THE HISTORY OF JUDGMENT

This chapter is remarkable in its content. Here are a list of people who lived tremendously long lives, with the oldest being Methuselah (969). There are 13 people mentioned by name:

Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth.

Another interesting aspect of this chapter is the consistency in judgment. And that is our focus for tonight. God told Adam in , “…You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” God promised death for rebellion of His command, and God followed through with it.

Our focus tonight is on judgment. God is a God of judgment. This may sound harsh, but when we consider the character and nature of God it is completely logical and understandable. To begin with, God is the Creator, as established in Genesis chapters 1-2. With that said, He is free to do with His creation as He wishes. Just as I, after drawing a picture, can choose to change it to my wishes (because I am the author), the Author of Life is free to do with His creation what He wishes. Secondly, God is holy. This fact is spread throughout the pages of Scripture. Passages such as demonstrate the unimaginable holiness of God. One aspect of holiness, then, is the retribution of wrongs committed. That is, because God is holy (His nature), He must judge sin.

And this chapter offers us a glimpse into the judgment of sin.

I. GOD’S REASON FOR JUDGMENT-

We discussed this thought just a moment ago, but it appears in the first section of this chapter. Notice the restatement of the creation foundation**: God created man and woman in His image. They were created with what we term as original righteousness, or original integrity.

The Lexham Survey of Theology describes this thought as, “The original integrity of the image of God refers to the reflection of the divine being enjoyed by humans before Adam’s sin; after Adam’s sin, the image of God remains in everyone but has been marred in some way.”

The original integrity of the image of God refers to the reflection of the divine being enjoyed by humans before Adam’s sin; after Adam’s sin, the image of God remains in everyone but has been marred in some way.

Originally, Adam and Eve were created in the image of God, and one aspect of this image was their sinlessness. However, as we noted at the introduction, they rebelled against the good command of God and were changed. Their nature was changed. Rather than being innocent, now they were “children of wrath” (). Our natures were changed, and Moses picks this up as he continues this chapter. Though he does not mention the fall, it happened, and then Adam and Eve have another son, Seth, who was, as the Scriptures describe, “in his own likeness, after his image.” Rather than passing on the undefiled image of God, mankind is passing on his nature, that nature of wrath.

This is imperative, because it establishes the reason for the judgment. Every descendent mentioned, all thirteen of them, are born in the image of Adam, and though they have vestiges of the image of God (), they bear the fallen nature of Adam. And everyone of the thirteen people, with the exception of one, died. And they died justly. God is completely righteous and just to pass judgment on us all.

Now that the reason of the judgment is established, we will briefly look at the consistency of the judgment.

II. GOD’S CONSISTENCY IN JUDGMENT-

I reference the entire chapter because the entire chapter displays the consistency of God’s judgment. Though these men lived incredibly long and fruitful lives (each one, with the exception of Noah, had “other sons and daughters”), they all died (again, with the exception of one).

This chapter provides a brief demonstration of God’s consistent judgment, evidence throughout the entirety of Scripture. Men and women, year after year, face the consistent judgment of God. illustrates the importance of this thought. The soul that sins, and all sin (), shall die. It is not a debatable point. Though society accepts and even celebrates sin, God will judge it. Though the church ignores or overlooks sin, God will judge it. Though you and I justify sins in our own minds, God will judge it. He has consistently judged it for centuries and millennia, and He will continue to judge sin throughout human existence until His return.

Before we move on to the next thought, I want to mention one more aspect of the consistency of judgment. Notice toward the end of the chapter, verses 28-29, the mention of needing help with work. Lamech says, “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.” **Calculate time from Adam to Lamech** For that long God’s judgment of the difficulty of work had been executed. God’s judgment is consistent.

III. GOD’S GRACE IN JUDGMENT

Though we have been discussing the different aspects of God’s judgment, we cannot help but note that, even in the midst of God’s judgment, there is God’s grace. We began to see God’s unmerited favor in the midst of God’s declaration of judgment upon the serpent, the woman, and Adam. He promised that the Seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head.

Genesis chapter 5 also demonstrates God’s grace in the midst of judgment in several ways. To begin with, notice the long lives of these men. Methuselah holds the record at 969 years, but all lived incredibly long lives. God’s goodness is displayed in the fact that He did not immediately destroy us. He would have been completely just to do so, but in His grace He allowed us to live and enjoy His creation, continuing to reproduce and expand. In God’s grace, He has allowed us to develop some wonderful medicines, technology, and education. God, in His grace, allows us to enjoy marriages and friendships, raising children, and the reward for not killing those children, also known as grandchildren. God in His grace allows us to enjoy animal and plant life, to cultivate His creation, though marred from His image we are.

God’s grace is also seen in a remarkable way in 5:21-24. In this line of Adam’s descendants, we reach Enoch. He is the seventh from Adam. There is something unique about Enoch that is not mentioned of any others: he walked with God. As we learned from our ongoing study of 1 John, this implies a consistent pattern. That is, Enoch was known for his relationship with God. There are two other passages of Scripture that give us some additional information about Enoch: and .

In we learn that Enoch, by faith, never died. We do not know exactly how this happened, but God’s grace is seen in the prevention of that terrible judgment that had, up to this point, afflicted every man and woman. And in we learn that Enoch preached a serious message faithfully. Those in his generation, like every generation since, had great wickedness. Jude describes them in his brief epistle in verses 8-13, and then connects those people with the people to whom Enoch preached his convicting messages. His message was, “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.” You can imagine, then, that Enoch’s life was not easy. Yet, in the midst of that, he walked with God.

God’s grace is gloriously displayed in the life of Enoch, because the judgment promised for the sins of man was alleviated by God, through the person and work of Jesus Christ. In fact, the Scriptures state that God would remain just for punishing sins while simultaneously being the justifier of those who would repent and believe the Gospel. People in the Old Testament looked with eyes of faith to the future, and believers today look with eyes of faith to the past for their forgiveness.

IV. GOD’S PROVISION IN JUDGMENT-

Finally, we end our time this evening looking to God’s provision in judgment. What takes place at the end of this chapter is monumental, not only in the development of the life of this one called Noah, but also in God’s plan of redemption. You see, the covenant God made with Adam in the Garden of Eden was broken, and God promised the Seed of the woman would do what Adam, the first man, did not. As the storyline of Scripture progresses, this plan takes on additional detail and provides greater clarity.

Though our passage before us does not give the detail now, it does provide a transition into how God’s judgment of sin and His protection of a godly seed will be carried out. Though judgment has and will continue to afflict the human race, God’s provision in judgment is seen in the life of Noah. Because God provided salvation (in the physical sense) through Noah, we also see His provision for spiritual/physical salvation through Noah’s line.

Consider two verses, both from Peter’s epistles. In we see how Peter compares God’s salvation of Noah and his family to the salvation we experience through Jesus Christ. And in we see that Noah is used as an example of how God delivers the righteous during times of persecution. God’s provision in judgment illustrates the gloriousness of God’s grace.

APPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

We must remember that God has a reason for judgment—our judgment is not because of a malevolent God.

We must remember that God consistently judges—our sins are not the exception.

We must remember God’s grace in judgment—both the goodness in judgment and the grace of judgment.

We must remember God’s provision in judgment—never tire of hearing about the Gospel of Jesus Christ!