Ep. 67 | Just Names? | Genesis

Listen in as Pastor Eddie Blalock shares today’s daily devotional featuring Genesis 5:1-5. Let’s be Formed by The Word together!

Ready to connect? You can send us a message through our website theorchardcc.org, or email Pastor Eddie Blalock at eddie@theorchardcc.org. You can also follow The Orchard Community Church on Facebook and Instagram to stay connected, and find more content on our YouTube channel.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Every story has a beginning. And if you don't understand the beginning, you'll likely misunderstand everything that follows. Welcome to Formed by the Word. Currently, we're going back to the very beginning as we look together at the first 11 chapters of Genesis. These chapters explain our world, our struggles, and much about ourselves. We'll see beauty and brokenness, purpose and pride, judgment and grace. We'll watch humanity fall and see that God already had a plan to restore his relationship with us. The Bible doesn't start with a problem, it starts with a perfect God, and that changes everything. So, wherever you're listening, whether you're driving, working out, or just scrolling for something meaningful, lean in, open your heart, because the God who spoke in the beginning is still speaking today.

SPEAKER_00 0:56

It seems that I spend a lot of time in cemeteries. Just this week, I went to one that I can't recall ever being in before. Honestly, I thought I'd been in every cemetery in a 75 mile radius of my home, but not this one. There's something interesting to me about walking through an old cemetery. Some gravestones are elaborate, while others are very simple. Some names are well known to me, but most are forgotten by all but a few. While each headstone is different, they all silently preach the same message. Life is temporary. You can read the dates born and died, and these dates serve to remind us that the writer of Hebrews was right. It is indeed appointed unto every man once to die, Hebrews nine twenty seven. At the end of Genesis four, after the fall and after Cain murders Abel, we see that for mankind, life goes on. But when we turn the pages to chapter five, we feel a little like we're walking through a cemetery and looking at things that are, well, just names, name after name, generation after generation, and after almost every person comes the same sobering phrase, and he died. It's almost eerie how many times that appears in chapter five. Now it's important to see that we see that this chapter is not merely a historic genealogy, it's important theology. Genesis 5 is showing us the reality and the consequence of sin in a fallen world. It may feel like just names, but in reality it carries a rich devotional value. It serves to lay the foundation of the consequence of man's fall. It shows us the reality of death, God's faithfulness across generations, and the standout example of intimate fellowship with God. So let's jump into our text. And the first thing that we observe in chapter five is that sin is passed down through generations, beginning with verse one. This is the written account of the descendants of Adam. When God created human beings, he made them to be like himself. He created them, male and female, and he blessed them and called them human. When Adam was a hundred and thirty years old, he became the father of a son who was just like him. I know we need to read that one again, don't we? Yeah. When Adam was a hundred and thirty years old, he became the father of a son who was just like him in his very image. He named his son Seth. After the birth of Seth, Adam lived another 800 years, and he had other sons and daughters. Adam lived 930 years, and then he died. In chapter 2, we're told that Adam was made in God's likeness, and now we see that Seth is born and he is in Adam's likeness. This doesn't mean that Seth stopped bearing God's image. It means that Adam is now passing down fallen humanity through his seed. This is a very important foundational moment here, folks. We're told that sin is no longer isolated to Adam and Eve, it has spread into the human family. Now, this is clarified in the New Testament book of Romans. In his letter to the Romans, Paul describes this truth very clearly in chapter 5, verse 12 and following. Here's what he writes. He says, When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given, but it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. Still, everyone died from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God as Adam did. So Genesis 5 is a reminder that sin is not just something we do, it's something that has infected humanity itself. Every generation inherits the brokenness of the one before it, and the evidence appears repeatedly throughout this chapter with those words, and he died. Second, we come to realize the reality of death. God's word to Adam and Eve was true after all. Do you remember the warning to the first couple in Genesis chapter 2, verse 17? God warned, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for the day you eat from it you will certainly die. Well, Genesis 5 shows that God's warning was true and that God keeps his word. Over and over again we read, and he died, and he died, and he died. This is not just a list of names. There is a point. Adam died, Seph died, Enoch died, Canaan died. No matter how long they lived, death still came. Even though some lived over 900 years and maybe have had appeared to conquer this trend, but yet eventually each one died. Not one escaped death. Our culture works hard to ignore death, don't we? We avoid talking about it. We distract ourselves from it. We act like we have unlimited time. But in Genesis 5, we see that we must face reality. We're all destined to die. Every obituary whispers the truth of Genesis chapter 2. Third, notice that even though sin results in death, life continues. In verses 6 through 20, the remainder of the chapter, what do we see? We find that children are born. We find generations continue. We find humanity multiplies. And so even though sin has resulted in death, life continues on. The people are beginning to multiply. So why is this true? Well, because God is still showing the mercy to others that he showed to Cain. Every new generation in Genesis 5 is evidence of God's patience and his grace. Every sunrise is mercy, every breath is grace. Every day we live is a gift from God. I love that verse. Let's take just a second to unpack that. Numbering our days. Teach us to number our days. What does that mean? It's not primarily about calculating the exact number of remaining days that we have as if we can know them. It means recognizing and internalizing the brevity and the fragility of life. It means living with an awareness of mortality and that we are limited in our time here on this earth. It encourages us to make each day count and to live intentionally rather than just drifting through life. That's why I have learned to begin every day thanking God for another day. Thanking God for another hour on this earth. Life is so precious. Hebrew scholars note that it involves considering the shortness of life, its miseries due to sin, the certainty of death, and living in light of eternity. Yes, we should number our days. Why? The psalmist says that we may gain a heart of wisdom. See, see, the goal is not to gain a mere knowledge of God, but a transformed heart, the center of understanding, will, and affections in the Hebrew mind. True wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord and leads to the aligning of our lives with God's priorities, pursuing what lasts, pursuing the things of eternity, repenting of sin, trusting in his mercy, investing in eternal things. These are ways that we number our days. In short, awareness of life shortness plus dependence on God equals wisdom for living well. So, my friends, the reality of death should not merely make us fearful, it should make us thoughtful. Now, this part of Genesis encourages us toward asking some important questions of ourselves, such as, am I living as though life is temporary? Have I taken God's grace for granted? What am I doing with the time that God has given me? And maybe most of all, am I prepared for eternity? Well, before we close out, let me give you a gospel connection here. It's so clear. Genesis five leaves us with a problem. Everyone dies. But the good news is the gospel announces that Jesus entered into this very world of Genesis 5. He took upon himself death on the cross and then defeated it through the resurrection. And now Paul says in Corinthians 15, 22, for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. If you thought it was unfair to be charged with Adam's sin, then certainly you are blessed to realize that you have also been charged with Christ's righteousness. Let me give you a takeaway for today. Very simple. Good thing to remember, though, life is brief, sin is deadly, and eternity is real. Genesis 5 is more than just names. It's a mirror. It reminds us that life is brief, that sin is deadly, and that eternity is real, but it also reminds us that God has not abandoned humanity. The God who sustained these generations ultimately sent a Savior, and because of Christ, death does not get the final word. Well, praise the Lord. Lord, teach us to live wisely in light of eternity. Help us not waste the days you've given us. Thank you, Lord, that you brought about life even at this moment of sin and death. I thank you, Lord, that Jesus brings life. May we trust Him fully today and walk with urgency, wisdom, and hope. Amen and amen.

SPEAKER_01 10:30

Thanks for joining us today. We are so glad that you chose to spend a few moments with us in God's Word. If this episode has encouraged you, we ask that you leave us a review or maybe share this episode with a friend. Also, would you consider sending us a note to let us know what God is doing in your life? Pastor Eddie would love to hear from you. You can find this email in the show notes. Until next time, stay in the scriptures, keep following Christ, and allow your life to be formed by the Word.