BEGETTING AND BEGETTING
Opening Prayer
Lord, all life owes to You and Your blessing.
Read GENESIS 5
From Adam to Noah
5 This is the written account of Adam’s family line.
When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind”[a] when they were created.
3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. 4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5 Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.
6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father[b] of Enosh. 7 After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8 Altogether, Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died.
9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. 10 After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. 11 Altogether, Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died.
12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. 13 After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 Altogether, Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died.
15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. 16 After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17 Altogether, Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died.
18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. 19 After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 Altogether, Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.
21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 26 After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.
28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. 29 He named him Noah[c] and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.” 30 After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31 Altogether, Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died.
32 After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Footnotes:
a Genesis 5:2 Hebrew adam
b Genesis 5:6 Father may mean ancestor; also in verses 7-26.
c Genesis 5:29 Noah sounds like the Hebrew for comfort.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity” (Jonah 4:2, NASB)
Think Further
If violence and death dominate chapter four, then life and population expansion highlight chapter five. Verse one reminds us that humans are created in the likeness of God, a somewhat ironic reminder, given the events of the previous chapter. It is as though the story is starting again with the creation of humans and God’s accompanying blessing, but with no mention of Cain: here, Adam’s children begin with Seth. Abel is implicit in Seth for Eve considered that Seth replaced Abel (Gen 4:25). God had told them to be fruitful and multiply (Gen 1:28) and this chapter is confirmation that, despite Adam and Eve’s disobedience and Cain’s (not to mention Lamech’s) murdering, God had not withdrawn his blessing. His plan for humans will continue. It is easy to miss God’s grace in this genealogy of names and ages. Jonah knew that God was gracious and has never given up on humanity. Humanity went very wrong at the start and we, too, go wrong – yet God continues to bless.
There are no personal stories in this chapter until we get to Noah, other than that Enoch walked with God (we are not told that of anyone else in this chapter) and that God took him before he died (22,24). Lamech, who came through Seth’s lineage, named Noah with the intention that he should give people rest (29, NASB) from the work caused by the cursing of the ground. How he thought Noah would achieve this is another question, and perhaps it simply expresses a desire. Thus, we are reminded at the close of the chapter that we live in a world where God has cursed the ground. God’s blessing and his cursing, human procreation and death, are all part of life, and we are saddled with its constant tension.
Apply
Think about your own genealogical line and how God has blessed it along the way.
Closing prayer
Father, thank You for the blessing of life amidst the problems of the world. Thank You for Your patience and for Your undying love.
Book and Author Intros
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