Daily Devotions
Genesis
"The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein." Psalm 24:1
Text: Genesis 5:1-32
ANOTHER GENEALOGICAL RECORD
Two different sets of genealogical records were kept. One traced the family of Cain (Cf. Genesis 4:16-22). The other traced the line of Adam (Genesis 5:1-32). Though Cain was the firstborn of Adam, his name did not appear in the second genealogical record at all. How should we read and understand these two separate family records? Let us consider three matters.
1. Commonality
The records attempted to show a common thread between the two families. The common denominator was Adam. Though Cain was banished from the presence of Adam and Eve, he was still their firstborn son!
The first record traced the line of Cain while the second tracked the line of Seth. It is interesting to note that both lines recorded identical or highly similar names. Both records had the names Lamech and Enoch (Cf. Genesis 4:17/Genesis 5:21; Cf. Genesis 4:18/Genesis 5:25)
2. Stark Difference
The two sets of records also attempted to show sharp contrasts. The record of Cain’s family ended with a man called Lamech. He glorified violence! With great arrogance he boasted of killing a man (Cf. Genesis 4:23-24). The second Lamech was the proud father of a son called Noah (Genesis 5:28-29).
3. Longevity
In the second record particularly, careful notation was made of the longevity of the people who lived in the antediluvian age (that is, before The Flood). The gift of long life was a special blessing of God. The earth was young and under-populated. The length of years went a long way to help populate the earth and stabilize civilization.
A SAD DEVELOPMENT
We have yet another mention of the creation of mankind in the following text.
“In the day that God created man, He made him
in the likeness of God. He created them male and female,
and blessed them and called them Mankind… ”GENESIS 5:1-2
The significance of being created by God, and being made in His image left a deep impression on the author Moses! However, he also had to record that mankind had fallen from grace sharply. Tongue-in-cheek, the author made another notation when Adam begot Seth, who took over where Can and Abel left off. The contrast between the two statements cannot but be noted.
“And Adam… begot a son in his own likeness, after his image…”
GENESIS 5:3