Read Genesis 5
From Adam to Noah
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. 4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5 Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.
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.
12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel.13 After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 Altogether, Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died.
15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared.16 After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17 Altogether, Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died.
18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. 19 After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 Altogether, Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.
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.
25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech.26 After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.
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.
Go Deeper
In the last chapter, we read about how Cain murdered his own brother Abel. It’s hard to imagine anything more painful for a parent than for one child to murder the other. After losing Abel, God gave them another son, Seth, and Eve said “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him” (4:25). The genealogy of chapter 5 shows that it is through Seth that eventually Noah is born. Then it is through Noah that eventually Abraham is born (Genesis 10-11), and it is through Abraham that eventually Joseph is born, who was the husband of Mary the mother of Jesus (Matthew 1). Right in the midst of gruesome family violence and grief, we see God is still working his plan of salvation. Cain’s evil murder of his brother did not thwart God‘s plan through the generations to save us through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
God fulfills his plans. Nothing can stop him–no violence, no evil, no dysfunction, no death. We may endure painful things on earth, but God will always see his plan through to the end. He has total purposeful control over every person‘s lifespan, the family they are born into, the kids they might have or lose, the genealogies from one generation to the next through all of history. Who you are, the family you grew up in, the family you might grow, and what God is doing in and through each of us through all of time. None of this is by accident. Psalm 115:3 says, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him” and Psalm 138:8 says, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever…”
What does this mean for how we live? We trust. We trust when facing family conflict, infertility or miscarriage, the loss of loved ones, or other painful circumstances, knowing that even then somehow God is still going to see his plan through the generations–His good plan for us, for our children, and for the world. He is in control of genealogies and every other detail.
We trust as we share the gospel and minister to others. We know that nothing can stop God’s plan of reconciliation, so we can take risks to share the gospel. We rest assured that no matter how we stumble over our words, we won’t stop what God is going to do in other people’s lives. We are bold and at peace no matter how things seem to be going at the moment.
Questions
- Where in your family life is God calling you to more fully trust him to fulfill his purposes and plans?
- How can you live more boldly in ministering to others, trusting God to accomplish his plans regardless of your abilities or the current circumstances?
- Where in your life do you try hardest to control the outcome? Spend some time savoring the greatness, power, wisdom, and love of a God who carries out his plans through all generations.
Did You Know?
The Hebrews passed on their beliefs through oral tradition. Stories were told to their children, who passed them on to their children. Genealogies were used to provide an outline to remember the stories of God’s faithfulness. These lineages were a reminder that God has been present in each and every generation.
9 thoughts on “Genesis 5”
What happened to Enoch?
He was taken up to Heaven.
Last Christmas our daughter gifted us a subscription to Storyworth, a platform to record meaningful moments and memories that will eventually become a book of family history. As I’ve submitted entries throughout the months it’s not lost on me how necessary it is to remember how God has worked in the past, is presently working, and will work in the future. The most important part of our genealogy is when and how Christ intersects our lives. My goal is to live like Enoch in close fellowship with God. That will be a story that will resound into eternity.
As the world turns more and more toward sin and rebellion, we have to remember that God is sovereign and He will accomplish His purposes. Throughout history there has been a godly remnant that has kept the work of God going. Consistantly throughout time people have drifted into idolatry and spiritual idleness. We are now in a place where entitlement has over taken. BUT GOD has kept some of His people going so that there is a revival going on. He heard His people cry out and is answering their prayers. Even when we feel like the world around is crumbling remember God will always raise up peoples that are willing to serve. And He doesnt use perfect people. His judgement is coming. We are warned to not be friendly to the worldy things, to not love the world but rather to be seperated from the world. BUT GOD’s grace steps in. His grace stepped in with the guys from Genesis 5 and His grace will be suffient for a time such as this. You are saved by faith through grace. No one has ever been saved by sacrafices, by keeping the law, or by doing good works.
God please open my eyes to Your understanding of ways for me to serve You. Guide me to do Your will in all things. Show me how to bless, be generous, and how. As coruption is taking place thank You for keeping my thoughts in line with Your thoughts. God I will sing of the Your great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known. God help me to declare that your love stands firm forever, and that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself. God thank You for protecting me from the evil one. Thank You for Your promises and Your presence. God thank You for this day, these minutes that I follow hard after You. That in all I say and do You are what motivates and sustains me in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
24 “Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”
What an amazing “obituary”. May I walk faithfully like Enoch!
Typically, I tend to skim through chapters like this (we used to call them “the Bible begats”) as a bit of snooze, trying to move on as quickly as possible so I can get to the good stuff.
But if we don’t know where we came from, it’s hard to know who we ARE.
My in-laws were crazy-passionate about genealogy. They would drive all over the country literally crawling around tombstones and poking through county record offices to document our own family “begats.” My father-in-law published articles and corrected entries in genealogical records.
Such thorough research admitted them into community in numerous genealogical societies. The most noteworthy came from them tracing their lineage to an ancestor who was a member of the Queen of England’s Order of the Garter. And as a result, Mom and Dad scored themselves a stay at Windsor Castle and met Prince Charles!
Their faithfulness to preserve our family history has enriched our entire family story.
While reflecting on today’s chapter, I did a little research of my own on the subject of “why genealogy matters.“ (I encourage you to Google for yourself as there is too much to share here.) More importantly, I wanted to know why genealogy matters to GOD. Here’s one thought-provoking answer:
“Through family lineage, God exemplifies how He uses everyone to fulfill His purpose.”
There’s a lot more … and none of it’s a snooze!
God repeats “He made him in the likeness of God.” May sin, distraction, this world not distort our likeness of God. Lord, help us continue to be like you and as we seek you, we become all you created us to be in the likeness of you. Redeem this for us, O’God!
This gives me joy to know that I am in the lineage of God the Father. Being made in His image means that my life has value in God’s eyes. The likeness of God passed down from one generation to the next generation.
When we are in Christ we are connected to God and part of His family.
John 1:1213 “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
I pray that I pass this down to my children and grandchildren.
after reading, I thought about my genealogy. It’s very important to preserve the family bloodline for Jesus’ sake! Some of my family members have fallen away from the faith but many of my relatives are believers! May we continue that!
It’s very strange that everyone lived 800-1,000 years back then. Back to researching & doubting the creation story 🤗
My analytical brain is always going bananas…