The First Birth Certificate

Introduction

Awhile ago, I watched a video on how officials caught the Golden State Killer using DNA. If you don’t know who the Golden State Killer is, he was a serial killer who committed hundreds of crimes across California in the 70s and 80s. His last known crime was committed in May 1986 and then the case went cold for decades. That is until 2018 when investigators used a new technology of genetic genealogy. They took the DNA, which had been collected at the various crime scenes, and traced his family tree through his family members who had voluntarily submitted their DNA to various databases. They then took this information and narrowed the search by age, location, and other characteristics. After zeroing in on a potential suspect, they swiped his DNA off a tissue in the trash, ran it back through the database, and came back with a match solving a series of 40+ year old crimes.

While the way investigators caught him is fascinating, I was more interested in the human genome which researchers have been mapping for years. The Human Genome project has been called one of the greatest scientific feats in modern history. Let me just blow your mind for a moment. The human genome has about three billion bases. Those bases are the As, Cs, Ts, and Gs in your DNA code that determine who you are, and all people share 99.9% of these basis. This means, on average, only about three million bases differ from person to person. Isn’t that just fascinating how we are all so much more closely connected and similar than it may appear on the surface?

In fact, most of the time, the differences we may notice are the result of a single letter change in your DNA code. So, companies, such as Ancestry.com and 23andMe, have begun using this information to help customers pinpoint items such as geographic ancestry, possible medical conditions, or even how related you are to someone else. Humanity seems to have a strong desire to understand their ancestry. We all want to understand where we came from. Well, today, we’re going to look at God’s birth certificate for humanity and what it can tell us about each of our family history.

So, I want to invite you to take our your Bible, your phone, or wherever you can get God’s Word, and turn with me to Genesis chapter 4 verse 17. While you are turning there, let’s set the stage for where we currently find ourselves in the Genesis account. In Genesis 1, we learned God created the entire universe in six, literal twenty-four-hour days. In Genesis 2, we took a magnifying glass to day six where we learned God created humanity as the crown of His creation. In Genesis 3, we learned there is a problem with sin, namely that it severed our relationship with God and we can’t save ourselves. We began to see the effects of sin in Genesis 4 with the account of Cain and Able, and last week we discussed how the heart of that account is drawing us into faithful worship of our Creator. When we left off, Cain was just telling God, “Leave me alone. Let me go my own way and live my life the way I choose.” That is where we pick up in Genesis chapter 4.

God is looking for a man who would …

Follow Him and change the course of His posterity

Proclaim Him in the midst of a Godless culture

Yearns to be with Him and loves Him

Represent Him through His imminent judgment and ultimate restoration

Cain’s Family (vv. 17 - 24)

Cain told God, “I want nothing to do with You, I am tired of the way You ask me to live my life, I am angry that You do not accept me just the way I am, leave me and let me be.”

So what did God do?

God, in His mercy, let Cain leave and gave him a sign so that he would not be killed.

We left off with the damning verse of verse 16 which says:

Genesis 4:16 NKJV

16 Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.

A. Understanding the implications of Cain’s choice to leave God

In some of the New Testament passages we read last week, we learned everything Cain did was evil. His heart was totally opposed to God.

If you have a man whose heart is totally opposed to God, how do you think that is going to affect his children and grandchildren?

Cain takes a wife and has a son, Enoch (different from the Enoch in chapter 5)

To honor his son, and perhaps to make him feel as though he had a place to stay instead of being prone to wander like Cain, Cain builds him a city and names it after him.

The construction of a city indicates there was rapid population growth

Early repopulation

It becomes clear in Scripture that people are marrying in their own families during this time

This means when Cain had sexual relations with his wife, that was likely his sister. Now, that sounds weird, especially with our understanding of genetics today, but it was perfectly acceptable up until the laws we see instituted in Leviticus.

7 generations

Enoch has a son, Irad and Irad, Mehujael and Mehujael, Methushael and Methushael became the father of Lamech (also different from the Lamech we see in chapter 5)

Lamech is seven generations away from Adam right?

These genealogies tell us not what happened to the people living at the time, but how they were living and how their lifestyles affected their children and their children’s families.

7 generations from Adam and what do we see in Lamech?

He has two wives

In Genesis 2, God makes it abundantly clear marriage is between one man and one woman.

Genesis 2:24 NASB95

24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

We spent a lot of time looking at this in Genesis 2. A man and a woman leave their families, come together to form their own family. That whenever a man and a woman leave the altar, or wherever they got married, God no longer sees them as two individuals but one flesh. That’s marriage according to God’s standards.

7 generations away from Adam and Lamech says, “I’ll take two wives, thank you very much. I’ll define marriage however I want to. Who is God to tell me how many wives I can have?”

How he treats his wives (v. 23)

I can’t think of a single woman who want to be addressed this way by her husband.

What he is saying to his wives

Genesis 4:23 (NASB95)

23For I have killed a man for wounding me; And a boy for striking me;

This does not mean Lamech killed two different men. This is what we would call Hebrew parallelism. It is saying he killed a young man, sometime during his early years.

Why did he kill him?

For striking him, for wounding him.

Here is what Lamech is saying: “A young man tried to wound me, I killed him for it. Look at me ladies, I’m awesome. No one will mess with me. You thought my great-great-great-great-great grandfather was something? Y’all haven’t seen nothing yet.”

What is with the avenged seventy-seven fold?

He is bragging about murdering someone and his penalty goes way beyond striking him back. Basically he is saying, “You touch me, I’ll kill you.”

7 generations from Adam we have Lamech whose heart is completely evil, has two wives, treats his wives terribly, and wants everyone to understand how bad he is.

B. Lamech’s legacy

3 sons

Jabal — First to raise livestock and live in tents

This is not in contradiction with Abel’s profession. Abel specifically raised sheep, but the word here is for the broader livestock.

Agriculture and livestock would have been the industry of the day, telling us this son was probably quite economically successful.

Jubal — Very artistically and musically talented

Tubal-Cain — Farming implements, weapons, etc.

Why would you name your son after your great-great-great-great-great-grandfather who murdered his brother and fled from the presence of the Lord.

Because Lamech thought Cain was awesome. He said, “My great-great-great-great-great-granddaddy talked bad to God, got away with it, and I am going to do the same and more.”

3 sons, 3 different professions

Have you ever noticed how different people are good at different things? How people have different gifts and talents? Who gives you those gifts?

God does, and as Christians, God wants each of you to use the unique gifts and talents He has given you for His glory.

One of my sisters is a teacher. My brother is studying to be an electrical engineer. My other sister is studying to do something in business. And I’m here as your pastor. Each of us has different gifts and abilities, and God has called us into specific areas to use them.

And isn’t it interesting that even though Cain is evil, and we see his offspring are evil, his children appear to be successful?

The world can look at a family and say, “Wow, the parents have made a name and lasting legacy for themselves,” or “Wow, their children are so successful,” or “Look at the wealth, power, or social status they have achieved.”

God can look at the same family and say, “I never knew you.”

That’s why Jesus says:

Matthew 16:25–27 NASB95

25 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.

God says, “Don’t worry about what the world considers success. Concern yourself with what is successful by My standards.

C. The line of Cain

Each of us can know in full confidence you do not descend from this line, because as we will learn about next week, Cain’s entire line is wiped out in the flood.

We learned back in Genesis 3 though that God had a plan to redeem humanity back to Himself through the seed of the woman.

The evil nature of Cain’s descendants is not going to stop God from seeing His plan fulfilled.

So what does God do?

God gives Eve another son, Seth. God is saying, “What Able would have done in his righteousness and worship of Me, I will now complete through Seth’s descendants.

Chapter 5

A. Couple of important points

“And he died”

The first thing God wants you to see in this genealogy is the repetition of this phrase.

What did God tell Adam back in Genesis 2?

God is telling us, “I told you.” Every person mentioned in this list dies. Adam lived 930 years, and he died. And so did every single other person after him except one.

Why?

Every single person has contracted a virus called sin and there is no cure. And even though they all bear the image of God, they ultimately die.

You don’t even have to be a Christian to recognize this. Our world is consumed with the looming prospect of death and how to increase the amount of time before that inevitably happens. We all die because of our sin.

Long lifespans

Do you really believe Methuselah lived for 969 years?

Absolutely, because the Word of God says so.

And if it’s interesting because if you study Methuselah, that is the year the flood comes, so he died during the flood.

Why did people live so long?

There are a number of theories, but let’s go back to Genesis 1.

In Genesis 1, we learned God created the universe in perfection. He created a huge expanse in the sky and a mist that rose up from the ground.

It would have been like living in a greenhouse. Even after Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden, the earth was still completely different than what we see today. The flood changed everything.

So, it is possible the original environment God created was better suited for longer life, which is why we see people living almost 1,000 years.

No matter how long each person lives though, they all die.

I. Follow Him and Change the Course of His Posterity

A. Future generations

Posterity is just a fancy word for all future generations

So God is looking for a man who will change the course of all future generations.

By doing what?

By following Him

Seth has a son, Enosh, and then verse 26 tells us something very important

Genesis 4:26 (NASB95)

26 To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.

This is the first time we see this mentioned in Scripture

What does call upon the name of the Lord mean?

It means to worship Him alone. It means to seek Him above all else. It means to honor Him with their gifts and talents.

Fathers have a significant impact on their children

Fathers, if you get nothing else from this passage, recognize that how you lead your family matters.

We see a divergence of two different lines:

The line of Cain is completely evil and bent away from the will of God.

The line of Seth is representative of those who pursue God.

If you haven’t noticed already, there is a major difference in a genealogical line when you see a dad live for God, love God, and follow Him.

What God was going to accomplish through Able, He will now accomplish through Seth.

This long list of names we just read is all part of God’s plan. The Messiah will now come through the line of Seth.

In Matthew 1 and Luke 3, we read the genealogies of Jesus.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we see the genealogy of Joseph. Matthew starts with Abraham and works to Jesus, showing us that Jesus came through the line of David, the tribe of Judah, and when we get to the end we see that Joseph was not Jesus’ father because Jesus was born of a virgin.

We also see five women mentioned:

Tamar and Rahab, both of whom were harlots

Bathsheba, an adulterer

Ruth, a gentile

Mary, the righteous one

Why are they all in there?

To show us how God uses that which is imperfect to bring His perfect Son into this world. It also shows us that Jesus is who He says He is. That He is the Messiah the prophets proclaimed. That He is the Christ, the Son of God.

In the Gospel of Luke, Luke goes the opposite direction, beginning with Mary. When you read through it, you will see the names we just read.

Luke 3:38 NASB95

38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

B. God tells us, “You really can’t miss it if you want to know!”

Jesus came through all the bloodlines Scripture says He did.

He is truly human

He was conceived by the Holy Spirit

He was born of a virgin

He is ultimately the Messiah of God

He is the One sent to restore God’s creation back to Himself

And God sought a man who would change the course of his posterity by submitting to and following Him that He could accomplish all He desires.

But God did not just want a man who would follow Him, He wanted a man who would proclaim Him in the midst of a godless culture.

II. Proclaim Him in the Midst of a Godless Culture

A. Enosh’s precedent

Enosh was born, then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.

We already talked about what this means. To worship Him. To serve Him. To declare Him worthy of all praise and honor.

Enosh does this in the midst of the godlessness that surrounds him

How do we know it was a godless culture?

Looking at Cain’s family we get a good understanding of what the culture around them was like. And next week, when we get to the account of Noah, we will see the seriousness of the situation.

What is Scripture’s definition of a godless culture?

2 Timothy 3:1–5 NLT

1 You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. 3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. 4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. 5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!

Doesn’t that sound familiar? It sounds like the headlines of the news, and God is looking for men who will stand up and proclaim Him not only with their lips, but with their word and actions, guiding their families to do the same.

B. Why does God look for men?

Because when God established the covenant of marriage, He made men the spiritual head of the home. That does not mean the man is the boss of his wife.

So what does it mean?

It means this men: you are personally responsible for the spiritual well-being of your family. You men, not your wife, are personally responsible for the spiritual well-being of your family.

Men are called, not because they are better than their wives, but because it is your responsibility and that is how God established it.

I’ll often hear Christian men say things like this:

It’s not really my thing and my wife is much better at it. So I’ll let her do it. I’ll go to church, I’ll go to the functions, but I don’t want to get to involved because I have other things I need to do.

Or I’ll hear men say:

I’m not going to be involved at all. I’m not going to go to church, I’m not going to go to the functions. I’m made to be the provider and that’s what I am going to do.

Men, there is nothing more important in this world than seeking the Lord and caring for the spiritual well-being of your family. You are made as a provider, but you provide for your wife and children spiritually, not just physically. This is the greatest task you are called to as men, and looking around our world right now you can see we as men are failing. Why? Because there are too many daddies who have not instilled in their wives and children the importance of a faithful, dependent walk with Jesus Christ.

It is the man’s job. Next week we will look at Noah, a preacher of righteousness who proclaimed God in the midst of a godless culture and how many were saved? Eight. Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives. That’s it! By the world’s standards, Noah was a dramatic failure. But by the standards God has called you to as men, Noah was an incredible success. He was faithful to the end and by his example his three sons and their wives were saved too.

Father’s you make a huge difference in the life of the family. That is not to say that the mother does not. Women, God can certainly use you in your family and He will. But studies show that if you can get a man on fire for God, a man who loves God, pursues Him with everything that He has, and focuses on Him above all else. Most of the time? Most of the time the family will follow suit.

C. Is this not what we see here?

Seth has Enosh, men begin to call upon the name of the Lord, and then you have Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, and Enoch. And what do we have with Enoch! 7 generations from Adam, just like Lamech, we have a man who has been trained and equipped by generations of faithful, God-fearing men. So much so that His passionate yearning and zeal for God led God to take Him away before He died.

God wants more than men who follow Him to change the course of their posterity. He wants more than men to proclaim Him in the midst of a godless culture. He also wants men who yearn to be with Him and love Him.

III. Yearns to be With Him and Loves Him

A. What is success?

Do you recognize anything specific about Kenan, Mahalalel, or Jared? They don’t have any accomplishments or achievements listed. All we know is they were faithful links in the chain of passion down spiritual vitality to the next generation.

Men, we often desire great things. I know I do. That’s how we were created and there is nothing wrong with that. But we cannot neglect our priority to love God and train others to do the same. If we fail at that, we fail at everything. If in the eyes of the world you are a success, but your wife and children are not walking with the Lord, that is an utter failure.

When we see those names, it demonstrates that day after day, year after year, those men were faithful in their pursuit of God.

What is the outcome?

B. Enoch

Enoch walked in close fellowship with God. In Hebrews 11 last week we learned

Hebrews 11:5 NASB95

5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.

Enoch is one of only two people in Scripture who did not die. He was the first, and Elijah with the chariots of fire is the second.

Notice anything about Enoch’s lifespan?

It’s way shorter than any other man in this list. But I can guarantee you Enoch was not complaining that his time was cut short. Instead, he was saying, “I spent my entire life on earth pursuing fellowship with my heavenly Father, and now I get to be in divine communion with Him for the rest of eternity.

C. A lasting impact

Men, you may not see the results of your walk with the Lord. You may live and die with no great accomplishment that the world recognizes you by. But this right here is the greatest legacy. If your walk with Christ pushes your children closer to Him, even if you don’t get to see it, this is a lasting legacy worth pursuing.

And we see what this legacy culminates in. It culminates in a man who will represent God through His imminent judgment and ultimate restoration.

IV. Represent Him Through His Imminent Judgment and Ultimate Restoration

A. Noah

After that long list of names, we are met with a name we are all familiar with: Noah

We remember Noah as the one who built the ark, but Noah’s chief task was to be a preacher of righteousness.

Every day Noah and his family worked on the ark, Noah was preaching about God, his imminent judgment, and His wonderful mercy. We will see Noah preaches faithfully for over 100 years and no one listened.

B. God’s call to all men

What God is saying to all men is this:

Be preachers of righteousness. Stand firm in your beliefs. Boldly proclaim the Word of God truthfully and in its entirety. Tell of God’s coming judgment and the consequences. Explain the necessity of a Savior. But above all, explain that God is a God of love who desires to restore and redeem if we only make the choice to follow Him.

Just as God sought particular qualities from the men who would boldly live for Him in the days of Adam, He still seeks the same today. He seeks men who would change the course of their posterity. He seeks men who will worship Him in the midst of a godless culture. He seeks men who will love Him and yearn to be with Him. He seeks men who will proudly represent Him.

Conclusion — The Challenge

A. Living a faithful life for Christ is a challenge for each of us, men and women alike. It’s a challenge to align ourselves with God and the truth of His Word. It’s a challenge to stand firm when the world mocks, laughs, scorns, and persecutes.

Psalm 84:10 NASB95

10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

We sing songs with this verse. We say, “Amen, brother! Amen, sister! Better is one day in Your courts?”

But do we truly mean it?

This passage ultimately says, “Lord, you are better than anything else this world has to offer and I would give it all up for only a day with You.”

Are you willing?

That’s the challenge God has laid before us all here. Are you willing to accept it?