Genesis in Biblical Perspective:
The Gospel of Christ from Genesis

Whose Culture?

By Dr. Harry Reeder III

This is the word of God. Genesis 5:1-32.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

May God bless this His Word to the heart of His people.

Genesis 5 is the part where one's eyes start to glaze over because it gets into the genealogies but 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. " So God gave us this passage that is inspired and has a treasure trove of truth for us to understand. Put this picture in your mind before we get into this passage.

My two daughters ran track which means they ran distant runs. Distant runs can be extremely boring unless it is one's daughters who are running them. They only thing that was more boring for me was when they played junior high basketball. It is a succession of jump balls. However I had the opportunity to go see them run and one year was very special for two reasons. One reasons was both my youngest and my oldest daughter ran at the same time for the same team and the other reason was that particular year that track team had a very fast men's 4 by 100 relay team. I used to love to watch them. Those four boys were so fast, so talented and so coordinated that they went on to win the state championship. It was so much fun to watch but the point was they had to get to the finish line with the baton. If the baton was dropped it was no good. Think of the baton as God's grace.

Genesis 5 is a ten man team that hands the grace of God off. Now some of them are more noted than others. In fact, three people out of God's team prior to the flood are going to end up in God's Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11. Abel who has died and two more will be mentioned in Genesis 5. All of the people mentioned in Genesis 5 lived pretty much at the same time because of the length of years and the overlapping. It is hard to think about this many Godly people being around at the same time. This is in contrast to Cain's genealogy that was studied in Genesis 4. By the way, if one adds up all the numbers all but two of them will die before the flood. Two will be alive at the year of the flood. One is Noah of course but the other one probably died the year of the flood but not in the flood and that is Enoch.

Genesis 5 is called the second book of generations in the book of Genesis. Genesis 1:1 through Genesis 2:3 is the description of the creation. Genesis 2:4 through Genesis 4 is the first book of the ten books of generations. Genesis 5 is the second book. The first book was the book of the generations of the earth and the heavens that is what did the earth and the heavens generate? In Genesis 2:4 through Genesis 4 it was found out that the earth generated Adam by the hand of God. From the dirt of the ground Adam was made. Secondly, from Adam was made Eve. Then God fashioned them into a marriage. God then gave them a mandate to be fruitful and multiply, to subdue the creation and to rule over the creatures. God also gave them an admonition, a prohibition, "Do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" but Adam and Eve did not believe God's Word. They bought the lie of Satan and with the lust of flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life they disobeyed God's Word and brought sin into this world that is original sin. This original sin was the very first sin from which death now comes into the world; the death of relationships, the death of the ability to serve the Lord as men and women are born under the judgment of God. All of the seed of Adam are born under the curse of death with a sin nature. It is seen expressly worked out in the birth of their first two children, Cain and Abel.

Cain and Abel are both in a worship service. Cain being a tiller of the ground appropriately brought an offering from his vocation but he only brought some of the ground and not the first fruits. Abel being a keeper of the flock brought from his vocation but he brought the first of the flock, the tithe and the fat portions, the best to the Lord. Abel was engaged in God-centered worship and not the glory of self but the glory of God. Cain was using the worship of God for the glory of self. When God did not receive Cain's worship nor his offering Cain went into a fit of spiritual depression which turned into antipathy against God. Antipathy turned into arrogance against God. Cain said, "Am I my brother's keeper?" He lied to God saying, "I don't know where my brother is" and he had already killed Abel. Then that antipathy, indifference and arrogance became outright anger as he killed his brother. God's judgment was expressly given to Cain and then comes the first genealogy in the Bible.

It was seven generations long from a man named to Adam to a man named Lamech. As it unfolds the horrific degeneration of humanity is seen. A culture of death and violence is seen. A city is built that harbors arrogance against God and a murderer Cain, ultimately seven generations later, has produced a serial killer by the name of Lamech who ends Genesis 4 with a song of tyranny. Lamech says, "I don't need God's protection and I'll kill anyone who puts their hands on me. I'll avenge myself seven fold. I've already killed a boy who touched me and a man who spoke to me. I'll kill old men and young boys. It matters not." This song of tyranny by the tyrant rises up against God. The culture of violence and death is established even in a city and the restlessness of Cain. I love what Augustine says about that text; "Man's heart will always be restless unless he rests in God alone." As Cain becomes a fugitive and his progeny become devoted in rebellion against God there is one exception, one little blessing, a daughter that was born named Naamah who was declared to be different and pleasant.

Now comes this second book in Genesis 5. This second book starts off again with an account of creation in Genesis 5:1,2, "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." It reaffirms man being made in the image of God and now man and woman will bear children in their image. Here will begin a genealogy that is ten generations until ends with Noah and his children. These ten generations begin with Adam who gives birth to Seth who takes Abel's place in God's line of grace and His kingdom. The significant thing about Seth is his son that is picked out of all his sons and daughters. That son's name is Enosh. Something is already known about Enosh. At the end of the last book a trailer was given in the last two verses to set up book two which talked about Enosh. Genesis 4:25, 26, "25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, "God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him." 26 To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD." As the line of Cain brings degeneration in a culture of violence, rebellion, and arrogance against God, fleeing the presence of the Lord now what happens? God in the line of Seth, raises up a son and his life produces a ministry where people begin to call upon the Lord and seek the presence of the Lord.

So there is Adam, then Seth, then Enosh and fourth in the line is a man named Kenan. Kenan fathered Mahalalel and Mahalalel fathered Jared. Jared who is the seventh generation and seven being a key number, he fathered Enoch. This Enoch is not to be confused with Cain's Enoch. This is a different Enoch. There are some interesting things about Enoch. First who is seventh in the line of Cain? It is Lamech who wounds, kills and murders. So in opposition to Lamech in Seth's line is Enoch. In Genesis 5:22 and 24 it says that Enoch walked with God. "Walked with God" is an interesting phrase. If one searches their Bible they will have a hard time finding that exact phrase. One may find "they walked before God" but very seldom does one see "walked with God." It is important. Micah 6:8 says, "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" It started with Enosh who had this ministry and here is a product Enoch who walks with God and by the time Enoch was 365 years old people wake up one day and he is not there. "He was no more." He is one of only two men who circumvent the grim reaper in the providence of God. Who is the other man in the Bible who does not go through the grave and death? It is Elijah. In 2 Kings 12 Elijah is walking with Elisha and with God and it says, "he was taken up into glory." He went straight to heaven. Enoch and Elijah were the only two in the Bible that did not go through death and the grave.

It is interesting to note that Enoch lived 365 years and there are 365 days in a year. His years match a full year in days. If that is saying anything symbolically it is saying that this was God determined fullness for his life, what God had planned for him and what God was doing through him. God did a lot through Enoch which one will see shortly as this study continues.

To finish out the text here Enoch fathered Methuselah. What is known about Methuselah? Methuselah is the oldest man in the Bible. In other words, the man that did not die fathered a man that they thought would never die. Methuselah lived 969 years. Methuselah is an interesting name. Methuselah can mean "man of javelin" or "man of a spear" but the word "methu" could also mean "death." "Selah" could mean "end." Therefore the name could mean "dying at an end." That is interesting because it is known that two people were living during the year of the flood. One is Noah and the other is Methuselah. All these other people mentioned in Genesis 5 are already dead except these two and Methuselah dies in the year of the flood.

Then Methuselah fathers Lamech and this is not the Lamech of Cain. This Lamech does not sing a song of tyranny but he prays a prayer of hope. He now calls upon God with hope because he gets a son named Noah and he says, "God do something through this, my son, to give us relief from the curse that is all around us from the ground. Do a work in him that will give us relief." So Lamech calls upon the Lord. Lamech fathers Noah and Noah will be studied in much depth. However for this study only these ten generations will be looked at and as a side note, Noah fathered three sons. Two of his sons, Shem and Japheth, end up serving the Lord and one, Ham, is in rebellion against the Lord.

So what is God trying to say through this text? God is declaring five things in this text and the first one is that God is reaffirming a New Testament verse and setting a precursor with this genealogical narrative of Romans 6:23; "For the wages of sin is death..." The phrase "and he died" is seen ten times in Genesis 5. The genealogy in Genesis 5 represents the kingdom of life, the culture of life that is bringing the testimony of God to the world but even there the curse of sin is felt and then "he dies." Only one did not die out of the ten generations, Enoch and God has a lesson there also. Not only do they die but they start dying quicker and faster. The first one dies at age 930, the next at 912, the next at 905, then 910, then 895, then 842 and then Enoch at 365, then 720, then 653 and faster and faster and faster. The wages of sin is death. The later half of Romans 6:23 says, "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. " How I thank God that one can hear from this text, "he lived and fathered" ten times. God brings life and with Enoch God tells the reader that the life of grace is eternal life that never ends. God says, "In Me I conquer death."

A second lesson from this text is God's grace is personal. It is an incredible fact to know that your God loves you and knows you by name. In this text names are lifted out. When God's grace comes it is personally directed. God says, "Abraham I have known you and called you out of the land of Chaldeans, the far country and I will be your God." Moses says, "Lord, I can't do this ministry for You because I cannot speak." God says, "Moses I know you. I fashioned you. I make the seeing eye, the hearing ear, the dumb and the deaf. I know you." Jesus says to you, "I know My sheep and they know Me. I know your name." The Lord God says He knows His sheep by name and He calls them out of the folds of this world into the flock of God and you have His name on you, a new name written down in Glory, written with the blood of Jesus Christ. God works personally when He works by grace.

The third lesson from this text is God works personally through persons when He does His work of grace. How does one get a Noah, by getting a daddy named Lamech who does not curse his child but blesses his child, who does not write a song of tyranny but a song of praise. Lamech says, "God use this son for Your glory to give relief to Your people." How does one get a Lamech? A Lamech comes through a Methuselah. How does one get a Methuselah? Methuselah has a daddy who walks with God, Enoch. Methuselah also has a great, great, great grandfather who his life called men and women to seek and call upon the Lord and to pursue the Lord. God does not do a work in people magically or with spiritual vibrations. God's work is personal and He works through people into people. Today, if you know Jesus Christ, you came to Him because of God's grace in Christ alone but Christ did not do it alone. He did it through people to reach you and He did it through people to reach you that through you He will reach people. From our inner most being will flow rivers of living water. John 7:38 says, "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" The baton of grace is handed off from generation to generation to generation as God works through persons. Get to know these people in Genesis 5 personally through personal study in the Bible. It is so amazing to get to know people. Noah will do God's work. Enosh is God's witness and here is Enoch who walked with God and was no more. God's Word is so wonderful and rich because God's Word does not leave that alone. It helps us to know more.

Here is more about Enoch who is mentioned twice in the New Testament. In Hebrews 11 there are three people mentioned who lived prior to the flood; Abel, Enoch and Noah. Look at what Hebrews 11:5 says about Enoch, "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." Here are a couple of things to know about Enoch. According to this verse Enoch is a man of faith. One cannot walk with God until they believe in Jesus Christ, into the Living God. The second thing about Enoch is that he was not found. The third thing is that God took him up and the fourth thing is that before God took him up he somehow communicated with God because God commended him as pleasing to Him. Positionally one is pleasing to God through the blood and righteousness of one's Mediator Jesus Christ but experientially one is pleasing to God when one walks with Him, follows Him, walks for Him and before Him.

I love the phrase "and he was not found." I wonder how this happened then. I can imagine what Elisha said when he saw Elijah taken up but here the text seems to indicate that one day Enoch just was not there. I can just imagine one saying, "Where is Enoch?" and everyone is searching for him. "Where is Enoch?" He is with the Lord, the One he walked with. Before Enoch went to be the Lord he did something else as he walked with God. What else did he do? One can find what else he did in the book of Jude. Jude warns about false teachers. Jude 1:14, 15 says, 14 It was also about these (meaning false teachers) that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him." In other words, before Enoch went to be with the Lord he had 365 years in which he walked with God but he was not God's secret agent. He was not God's closet buddy. Privately and intimately he walked with God but in the public square he called men and women to repentance and to deal with God by His grace before God dealt with them by His justice and His judgment. Enoch warned the people of the judgment to come. In other words the intimacy he had with God was not a private matter of personal existential blessings and feelings but it was the empowerment to step into the public square, his classroom, his athletic team, his friends, his neighborhood to speak for God to those who were creating this culture of arrogance, violence and murder. Enoch spoke to it. Then God took him in the fullness of his years at the right time.

Lesson four is that God also delights to work through families. This lesson is very obvious. One can see the fathers impact on the sons in Genesis 5 but it does not mean that when one is born into a Christian family that they are automatically a Christian. Noah had three sons and one of them lived in rebellion against God, Ham. It also does not mean that if one is born in a line of rebellion against God that one will not have the opportunity to know the Lord. An example of this is Naamah, the girl of pleasantness, in the line of Cain. God reaches into this family and this family. In Noah's family of blessing there is one that says "no, I want the way of the prodigal." However here in this text it is very clear that God delights, as a basic way of operation, in working through families. He says, "I'll be a God to you and to your children and those after you. Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved, you and your household." The promise is for you and your children and for all who are afar off even as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself. (Acts 2:39) Therefore if God has given to you a Godly family then plead with Him and serve Him that God might be raised up to glory from generation to generation. I will tell the next generation of Thy great works, O God. God delights to work in and through the family but according to Genesis 4 sin also works in and through families. Sin can escalate and degenerate and like Cain's line ultimately sin will bring a serial tyrant murderer like Lamech.

The fifth and last lesson is one is not the product of their culture and one needs more than a name. Today we are raised in a society that says we are victims of whatever condition one is born into this world. The culture one is born into does impact a person but it does not determine who that person is. Life has got to be more than a name. One's life is what defines one's name. A person's name does not define their life. One's life defines one's name. It is interesting to note the similarity in names from Cain's line and Seth's line. There are Enosh's, Enoch's and Lamech's in both but the Enoch in Seth's line is not the same as the Enoch in Cain's line. The Lamech in Seth's line is not the Lamech in Cain's line. It is their life that declares the difference that God's grace makes. The baton is handed off and it looks glorious.

That is the takeaway for this study that God's grace makes the difference, not only in eternal life but in a way of life. God's line of grace includes worship. God's line of grace even takes the curse applied to work and will take work to make work to worship God but in the line of Cain the work is not used to worship God but on the contrary. Worship is used to worship self therefore because worship is not pleasing to God, the glory of self spills into the work is now subjected to despair in the line of Cain. In the line of Seth the work is now used as a source of praise to God that when you work you do not work to make your mark you work to give glory to God. You do your work as heartily as unto the Lord and now work is the opportunity not to be somebody but to declare the glory of my God and to bring the testimony of my God. Worship is not there for me but I am there to worship the living God that He would be pleased. Then I am to witness so that men and women will call upon the Lord. I am here in my private relation of intimacy to walk with God that I might step into the public square to declare the truth of God. If one does not come to the Lord and take Him as Savior He will come to execute judgment. All of this is wrapped up in this beautiful little picture of Enoch who walked with God.

My daughter and wife try to walk together everyday. There are always three questions that they ask each other. One is how fast are we going? Where are we going? And the third question is how far is it? When we walk with God one should ask, God where are we going? I want to go where You go and I want to walk with You, led by Your Spirit. Lord, I want to go all the way, all the way my Savior leads me. The intimacy of walking with God all the way where He leads you and me then Enoch becomes the picture and the promise. Death where is your sting, grave where is your victory? (1 Corinthians 15:55) There is no sting of death, no victory over the grave, we walk with God and are no more. We are with Him forever. There is the difference of the culture of death and the victory and picture of Enoch. Walking with the Lord, knowing the Lord, serving the Lord and then Enoch changed locations. He did not change vocations. He was on the earth walking with God and then he went there walking with God. That is what death is for the believer. It is not the change of vocation it is just the change in location. The vocation continues, walking with Him.

In 1899 there were two deaths. Colonel Charles Ingersoll's skepticism of Christianity and hatred of Christianity was well known. It is even preserved in lectures at Harvard today on the issues of immortality. He died unexpectedly and they had to get a court order to get the body loose from his wife and kids to have a service because of health reasons. It was nothing but despair. His body was cremated and it was a time of unbelievable sadness, mourning and agony. In the same year another man died and his name was D.L. Moody. Moody was one who Ingersoll made much fun of. Moody was not the great antagonist of Christ but the great preacher of Christ and God's grace in Christ. Moody had been sick for over a year and a half and there he lay dying with his elders by his bed and his daughter and son right next to him. His eyes got clear and he looked right into the face of his son and said, "Son, earth is receding, heaven is opening, God is calling." His son said, "Father you're dreaming." Moody said, "No son, I've never seen more clearly in all of my life." Moody's daughter begins to pray for her father's longevity of life and he puts his arm on her and says, "Oh no, this is my coronation day, let me go." Life is all about walking with God, changing location, not vocation. Death where is your sting?

Knowing he was in his last days the New York Times had interviewed Moody. Moody told them in the interview, "In a few short days, weeks or months you are going to hear someone say that I have died and when someone comes to you and tells you that I have died you don't believe a word of it. When they tell you that, I will never be more alive than at that very moment walking with Him in glory." Walk with Him in life.

Prayer:

Father, thank you for the moments together in Your Word. Thank You for this wonderful, glorious chapter in Your Word. Speak to our hearts O God. Fill us that we might walk with our God. Work like Noah for our God. Speak like Enoch and Enosh on behalf of our God. Bring to us the grace of life that we might lift up the Lord of life. Father through Your people may the culture experience the grace of Jesus, death restrained, life in Christ exalted, I pray in Jesus name, Amen.