THE LAW: GENEALOGY

Understand the Context

Genesis 1:31 “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

See Genesis 2:16-17...

Observe and Interpret the Text

One sin brought untold death and suffering.

James 1:14–15 “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—”

Ecclesiastes 7:29 “See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”

The Lord didn’t leave people without hope.

Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.””

Genesis 4:26 “To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.”

“According to the marginal version, the sense is this: Then when the world was universally corrupt, and had forsaken God and his service, good men grew more valiant and zealous for God, and did more publicly and avowedly own God, and began to distinguish and separate themselves from the ungodly world, and to call themselves and one another by the name of God.” — Matthew Poole

Those who walk with the Lord are in the minority.

Ephesians 5:15–17 “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

Amos 3:3 ““Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?”

“To walk with God is to set God always before us, and to act as those that are always under his eye. It is to live a life of communion with God both in ordinances and providences. It is to make God's word our rule and his glory our end in all our actions. It is to make it our constant care and endeavour in every thing to please God, and nothing to offend him. It is to comply with his will, to concur with his designs, and to be workers together with him. It is to be followers of him as dear children.” — Matthew Henry

Enoch means “dedication”.

See Hebrews 11:5–6...

See Jude 14–15..

Those who walk with the Lord will one day be taken home by the Lord.

2 Kings 2:11 “And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18...

1 Corinthians 15:51–52 “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.”

See Job 19:25-27...

Methuselah in Hebrew can be translated “man of the spear”, “man of the shoot”, or “man of the shooting out”. It seemed to indicate that after his death, God’s judgment was going to “shoot out”.

Lamech’s desire to have relief from the curse is something we all can relate to.

See Genesis 3:17-19...

Through Christ, we can have hope that our suffering is temporary. We look forward to the rest, relief, and glory that is coming.

See Romans 8:18-30...

See Matthew 11:28-30...

Hebrews 4:9 “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,”

Application

First we must think through the implications of our observations from the text. What should those implications drive us to do?

Additional things to look for when we read genealogies:

Genealogies in the Bible remind us of many truths. They confirm the Bible’s accuracy and provide proof of fulfilled prophecy. They remind us that God knows us as individuals. He knows our names and everything we have done. It shows that He cares about every single individual and and details of our lives. Not only does He care, but He is at work in each one of our lives. This should bring great encouragement. We should also be warned as we are reminded of the far-reaching consequences of our lives, for good and bad. We can also be reminded that no person can thwart the purposes and promises of God.