January 8, 2019

God Over the World

Genesis 5

Garrett Wikle
Tuesday's Devo

January 8, 2019

Tuesday's Devo

January 8, 2019

Central Truth

Loving God in the world today can be hard. How one man loved God more than the world for nearly five entire lifetimes despite living in the worst of times is unbelievable. Let his example encourage you!

Key Verse | Genesis 5:21-24

When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

Genesis 5

Adam's Descendants to Noah

This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man 1 5:2 Hebrew adam when they were created. When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.

When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh. Seth lived after he fathered Enosh 807 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.

When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan. 10 Enosh lived after he fathered Kenan 815 years and had other sons and daughters. 11 Thus all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.

12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel. 13 Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 Thus all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died.

15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared. 16 Mahalalel lived after he fathered Jared 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17 Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.

18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he fathered Enoch. 19 Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.

21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 22 Enoch walked with God 2 5:22 Septuagint pleased God; also verse 24 after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, 3 5:24 Septuagint was not found for God took him.

25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech. 26 Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.

28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son 29 and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed, this one shall bring us relief 4 5:29 Noah sounds like the Hebrew for rest from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” 30 Lamech lived after he fathered Noah 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31 Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.

32 After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Footnotes

[1] 5:2 Hebrew adam
[2] 5:22 Septuagint pleased God; also verse 24
[3] 5:24 Septuagint was not found
[4] 5:29 Noah sounds like the Hebrew for rest

Dive Deeper | Genesis 5

Genealogies look boring. Who wants to sit through a list of names? Since this genealogy includes ages alongside significant life events, it reads more like a third grade math textbook. "If Kenan was 70 when he fathered Mahalalel, and then lived 840 more years, how long was Kenan's life? 910 years!” 70 + 840 = 910, I get it! BUT, there's a repeated key phrase special to this list that we can't miss: "and he died." The phrase is mentioned eight times in the passage, but Noah (the next main character), is the tenth in his line. That math doesn't add up. Someone didn't die.

This math isn't third grade level. It's calculus with miracles!

So who didn't die? The guy's name is Enoch. Genesis 5:21-24 is unique from the rest of Genesis 5 in two phrases:

  • "Enoch walked with God"—Repeated twice in this chapter, Enoch is uniquely shown as incredibly close, personally close, with the God of the universe. Something about his life stood out, and we should take notice.
  • "God took him"—Enoch never died. The imminent consequence of sin—a rightly deserved death for our rebellion against God—never happened to Enoch. God chose for Enoch to not experience the sting of death.

Enoch was special. But why does this matter to me?

Genesis 6:5 shows us that Enoch's generation was plagued by people whose thoughts and intentions were evil. If society today looks bleak, Enoch’s generation sounds worse. We see in Jude 14-15 that Enoch spoke out against the evil of his generation, giving us the only biblical clue to why he’s special: he chose God over the world.

1 John 2:15-17 shows us today that we have the same choice as Enoch: love God or love the world. Since Jesus chose us out of the world (John 15:19), and He loves us so much that He died for us (Romans 5:8), our response is simple: We follow Jesus! We love Him instead of the world. Just like Enoch chose God and walked with Him, we get to choose God in response!

Discussion Questions

1. Is choosing God every day a hard task? What does choosing God look like in your life?

2. Would you consider yourself to be walking with God today? Why or why not?

3. Is there anything that you could consider "love for the world" that is distracting you from loving God? What are those things?

4. How does the example of Enoch, a man who lived faithfully within a sinful and broken generation, encourage you to live today?