This
Sunday our attention will be directed to Genesis 4:17-5:32. What
might at first glance look like only a list of names is actually an
important part of the Genesis narrative. There are 2 genealogies here, one for
the descendants of Cain (4:17-24) and one for the descendants of Seth (5:1-32).
As we begin, a few general observations about these two genealogies:
*In addition to Cain
himself (the first murderer), his lineage includes the first polygamist,
Lamech.
*Lamech receives
more attention in this genealogy than anyone else, mostly b/c of his violent
& boastful nature. It may be that he is somewhat symbolic of the entire
line of Cain, but this isn't clearly stated.
*Cain's lineage also
includes those who developed important aspects of human civilization: Cain
himself builds the first city, & his descendants are the first to become
nomadic shepherds, the first to develop the musical arts, & the first to
forge instruments of bronze & iron.
*Seth's line is the
only one of the two which gives the number of years the people lived. These are
quite long & have been the subject of much discussion. Their longevity may
be an indication of greater righteousness than Cain's descendants, but again,
this is not stated. Some have conjectured that these numbers may not be
literal, but if they are symbolic in some way, no one has ever adequately
explained what they symbolize or how they are to be understood. It seems better
to take them at face value & conclude that, prior to the flood, people just
lived longer. But as sin continued to take its toll on the human race,
human longevity declined sharply. (See Gen 6:1-2, which wouldn't make much
sense w/out taking the large numbers of chapter 5 literally.)
*Seth's line
contains the interesting note about Enoch, the man who "walked with
God," & who "was not, for God took him." He was apparently
one of only two people who were able to enter God's presence w/out experiencing
death. (I think you know the other one. See also Heb 11:5-6, which also
mentions Enoch.) Both Enoch & the boastful, violent Lamech of Cain's line
are the seventh generation in their respective families. It is unclear whether
or not there is any symbolic significance to this, but Enoch seems to be
Lamech's opposite counterpart.
*Seth's line leads
us to another righteous man, Noah, who eventually becomes the instrument for
the survival of all humanity.
*There is
considerable overlapping of names in the two genealogies, but we need to be
careful not to confuse the individuals b/c of their names. (For example, Cain
had a son named Enoch, but he isn't the same as the Enoch who "walked with
God.")
Some scholars see these two
genealogies as representing the development of two opposite strands of humans,
one evil & the other righteous. This may be correct, but we have to be
cautious since the text doesn't explicitly say that. We have to remember that,
even if Seth's line is generally more righteous than Cain's, even Seth's
descendants were all sinners, too. Likewise, we aren't told that all of Cain's
descendants were evil. What we can say is that there seems to have been more
righteous people in Seth's line than in that of Cain.
Now, a word about biblical
genealogies. They are seldom given simply to provide information or even to
establish succession, although they sometimes do that. More often, they have a
theological purpose. Take for example the genealogy of Jesus which begins
Matthew's Gospel. While it does establish that Jesus is fully qualified to be
the Davidic Messiah, since He descended from David, it does much more. It also
sows that all of God's promises to Abraham & his descendants are now being
fulfilled through the coming of the Christ. Likewise, it illustrates that Jesus
was a real person & not a myth, since a myth doesn't need a genealogy. It
also shows God's willingness to work through all kinds of people & to save
all kinds of people, since the genealogy contains both Israelites &
non-Israelites, both men & women, & some notorious sinners as well as
some famous saints.
So when we come to the
genealogies of Gen 4-5, we need to ask, what is their function, & what
message do we get from them?
1. They show the spread of the
curse of sin. It all started with A&E, but it continues in the lives of
all their descendants. Particularly in the line of Cain, sin manifests itself
in some terrible ways, particularly in the person of Lamech, as noted above.
This doesn't suggest that all of Cain's descendants were evil people & that
all of Seth's were good. Some were worse sinners than others, but all were
sinners.
There are some positive
developments among Cain's line also, such as the building of cities, the
development of music, shepherding, & instruments of bronze & iron.
These were great technological developments. But the problem is, all of these
advances soon became tainted with sin, too. Everything positive that
humans develop is eventually turned to evil purposes. (Ever heard of the
Internet?!) So the point is, even our technological developments today can't
save us from our sinful selves. Technology will never become our savior. We have
to look outside ourselves & our technology to something - Someone - else to
make our lives meaningful & to redeem us from the scourge of sin.
2. They show that Godliness is
possible in spite of sin. Enoch, of course, is the prime
example here, a man so righteous that he is spared death. He "walked with
God." "Walking" is biblical terminology for the way we live
("we walk by faith, not by sight"). So just as there was a peculiarly
evil man in Cain's line, there is an extraordinarily good man in Seth's.
The point is that both sinfulness
& Godliness are choices that we make. We're all sinners, but we can choose
to be less sinful if we desire. And just b/c we may be surrounded with people
who opt to be as sinful as possible, that doesn't mean we have to yield to that
temptation. We can - & must - be "Enochs" in a world of
"Lamechs."
3. They show that God is at work,
even n a flawed & sinful world. That's why there are
bright spots (Enoch, Noah) in the midst of all the darkness. Not
everything/everyone goes the way of Cain. In fact, Seth's genealogy leads us
right up to Noah (5:28-29), who "found favor in the eyes of the
Lord." In spite of humanity's general depravity, there was one man who was
getting it right. And God worked through that one man for the salvation of all
the rest.
That's really the story of
the entire Bible: God bringing order out of chaos, life out of death, &
doing so by working through people just like you & me. We can't excuse ourselves
from making a positive difference in the world by saying, "I'm just a
sinner." True, you are. But God doesn't have to have "special"
people in order to accomplish His will - just willing people, who will walk
with Him & who will find favor in His sight.
For your classes:
1. How far back can you trace the
genealogy of your own family? Why do you think people in the US today are
generally less interested in their ancestors than were people of the past,
& people of other cultures? Do our family histories in some ways affect the
kind of people we become, or is that entirely up to us?
2. Read Gen 2:25-26. What do you
think v. 26 means? Does"people" here include those from Cain's line,
or does it refer only to the descendants of Seth?
3. Looking at 4:17-24, do you
think we are supposed to understand that all of Cain's descendants were evil
people? Why or why not?
4. Can you think of any
development in technology that people have not turned to evil purposes? Why do
you think this happens? What does this tell us about the way we should think
about technological developments?
5. What do you think about the
idea that the longevity of the descendants of Seth is an indication of their
righteousness? Is there a pitfall to equating longevity with righteousness? If
so, what is it?
6. Read Hebrews 11:5-6. What
point is the author of Hebrews making by referring to the example of Enoch?
What further information do we get about Enoch in Jude 14-16?
--Dr. Tommy South
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