Truths From an Ancient Record

Mahalalal lived 830 years and he died. Jared 962 years and he died. Methuselah 969 years and he died.

Lamech lived 777 years, the last in this genealogical record and guess what happened after 777 years? And he died. The writer of scripture tells us it is appointed unto man once to die. You see, we are not ready to live until we are prepared to die.

What Stephen said a moment ago is true, isn't it? We're ready to live our lives to the glory of God when we're prepared to face death and the eternity that follows. Today on Wisdom for the Heart we come to Genesis chapter 5. Genesis 5 is essentially an obituary column. It's a list of people who lived and died. For many of them, we don't know anything about them except how long they lived. However, God knows every one of them and that's really all that matters.

Thanks for joining us today. Stephen has a message for you called Truths from an Ancient Record. If you've decided to read through the Bible from cover to cover and you started in the book of Genesis, the first major hurdle you have had to overcome is Genesis chapter 5. In fact, many people have never hurtled that and so they've stopped in their reading of Genesis because you come to chapter 5 and in one sense it seems unimportant to the 20th century Christian and in another sense it seems almost discouraging or despondent. You're walking through the cemetery and you are viewing the headstones of the deceased patriarchs. Why would God spend time recording for us this ancient obituary column in Genesis chapter 5?

I must admit or confess to you that those thoughts have crossed my mind. In fact, I considered skipping chapter 5 with only a few comments and then getting into the more exciting chapter 6 of Genesis where we know the story of Noah and the flood. Yet as I plowed into Genesis chapter 5, it wasn't long before the discovery of so many precious gems were uncovered and in fact, when I finished the week of study, I've even entertained the thoughts of making this a two or three part sermon, but we'll never get through Genesis that way, right? And all of you want to get through Genesis eventually. So we will cover some of the key thoughts in Genesis chapter 5, but let's answer of course the first question. That is why would God take the time to record this book of the generation of Adam in the day when God created men, he made him in the likeness of God, he created the male and female and he blessed them and named them man in the day when they were created. When Adam had lived 130 years, he became the father and now you begin your way through the graveyard. Why take the time to give us this?

Let me give you three suggestions. I think God is implying first of all that he is keeping his word. God is saying, I am keeping my word. You see, God had promised to deliver through the godly seed of woman and he is listing the names of those in the godly line of Seth. Chapter 4 of Genesis is the ungodly line of Cain and God is taking time to remind Israel that I have kept a godly seed alive through Seth and here are their names.

The second implication I think along that same line is this. God always has a remnant of believers. God always has a remnant of believers. The God fearing may be a tiny minority, in fact that the writing of this man was becoming increasingly immoral. Yet God is in effect letting us in on the fact that there are those that haven't thrown in the towel.

They are still some who follow God. I think of Elijah who when he took on the prophets of Baal of course won the great victory on Mount Carmel and the fire fell and he was on the mountaintop experience of victory. And then he had had all of the false prophets rounded up and they were all killed and he had also been praying for three years that no rain would come and it hadn't.

God had answered his prayer as the prophet. And then after Mount Carmel Jezebel says these words, may the gods deal with me this time tomorrow if I do not take your life like those the prophets of Baal. In other words she's saying you've got 24 hours to live and then it's curtains. You're done.

I've put a contract in effect out on your head and I'm going to make sure this time tomorrow you're dead. You know the story where Elijah runs for his life. He's tired and discouraged and here's what he prays to God.

Have you ever prayed this? Listen. He says I have had enough Lord. Take my life. I have been zealous for you but the Israelites, those around me have rejected your covenant, broken down your authors and put your prophets to death with the sword.

Now note this. I am the only one left and now they are trying to kill me too. First Kings 19 and God I think chuckles under his breath and then moves closer to Elijah and in effect whispers in his ear these words. Son there are 7,000 people in Israel alone who have never bowed their knee to Baal. 7,000 unknown, unnamed believers in me.

You don't know who they are. You don't know where they are but I want you to know that I have a remnant and they have never bowed their knee to the false gods. I think of what Paul wrote in Philippians chapter 4 verse 22. He said these words all the saints greet you especially those of Caesar's household. We are never given their names but in the ungodly household of this emperor lived a believing remnant.

Those who were following God and how about that long list in Romans chapter 16. Names like Aristobulus and Junius and Flagon and men we have never even heard about. They were unnoticed but they were not forgotten.

They were unnamed. They might have been in the minority but they were never overwhelmed. Let me apply this thought to you. Today or perhaps this past week you've had the thought that you're alone in your walk with the Lord but you're not. You might even find yourself in the minority in your family. You know like Thanksgiving and Christmas comes along and you have the family reunions and the last thing in the world that does is lighten your load, refresh your heart. It increases the burden of your heart and you are the tiny minority in that realm of relatives that you see every year or every other year. You might be in the minority at your job where it seems that you're the only one who hasn't bowed his knee or her knee to the gods of materialism and pleasure.

So you get to the point where you bow your knee to the Lord and you say Lord this isn't worth it. I am the only one and I want you to hear my friend from Genesis chapter 5 God whispering in your ear, son or daughter you are not alone. I have a godly remnant out there, thousands here and there, hundreds over there, one or two tucked away here that you don't know about but you're not alone.

The third implication I think even along that line is that God never forgets his own people. Now chapters 1 through 11 in the book of Genesis cover two thousand years. Two thousand years to cover in eleven chapters. You know what you and I would have done for heaven's sake we'd have never taken an entire chapter to list people's names.

There's too much to cover here, too much ground in the history of the world. Two thousand years and he stops and gives us a list of names. You know it's interesting that God is particularly concerned to record the names of those who follow him. Some illustrations would be Malachi chapter 3 16 where he writes the prophet then those who feared the Lord talked with each other and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.

And of course Revelation chapter 20 verses 11 to 15 tell us that the names of those who believe in the Lamb are written in the Lamb's book of life. Isn't it an interesting thought ladies and gentlemen that God is interested in you? So much so that he has recorded your name because you and I have a hard time remembering names but God never forgets and if you believe in him he will never forget you. You know what it's like to be forgotten.

Perhaps some husband out there this past week forgot a birthday and you're in trouble or maybe an anniversary that's worse. It's easy for us to forget but God never does and he's letting us know in Genesis chapter 5 that I remember all those who believe in my name. Now that we've discovered a few just general principles let's take some specifics. I hope you're there at Genesis chapter 5. We won't have time to read all through here but he makes notable mention of two men in this long list. These men are kind of the salutatorians of the graduating class of patriarchs. These two men are Enoch and Methuselah and since God took special time with them let us take just a few more moments with them as well. Enoch is the first. He appears five times in scripture and four different phrases or thoughts are connected with this man. If you're taking notes let me give you the first and that is he is recorded of him in Jude 14 that he is the seventh generation from Adam. Why don't you turn to Jude. That's the little book just before Revelation the last book of the Bible. It only has one chapter and so we're looking at Jude verse 14. Jude 14 says and about these also was Enoch the seventh generation from Adam.

Why mention this? Hold your finger there in fact stay there but if we were to go back to Genesis chapter 4 we would discover in the line of Cain that there is an Enoch. There are two Enochs that are contemporaries living at the same time and God is in effect saying I want you to know about the godly Enoch the one who followed me not the one in the line of Cain the one in the line of Seth.

He's the seventh generation from Adam. He's the godly one and that of course I think gives us an illustration that during the course of world history there will be the Enochs who follow God and the Enochs who follow the way of Cain. The second thing that is said about him is that of course he is a preacher of righteousness. Look back at Jude 14 and notice what he says behold the Lord came with many thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment upon all to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds.

You ought to underline the word ungodly it will appear four times. For they have done these things in an ungodly way and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. He's a preacher and his sermons are twofold two themes in his sermons.

First of all the current ungodliness and the coming judgment. Boy he's a popular preacher. Those are the things that he preaches about. It's so known of Enoch that he preaches on ungodliness that when he lists his autobiographical statement he uses the word ungodly four times. Ungodly, ungodly and the interesting thing is you note who his audience would be.

His relatives, his cousin, those related to him. He didn't have an easy task and yet he preached righteousness. Now back to Genesis chapter 5 verse 22. I want to notice the next phrase that you are very familiar with. Then Enoch walked with God for a day, a week, a year?

No. He walked with God 300 years. The original stem of the word walk would indicate close and intimate communion.

He fellowshipped with God. You notice this is a walk. It isn't a 100 yard sprint.

It isn't a mad dash. It's a walk. Nor is it a casual take it or leave it stroll.

I can take it or I can leave it. No this is an intimate walk. It is a pursuit. Here again is the subject for an entire sermon but let me at least suggest two things that are necessary for you to walk with God. The first is harmony. You can't take a walk with someone you're at odds with. There must be harmony. A walk with someone in an intimate fellowship means that your hearts are in harmony. Second thing I think we could suggest is agreement. You're agreeing in effect as he did with the direction God is going.

I think the reason that more of us do not want to walk consistently with God is because there come times in our life when we don't like the direction he's taking us. We say turn left. He says turn right. We say stop. He says continue. Well Lord I don't like the direction of this walk.

I can't agree. And yet for 300 years he obviously agreed. The fourth descriptive thought concerning Enoch is found back in Hebrews chapter 11.

Would you turn there? Chapter 11 verse 5. This I believe is even more powerful in its implication than his walk with God.

Obviously a synonymous thought and yet I think bringing up different thoughts. Hebrews 11 5 by faith that was the key Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death and he was not found because God took him up for he obtained the witness. Note this is his reputation that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. Enoch pleased God. Well that's great for Enoch. He was a great man of faith.

He was one of the patriarchs. He had an extra dose of grace. I mean God kind of padded the way for him. He could please God. Is it really up to me to please God today? Well there are three times in the New Testament that the word ambition is used. And one of those texts is in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 9 where it says that whether we are present or absent with you Paul writes we are ambitious to be pleasing to God. We are ambitious to please God. How do we please God?

Here again is the subject of another study but let me just take you to one thought. Would you turn to 1 Kings? That's back in the Old Testament halfway between Genesis and Psalms. 1 Kings chapter 3. I want to take you to an incident in scripture where a man did something and we hear God turning around and saying hey that pleased me. And I think we can learn what it takes to please God from just this one incident. 1 Kings chapter 3 verse 5. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night and God said ask what you wish and I'll give it to you. How would you like that for Christmas? Anything you want to have. You wish it. You've got it.

Boy I can think of three or four right off the bat. So Solomon said verse 6. Thou has shown great loving kindness to thy servant David my father according as he walked before thee in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward thee. And thou has reserved for him this great loving kindness that thou has given him a son to sit on his throne as it is this day.

Well get to the wish Solomon. Verse 7. And now O Lord my God thou has made thy servant king in place of my father David yet I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in and thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou has chosen. A great people which cannot be numbered or accounted for multitude. Verse 9.

So here's the wish. Give thy servant an understanding heart to judge. To judge thy people to discern between good and evil.

For who is able to judge this great people of thine? And it pleased God. Now God will go over in the next verse and put his finger in verse 11 on the three wishes that you and I would normally ask. God said to him because you asked for wisdom and have not asked for yourself.

Here's the first one underlined it. Long life. That's health. Nor have you asked riches. That's wealth for yourself.

Nor have you asked for the life of your enemies. That would mean no one is against you. You're popular.

Everybody loves you. Health, wealth and fame. There it is.

Those are the three where we would have camped. And he said because you didn't ask for these three. Instead you asked for discernment to understand justice. Behold I've done according to your words. What pleases God, ladies and gentlemen, from this little incident? It is when you and I pray, Lord, I don't ask for help. I just ask for the discernment to understand when sickness comes. Lord, I'm not going to ask or wish for wealth. I just ask for the prudence and the wisdom to steward what you have given me.

And Lord, I don't ask for popularity or fame. I just ask for grace to handle my enemies. And God says to you and me, I'm pleased. Note one other honorable mention in Genesis chapter five. Turn back to Genesis chapter five and he mentions another man just briefly and yet there is so much just about this one character. Verse twenty-two again of chapter five, Genesis five twenty-two. Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah and he had other sons and daughters. I want to give you the first of three things about Methuselah. First of all, his birth evidently brought about a change in his father's life. His birth evidently brought about a change in his father's life. Would you note verse twenty-two?

I want you to underline the word after. Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah. The cry of his newborn baby son pierced his heart and God used that to in effect cause in Enoch's heart the desire that now my son is watching.

He's here and I must now walk with God and for three hundred years after the birth he followed God and he pleased God. There is the story of the alcoholic who lived a terrible life of sin. He abused his wife.

He never took care of things around the home and he spent most of his money on liquor and into their home a baby boy was born and all the town thought what a tragedy for a baby boy to be born into a home like that and sure enough this man continued his carousing and his drinking never giving any time or thought to his son and wife. One winner the record tells us when the boy was five the father slammed out of the house and he began walking across the freshly driven snow toward the local tavern and as he was walking he heard the door close behind him and he heard somebody call out, daddy slow down. The father turned around and he found his son taking large strides so that he would step where his father had already pressed the snow down. His father angrily said, son get back in the house what are you doing? The son stopped and he kind of stuck out his chest and he said, daddy I'm big enough now so that wherever you step I can step.

Now I can follow in your footsteps. And that man turned and came back to his son and he knelt in the snow and he gathered his boy into his arms and he said to his son, in that case I need to change direction. Now we don't know what Enoch was like before the birth of his son but something about his birth told Enoch even though you're in the godly line evidently not godly you change direction. You begin walking with God. The best thing that you and I can do for our children, men and women is not provide for them the most expensive education, not give them the finest clothes, automobiles. The best thing that we can do for our children is to walk with God. To press down the ground where we are not ashamed if they should follow step after step. The second thing about Methuselah is the meaning of his name.

Would you jump into your notes? The name means when he is dead it will come. Methuselah, well that's a great name to have.

They always chose names according to meaning. And Enoch saw his son you know was thinking what should I name this boy so that the meaning will ring into the ears of all who hear. Methuselah, when he is dead it will come.

That's strange unless you understand the chronological history and discover this. The year Methuselah died the flood covered the earth. You see Enoch was a prophet according to Jude chapter 14 and God must have given him revelation that when your little boy dies and you don't know if it's two years, two weeks, two hundred years but when he is dead it will come. Judgment. And I want to give you the third thing that is even more powerful because of this point and that is this. Methuselah lived longer than any other person has ever lived.

You get it? God said when this boy dies, judgment is coming. But in order to illustrate his grace and patience towards humanity he made it so that Methuselah would live longer than anybody ever lived. And when he died, judgment came.

One phrase receives repeated attention in Genesis chapter 5. It is the phrase and he died. Adam lived 930 years and he died. Seth lived 921 years and he died. Enoch lived 905 years and he died. Kenan lived 910 years and he died. Mahalalel lived 830 years and he died. Jared 962 years and he died. Methuselah 969 years and he died. Lamech lived 777 years, the last in this genealogical record and guess what happened after 777 years? And he died. You see God told Adam that in the day you eat from the fruit of this tree you will die. Genesis chapter 5 said in Noah's and Adam's days were 930 years and he died. God kept his word.

We cannot skirt it, we cannot avoid it, save the coming of Jesus Christ for the church. There is a fable that tells the story of a wealthy merchant who sent his servant to market to purchase goods that were needed. And so the servant went to market obedient to his master.

This market of course being in the city of Samara. And he went to the market place in the region of Samara where they sold their goods and he began purchasing and he decided to take a little shortcut and he cut through an alley and halfway there he ran face to face with lady death. The fable tells us that this servant was so startled that he turned and he ran lady death must be after him and so he went back to his master and he said please loan me one of your fastest horses.

I must flee to Baghdad tonight. And the master could tell his servant was distraught and he said okay take the horse it's yours. So his servant fled to Baghdad and the master went back to Samara there at the market place and he finished buying the goods and he also went back through that same alley and he came face to face with lady death. But he perhaps knowing his time was not come he said to lady death why have you startled my servant so. Lady death said to him actually it was I who was startled. I couldn't understand why he was in Samara.

I have an appointment with him tonight in Baghdad. The writer of scripture tells us it is appointed unto man once to die. That could be literally translated it is the destiny of everyone to die.

We don't like to think about that and yet one of the godliest men who ever lived said Lord teach me to number my days. You see we are not ready to live until we are prepared to die. I hope this time in God's word has been an encouragement to you today. Thanks for joining us. This is Wisdom for the Heart the Bible teaching ministry of Stephen Davey. I'm your host Scott Wiley. Today's lesson comes from a series entitled Origins. It's part of our vintage wisdom library a series of lessons Stephen taught back in 1988. I want to make you aware that we have a companion resource to this series. It's a study guide also entitled Origins. This study guide has the transcript of Stephen's lesson but it also has some questions for you to think about and opportunities for you to go a little deeper into God's word as you work your way through this study guide.

You'll find the Origins study guide on our website which is wisdomonline.org. If you prefer to call us we'd be happy to help you with a phone. Our number here in Cary, North Carolina is 866-48-BIBLE.

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