Saved by Faith In God – Genesis 5-6

“This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. And Adam lived 130 years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were 800 years; and he had sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived were 930 years; and he died.” Genesis 5:1-5

In Genesis 5:1-2, God explicitly states that He created humankind “male and female.” He stated this in Genesis 1:27 as well. Jesus repeated this truth in Matthew 19:4 and Mark 10:6.

There is no mention of Cain or Abel here, or of the other children born to Adam and Eve. Jesus Messiah came into the world from the family line of Seth. That’s why his genealogical record is important.

Genesis 5:4 states that Adam lived 800 years after Seth was born and during these years, more sons and daughters were born to him. The Lord called him to multiply people. He complied.

Genesis 5:3-32 begins the record of the Messiah’s genealogy. It also records the number of years between the time that Adam was created until the flood. The Hebrew meaning of the names of Seth’s descendants contain a prophetic message.

Here is the breakdown of the names and their common meanings:

Adam (אדם): Man, Mankind, Red Earth
Seth (שת): Appointed, Set
Enosh (אנוש): Mortal, Frail, Miserable
Kenan (קינן): Sorrow, Dirge, Possessor
Mahalalel (מהללאל): The Blessed God, Praise of God
Jared (ירד): Shall come down, Descending
Enoch (חנוך): Teaching, Dedicated, Initiated
Methuselah (מתושלח): His death shall bring, He has sent his death
Lamech (למך): Strong
Noah (נוח): Rest, Comfort, Consolation

When the consecutive birth to death years are added up between Adam and Noah, the total years is 1,056 years. In Genesis 7:6, the Lord tells us that the flood happened in the 600th year of Noah’s life making it year 1,656 when the flood occurred. Due to Adam’s life of 930 years, he was still alive when Noah’s father lived. Adam died just 126 years before Noah was born.

Seth and Cain both have descendants named Enoch. Cain built a city and named it after his son Enoch. Seth’s son Enoch was a proclaimer of God’s kingdom.

Genesis 5:24 says that Seth’s descendant Enoch walked with God. Then, he was not, because God took him. Hebrews 11:5 says of Seth’s descendant, “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ‘and was not found, because God had taken him;’ for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Jude 1:14-15 speaks of Enoch’s prophetic ministry, “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men [ungodly men] also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with 10,000’s of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’”

In Genesis 5:21, Enoch named his son Methuselah. Methuselah’s name means “His death shall bring.” What does Methuselah’s death bring? Thanks to the genealogy of Seth, we know that he died during the 600th year of his grandson’s life. His grandson was Noah. The flood happened during the 600th year of Noah’s life. According to Genesis 5:17, Methuselah lived 969 years. The Lord kept him from harm and death until it was the year for the flood to happen.

In Genesis 5:28-29, Lamech had a word from the Lord for his son Noah. He called him Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed.”

“And Noah was 500 years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” Genesis 5:32

The Lord provided three sons for Noah. In Genesis 6:3, the Lord indicated to Noah that it would be 120 years before the great flood occurred. In Genesis 7:6, the Lord tells us that the flood happened in the 600th year of Noah’s life. This means that Noah was working on the ark project for 20 years before his sons were born. The Lord was gracious to give Noah three sons in one year. He would need their help as the ark building project grew in size and scope.

Were Shem, Ham, and Japheth triplets? They were born in the same year. Two could have been twins and one born separately. The Bible doesn’t say. Genesis 10:21 says that Shem was the older brother of Japheth. Genesis 9:24 says that Ham was a younger son. However, Genesis 25:23, says of the twin boys Jacob and Esau, “The older will serve the younger.” Even triplets have a birthing order.

“Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.” Genesis 6:1-2

This passage verifies that daughters were born. Some of the sons have been mentioned by name, but very few daughters. The sons of God, namely those in a relationship with God, married the daughters of men, those not in a relationship with God. As Eve was beguiled by the serpent, who masqueraded as an angel of light, these godly men were beguiled, as Samson was, to prioritize outward beauty over inward godliness.

“And the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be 120 years.’ There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.” Genesis 6:3-4

God said His Spirit shall not strive with man forever. This statement indicates that God’s Spirit was contending with men about their bad choices. God, like a good farmer, would not have yokefellows unevenly yoked. Farmers place oxen that are similar in temperament, skill, size and strength together to accomplish their mission. As to marriage, God wants men to choose godly women and produce godly children. Malachi 2:15 says that God seeks godly offspring.

These mixed marriages produced mighty and famous men, but were they good husbands? Were they good fathers? God said that they were fleshly not godly.

“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” Genesis 6:5-10

The hearts of people were filled with evil thoughts continuously. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” God’s heart was grieved that He made people. Thankfully, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. He was just in his dealings. He walked with God which means that he had a personal relationship with God.

Noah is a type of Christ in that God spared the human race for the sake of one righteous man. We find grace in the eyes of the Lord when we believe in God’s Son Jesus Christ.

“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” Genesis 6:11-12

Corruption tends toward violence. Corrupt people mistreat and cheat people. There comes a point when mistreated and cheated people respond with violence.

“And God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: the length of the ark shall be 300 cubits, its width 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.” Genesis 6:13-21

The Lord now moves past talk of judging the world for its sin, to a plan to preserve the human race. The plan involves creating a safe place. He instructs Noah to build an ark three stories tall. It’s dimensions measured roughly 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high, featuring a door on the side, a roof, and internal rooms. It is for the preservation of Noah and his wife, his three sons and their three wives, as well as for animals, creeping things and birds.

“Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.” Genesis 6:22

What did Noah do? He did everything as the Lord commanded him. By listening and obeying the Lord’s instruction, Noah saved both himself and his family.

In Matthew 24:37-39, Jesus referred to Noah as a real person and to the flood as a real event. He said, “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

Noah’s story is a historic event with ramifications for us today.

Hebrews 11:17 says, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”

In 1 Peter 3:19-21, Peter speaks of how Noah prepared an ark by which eight souls were saved. Peter compares their ark on the water with a baptism. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus commanded His followers to baptize disciples in the Name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

In 2 Peter 2:5, Peter urged us not to take God’s warnings about judgment lightly, saying, “God did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, but brought in the flood on the world of the ungodly.”

“Christians do not talk about God’s judgment because they enjoy it. The only reason we teach these things is because the Lord Jesus Christ teaches them in the Bible.” “Leslie Newbiggin accurately states, ‘It is one of the weaknesses of a great deal of contemporary Christianity that we do not speak of the last judgment and of the possibility of being finally lost.’” [1]

Thank God that He takes the time and effort to prepare us for the day we stand before Him.


[1] Dr. Phillip Graham Ryken, Jeremiah and Lamentations from Sorrow to Hope, Crossway Books, Wheaton, IL, © 2001, p. 397-399