Necessity of a revelation of creation 5 Getting understanding by Word of God 3

Genealogy of mankind

In the first 11 chapters of the book Genesis we can find a survey of the world before Patriarch Abraham. From chapter 12  until 50 we get more a focus on one main family line in considerable detail. In the world there have been many creation myths written down, in contrast to the patriarchal stories, however, those ancient nonbiblical stories do not in any way challenge the authority or the inspiration of Genesis. In fact, the nonbiblical stories stand in sharp contrast to the biblical account, and thus help readers appreciate the unique nature and character of the biblical accounts of creation and the flood. In other ancient literary traditions, creation is a great struggle often involving conflict between the gods who themselves also got created or came into existence by certain forces of nature.

Through these stories the people of the ancient world learned their traditions about the gods they worshipped and the way of life that people should follow. Babylonian versions of creation and flood stories were designed to show that Babylon was the centre of the religious universe and that its civilization was the highest achieved by mankind.

With the words that accompanied the followers of God it could be seen that though many would love to worship the sun and moon or natural phenomena, they had to hear that such ideas are non-constructive delusions, ignoring that there is Only One True God, Divine Creator of heaven and earth, Whose Word is Almighty and incorruptible.

The man called the mannin, who he got as a partner of wife “Eve“, because she was the mother of all living. Because the man had become like one of the heavenly creatures in knowing good and evil God drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:20-24). When God had cast out Adam and Eve and they got children His words accompanied them and got them to know if they pleased the Elohim Hashem Jehovah or not.

The First Mourning (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The first son of Adam and Eve (Cain) became a murderer after he came to know that Abel’s offering was more liked by God than his. Though God stayed with him and placed a sign for his protection so that he would not be killed by others. Though we can see how it went from bad to worse. Adam and Eve got again a son which they called Seth and when this son got a son, Enosh, which means ‘to call upon the name of God’ or, ‘call themselves by the name of the Lord’, the people started worshipping Jehovah, the God and later God declared the offspring to be His people.

Gen 4:25-26 NSB  Adam had intercourse with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth. She said: »God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.«  (26)  Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on (proclaim) the name of Jehovah.

Deu 26:17-18 NSB  »You declared Jehovah to be your God today. You said you would walk in his ways and keep his statutes, his commandments and his ordinances, and listen to his voice.  (18)  »Jehovah declared you to be his people and a treasured possession. Obey his commandments and receive his promise.

In the 5th chapter of Genesis we are given the genealogy of the People of God up to the sons of Noah, when the earth was not any more the paradise form the first days. Whereas 5:1–32 is largely a genealogy that traces a single line of descendants from Adam to Noah, naming only one person in each generation, 6:1–8 provides a worldwide picture of increasing human wickedness. The contrast between these two elements is not simply between the particular and the universal but, more importantly, between righteousness and evil.

In the 5th chapter we see that the usual pattern of the genealogy (vv. 1–32) is altered with the substitution of the expression ‘Enoch walked with God’ but tells us also that Enoch was taken by God, he disappearing from the earth after having walked with God for 365 years in total  (Genesis 5:22–24).

Gen 5:24 NSB  Enoch walked with God. Then he was no more, because God took (moved) him away.

In this passage, and in certain other contexts in Genesis (e.g., 3:8; 6:9; 17:1; 24:40; 48:15), the Hebrew verb for “walked” is a distinctive form that conveys the sense of an ongoing intimacy with God. Remarkably, because of this special relationship, the words of God Enoch do not speak of dying in this instance, which we also can find by Elijah who went up to heaven in a windstorm. (2 Kings 2:1–12). The narrator’s desire to highlight this fact may explain why the present genealogy, unlike the one in Genesis11:10–26, regularly mentions that “So and so died.”

Finding the name “Noah” (Hb. noakh) in god’s Word may be also of particular reason. Strictly speaking it means “rest” (Hb. nuakh). After some turbelent years, having people going further away from God, ignoring His Word, we do find the concept of “comfort” (Hb. nakham) “Out of the ground that the Elohim has cursed, having one to “bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” Lamech expecting that Noah will bring both rest and comfort from the painful toil of working the soil (see 3:17–19).

Gen 5:28-32 NSB  When Lamech had lived one hundred and eighty-two years, he had a son.  (29)  He named him Noah. He said: »He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground Jehovah has cursed.«  (30)  After Noah was born, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years and had other sons and daughters.  (31)  Lamech lived a total of seven hundred seventy-seven years, and then he died.  (32)  After Noah was five hundred years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

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Preceding articles:

Necessity of a revelation of creation 1 Works of God and works of man

Necessity of a revelation of creation 2 Organisation of a system of things

Necessity of a revelation of creation 3 Getting understanding by Word of God 1

Necessity of a revelation of creation 4 Getting understanding by Word of God 2

Next: Necessity of a revelation of creation 6 Getting understanding by Word of God 4

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