In The Begining, God (Message 5)

Key Thoughts for This Series:

God is the SUBJECT of Genesis 1-11 even though He is often forgotten as we talk about the FOUR incredible events of this section of Scripture.

These four events are given as NARRATIVE, and according to other portions of the Bible, they happened just as they are TOLD. We need to determine HOW to respond.
The Story of Day 6

I. Crises of Faith “Yahweh, we have a problem.”

A. Following the death of Abel and the departure of Cain, Adam and Eve must have experienced GRIEF.

B. Furthermore, God’s WORD spoken about the serpent appeared to be in jeopardy. How can the PROMISE be kept without an heir?
Genesis 3:14a So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you . . . 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

C. Eve recognized God’s provision of an ‘HEIR to the PROMISE’ in the birth of Seth, a name meaning ‘granted, placed, appointed.’
Genesis 4:25 Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”
Genesis 4:26b At that time men began to call on the name of the Lord.

D. The dynamic of being in the PRESENCE of God changed.

II. The Blessing Rebooted.

A. Genesis 5:1-2 reminds us of the blessing of God on humanity from the very beginning, before the original sin.
Genesis 5:1 This is the written account of Adam’s family line.
When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind” when they were created. 3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.

B. The genealogy is formatted to trace two lines of theological importance: the reality of DEATH and the DESCENT of the promise.
Genesis 5:6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. // 7 After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. //8 Altogether, Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died.
9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. // 10 After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. //11 Altogether, Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died. (breaks added)
***See table on the back.***

III. The Normal and the Extraordinary.

A. The average age of these descendants was 907 1/2 years. Extreme old age was NORMAL! How do we understand this?

1. The CANOPY Theory.

a. Before the flood the earth was enveloped in a spherical canopy of water that protected and lengthened lifespans.
Genesis 1:6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

b. Did the waters of the flood originate from this canopy?
Genesis 7:11b . . . and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.

2. Others suggest that long life was a result of the original GLORIOUS state of mankind which has been diminishing ever since the fall.
Genesis 6:3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

B. Enoch was said to have ‘WALKED’ with God. He has the extraordinary experience of one who did not DIE.
Genesis 5:21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

1. Only Enoch and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) have been taken to heaven.

2. Noah also was said to have ‘WALKED’ with God. (Genesis 6:9)

C. The genealogical format was disrupted a final time in the birth of Noah. With the arrival of Noah and his sons, the purpose of the genealogy in Genesis 5 was set to be completed.
Genesis 5:28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. 29 He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.” 30 After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31 Altogether, Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died. 32 After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.

IV. The Promise of God Fulfilled - “No Problem.”

In Genesis 3:15, God promised one to come who would crush the head of the serpent. Luke demonstrates in his genealogy that Jesus is this one descended from Seth, the one “granted, placed, appointed!”

Luke 3:23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph . . .

. . .36 the son of Cainan,
the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem,
the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch,
the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel,
the son of Kenan, 38 the son of Enosh,
the son of Seth, the son of Adam,
the son of God.

Generation | Age at birth of ‘firstborn’ son | Other sons & daughters | Variation in form | Total years lived
1. Adam | SETH, 130 | X | A son in his likeness, in his own image. | 930
2. SETH | Enosh, 105 | X |  | 912
3. Enosh | Kenan, 90 | X |  | 905
4. Kenan | Mahalalel, 70 | X |  | 910
5. Mahalalel | Jared, 65 | X |  | 895
6. Jared | ENOCH, 162 | X |  | 962
7. ENOCH | Methuselah, 65 | X | ENOCH walked faithfully with God | He was no more
8. Methuselah | Lamech, 187 | X |  | 969
9. Lamech | NOAH, 182 | X | He had a son . . . | 777
10. NOAH | 500 |  | SHEM, Ham, Japheth |

Walk the Talk

Share some stories of biblical characters who went through faith crises.

What past or present issues or circumstances have brought you to a crisis of faith?

If someone is having a crisis of faith, what do they need most from other Christians?

How is the Word of God vital for walking through faith crises?