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

When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. ² He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind” when they were created.

³ When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. ⁴ After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ⁵ Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

²⁸ When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. ²⁹ He 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.” ³⁰ After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters.³¹ Altogether, Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died.

³² After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.
(Genesis 5:1-32 NIV)

In the fifth chapter of Genesis, Moses transitions from telling the stories of individuals to providing a genealogy of the generations between Adam and Noah.

Moses does not provide an exhaustive or complete record of every person born; rather, Moses provides a record of certain individuals from each generation.

Genesis chapter 5 also introduces us to another “first”  – natural death.  Moses recorded the stories of two unnatural deaths – Abel (at the hand of his brother Cain), and an unnamed young man (at the hand of Lamech).  Eight times Moses records “… and then he died”.  God had told Adam and Eve that the consequences of disobeying His commands would lead to death.  Satan had sown the seeds of doubt when he tempted Adam and Eve; after they sinned, God did not strike them dead, but He did keep His promise, as recorded in Chapter 5.

There are a few notable points as we read down through this genealogy:

First, God cares about His creation, especially about His people.  God inspired Moses to write down the names and lineage of these people to remember their lives and to preserve a record of their days on earth.  This is particularly important for future generations, as Luke traces the lineage and genealogy of Jesus from His earthly parents all the way back to Adam (Luke 3:23-37).

Second, we see the first instance of God intervening and taking someone into heaven before they experienced death.  Verses 22 – 24 tell of Enoch, who “walked with God”.

Enoch’s notoriety was not focused on his deeds, but rather on his attitude toward God.  Hebrews 11:5-6 give us a clearer perspective on Enoch’s life – a life pleasing to God.  The writer of Hebrews ties verse 6 back to verse 5 as the “lesson learned” from Enoch’s life – to earnestly seek after God and to walk in obedient faith with God is to please God.

May our life center in God as Enoch’s life did, with our sole desire to please Him.

Blessings,
~kevin