Sunday, October 20, 2019

In The Beginning. Day 27, From Adam To Noah, Part Two

We are picking up where we left off yesterday in the genealogy from Adam to Noah. We were told that Adam had a son named Seth. The Bible says, "When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died." (Genesis 5:6-8) It could be that children matured more slowly in the beginning than they do now, since in today's world a male is capable of fathering a child in his teens but the males in this genealogy list don't father their first child until they are much much older.

"When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lives 815 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died." (Genesis 5:9-11)

"When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Kenan lived a total of 895 years, and then he died." (Genesis 5:12-14)

"When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died." (Genesis 5:15-17)

"When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died." (Genesis 5:18-20)

Now we come to something particularly interesting. "When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." (Genesis 5:21-24) If this were the only Bible passage about Enoch, we wouldn't be certain what happened to him. The Bible doesn't say he died, but we might assume that because he lived a life so closely connected with the Lord that the Lord chose to phrase his death in a different way, by saying that He "took him away". But according to Hebrews 11:5, Enoch didn't die. "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." God literally swept Enoch off the earth and took him to heaven.

This isn't the only instance in the Bible of a person going to heaven without dying. The prophet Elijah also was taken up to be with God without having to experience death. (See 2 Kings 2, and especially 2 Kings 2:11-12) Enoch and Elijah aren't the only two human beings who will ever be taken to heaven without experiencing death. When what is known as the "rapture" of the church occurs, Christ will call out of the world those who belong to Him---both the living and the dead. Those who have already died in faith will be resurrected in bodies like Christ's and caught up to be with the Lord. Those who are still alive will also be caught up, and in that instant their bodies will be miraculously changed into immortal bodies like Christ's. (See 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) If we are still living when the Lord calls His church out of the world, we too will go to heaven without experiencing death.

"When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died." (Genesis 5:25-27) Methuselah holds the honor of being the longest-living man of the Bible. This is where we get the expression "old as Methuselah".

"When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. 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.' After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died." (Genesis 5:28-31) In Hebrew the word "noah" sounds very similar to the word "nuach" which means to "rest, repose, be comforted". Ever since Adam sinned, man has had to labor hard in order to put food on the table every day. But Lamech finds consolation in his hard labor by the presence of his firstborn son. Having this son makes his hard work more bearable, and I'm sure those of you who are parents can relate to what Lamech is saying. You work hard to provide for your children. You consider all your hard work worth it in order to give your children as comfortable a life as possible. You want your children to have everything they need, plus you want to supply more than just their needs; you want to be able to supply a lot of their wants as well. Having this son to provide for gives more meaning and purpose to Lamech's hard labor on the earth.

"After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth." (Genesis 5:32) Noah either remained a bachelor for a very long time or else he and his wife were unable to conceive for the first several centuries of their marriage. He was childless for almost the entire remainder of his father's life, so I wonder whether he didn't marry until quite late because he remained in the family home to co-manage the family farm with his father. I just have the feeling that he and his father enjoyed an especially good friendship with each other, and my feeling is based on the author of Genesis taking special care to tell us the words Lamech said upon the birth of his first son. He said (most likely to his wife) that Noah would "comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands". This leads me to believe that Noah was his father's right hand man. I think they labored hard together to make a living. I think they were partners in all their endeavors to provide for the family. Then perhaps, as Lamech grew old and his death was less than a century away, he either advised Noah or Noah decided for himself that it was time to think about making his own family. I don't know whether things actually happened this way, but I like to think they did because I like to think of Lamech and Noah being not only father and son but best friends as well. Lamech was thankful that God provided this son for him and I believe that Lamech taught his son about the Lord. He must have done a wonderful job, for Noah is going to be a man of whom it will be said: "He walked faithfully with God." (Genesis 5:9)

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