Genesis Chapter 5: Walking With God and Enjoying Him Forever

 

Bibliology- When looking at the genealogy of the Bible, it’s important to understand that the genealogy

may not be complete. We can certainly conclude that Adam fathered Seth directly, as it explicitly says in

4:25, but after this, there are 10 sons mentioned by Adam to Noah. The Bible will often leave gaps in the

genealogy, see Matthew’s genealogy as an example of this. There is another precedence for this in the

Hebrew word יָלַד (yâlad), which can be translated as “became the ancestor of” as opposed to fathered or

begot. 

However, none of this discredits the concept that the men of Genesis Chapter 5 have incredibly

long lives. This view would also mean that the lines died off after a certain amount of time, leaving a

different line in it’s place, but still of the same line. This would be nonsensical. So, while generation-

skipping may be described in this chapter, it doesn’t change that the men continue on for a long period

of time. If this were not the case, there would be no need for God to later cap the days of man to 120

years (6:3). 

However, there is a significance to the fact that there are ten generations used in Genesis 5 matches

the pattern of 10 generations from Shem to Abram (11:10-26). For one, using a set guideline and pattern of numbers aided as a memorization tool. If you knew there were 10 before and ten after you could more easily count them off. 

The number 10 can be seen as a kind of symbol of completeness as well. Ten generations before the flood, ten generations after. There are also ten commandments representing the completeness of God’s law. Indeed, many people have attached significant meaning to the number ten throughout time. It’s good to notice these trends; however, it’s important not to get carried away with them. While there are holy ideas associated with the number ten, there are also unholy things. For example, the Dragon from the Book of Revelation has ten horns. This brings about the idea of completeness of world history, but seven plays as much a part in this as well. It can be too easy sometimes to get so caught up in numerology that the true meaning of Scripture is overlooked. There will be some further discussion on this under heresies, but in general, it should be noted that Christians have no need to seek for “hidden knowledge.”

 Finally, there are several years that can be calculated from Adam to Noah. If one were to take the Age of Adam and count out the years of life for each generation, accounting for overlap, you come to the number 1,656. There were 1,656 years from Adam to the flood. The graph below offers some perspective on this:

        There is no known significance for the number 1,656, it’s simply worth noting how many years separated creation from the first judgment of God. This period of time is known as the antediluvian period, and there is no other time period that lines up with it.

Theology- God preserves His lineage. From the beginning, He selected the line of Seth. Out of all of Seth's children, He shoes the line of Enosh. From all of Enosh’s children, the line of Kenan was selected. This pattern continued all the way down to Noah. It was God who preserved that line, just as He alone preserves His chosen children. 

he line of Kenan was selected. This pattern continued all the way down to Noah. It was God who preserved that line, just as He alone preserves His chosen children. 

Christology- There is a promise made in Genesis 3 of the one who would crush the head of Satan. From his birth, Noah was seen as that promised child. His name means rest, and his father said of him when he was born, “This same shall comfort us

concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.” There was hope placed in Noah. One could speculate that this trust came from a prophecy of Enoch, or from them counting the generations and believing that the tenth generation was the generation of redemption, but this is nothing more than speculation. However, Noah does provide a picture of Jesus. Perhaps most important was in his righteous obedience in providing a means of salvation for those God would save from His judgemental wrath. 

    Even though Noah wasn’t the promised Messiah who would crush the head of Satan and bring the promised rest, it is from Noah’s line that the Messiah would come, and this line was the preserved line during the great flood. What is worth noting is that even in the antediluvian period, it was understood that the promised Messiah came to provide the world rest from Adam’s curse.

Enoch, likewise, provides a picture of Jesus Christ. The expression used in describing Enoch is “Enoch walked with God,” and it’s so descriptive that the Bible says it of him twice. The picture here is that Enoch walked in close communion with God, just as Jesus was in close communion with the Father. Enoch was also assumed into Heaven bodily having never experienced death. Jesus was likewise taken up to Heaven bodily. Although Jesus experienced death, He still conquered death in the end. 

Anthropology- The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever (Westminster Shorter Catechism).

Enoch is a prime example of someone who understood the importance of this. Enoch “walked with

God,” enjoying His presence and living his life in such a way that was pleasing to God. 

This is not to say that we can assume that Enoch lived a perfect life, or that he never sinned.

There is no good reason to dismiss Romans 3:23 here, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory

of God.” What is established, by scripture, is that Enoch had faith, Hebrews 11 spells out that it was this

faith in God that pleased Him and that it is further impossible to please God without faith.     

         So there’s a two-fold understanding of this chapter of Genesis. 1) That we cannot please God without faith, and 2) We are held as a separate people from the people of the world. These two are really one as such it is by our faith that we will be separated from the world. We will not walk after the things of this world, but by faith, we will rather walk after the things of God.

Soteriology-  Noah and his family were singled out. There was a direct line chosen to be spared from destruction. Consider that if we just look at Lamech alone we know that there were multiple members of the family that got wiped out. The only line of Lamech that was deemed worthy of salvation was Noah and his line. 

The most important concept here is that only adopted children of God through the headship, or the lineage, of Jesus Christ, will be brought into salvation. This is the narrow road discussed in Matthew 7:13-14. God has a chosen people that He keeps unto Himself, and it is only these chosen people that will be brought into the glory of God.

Another important aspect to look at is Enoch. Enoch provides a picture of salvation in a couple of ways. For one, he walked with God, and so was caught up with him. His faith wasn’t a dead faith as James warned about in James 2. Rather, the phrase “walked with God” (22&24) indicates that he actually lived a life exemplary of his faith. Some people have mischaracterized sola fide (salvation by faith alone) to mean that our works are irrelevant. In reality, although it is faith alone that saves us, our works follow our faith as we are being transformed into the image and likeness of God. Both the antagonists against Protestantism and Protestants themselves have made this error. 

Eschatology- Enoch is often looked to to justify certain doctrines regarding the rapture. The rapture comes from the Latin word “rapere” and it simply means to be caught away. This comes from Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, “ Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Tess. 4:17). Specifically, the event is looked to because:

1. He was caught away without facing spiritual death.

2. He was caught away before judgment fell on the planet and was thus saved from God’s wrath. 

 It can be somewhat abusive to use Scripture in this way. Paul’s purpose in writing to the Thessalonians was a pastoral practice of comfort, not one of expositing a doctrinal understanding. The Thessalonians were in distress over the Christians who had died and so Paul’s words were ones of comfort, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him” (1 Thess. 4:14).

This is not to say that there’s no theological value in the text; far from it. But it makes no distinctions on issues such as pre-tribulation rapture. Instead, it simply states that Christ will return, we will meet Him in the air, those who died will also meet Him in the air, and we will forever be with the Lord. 

This brings the topic back to Enoch who, “Was not, for the Lord took him” (24). It has been long held in the Christian tradition that this refers to Enoch being taken by God without facing natural death. An interesting aspect of this comes from the Hebrew word “אין -'ayin” in this verse. Although it is translated as “he was not,” the same word was translated in four other places in the Old Testament as simply gone (Hebrews 11:5).

        This event is significant because it only happens three times in the Bible: Enoch, Elijah, and Jesus during His ascension. There is a promise in scripture that we will rise to glory in the same way, John 11:25-26. So, it is a picture of God’s grace to us when considering the catching up of Enoch. This isn’t to affirm the current rapture doctrine, which asserts that there will be a secret catching away of believers before a seven-year tribulation period. However, it does enforce the idea that when Christ returns, He will catch up with His children. 

It should be noted that preterists claim Christ already returned, and that the catching up is a spiritual catching up. There is some disagreement among preterists if Enoch was physically taken, or spiritually taken; however, this doesn’t change the nature of their argument which circles around the idea of “soon’, and “quickly” in the New Testament. Jesus said He was coming quickly (Revelation 22:12), and that the events He described must soon come to pass (Revelation 1:1-3). 

        On a side note, some people might look at the antediluvian period as a time of significance to current prophecy. However, there is no repeat in this time period, and should be looked at as a worthy historical note, but doesn’t seem to be significant to any postdiluvian prophecy. 

Ecclesiology- The church was not intended to be an evangelistic tool, but an equipping one. From the

beginning of the genealogies, we see a chosen people who are from within and are equipped and

prepared. This isn’t to say that evangelism doesn’t happen in the church, or that the Gospel can’t be

delivered to thirsty souls. But at the end of the day, the Church shouldn’t be trying to make itself more

appealing by becoming more worldly. Rather, the Church is called to be other-worldly. That is to say,

the Church is called to be like Enoch, to walk with God, and to be taken of God. 

Individually, the Christian life should be different; but also, institutionally the Church should be

different. Too often churches look at growth charts and demographic advertising to try to bring people

into the church. Churches will also lean heavily on entertainment as a way of keeping people coming to

church. Oftentimes, churches will also try to mirror modern philosophies on life. Many churches will

soften their approach on issues such as abortion, gay marriage, or transgenderism in order to fit in better

with the world. But the Church was never meant to fit in with the world. Rather, it has always been an

institution outside of the world designed to shape the world into the image of God, the shape of God

into the image of man. 

Heresies-

Preterism- It should be noted that preterists claim Christ already returned, and that the catching up is a

spiritual catching up. There is some disagreement among preterists if Enoch was physically taken, or

spiritually taken; however, this doesn’t change the nature of their argument which circles around the

idea of “soon’, and “quickly” in the New Testament. Jesus said He was coming quickly

(Revelation 22:12), and that the events He described must soon come to pass (Revelation 1:1-3).

Full preterism should be viewed as heretical because it denies scripture which states that not only those

who are asleep in the Lord will be caught up in the clouds to be with the Lord, but the living as well

(1 Thess. 4:15-17). If we who are alive will in like manner be caught up at the parousia, that is, at the coming of the Lord, then it cannot be said that the catching up is only a spiritual event that happens at conversion. For the most part, preterists don’t hold to a final consummation of all things or a final judgment. 

        Partial preterists don’t fall into this category because they deny that the parousia has already happened and still look to a final judgment and consummation. 

Final Thoughts- This world offers nothing but a bleak view. Those who put

their trust in the things of this world, or even the best that this world has to offer, will still come up

empty-handed. However, to those who walk after God by faith, who seek not this world, but instead the

riches in Christ Jesus all promise is given to them that God will take them. This doesn’t mean that there

are no trials or tribulations in this life, but it means that we also inherit the promises of God. 

It’s too easy to seek justification in this world. Walking in faith is more challenging. There are

times when it seems like life would be easier if we simply let ourselves sin. Is marriage, raising kids,

doing a good job for little reward, being single, or any number of other challenges too hard? Then look

to divorce, abortion, slacking off, pornography, or a host of other sins to save you from these burdens.

But all of these “reliefs” only lead to sorrow and death. It may be the death of a marriage, the death of a

child, the death of a family for lack of income, or many other kinds of death; but it is all still just death.

On the contrary, seeking after Christ and His ways always leads to life and blessings, even if we aren’t

aware of those blessings in the moment.