Rebuilding our lives through God's Word
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Genesis 5:1-7
Genesis 5:1-7
As we continue our journey of letting God rebuild our life, I wanted to share some verses for encouragement on your journey. As you may or may not believe, God promises to rebuild lives, offering beauty for ashes, healing the brokenhearted, and full restoration of what was lost. God ensures us that brokenness is not the final chapter.
What does the Bible say about restoration?
The theme of restoration is throughout the Bible, offering hope and encouragement in times of hardship.
Here are some quick key points.
God desires to restore.
Individuals
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with thy free spirit.
7 For your shame ye shall have double; And for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: Therefore in their land they shall possess the double: Everlasting joy shall be unto them.
These verse speak to God’s desire to restore individuals to their former joy and wholeness.
Relationships.
1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
This verse emphasizes the importance of restoring broken relationships within the community of faith.
Creation.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
These verses describe the entire creation groaning for restoration, ultimately pointing to the future hope of a renewed world.
2. Restoration is multifaceted.
Spiritual Restoration. The core of restoration often involves reconciliation with God through repentance and forgiveness.
Look at these verses
17 For I will restore health unto thee, And I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; Because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Emotional Restoration. Restoration can bring healing from emotional wounds and a renewed sense of joy and peace.
Look at these verses.
3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, To give unto them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they might be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
Material Restoration. Sometimes, restorationinvolves the return of lost possessions or blessings.
Look at these verses.
10 And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11 Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold. 12 So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. 13 He had also seven sons and three daughters. 14 And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Keren-happuch. 15 And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren. 16 After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, even four generations. 17 So Job died, being old and full of days.
6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.
3. Restoration is a process. The Bible does not promise instant fixes but rather a journey of transformation and healing.
Look at this verse.
10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
This verse emphasizes God’s faithfulness amid challenges in your life.
4. Restoration requires faith. Believing in God’s promises and actively seeking His help are crucial for experiencing restoration.
Look at these verses.
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
I wanted to open with this to give everyone encouragement as we continue our journey tonight. With that, let us get back into Genesis as we start back into chapter 5.
This is a bridge of genealogy connecting the time of Adam and his son Seth to the time of Noah. This will bring the Bible’s historical record to the era of the flood. Let us get started.
1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
This chapter begins with a brief restating of God’s creation of humanity and then provides a specific genealogy of the descendants of Adam through the line of Seth going to Noah.
This verse describes this section of the book. In the era of the original writing, the most likely meant a clay tablet. This passage describes itself as “the book of the generations of Adam.” The Hebrew word here is “a’dam” (pronounced ah-DAHM with the stress on the second syllable). This is used for the proper name for the first man, as well as the generic term for those who came after him. The same word used for man or mankind is also translated as Adam when referring to this first man. This, then, is a book of the generations of “man”.
This verse restates the claim of this verse.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
This verse states that God created Adam, mankind, in His own likeness. As we already discussed before, this does not mean God has some physical form or that Adam physically resembles God.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
It does mean that God created mankind to stand “in His image”. As His representatives on earth, we are to rule and subdue His creation. It also carries the idea that man is essentially different from all the animals God made. We share with Him the experience of truth, beauty, meaning, will, and reason.
9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
Finally, the truth that all humans are made in the likeness of God means that all humans have enormous value and are worthy of great respect.
2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
The previous verse restated the claim of this verse...
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
that God made man in His own image. This verse is specific that “mankind” includes male and female, beginning with Adam and Eve. God blessed mankind and named it. God did this because He was the Creator. He owned mankind and He claimed responsibility for it. From that position of power, God blessed us and claimed His right to name us. Together we, mankind, became “Adam”. The Hebrew words for Adam and man are exactly the same (a’dam).
Included in God’s blessing is fertility and reproduction. It is very important to remember that God intended man to multiply and fill the earth prior to the fall.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Sex, within the context of God’s intended plan of one man and one woman, is part of His “good” creation. God enabled mankind to increase in numbers, to thrive as we fill the earth. The following verses will detail a single generation line of God’s blessing.
3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
This verse begins the pattern repeated for the reminder of this chapter. In each of these verses, the next notable member of the generation is listed, along with his age when the next son of Noah’s line was born, and his age when he died.
Adam was 130 years old when Seth was born. This verse connects to the previous two verses in noting that Adam fathered Seth in his own likeness and after his image.
What does this mean? The likeness of God will continue to be passed down from one generation to the next. The long lifespans described here would have served another important purpose. This purpose would be keeping witnesses to history alive to personally teach future generations. When we examine the numbers of the ages given in this chapter, we discover that Seth dies only fourteen years before the birth of Noah. This is an extraordinary preservation of the past for the human race prior to the flood.
As we have also seen earlier, Seth was not Adam’s firstborn son. Both Cain and Abel were born, grew up, and had their professions before Cain murdered Abel. It is likely Adam and Eve had many, many other children before Seth was born as a replacement for the murdered Abel.
25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
Seth’s line is the one that will lead to Noah, and through him, the rest of the human race as we know it today.
4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:
The previous verse tells us that Adam was 130 years old when he fathered Seth. Now we learn that Adam , having many children, lived another eight hundred years after Seth was born. These long lifespans seem amazing to think about or even believe. However, it makes sense when you consider the world was free of pollution, most diseases, and most genetic disorders.
It also would have been necessary for Adam and Eve to have many, many children. With no other source of mankind yet on the planet, their children would have had to marry each other, had more children, and then continued to intermarry with members of the ever-expanding family.
Later, God would restrict the practice of marrying close relatives. As humanity continued to suffer the consequences of the fall, genetic diseases would have become more likely, and more problematic. As a result, close intermarriage carries a much greater risk of birth defects for the offspring. At this time, however, before the genetic pool had become so diverse, that would not be an issue.
5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
After revealing that Adam was 130 years old when Seth was born and then lived 800 years after that. This verse reveals the inevitable math. Adam lived to be 930 years old.
What do you think? Could that be possibly true? The Bible’s claim is that the first generations of humans after the garden and before the flood lived extraordinary long lives, at least by our standards today.
Over the centuries, there have been scholars that have suggested that the ages listed here do not represent the actual years as we understand them. Some have suggested that these numbers are in months (12 times the actual age), seasons (4 times the actual age), or tenths of years (10 times the actual age). Others have speculated that there is some form of symbolic or metaphorical intent from the author. The text itself, however, gives no explicit answer one way or the other. It also does not give any particular reason to doubt that these were real people who lived extremely long lives.
Scholars have also speculated that the ideal environment of creation before the flood made it possible for human beings to live so many years. This is not only possible, it coordinates with modern understanding of genetics. What does that mean? In short, the lifespan of a living creature is far more dependent on its environment than its design. This means it is also possible, and in my opinion very likely, that God’s decree to restrict how long a human can live ...
3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
was done to specifically limit the amount of damage they could do with their sinful lives.
6 And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:
This pattern of this chapter is repeated now for the second of the ten generations from Adam to Noah. Seth fathered his son Enosh at 105 years old.
We know from the end of chapter four that the birth and life of Enosh was something of a turning point .
26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.
We do not know exactly what that means, but Enosh helped established Seth’s line as one characterized by worshipping and depending on God.
Another often confusing feature in this genealogies are names, or names similar to, those in the lineage of Cain. Now this really is no different from the modern trend of using common names. The line leading from Cain and the line leading from Seth are not only separate, they will end in separate dates. Cain’s line will be cut off by the upcoming flood.
Besides faster population growth, another advantage of these long lifespans is the testimony of each generation. In the early world, it is possible for a child to hear directly from someone who had seen and lived the events of centuries past.
7 And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:
Population growth is considered “neutral” in areas with low life expectancy when the average woman has three to four children in her lifetime. Now imagine a world with much lower rates of disease or war, cleaner food, water, and air, and dramatically longer natural lifespans. It is not unreasonable to calculate the population of the earth exploding at an explosive rate during the generations described in this chapter.
In this verse, it is stated that Seth lived for 807 years after he fathered Enosh and had several sons and daughters. More than likely, Seth had an enormous number of sons and daughters. Due to the long lifespans of these first generations of humans after the garden, the population of the world was likely increasing dramatically. Each couple could bear many children over the span of hundreds of years, seeing those children marry and have their own children and grandchildren and great grandchildren while they continued to have new children of their own.
This is the end of our study tonight. Next week we will cover Genesis chapter 5 verses 8 - 20. Let us pray.
