Adam's Family

Turn with me in your Bible to Genesis chapter five. Genesis chapter five. We're going to talk about Adam's family today, and from it we're going to glean some important truths. Genesis chapter 5, beginning with verse number 1. This is the book of the generations of Adam in the day when God created man. He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and he blessed them and named them man in the day when they were created. When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness according to his image, and named him Seth.

Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were 800 years. And he had other sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years. And he died. And Seth lived one hundred and five years, and became the father of Enosh. Then Seth lived eight hundred years. 80 years, excuse me, after he became the father of Enosh, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Seth were 9 years, and he died. And Enos lived 90 years and became the father of Kenan.

Then Enosh lived 8 years after he became the father of Kenan. And he had other sons and daughters, so all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died. And Ken lived seventy years, and became the father of Mah. Then Ken lived 8 years after he became the father of Mah, and he had other sons and daughters, so all the days of Ken were 9 years, and he died. And Mah lived sixty-five years and became the father of Jared. Then Mah lived eight hundred and thirty years after he became the father of Jared.

And he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Mah. were eight hundred and ninety five years, and he died. And Jerid lived one hundred and sixty two years, and became the father of Enoch. Then Jerid lived eight hundred years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-tw years. And he died. And Enoch lived sixty-five years and became the father of Methuselah. Then Enoch walked with God. three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters so all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty five years and Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

And Methuselah lived 1 years, and became the father of Lame. Then Methuselah lived 7 years after he became the father of Lame. And he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died. And Lame lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and became the father of a son. Now he called his name Noah, saying, This one shall give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands, arising from the ground which the Lord has cursed. Then Lame lived five hundred and ninety five years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other sons and daughters, so all the days of Lame were seven hundred and seventy seven years, and he died.

And Noah has, or excuse me, and Noah was 500 years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Hem, and Japheth. Now, some of you are probably wondering why I read all 32 verses of Genesis chapter 5. I mean, after all, it's just a bunch of information about Adam's family. But quite the contrary. It's more than information. It is a revelation about God. The Bible tells us that all scripture is given by inspiration of God. Not just parts of scripture, not everything but the genealogies, but all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable.

That is, if I'm going to be a man of God thoroughly furnished, thoroughly equipped unto good works, according to 2 Timothy 3: and 17, then I must know the whole counsel of God. So part of my completeness and part of my wholeness comes from a proper understanding of Genesis chapter 5, Adam's family, believe it or not. So, this morning, what I want you to see are four basic principles that reveal to us God and His work. And I believe that once you leave today, you will leave with such a blessing from Genesis chapter 5, you're going to wonder why you just skipped over it, or maybe why you didn't pay attention while I was reading it this morning.

Because there are so many good things in here, we're just going to scratch the surface. But we're going to give you four principles about God that you're going to glean from Genesis chapter 5. Adam's family. Okay? The first one is this: that the genealogy of Adam's family predicates God's person.

It predicates God's personality. When you predicate something, you declare it, you affirm it, you proclaim it. The genealogy of Adam declares very loudly God's personality. Personality. How do I know that? Very simple. Verses 1 and 2. This is the book of the gener of Adam. In the day when God created man. He made him in what? The likeness of God. Now turn back with me, if you will, to Genesis chapter 1. Genesis chapter 1, verse number 27. And it says, and God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him, male and female.

He created them. As you recall, our study in Genesis chapter 1, there's something unique about man, and that is, man is created in the likeness of God, in the image of God. That means the word image means to cut off or to carve out. So there's something about us that's cut off or carved out of God's image. And that thing that is carved out, that makes us distinct from any other created thing, is the fact that we are relational beings. And so from the very outset of this genealogy, I come to realize that every man that's ever created in the history of man is created in the likeness of God, not just Adam and Eve.

But every man bears the image of God. Every woman bears the image of God. That likeness, the ability to have intellect, the ability to have emotion, the ability to have volition. I am able to relate to you because I am made in God's image. Better than that, I am able to relate to God because I am created in His image. Therefore, it helps me understand that God wants a relationship with me. God wants a relationship with all the people in Genesis chapter 5. He wants a relationship with every man that's been created.

Why? Because every man is created in the image of God. That's important. Doesn't mean I look like God, because God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. And so, the very first thing we learn about Adam's family and his genealogy.

Is that it helps us understand the personality of God? Everybody has God's personality to some degree within them because they are made in his image. That's point number one.

Point number two is this: not only does Adam's family predicate God's personality, but it perpetuates God's plan.

It perpetuates God's plan. God's got a plan. His plan is to bless your life. And so he blessed these people. How did he bless them? It says, verse 2: he created them, male and female, and he blessed them. How did he bless them? Turn back with me to Genesis chapter 1 again. Genesis chapter 1, verse number 28. And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth. How did God bless Adam's family? He blessed them by giving them, as the text says, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight times, sons.

And daughters. That's how he blessed them. He gave them kids. Why? Because God's plan is about people. God's plan has always been about people. We learned about that in Genesis chapter 1, about the creation of the world. It was all about man. It was all about people. It was a stage that was set. For God's apex of creation, and that was man. God is in the people, and God is in the lots of people. Because these people had sons and daughters. They had more than just one son and one daughter. They had at least two sons and at least two daughters.

Okay? Now, if you were to go through this. And assume that they had sons and daughters probably once every five years or so and lived 700, 800, 900 years of age. Can you imagine how many millions of people that is on the face of the earth by the time we get to Genesis chapter 6? There's lots of people here. God wants the earth to be filled. Look over in Genesis chapter 9. He talks to Noah and his family. Genesis 9:1, and God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

Part of God's blessing. on your life is giving you children. Children are a blessing from God. They are an inheritance that God gives us. They are a loan that He gives us just for a time being. But God wanted the earth to be filled. And so He blessed these people and He gave them lots of children. These people lived a long time, but you can live forever with God. If you have eternal life, you see, Satan wants you to think you're going to live forever. Ah, don't worry. You to make a decision about Christ today.

It's okay. You got the rest of your years ahead of you. You can do that in your 80s, in your 90s. Give your life to Christ. Right now, live the way you want to live. Just do whatever you want to do. Enjoy life. Have a good time in life. You don't have to make a decision today. Procrastinate. Make it tomorrow. Make it the next day. That's Satan's lie. You need to make that decision today. Give your life to Christ. Pass out of judgment. Pass out of death into life. Christ says, I am the resurrection.

I am the life. He who believes in me. Shall never die. Isn't that good? What do you mean never die? That means that death will be the doorway that opens up to you eternal life with Jesus Christ our Lord. Lord. Have you given your life to Christ? I trust that if you haven't, today will be that day. You might not have tomorrow, for Adam's genealogy tells us, and they died. The third thing I want you to notice about Adam's family is that not only does it predicate God's personality and perpetuate God's plan, but thirdly, it precipitates God's purposes.

God's got a purpose. And if there's anything that accelerates or hastens God's purpose in our life, it's this chapter in Genesis chapter 5. How do I know that? Well, Verse number 21. And Enoch lived 65 years and became the father of Methuselah. Then Enoch walked with God 300 years after he became the father of Methuselah. Now stop right there. There's something about the birth of that boy that changed Enoch's life. What was it? Bear with me. And I'll tell you exactly what it was. It will surprise you, it will bless your socks off, and you'll be so glad you came to church today.

But there's something about the birth of that child that changed Enoch's life. For those of you who had a newborn die, I want to let you know something. A brief life is not an incomplete life. That's evident by the life of Methuselah. Say, wait a minute, he was the oldest man in the Bible. He lived longer than anybody else did. Yes, I know, but something about Enoch's life that didn't happen the 65 years previous. That happened the next 300 years because he lived to be 365 years of age. But at the birth of Methuselah, something happened in Enoch's life that caused him to walk with God.

And to please God and to honor Him. Kids have a tendency to do that, don't they? They have a tendency to drive us to our knees. In seeking God for answers, Methuselah did that with Enoch. There's something very, very profound in Genesis chapter 5 that we need to see today. Enoch walked with God. God's purpose for your life is that you walk with Him. Are you walking with God today? Are you walking hand in hand with God? That's his purpose for your life. Turn back with me to Hebrews chapter 11 for a moment.

Hebrews chapter 11, the divine commentary on Enoch. You know, not much is mentioned about Enoch in Genesis chapter 5. But the New Testament has scores that tell us about Enoch. This is amazing. Hebrews 11, verse 5. By faith, Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death. Stop right there. You say, wait a minute, Pastor, you just said everybody's going to die. You said everybody's going to die. Hebrews 9:2, it's appointed that a man wants to die after that, the judgment. And now you're saying Enoch didn't see death.

What does that mean? I believe that Enoch was that Old Testament picture of the New Testament translation. That is, when the church itself is translated, when it's raptured up into glory. Enoch never saw death. He walked with God. He honored God. And I want you to know something. It doesn't say anybody else in Genesis chapter 5 walked with God, just Enoch. And we're going to see in weeks ahead how Noah too was a righteous man and he walked with God, but no other two did. Just those two did. There's something unique about Enoch that was not true necessarily of everybody else because the scripture doesn't tell us about them.

But God was so pleased with Enoch's life that he just took him right up into glory. And one day, if you know Jesus Christ and you live long enough, when Christ comes back to take his church home, you won't see death either. You just go right back up into glory. 1 Thessalonians 4, 16 and 17. When the trump shall sound in the voice of the archangel, those who are dead in Christ shall rise first.

And those of us who remain who love the Lord will be caught up together in the air with them, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Praise be to God for that. Amen. And I trust that you're ready to see the Lord. But Enoch, he was just translated right up into glory. But look what it says: Hebrews 11, verse number 5. And he was not found because God took him up. For he obtained the witness that before he was taken up, he was pleasing to God. Ah, now I have the first hint of what it means to walk with God.

Here it is. You ready? You please God. If you're going to walk with God, that means you're going to please God. Now comes the question: how do you please God? I'm going to tell you. Verse number 6, Hebrews chapter 11. What does it say? And without faith, it's impossible. To please him. Enoch was a man of faith. He pleased God. He pleased him. He believed what God said. What did God tell him? We're going to talk about that here in a second.

But whatever it is God told him when Methuselah was born is what he believed and he lived by. And he had a faith in God. He believed that what God said was true, and he acted upon it. Do you have that kind of faith? Do you believe in God? No matter what anybody else says, do you remain steadfast believing in God? The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:7, we walk by faith, not by sight.

Colossians 2:6 says, As you received, just as you received Jesus Christ your Lord, so walk in Him. You receive Him by faith, you walk by faith. You please God by living a life of faith. How else do you please God? 1 Kings 3, verse number 10. Remember Solomon? God came to him and said, Ask whatever you want, Solomon. You're the new king. What would you ask for? Solomon began to pray and say, I need wisdom. I need understanding how to govern these people that you've entrusted to me. There's too many, I can't count them.

I need wisdom. And it says in 1 Kings 3:10, his request, pleased. The Lord. God was pleased. Do you that wisdom pleases God? Wisdom does. That's why Paul says in Ephesians 5: walk in wisdom. Walk circumspectly. Walk the wise walk because that pleases God. Enoch was a man who walked w. What else pleases God? 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 to 8. This is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality. He says up in verse number two, I believe it is that they walk pleasing to God.

How do you walk pleasing to God? Refraining from sex outside of marriage. That pleases God. Enoch would have to combat that in his day and age, the immorality in his day, but he remained free from sex outside of marriage. He pleased God. If you read Philippians 4:18, you'll realize that the Philippian church gave a gift to Paul. And Paul says it was a fragrant aroma, pleasing to God, because they gave of their substance. To God. Do you know that when you give to the Lord, you please God? You please Him.

The Church of Philippi gave sacrificially. And Paul says this was a sweet aroma to God. He was very well pleased with their sacrifice. I wonder, is God pleased with your sacrifice? How much you give to him? You say, well, Pastor, I don't have a lot. It's not how much you give that pleases God. It's how much you keep back to please yourself that determines whether or not you please God. Enoch walked with God. Number one, it means you please God.

You ready for this? And number two, it means you proclaim God. You can't please God un you proclaim God. Enoch did. He prophesied. He told the people, the ungodly people of his generation. And you got to realize that he's in the seventh generation of Adam. All the people he's talking to are his people, his family, his cousins, his aunts. His uncles, he calls them all ungodly. You're all ungodly. If you don't repent and get right with God, you're going to perish. You're going to die. Enoch prophesied about the coming judgment of God.

Now, notice this. This is so rich. Don't miss this. His son's name is M. It comes from two words. The first one, Methu or Mut, which means, are you ready for this?

To die. And Ser, which means so be it Now, in the year that Methuselah was born, God gave Enoch a revelation. And the revelation is this: when he d, God will do it. That 's what Methuselah's name means. So when Methuselah dies, God will do what? God will judge man. So here's Enoch. Methuselah is born. He receives a revelation from God. He names his son Methuselah and begins to preach about all the ungodly people there in his family and around the world. He said, Look, you got to repent. You got to get right with God.

If you don't, in the year my son dies, God will bring his judgment. God's going to bring his judgment. You can imagine all the people. Hey, how's Methuselah doing today? Is he still alive? Is he okay? Make sure he gets plenty of rest. He gets plenty of liquids. Make sure he does his exercise. Make sure that man stays alive. Everybody, every day, is checking on Methuselah. Methuselah's 500, he's 600, he's 700, he's 800. People say, Man, this guy's gonna live forever, man. He's 900 years old. Boy, this is great.

Keep that young boy alive. For when he dies, so be it. So comes the judgment of God. Sure enough, are you ready for this? If you were to take the genealogy of Adam and trace it through year by year, you will realize that Methuselah died in the year 165, the exact same Year as the flood. Amazing, isn't it? God is so good at what He does. Methuselah lived to be 9 years old, the oldest man in the Bible. You want to know why? Is it just by accident that Methuselah lived that old? Is it because somebody had to live older than everybody else did?

So Methuselah was the guy. Is that it? No. Point number four tells you exactly why Methuselah lived 969 years old and is the oldest man in the Bible. And that's the fourth point of our four this morning, and that's this. It punctuates the genealogy of Adam, punctuates God's. Patience. If there's anything that punctuates the patience of God, it's Adam's family. God waited sixt hundred and fifty-s years before he killed off every on the globe. Except for Noah and his family and the animals he took into the ark.

And we'll talk about that in days ahead. But the year that Methuselah died, Judgment came. Judgment came upon the earth. Look what it says back in Hebrews chapter 11. Verse number se. By faith, Noah being warned by God about things not yet seen in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household. By which he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. Here's Noah. He was the other righteous guy that lived. And Noah would kind of carry on the torch that Enoch would preach.

And for 120 years, Noah would build that ark. And preached to the people of his generation about the coming judgment of God. And Methuselah was still walking around. Mind you, awful slow he was walking around, but he was walking around. And Noah to remind the people that when he dies, so be it, so will come the judgment of God. His father priests it I'm now preaching it. God has told me to build an ark because it's going to rain and judgment's going to come unless you repent from your ways. And they didn't believe him.

And they did not repent from their ways. There's going to come another judgment, another judgment upon the ungodly, because God said so. God has a long fuse. A long, long fuse. But when that fuse runs out, It's devastation upon the ungodly. The reason Enoch had this unbroken communion with God is because he. Proclaim God. He was so busy talking to people about God that whenever he sinned, God was on his mind and he would confess his sin, immediately get it right with God so that he could live for God.

That was his heart's passion. If this chapter on Adam's family teaches us anything, it should teach us about the personality of God, the plan of God, the purposes of God. The patience of God, and that we as the people of God should walk with Him day by day, pleasing Him and proclaiming Him, and for those who have never given their life to Christ. God's patience will one day run out. And if you haven't given your life to Christ, utter devastation. Let's pray together.