prophet and he had spoken of God's judgment over 391 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:16,960 the people of his time. Destruction was coming on the 392 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:20,960 evil generations that existed at his time, and Enoch lived in the 393 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:24,360 midst of these people in spite of the fact that he had 394 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:27,960 descended from a more or less righteous line. 395 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:33,720 He didn't go with the flow, rather he went against the 396 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:37,800 grain, and he didn't allow the evil influences to sway him 397 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:42,480 towards unholy, rebellious living. 398 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:49,120 Enoch walked in an upright manner in spite of the corrupt 399 00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:56,280 people of his time. I suspect that many of you in 400 00:30:56,280 --> 00:31:02,520 your work environments have people who are far from God 401 00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:07,800 around you. So the challenge for you is to 402 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:14,600 continue to walk in integrity, to demonstrate integrity, and to 403 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:24,040 speak for the truth. Next, we can learn lastly to 404 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:29,840 rest in God. Rest in God. 405 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:35,400 There is a rest that we experience while still here on 406 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:38,480 this earth, in our in our mortal bodies. 407 00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:41,800 And then there's a rest to come in the future when our faith is 408 00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:47,320 fully realized. The rest we experience now comes 409 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:54,280 to us through 2 main avenues. 1st is through obedience. 410 00:31:56,720 --> 00:32:01,440 Arrest comes through obedience. Hebrews 318 And to whom did he 411 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:03,840 swear that they would not enter his rest? 412 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:09,160 But to those who were disobedient. 413 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:12,880 These were the ones who rebelled against God. 414 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:14,720 When? When you rebel against God's 415 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:18,120 ways and standards, then you can't have peace with God. 416 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:24,240 And without peace with God, if you don't have peace with God, 417 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:33,720 you will never have true rest. The second means to finding rest 418 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:42,200 for your soul is through faith. It's through faith, hearing God 419 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:45,560 speak and responding with an attitude of obedience and 420 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:51,160 actions of dependence upon Him. Christ rest for your soul is 421 00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:55,480 directly proportionate to your level of trust in Him. 422 00:32:57,560 --> 00:33:01,800 As you grow in your knowledge of God, your knowledge of Jesus, 423 00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:05,720 your relationship with Him and and grow in your trust in Him, 424 00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:12,600 then the rest that you experience in your life will 425 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:19,720 increase. Practically speaking, this means 426 00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:23,640 living with the assurance of faith, trusting that God rewards 427 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:31,520 those who earnestly seek him. So walk with God. 428 00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:38,760 Walk with him day in and day out. 429 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:43,000 Don't take a day off of walking with God. 430 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:47,880 Spend time with Him. He is worth it, and in Him 431 00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:51,280 you'll find peace. You'll find peace with others 432 00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:56,240 and rest for your soul. So pray that God would give you 433 00:33:57,040 --> 00:34:01,440 a passion for obedience and for the faith to trust in His 434 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:06,840 provision for that path. Let's bow our heads and close 435 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:21,440 our eyes. This morning we'll spend time 436 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:29,719 preparing for communion here in a moment, but even now we can 437 00:34:29,719 --> 00:34:33,840 begin that process as we consider our walk with God. 438 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:40,360 What is your walk with God? Is it marking? 439 00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:46,800 Ticking off a check box each Sunday morning I went to church? 440 00:34:50,480 --> 00:35:00,720 Or do you truly experience God in your own personal life? 441 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:10,760 Do you truly find fellowship with Him in prayer, in the Word, 442 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:20,280 in the quiet and meditation, or do you find it hard to connect 443 00:35:20,280 --> 00:35:33,250 with God? They say our our public worship 444 00:35:33,250 --> 00:35:38,770 should be an overflow of our private worship time, our time 445 00:35:38,770 --> 00:35:47,520 that we spend walking with God, fellowshipping with him in our 446 00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:54,360 own hearts in our quiet time. Then that should be the driver 447 00:35:54,920 --> 00:36:00,960 of our Sunday morning faith. So my hope this morning is that 448 00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:10,840 that's the case for each of us. God, we thank you that we can 449 00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:17,280 look at the life of someone like Enoch even in the midst of a 450 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:22,520 genealogy. These genealogies have purpose. 451 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:32,080 They point out something to us, and may we choose to follow 452 00:36:34,640 --> 00:36:41,520 Slime of Seth, a line of Enoch people who call upon the name of 453 00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:48,840 the Lord. It's in Jesus name we pray, 454 00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:50,240 Amen.