Genesis 5
This chapter tells us about the line of Adam
through Seth. Adam lived a total of 930 years.
From this line, we have Enoch, father of Methuselah, father of Lamech who is the father of Noah. The line of the ‘promised seed,” that is Christ, is through Seth. In this chapter, the Genesis record gives each man’s name, gives the man’s
son, how long he lived, and ends with “then he died.” There
is one exception. Enoch “walked with God, then he was no more, because
God took him away.” Genesis 5:24 (NIV) This was illustrative of the rapture
of the church to come.
The word 'rapture'
does not appear in scripture. It comes from St Paul in writing to the church of the Thessalonians. Paul states:
"For
the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call
of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." 1 Thessalonians
4:16-17 NIV
How did
Enoch please God in this manner? The author of Hebrews stated:
By
faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him
away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. Hebrews 11:5 NIV
Genesis 6-The Arc and the Second Covenant
In those days, men lived very long. Their number greatly increased. God says: “My Spirit will
not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.” Genesis
6:3. God looked and saw great evil on the Earth.
The Father regretted hat He had made man. “But
Noah found grace (favor) in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 6:8 (Amp)
Noah
was warned of the upcoming destruction. Noah has character. He is honest, devout, and demonstrated his faith in God by doing what God told him to do. Noah warns others who laughed at him. Jesus speaks of Noah, the flood and what is to come in the latter days through comparison:
“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of
the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day
Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how
it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”
Matthew
24:37-39
Were others alive at this time ignorant of their sin? I don’t think so. Are any living
today ignorant of their sin? Again, I don’t think so. Jesus is the answer to our sin. Jesus is the only answer that
there is. Adam lived 930 years, a very long time, but yet death was present and
he did die. He and Eve certainly told others as the generations lived together. The Bible does not specify how long Cain lived.
Cain surely told his descendants of his past. Noah warned others of what
was to come. Noah and his family along with seed of all the animals that live
enter the Ark. In the Ark
there is safety and a future.
“But
I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’
wives with you.” Genesis 6:18
(NIV)
The term
Covenant is used throughout the Bible. A Covenant is an agreement between parties. This is the third of several Covenants.
The New Testament, or New Covenant, is fulfilled through Jesus Christ. This third
covenant is completed in Genesis 9:9-17 and we still see the sign, the rainbow after storms. For more on Covenant, see
table at top of this page.
Genesis 7
Matthew Henry suggests the call to
Noah (then) is similar to the call of the Gospel to us who live today. The Ark
represents Christ who was, in Noah’s day, yet to come. Noah was found righteous,
not for his works, but for his faith. “It is our great
duty, in obedience to the gospel call . . . to come into the way of salvation which God has provided for poor sinners” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary, p 17) The
flood covers the entire Earth. Only Noah, his family and the animals escape and
live. Our safety and future is in Christ Jesus who is our Ark.
“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating,
drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them
all.” Luke 17:26
(NIV)
God sent Noah and his family into the Ark. The door was shut and there was no escape from destruction for those
who were left behind. Noah was 600 years old.
He has put into the Ark all those animals, birds, etc. as directed by
God. The waters covered the entire Earth for five months. We may imagine that those who laughed at Noah attempted to save their lives. But they failed as the waters rose and covered the very mountains.
Hebrews states
that Noah was saved by faith:
"By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save
his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith." Hebrews 11:7 NIV
