Take Two: Gen 5, Proverbs 27

Sorry for not posting yesterday. Had a few things to take care of which I had to start on very early. Anyway, back today. Hope everyone had a blessed and merry Christmas with your family.

Chapter 5 gives a geneology of Adam through Noah...who was of the line of Seth. This is the godly line of Adam's descendents. Some through the years have read Gen 5:1-3 as a transition of sorts in Creation Theology. "They" would say that man is no longer created in the image of God since "God created man in his likeness/image but Adam had a son after his own image. This type of conclusion misses the point of the chapter.

If I have a red shirt...and I buy one and give it to my son...he and I will be dressed in the same likeness. If he then does the same for his son, he and his son will be dressed in the same likeness/image. However, what he passed on to his son is also the same as I passed on to him. In other words, by succession, his son is also dressed like me...in the same likeness/image. Here is the point of the chapter:

Chapter five is constructed in such a way to show that the blessings of God in the creation narrative of Gen 1 continue on through the godly line of Seth all the way to Noah...who is to be the sole surviving line following the flood. The earth did not lose the blessings of God when Adam died; rather, God saw fit to insure that the blessing continued through a line until the flood (and through the flood through the line of Shem...which we will discuss later). Though Adam sinned, he did not lose the blessings of the image of God. The image was marred by sin, but it was not destroyed. (At least if one want to try to argue that point, they will have to choose a different text to make their case).

The structure of Gen 5:1-2 (i.e. the toledoth format, the creation and blessing and naming format) is intended to show a clear connection between the creative work of God in Gen 1-2, and the continual creative work (through the propagation of the godly line) seen here in Gen 5. The writer wanted it to be unmistakable that God was clearly still at work.

In the genealogies, there are a couple of notes. Each descendent has a particular son (the firstborn) and other sons and daughters. Each descendent is valuable and precious. The point is not to tell the story of each individual family. The point is to show the graceful hand of God in preserving the line. There are also 10 descendents listed. This is significant in Jewish thought since the number 10 signified "completion." In other words, it indicated an intentionality on the part of God. Nothing is left to chance. God was/is sovereignly in control.

In Gen 5:21-24, we are introduced to Enoch who is one of two men who never died. Gen 5:24 says that "Enoch walked with God and (then) he was not, for God took him." It is possible that God's "taking" of him means that he died, but this is unlikely. The writer intentionally veiled the meaning but did depart from the characteristic "and he died" which he used with the other descendents. The point of Enoch is that he is the 7th in succession (another significant number in Jewish thought) and that he walked with God. This is a picture of hope for the reader since those who walk with God avoid the consequences of the curse (death). Don't read too far past the surface since we could "what if" this to death. The point is that there is hope when walking with God...and there is cursing when we divert from God's plan/purpose.

In Gen 5:32 we see another departure from the structure with the listing of Noah's 3 sons. Shem is likely the elder brother and is the forefather of the Shemites (i.e. Semites/Jewish people). This sets up the genealogies to come following the flood narrative.

Proverbs 27:1 is the takeaway today. As I read this, I was reminded again that every day is a precious gift. We should be careful to do as we ought every day. The man who waits "until tomorrow" may never have the time to complete what is before him.

Grace,