Genesis 5: From Adam to Noah

Genesis 5

¹This is the written account of Adam’s family line.

When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God.

²He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind” when they were created.

³When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.

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⁴After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ⁵Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.

⁶When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. ⁷After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. ⁸Altogether, Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died.

⁹When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. ¹⁰After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹¹Altogether, Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died.

¹²When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. ¹³After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁴Altogether, Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died.

¹⁵When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. ¹⁶After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁷Altogether, Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died.

¹⁸When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. ¹⁹After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁰Altogether, Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.

²¹When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. ²²After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. ²³Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. ²⁴Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

²⁵When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. ²⁶After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁷Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.

²⁸When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. ²⁹He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.” ³⁰After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. ³¹Altogether, Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died.

³²After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Genesis 5 (NIV)

A lot has happened between Genesis 1 and Genesis 5:

God created the heavens and the earth and everything in it.
He created mankind in His image and likeness, to rule over and take care of everything God had made.
Adam and Eve (the first people to ever live) disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that God had forbidden them to eat from.
Adam and Eve got sent out of the garden of Eden and now had to work hard for food and everything else.
Adam and Eve had borne two sons: Cain and Abel.
Cain had gotten jealous and killed his brother Abel, and a curse had been placed upon him which made life even harder for him (Cain).
After Cain killed Abel, Adam and Eve bore another son who they named Seth.

I believe Abel’s murder was a plan orchestrated by the devil in a futile attempt to wreck God’s plan of defeating him (the devil). See, when Adam and Eve sinned after the serpent tricked them, God prophesied about the woman’s offspring who was going to crush the devil’s head (Genesis 3:15). Stupid and blind as the devil is, he thought Abel was The One about whom the prophecy was made because of how good and favored Abel was, so he (the devil) planted jealousy and hatred in Cain’s heart and he killed Abel (Genesis 4).

Lessons from Genesis 5

God of master plans: from the moment Adam and Eve sinned, God made plans to use Eve’s offspring to redeem mankind and defeat Satan. However, the first son, Cain, ended up killing his brother Abel, and reaping curses for himself. With Cain being banished and Abel dead, Adam and Eve had no children left, but God blessed them with another son, Seth. Seth became an ancestor of Noah, then came Abraham and then Jesus – The One, the fulfilment of the prophecy God had made from day1 of sin.
The devil cannot hinder God’s plans: he could not do it back then and he most definitely cannot do it now. Rejoice and take comfort in the fact that God’s plans for you will come to pass! Even when things don’t seem to be going right, hold on to every promise God has made to you. Walk in faith and with boldness knowing that in due time, you will see God’s will come to pass – if you stay in faith.
As you study genealogies in the Bible, take note of promises God made to different people and their offspring, there are so many treasures out there that we are entitled to as heirs. Don’t let the devil steal what’s yours.
Genealogies make us realize we are all related somehow. Let this knowledge translate into love for everyone – love without prejudice.

Reflection

What are some promises God has made to you (through His word, His people or directly to you)? Write them down.
What are some things you are praying for? Write them down.
Do you know that God knows you very intimately and that He knows everything you are going through and what’s on your mind?
How does the knowledge that God is a master planner change your perspective today?

Prayer

Father I thank you for you are God almighty. Thank you for watching over me day and night, and for being with me through life’s highs and lows. Thank you for going way ahead of me and making sure that my future is secure. Today I pray that you order my steps, that I may walk in the paths you have prepared for me, trusting you even when things don’t go my way. Amen.