I'm not going to read the entire
chapter. It's all about there was who
begat who, but there are several things in here that are noteworthy.
I'm going to read three verses in the beginning and a few verses
toward the end of the chapter. Beginning with verse one, this
is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God
created man in the likeness of God made he him. Male and female
created them and blessed them and called their name Adam in
the day that they were created. And Adam lived 130 years and
begat a son in his own likeness after his image and called his
name Seth. Then look at verse 21. And Enoch
lived 60 and five years and begat Methuselah And Enoch walked with
God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat
sons and daughters. And all the days of Enoch were
three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with
God, and he was not, for God took him." Let us pray. Father, in the name of Jesus
Christ, that blessed, holy, high name, that name to which every
knee shall bow and every tongue confess His Lordship to Your
glory. It is in that name that we approach
unto You this hour to ask for Your help in our time of need.
We will remember those who are sick and those who are going
through trial, especially Wayne and Robert and Ethel and Peggy
Lambert. Father, we also would remember
my daughter Sarah, as she's going through this chemotherapy treatment.
You'd be with her and watch over her. Remember Cynthia at the
loss of her dad. We pray, Lord, that you'd bless
her and Melvin as they consider these things. Fix their minds
on the fact that we are mortal beings and our flesh is
headed for the grave. Father, help us tonight as we
consider these things. As this very chapter set forth
the genealogy and history of Adam's race up to the time of
Seth. That one thing is common to all
these men that they died. Help us to realize that this
life here is a vapor and give us a desire and a heart and a
longing for that life which is eternal and everlasting and will
never end. Help us tonight as we look to
Christ. Help us to worship Him in spirit
and in truth. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Now this chapter in the Word
of God begins with Adam and ends with Noah. And it's a record
of the lineage of Seth. This basically is what the chapter
is about. Seth was a grandson born to Adam,
or a son of Adam, and he had a grandson born named Enoch.
which takes up a great portion of this scripture. Enoch was
the seventh generation of Adam and the division that God has
declared from the beginning of this book continues in this chapter
from its beginning words. Adam was created in the image
and likeness of God but he lost the image and likeness when he
ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the remainder
of humanity was born in the image of fallen Adam not in the image
of God. His sin being imputed to them
and His nature being expressed by them as soon as they were
born. Adam is said in Romans 5 to be a figure of Him who was
to come. That is a figure of the Lord
Jesus Christ. But how is that possible? He is a figure of Christ
in that He was the representative of those that proceeded from
Him, were born of Him. And Christ is a representative
of those that proceed from Him, who are born of Him, by His Word,
by His Spirit, redeemed by His blood, and given eternal life.
They are the children that God has given Him from all eternity,
in eternal election, whereupon He took upon Himself to be their
surety. Reading A.W. Pink on this chapter,
he also made something plain here of another distinction,
a phrase only used twice in the Bible. When declaring the history
or the progeny of someone in scripture in other places, God
uses the term the generations of. That's all he says, the generations
of Noah, the generations of Abraham. That's how he describes it. But in verse 1 of this chapter,
and in verse 1 of Matthew chapter 1, the word book is added. It says, this is the book of
the generations of Adam. Speaking of a specific record,
the book of the generations. Also it says in Matthew 1, this
is the book of the generations of the Lord, or the generation
of the Lord Jesus Christ. With Adam, the word generation
is said to be plural here, generations. With Christ, in Matthew chapter
1, the word generation is singular. With Adam's progeny there were
many, many sires, many fathers, many grandfathers. But with Christ's
progeny there was but one sire, that is the Everlasting Father,
even Jesus Christ Himself. The third verse of Genesis 5
designates that this particular generation is that of Seth. This is his lineage. And though
in his time men began to call upon the name of the Lord or
call themselves by the name of God, Seth and all that followed
in his generations were born in sin. They were sons of Adam. They were conceived in iniquity
and were depraved rebels in their carnal nature. The one that they
inherited from their father and representative head, their fetal
head, Adam. They were all condemned in Adam
according to Romans chapter 5. The full understanding of what
it meant that they called on the name of God is not really
known, but it is clear by the time of Noah it meant a little
more than just a religion that men had espoused. The entire
world, according to what God said in chapter 6, was in rebellion
against God, of which the descendants of Seth were part and parcel.
So Seth was One that began to call on God, but he and his descendants
were no different from Adam except unless God showed Them grace,
and I think that God did show Seth grace and view and he was
viewed in the Lord Jesus Christ but grace is not obtained by
osmosis just because he was a son of Adam who God had showed grace
and And Enoch, who was the son of Seth, whom God showed grace,
they didn't get it because of their lineage. They didn't get
it because they were tied to that family. You don't get grace
by osmosis or proximity or by the will of man or by the will
of the flesh or by bloods or ancestry. It is obtained one
way. So in all these sons of Adam,
all these sons of Cain, all these sinners, all of them, if any
one of them comes to know God, it's because God acted toward
them and that's the only reason. It's obtained because according
to God's will and purpose, God freely and unconditionally bestows
grace upon whom He willed. And we know from Exodus 33 when
He said to Moses, this is my glory. I will be gracious unto
whom I will be gracious now one such character that is mentioned
in this passage of scripture one such recipient of that sweet
grace is a man named Enoch Enoch he's not the first one named
Enoch but he's a very important one for he's carried out throughout
the scripture and he is an example of a sinner saved by grace and
his story is covered in this chapter in verses 18 through
24 it says this says this in verse 18 And Jared lived 162
years and he begat Enoch as his first mention. and Jared lived
after he begat Enoch eight hundred years and begat sons and daughters
and all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty two years
and he died and Enoch lived sixty and five years and begat Methuselah
that means he was sixty five years old when Methuselah was
born to him and his wife and Enoch walked with God interesting
phrase different than what it said about Seth men call themselves
by the name of God or they call on God but this says he walked
with God he walked with God after he begat Methuselah 300 years
and begat sons and daughters and all the days of Enoch were
365 years didn't live as long as most of them lived lived 365
years and Enoch walked with God and was not for God took him
Interesting words. Interesting words. It is mysterious
and wonderful language that begins as all grace. It begins when
God gives a man revelation and understanding. When grace is
realized. You don't know grace and I don't
know grace and I guess God reveals himself to us. This is how we
find out about it. He was 65 years old when his
son was born to him. There is no indication that he
walked with God before this. He certainly didn't say that
of him. He said he lived 65 years. And
he named this son that was born to him after 65 years Methuselah. And this is perhaps the record
of the revelation of God to Enoch. Because what he named his son
declared the coming judgment of the world. That's what the
word name Methuselah means. God had revealed himself to Enoch
as the judge of all the earth and that he was going to bring
wrath upon the earth. So Enoch gave his son the name
that meant after his death, the deluge. After his death, the
flood. So when he named his son, he
was saying with the birth of this boy, God has promised to
destroy the world and when this boy dies, God will make good
on his promise. That's why he named him Methuselah.
The mercy of God is also revealed in the naming of this boy because
God caused him to live longer, Methuselah, than any other creature,
any other man that ever lived upon the earth. He lived 969
years. And after Methuselah was born,
it is said then that Enoch walked with God for three centuries.
After Methuselah was born. So we can see that when God revealed
himself to Enoch and told him what he was going to do. That's
when he began to walk with God. And if you walk with God, that's
when it's going to begin too. When God reveals himself to you. The phrase walk with God, I know
us being born religious creatures and raised in useless religion
for the most part we have some idea or at least things begin
to roll over in our head as to what that means to walk with
God he walked with God for three centuries and that conjures up
many things to the religious mind I can't begin to tell you
all that I heard in my life about walking with God but most of
it had to do with doing religious things or not doing things that
religion forbade. Each new pastor that I knew had
his own to-do list of what it meant to walk with God. And he
was quick to tell folks. And he sought by that to control
the lives of men and women in his congregation. That's sung
in the scripture, just a closer walk with thee. Just a closer
walk with thee. It conjures up ideas that men
have come up with like having a deeper life. or a higher life
or a more Christian life you know that's why men talk and
that's when they talk about walking with God listen very carefully
if you fall away from God and you will 10,000 times in your
life you may draw nigh unto God but you'll never be closer to
God than you are if you're a child of God it just won't be because
you are in Jesus Christ and Christ is God He's the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. In Him dwelleth the fullness
of the God at bottom. You can't get closer to God than you are
if you're in Jesus Christ. You're in God. The only place
to hide from God is to hide in God. If you're in Him, your life
is there. Our life is hid with Christ in
God. How close is that? As close as
you can get. So if you're a child of God,
you're walking with God right now. How did Enoch walk with
God? Well, first he did so in the
midst of a hell-bound generation, there's no doubt about this.
Things weren't going well. Things weren't going well in
chapter six, in verse five it says, and God saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth. and that every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart, what a phrase, every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil, and it was continual,
day in and day out. So when he walked with God, he
did not walk with God in a church atmosphere, he didn't walk in
God in a commune where everybody believed on Jesus, he walked
with God in a hellbound generation. Not only that, in order to walk
with God, he agreed with God. He justified God in his wrath
against men. Amos 3 says, can two walk together
except they be agreed? You can't walk with God if you
don't agree with God. So evidently, Enoch agreed with
God. And the initial proof of that
agreement was that he named his son what he named him. How does
one agree with God? To understand this, we must see
what the Scriptures teach of Enoch's walk with God, because
the Scriptures talk a great deal about it in the New Testament.
He is mentioned in the 11th chapter of Hebrews, if you want to turn
there. In the 11th chapter of Hebrews. And then again, he's
mentioned in Jude. But in the 11th chapter of Hebrews,
in that great chapter of the heroes of faith, In verse 5,
it says this of Enoch, by faith, note the first two words. You
want to know what it is to agree with God? Right there it is.
That's as clear and as plain and as simple as you can get
it. By faith, Enoch was translated that he should not see death.
and was not found because God had translated him for before
his translation he had this testimony that he pleased God by faith
by faith he walked with God it's to live in this corrupt and dying
and doomed world believing God in spite of what you see that's
what he did that's what the child of God does too we walk by faith
and not by sight if we walk by sight we're in trouble This world
is a corrupt, cold, hateful, rude world that we live in. And if all we have is this world,
we ain't got much. But we walk by faith. We have
another standard by which we understand things, and that standard
is the written word of God. How did Enoch get faith? How'd
he get it? Modern religion says work it
up. Work it up. Do something. Put feet to your
prayers. Things like that. Your will. But he got it the only way anybody
gets faith. See, scripture says in 1 Thessalonians,
all men have not faith. Not everybody's got it. I know
religion likes to say there's a seed of it there somewhere
and you just have to fan it and get it going. There's no seed
of faith in anybody. We're without faith, without
God, without hope in this world as we're born into this world.
That's what we are. So how in the world can I have
faith? Naturally, I can't have faith
because my mind is enmity against God. It's not subject to the
law of God or the word of God, neither it can be. I don't care
for the things of God. God is not in all my thoughts
and there's no fear of God in my heart. How am I going to produce
faith out of a soul like that? It's not going to happen. Not
only that, I'm dead. Spiritually dead and faith is
a spiritual thing. How can I work it out? Go to
the graveyard. Talk to all those that are buried
out there. None of them are going to listen to you because they
can't hear you. They can't communicate with you.
and they can't produce anything and they know nothing is what
the scriptures is how does a man receive faith? one way by the
grace of God by God's unmerited favor that's how men receive
by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves
it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast
that's how we receive faith so Enoch by faith how did he receive
faith? the same way everybody else does
God graced him God was gracious to it, and it comes only one
way. That grace of faith comes only
one way. It only comes through the preaching
of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how it happens.
No other way. It's not going to go along one
day and all of a sudden you start believing you never heard the
truth. You're going to believe what God says. That's what faith
does. It doesn't just have this kind
of ethereal, above it all thing that people kind of make it out
to be. It's not that. It's believing God. It's believing what God's
Word has said. Scripture says, whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how shall
they call on Him in whom they've not believed? And how shall they
believe on Him in whom they've not heard? And how shall they
hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? For faith comes by hearing. and
hearing by the word of God. Now, how does that work? Like
that fella said about electricity, he said, how's electricity work?
Really well. I remember when I was in school
in the Air Force, they were trying to explain resistance and ohms
and all that. They were talking about stuff
you couldn't see, and you could measure it on a thing, but you
couldn't see it. Electricity was moving through,
invisibly moving through those wires. You couldn't see any of
it. If you touched it wrong, you could feel it, but you couldn't
see it. How does this thing of us preaching
the word of God, telling folks about Christ, how does it work
to somehow bring them to faith? I don't know. But the Word of
God says that's how it does it. You're not born of corruptible
seed, but incorruptible, even by the Word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. And it's by this Word the Gospel
is preached unto you, or by the Gospel this Word is actually
preached unto you. One walks with God. What is it
to walk with God? Believe His Word. That's what it is to walk with
God. The world says no way, but we've got to be able to see something.
Got to be something here, some kind of evidence that shows you
the way you look, the way you dress, the way you act, the way
you talk, got to be something. No, that's that religion walking
with God. That's religion. You walk with
God by faith, by believing His Word, and that's plain and simple,
and that's the only way. Enoch had a testimony, there's
no doubt about that. What was his testimony? Well,
before he was taken up to be with the Lord, before the Lord
took him, translated him, and that means taken from one place
and over something to another place. In other words, there's
something here that would normally you would have to go through.
To be translated, the word means to take and go over that thing
that would normally you would have to go through. What was
he translated from? God said he was translating so
he wouldn't see death. So he wouldn't see death, he jumped
right over. God just took him right over there. That's what
happened to him. What was the testimony in light
of the new covenant, in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
the Holy Spirit inspires Paul to write that Enoch pleased God. Again, one thing that religion
likes to put a hook in and tell you all the things you must do
to do so. Enoch pleased God. He pleased God based on the fact
that he believed God. Look back at Hebrews chapter
11. Right after it says in chapter verse 5, by faith Enoch was translated
that he should not see death. It was not found because God
had translated him, for before his translation he had this testimony
that he pleased God. But without faith, it's impossible
to please God. For he that comes to God must
believe that he is in the reward of them that diligently seek
him." How do you please God? By believing Him. How do you
walk with God? By believing Him. That's how
it happens. That's how it happens. Paulinic
testified in his days was based on the
promise that attended the birth of Methuselah. He testified of
God's wrath. but the testimony of him was
that he pleased God. We'll look over Jude just for
a moment. We'll see his testimony. And evidently he wasn't no shrinking
violet when it comes to telling folks things, or saying what
he thought, or saying what was on his mind. In Jude, verse 14
it says, and Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied
of these things, saying now what's he talking about he's talking
about what Judas we've already looked at those that were ordained
of old those that were sons of Cain those that were followers
of Balaam those that were ordained to this condemnation and Enoch
also the seventh from Adam prophesied of these things saying behold
the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints to execute judgment
upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of
all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed,
and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken
against them. These are murmurers, complainers,
walking after their own lusts, and with their mouths speaking
great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because
of advantage." That's pretty tough preaching right there,
but that's what he said. That was the testimony while he lived
on this earth. His testimony was against those ordained of
old to this condemnation, the first part of Jude. Those who
follow the way of Cain and of Balaam, by faith he pleased God
and then he was gone from the earth. In Genesis it says he
was not, for God took him. In Hebrews it says by faith Enoch
was translated that he should not see death because God translated
him. Because of the language This
seems wonderful, and it is. Seems wonderful. We look at this
and wonder at all, well we should, but we must pause for a moment
here and consider that this is the story of everyone. This is
your story. This is my story. It's the story
of everyone who by grace has been given faith. This is the
story of every believer. The promise of God that you're
not going to die. Now the physical body is, but
you're not. The Lord said to Martha, I am the resurrection
and the life. He that believeth on me shall
not die. He shall live forever. He shall
live forever. Revelation 20 says those who
had part in the first resurrection, that's the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. The second death hath no power over them. They live
forever. The believer's death of the physical
body is but the beginning of everlasting life. Every time
I talk with Wayne, I sit down with him, he says, I'm waiting
for the trumpet. Listening for the trouble, listening for that
call. He knows physically his body is going to go back to the
grave. He knows that his body is going
to go back to dust. But what he is saying is I am alive forever
and I want to get out of this mess and go to the next life.
To the full life, to the believers life. We shall be translated.
That is the language of scripture. That is the language of scripture.
1 Corinthians chapter 5. Paul says it this way in 1 Corinthians
chapter 5. We've already covered it in our
studies. We'll look at it again. 1 Corinthians chapter 5. Excuse
me, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, not 1 Corinthians. It says, For we know that if our
earthly house, that's our body, this tabernacle were dissolved,
we have a building of God. And house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan earnestly,
desiring to be clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven.
If so be that being clothed, we shall not be found naked.
For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, not
for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality
might be swallowed up by life. Now he that hath wrought us for
the self-same thing is God, who also hath given us to us the
earnest, or the promise, the down payment of His Spirit. Therefore
we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in
the body, we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith
and not by sight. We are confident, I say, willing
rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the
Lord. Wherefore we labor, that we may, whether present or absent,
we may be accepted of Him may be accepted of Him in Colossians
chapter 3 Colossians chapter 3 says this
if you then and the word if is chi which means since since you
be risen with Christ when did that happen? when He rose from
the grave since you be risen with Christ seek those things
which are above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of
God set your affection or your mind or your love on things above
and not on things of the earth for you're dead dead to what?
Paul said I'm crucified with Christ nevertheless I live by
the world is crucified unto me and I'm crucified unto the world
what does that mean? I'm dead I'm dead for you are
dead and your life is hid with Christ in God and when Christ
who is our life shall appear then shall we also appear with
Him in glory you see you can read the account of Enoch and
I'll let you do it on your own but maybe tonight before you
go to bed open up back to Genesis chapter 5 where Enoch's name
is put your name Because that's you. That's you. You can put
your name in the place of Enoch in Genesis and Hebrews. You'll
be translated. You will not be. One day you're
there and you're not. Nobody will find you. Because
you'll be on with the Lord. You who walk by faith. You who
walk with God. You who walk with God. Paul said
it this way in 1 Corinthians 15, Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, that
is, we shall not all die, but we shall all be changed, whether
we're alive when He comes or whether we've been buried when
He comes, we shall all be changed in a moment. In the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed. And this corruptible, this old
body, must put on incorruption. Remember Paul said, I want to
be clothed upon with that house from heaven. Put on incorruption.
And this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall
have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,
death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin, and sin is gone. Christ has put it
away. The strength of sin is the law,
and we're not under the law, but we're under grace. Thanks
be unto God which giveth us the victory through Jesus Christ
the Lord. Therefore, that being the case, my beloved brethren,
be steadfast. In what? Believing God. Unmovable
in what? In believing God. And always
abounding in the work of the Lord. What is the work of the
Lord? God said this is the work of God that you believe on Him
whom He has sent. This is the work of God. Always
abounding in faith for as much as you know that your labor is
not in vain in the Lord. We're all Enoch's. I know it's
a mysterious and wondrous language. We think a fellow walking alone
and then suddenly he's not. That's us. That's every child
of God. Father bless us to understand
and pray in Christ's name. Amen.