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TeacherAide The First Epic SESSION 7 ILLUSTRATING
THE POINT Two Books
This is
the book of...Adam. Genesis 5:1 [This
is] the book of...Jesus Christ. Matthew 1:1 The
book of Adam’s family tree and the book of the genealogy of Christ form a
striking contrast. One is a record of death, the other of life. Genesis 5 has
been called the “obituary chapter” of the Bible, for time after time we read
the doleful word,”...and he died.” On the other hand, Matthew, in giving the
genealogy of Jesus, constantly repeats the phrase, “...and [he] begot.”
Although the people in the line of Christ did eventually die, the word
“death” is never mentioned in Matthew, Chapter 1. That suggests to me this
application: By our sinful nature we are in Adam’s book on death, but by our
spiritual “new birth” we appear in Christ’s living register of the
redeemed. You’ve
probably heard the familiar story of the man whose name was printed in the
obituary column of a daily paper by mistake. Greatly disturbed, he went to the
newspaper office and exclaimed, “This is terrible! Your error will cause me no
end of embarrassment and may even mean a loss of business. How could you do such
a thing?” The editor expressed regrets, but the man remained angry and
unreasonable. Finally the editor said in disgust, “Cheer up, fellow, I’ll
put your name in the birth column tomorrow and give you a fresh start!”
That’s what happens when we find new life in Christ. Are you
still registered in Adam’s obituary column, or is your name in the Lamb’s
Book of Life? There are only two books, and you are in one or the other! THE
MORE YOU KNOW I have
puzzled over the seeming repetition of these introductory verses. Why would
Moses tell us what we already know? Notice that these verses are not attached to
the genealogy of chapter 4, but of that in chapter 5. Cain’s genealogy comes
to a dead end. It begins with ungodly Cain, ends with wicked Lamech, and is
‘washed out’ by the flood. Moses
begins chapter 5 with the terminology of chapters 1 and 2 (e.g., ‘created,’
‘in the likeness of God,’ ‘male and female,’ ‘blessed them’) in
order to indicate to the reader that God’s purposes and program for man begun
in the first chapters are to be carried out through Adam’s seed, but not
through the line of Cain; rather through Seth. The whole of chapter 5 is a
description of the ever-narrowing line through which Messiah will come. The
contrast spiritually between the two lines is obvious. It can easily be
illustrated by the two ‘Lamechs’ of chapters 4 and 5. Lamech (the son of
Methushael, 4:18) of Cain’s lineage was the initiator of polygamy (4:19).
Worse than this he was a murderer who boasted of his crime (4:23) and made light
of God’s words to Cain (4:24). The Lamech of chapter 5 (the son of Methuselah
and the father of Noah) was a godly man. The naming of his son revealed his
understanding of the fall of man and the curse of God upon the ground (cf.
5:29). It also indicated his faith that God would deliver man from the curse
through the seed of Eve. I believe Lamech understood that this deliverance would
specifically come through the son God had given him. In the
account of Cain’s descendants no numbers were employed, while the line of Seth
has a definite numerical pattern. Figures in chapter 5 typically supplied: (1)
the age of the individual at the birth of the son named; (2) the years lived
after the birth of the son;80
and (3) the age of the man at his death. Essentially the life of the person
falls into two parts, B.C., and A.D.: Before the child and after the delivery of
the child. This division is not without significance. The length of the lives of
the men in chapter 5 is unusually long, but every effort to explain this fact in
some way other than taking the numbers literally has proven futile. Conditions
were undoubtedly different prior to the flood. Moses
surely intended the length of the lives of these men to impress us. This is
undoubtedly one of the reasons why they were so prominently included. The long
length of life would facilitate the population of the earth. My wife and I have
had six children in our 17 years of marriage. Imagine what could be done in 900
years? Furthermore Moses would reveal by this that man was originally intended
to live many years, even after the fall. Surely the promise of a millennial
kingdom in which men would live to a ripe old age (cf. Isaiah 65:20) is
buttressed by this chapter. Length of life was nothing new, but simply something
regained. The main contrast between the lines of Cain and Seth is that of the
emphasis of each. Cain’s line is credited with what might be called ‘worldly
progress’ and achievements. Cain built the first city (4:17). From his
descendants came the technological and cultural contributions. Metal workers,
ranchers, and musicians were of this line. Now
what is it that is emphasized about the line of Seth? No mention is made of any
great contributions or achievements. Two things marked out the men of chapter 5.
First of all, they were men of faith (cf. Enoch, 5:18, 21-24; Lamech, 5:28-31).
These men looked back and grasped the fact that sin was the root of their
troubles and travail. They looked forward to a redemption that God was to
provide through their offspring.-
Citation-
Bob Deffinbaugh, Coming to Grips with
Genealogies
I
THOUGHT I HEARD YOU SAY “I have put my soul, as a blank, into the hands of
Jesus Christ my Redeemer, and desired him to write upon it what he pleases. I
know it will be his own image.”-
Citation: George Whitefield. Christian History, Issue 38. On one late night talk show, a panel of three university
students were asked questions to test their intelligence. The questions ranged
from naming famous politicians to pieces of art. Then the question was raised,
"What were the names of Adam and Eve's children?" All of the students
were silent. One girl finally responded, "Um, well, I didn't even know they
had children."-
Citation: Jennifer Scott; Carol
Stream, IL “Salvation changes our heritage from a living death to
a deathless life.”-
Our Daily Bread, Thursday, January 2. “We are all so vain that we love to have our names
remembered by those who have met us but once. We exaggerate the talents and
virtues of those who can do this and we are ready to repay their powers with
lifelong devotion. The ability to associate in the mind names and faces is a
tremendous asset to a politician and it will prolong the pastorate of any
clergyman.”- William
Lyons Phelps, American educator and literary critic
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