Genealogy of Seth: Enoch to Noah
Notes
Transcript
Today we are looking at the last 4 generations in the genealogy of Seth in Genesis 5: Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah.
Enoch
Enoch
Enoch is the seventh generation from Adam. Enoch’s name means dedicated, initiator, or teacher. And it says that he walked with God for 300 years after he fathered Methuselah.
When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
So what can we learn from the life of Enoch?
The description of “walking with God” tells us that Enoch’s life was aligned with God. I believe we all want this. So how can we walk with God?
The Hebrew word used to describe Enoch walking with God is in the reflexive form. In English we don’t use reflexive verbs, but we use reflexive pronouns.
So a literal translation of the Hebrew would be, “Enoch walked himself with God.”
This tells us that Enoch subjected himself to God and lived according to God’s will. And if we do this, then I believe that we will be pleasing to God.
And it says that Enoch walked with God after having his son Methuselah. But we don't see Jared walking with God after having Enoch.
So what’s so special about Methuselah? We need to learn the significance of Methuselah.
Option 1: Mat (man/male) + Selah (missile/weapon) = Man of missile weapon (javelin).
Option 2: Mut (die/kill) + Salah (sent) = When he is dead, it shall come.
Methuselah’s name suggests that he was a symbolic protector of his village and his death would herald the end of their world.
Enoch must have received a special revelation from God concerning Methuselah, and thus named him accordingly. Methuselah’s name points to the judgement of God. So every time Enoch called his son’s name, he would remember God’s righteous judgement.
We can see three things about the history of redemption from Enoch’s life.
Enoch’s life of pleasing God points to Jesus
Enoch’s life of pleasing God points to Jesus
By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.
And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”
And so for us, how can we please God? The Bible tells us that those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
This doesn’t mean that we can’t please God so long as we’ve in bodily form. It means that our minds must be set on the things of the Spirit, and that we are led by the Spirit of God.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Enoch’s ascension points to the eternal life that Jesus has won for us
Enoch’s ascension points to the eternal life that Jesus has won for us
When Adam died, it was the first natural death recorded in the Bible. No one else saw death before, but the consequence of sin finally became real when Adam died. But 57 years later, before anyone else died, Enoch ascended into heaven without seeing death.
So for all the people who were freaking out because of Adam’s death, they would have received great hope from Enoch’s ascension. That’s the hope of eternal life that we have when we trust in God’s covenant. And that’s the hope we have when we trust in Jesus. It’s the hope that the consequences of sin is lifted from us.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.
Enoch’s ascension points to our glorious transformation when Jesus returns
Enoch’s ascension points to our glorious transformation when Jesus returns
Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
Ultimately, Enoch’s life shows foreshadows the victory over death that we will have if we walk with God.
Lamech
Lamech
Lamech is the 9th generation from Adam, and he witnessed both the death of Adam and the ascension of his grandfather Enoch.
Lamech’s name means “Conquerer,” or “strong one.” And what we see is that Lamech lived 56 years together with Adam, and during those 56 years, Adam taught him about the garden of Eden, the fall, and the consequences of the fall. How do we know this? We know this because Lamech knew something that only Adam knew.
When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.”
Genesis 3:17 (ESV)
And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
So what does this tell us? Three things. First, Lamech had a biblical understanding of suffering. Second, Lamech had an earnest longing for the Messiah. Third, Lamech believed that the Messiah would come as his descendant. That’s why he called his son “Noah,” which means “rest” or “comfort.” Lamech hoped that through his son Noah, the curse of the ground, the consequence of sin would be broken.
Noah
Noah
Noah is the 10th generation from Adam, but he was born after Adam died. So although he didn’t live in the same era as Adam, he inherited Adam’s faith through his father Lamech and grandfather Methuselah.
And we can say that Noah marked the crossroads of two eras: the pre-Flood patriarchs and the post-Flood patriarchs.
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
The culture of Noah’s time had gone in a completely sinward direction. But as someone who inherited the faith of Adam, Noah stood out in three ways.
First, Noah found favor in the eyes of God.
First, Noah found favor in the eyes of God.
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Second, Noah walked with God.
Second, Noah walked with God.
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
Just like his forefather Enoch, Noah walked with God. That means that Noah was completely aligned with God, and was fully obedient to God’s Word. In fact, we can see twice in the entire narrative that Noah did all that God commanded him.
Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.
Third, Noah feared God.
Third, Noah feared God.
By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
What does it mean to fear God?
When Noah was building the ark, the surrounding people would have mocked him and made fun of him. But he cared more about God’s opinion instead. Compared to God, all other people were lightweight.
Noah and his family worked tirelessly to build the ark. The Bible tells us that Noah’s family consisted of his wife, his three sons, Shem Ham and Japheth, and their wives. So a total of eight family members. And they were so focused on the construction of the ark that neither of Shem Ham or Japheth’s wives got pregnant until after the flood.
How long did Noah take to build the ark?
How long did Noah take to build the ark?
So how long did Noah take to build the ark?
The Bible tells us that the flood came when Noah was 600 years old.
Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth.
So we know that Noah was 600 years old when the flood came. So now we need to know how old he was when God told him to build the ark.
And the Bible shows us a key piece of information.
These are the generations of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood.
Two years after the flood, Shem was 100 years old. That means that Shem was 98 years old when the flood came. That means that Shem was born when Noah was 502 years old.
And finally, the Bible gives us another key piece of information in Gen. 6:18
But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
So what this means is that when God told Noah to build the ark, Noah’s sons were already married.
Back then, people could get married as teenagers. But the Bible doesn’t explicitly tell us at what age Noah’s sons got married. So let’s assume that they got married at 15 years old.
So Shem is born when Noah is 502 years old. Let’s assume that Noah’s wife is a superhero who gave birth three years in a row. That would mean that the youngest brother would be born when Noah is 504 years.
So assuming that immediately after his youngest son’s wedding ceremony, God comes to Noah and tells him to build the ark, Noah would have been 504 + 15 = 519 years old.
Since the flood came when Noah was 600 years old, Noah could have spent a maximum of 81 years building the ark.
Conclusion
Conclusion
From his birth, Noah’s father had this great hope that through Noah, the world would be saved. When the whole world went in the wrong direction, Noah remained completely obedient to God. And the fruit of his lifetime of obedience is the ark. And because of his obedience, everyone inside the ark was saved.
Noah foreshadows Jesus, who lived a life of complete obedience to the Father. And the fruit of His obedience is the church.
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
And just as the ark saved Noah’s family from God’s judgement, those who are in the church will be spared from the final judgement.
Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,
So the construction of Noah’s ark shouldn’t be a great source of burden to us. Jesus has already built the ark. And I believe that we’re in it. Amen? But now that we’re inside, let’s do our best to take care of the church.
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
As one preacher put it:
"In the journey of faith, we may stumble and fall, but the beauty of belonging to the church is that it's like being in Noah's ark. Even when we fall, we fall into the safety of God's family."