June 20, 2004

Reading through the Bible in one Year: Psalms 72-74

Good Evening Brothers and Sisters,

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there!  Most of us in this study are dads.  I am proud to say that being involved in this study sets the example to our families that we are serious about the Word of God in our lives.  As our families honor us today, we need to re-direct our thoughts that it is not about us, it is all about our heavenly Father.  Without Him, we would have no honor, without Him, we would be living in the world, without purpose, and without hope for eternity.  Our benefits for following the heavenly Father are endless, our rewards are endless, and our eternity is secure.  Let's lead our families today with that in mind, throw off the temptation to lord over the remote control today and spend family time building the esteem of our families and demonstrating our faith in the Lord.

Genesis 5:1-32 (NASB95)
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. ² He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created. ³ 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. ⁴ Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters. ⁵ So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died. ⁶ Seth lived one hundred and five years, and became the father of Enosh. ⁷ Then Seth lived eight hundred and seven years after he became the father of Enosh, and he had other sons and daughters. ⁸ So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died. ⁹ Enosh lived ninety years, and became the father of Kenan. ¹⁰ Then Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years after he became the father of Kenan, and he had other sons and daughters. ¹¹ So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died. ¹² Kenan lived seventy years, and became the father of Mahalalel. ¹³ Then Kenan lived eight hundred and forty years after he became the father of Mahalalel, and he had other sons and daughters. ¹⁴ So all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died. ¹⁵ Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Jared. ¹⁶ Then Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years after he became the father of Jared, and he had other sons and daughters. ¹⁷ So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died. ¹⁸ Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and became the father of Enoch. ¹⁹ Then Jared lived eight hundred years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters. ²⁰ So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died. ²¹ Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah. ²² Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. ²³ So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. ²⁴ Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. ²⁵ Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and became the father of Lamech. ²⁶ Then Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years after he became the father of Lamech, and he had other sons and daughters. ²⁷ So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died. ²⁸ Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and became the father of a son. ²⁹ Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the Lord has cursed.” ³⁰ Then Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other sons and daughters. ³¹ So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died. ³² Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.^[1]

This is Sunday morning lite so it will be quick.  I could not help but think that with the list of fathers in this passage it was applicable to father’s day.  The life spans of the people in Genesis are incredible, and yes, they were actual years.  God had blessed the original people on the earth with long life spans.  I believe that this is due to the firmament that surrounded the earth.  It blocked out the harmful rays from the sun, and created a perfect environment where the temperature probably never exceeded comfortable and never dropped below a comfortable range.  The weather patterns did not exist, and therefore men lived in relative peace from the elements, striving only to raise their food and their families.  Until Noah's day it never rained upon the earth. 

This is the generations of Adam, as compared to the last chapter where we saw the generations of Cain.  The difference between these generations is that this line is the righteous line.  One thing to notice here is that this is not the complete genealogy; each person in the list indicates that there were other sons and daughters.  This list would be better described as the genealogy of Noah.  I found one estimate that there were probably around 200 million people in the world by the time that Noah entered the ark. 

In verses 21-24 we have a record of the first rapture that took place from Planet Earth.  Enoch walked with God, think about that.  What does it mean to walk with God?  We don't have much information about Enoch, all we have is the end result of his testimony.  Our encouragement is to walk with God because He is our Father.  With the completed Bible and the New Testament we have tremendous information that points and directs us in our walks with God.  I hope and pray that each one of us are making every effort to turn our backs on sin and to embrace righteousness.  If that isn't taking place in our lives then we are the worst hypocrites that ever walked the face of the earth.  I would encourage each one of you to keep your eyes on Jesus, if stuff in our lives do not glorify Him, we need to throw them off and pursue the things of God.  Our destiny lies in Heaven, let's start living like we believe it.

One difference between the genealogy in Genesis 4 and the one in Genesis 5 is that with Cain's genealogy, there was little embellishment upon the people.  Contrast that with this chapter where the names have honor, the fathers are called family men and praised for the way that they follow God.  The underlying gist of the genealogy is that they walked with God.

As I said when we started, this study is a lite version.  It ends with Noah and sets the scene for the next chapter.  Noah did give rest from the pain and suffering that was on the earth.  It was a permanent solution which changed the face of the earth, the climate of the earth, and wiped out the entire earth's population with the exception of a handful.  We will study that further the next time.

Father, as we enter into Fathers day, spark each person to renew and rededicate our lives to You today.  Let us look to You for the example of our lives.

In Him,

Joe Turner.