Genesis Framework Part 51

Genesis Framework

GF 51 Genesis 5
August 28, 2016
Part 51

NKJ Genesis 5:1-32

1 This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.
2 He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.
3 And Adam lived 130 years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
4 After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were 800 years; and he had sons and daughters.
5 So all the days that Adam lived were 930 years; and he died.
6 Seth lived 105 years, and begot Enosh.
7 After he begot Enosh, Seth lived 807 years, and had sons and daughters.
8 So all the days of Seth were 912 years; and he died.
9 Enosh lived 90 years, and begot Cainan.
10 After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived 815 years, and had sons and daughters.
11 So all the days of Enosh were 905 years; and he died.
12 Cainan lived 70 years, and begot Mahalalel.
13 After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived 840 years, and had sons and daughters.
14 So all the days of Cainan were 910 years; and he died.
15 Mahalalel lived 65 years, and begot Jared.
16 After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years, and had sons and daughters.
17 So all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years; and he died.
18 Jared lived 162 years, and begot Enoch.
19 After he begot Enoch, Jared lived 800 years, and had sons and daughters.
20 So all the days of Jared were 962 years; and he died.
21 Enoch lived 65 years, and begot Methuselah.
22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years, and had sons and daughters.
23 So all the days of Enoch were 365 years.
24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
25 Methuselah lived 187 years, and begot Lamech.
26 After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years, and had sons and daughters.
27 So all the days of Methuselah were 969 years; and he died.
28 Lamech lived 182 years, and had a son.
29 And he called his name Noah, saying, "This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed."
30 After he begot Noah, Lamech lived 595 years, and had sons and daughters.
31 So all the days of Lamech were 777 years; and he died.
32 And Noah was 500 years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Let’s first examine the naming within the genealogy of Seth from Adam in Genesis Chapter 5.

Genesis 5, from Adam {ah-dahm'} "red"
Genealogy of Seth:

1. Seth {seyth} "compensation"

2. Enosh {en-ohsh'} "man"

3. Cainan {key-nahn'} "possession"

4. Mahalalel {ma-ha-lal—eyl'} "praise of God”

5. Jared {yeh'-red} "descent"

6. Enoch {kha-noke'} "dedicated"

7. Methuselah {me-thoo-sheh'-lakh} "man of the dart"

8. Lamech {leh'-mek} "powerful"

9. Noah {no'-akh} "rest"

10. Shem, Ham, and Japheth ..............

Shem {sheym} "name"
The eldest son of Noah, progenitor of the Semitic tribes.

Ham {khahm} "hot"
The father of Canaan and of various peoples which were inhabitants of southern lands; in late usage, a collective name for Egyptians

Japheth {yeh'-feth} "opened"
Descendants of Japheth after the flood settled on the coastal lands of the Mediterranean spreading north into Europe and parts of Asia

And now, we call out a couple of outstanding statements that beckon us to look into them more carefully.

The first has to do with the life of Enoch (Dedicated), while the second is in reference to the naming of Noah (Rest) by his father Lamech (Powerful) (the good guy).

Enoch walked with God…365 years.

Whatever meaning we discover in the term “walked with God,” Enoch (Dedicated) did it for a very long time!

And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Then, instead of dying and being buried like everybody else at the end of his years of life, he was physically ascended unto God, suddenly taken away from the earth by God Himself !

“he (Enoch) walked with God (Elohim)”

The verb form “walked with” is an instance of the use of a rare verb-force-type in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament called hithpael.

While we have previously encountered instances of types called hiphil (causative active, 13.3% ) and hophal (causative passive, 0.6%), I think this is our first encounter with the type hithpael (intensive causative reflexive regenerative, 1.4%).

I believe you’ll find the results to be worth more than the time we will need to spend discussing the characteristics of this unusual verb type.

The base of the verb itself is ' {hah-lak'}, meaning to go, to walk, to come; and the briefest meaning of this verb in the hithpael form denotes, to traverse, to walk about; and it is used figuratively to convey the notion of the process involved in walking about and engaging in the regular affairs of daily living.

Let’s break down the meaning of the hithpael and at the same time apply it to our study of this verb use here.

Again, the hithpael is used to express a meaning that is
(1) intensive, (2) causative, (3) reflexive, and (4) regenerative.

That is a lot of action going on with this verb, all at the same time, so if we are to come to an understanding of is meaning here, we must slow it down, from being an incoherent blur, to becoming something we can reach out and grab hold of, take apart, and deal with in small pieces.

The hithpael force here is intensive in the sense that it is intended to emphasize the heaviness, seriousness, and purposefulness of the implication of the action denoted by “walking with God”

The word used for God here is Elohim, which implies a much more comprehensive and inclusive reference for God than the term Yahweh.

We have already noticed that the name Elohim is rich in its complexity; at a minimum, consisting of the Godhead; but usually extending to the full complement of heaven, the council of God, the host of heaven, the Glory-Cloud, etc.

Personal vs Royal

The hithpael force here is causative in the sense that it is intended to emphasize that God is the motive force behind what had been going on for hundreds of years. While we can think of Enoch’s life as being ideal in the sense of an example or model, we also must remember
that he was an amazing exception to the average believer. He was a blessed man whom God chose to work with and through to accomplish His purposes as Sovereign God. The Lord does not expect us to be able to emulate Enoch, unless His causative intervention might enable
us to participate in the Glory to this extent in our lives this side of our glorification.

The hithpael force here is reflexive in the sense that it is intended to denote iteration, an intensive traversing back and forth, going over a process determined by God’s plan being worked out on a steadily repeated basis day in and day out; also, to denote reciprocation between Enoch and God in the idea of constant communication involving much dialogue, teaching, learning, revelation, responsibility, work, making keen observations, writing things down, translating his experiences into language that makes them understandable to others, and undergoing great humbling in the process.

The hithpael force here is regenerative in the sense that the feedback element of it would have generated a cumulative effect in terms of producing extraordinary spiritual growth in Enoch, as a build-up of and compounding of the fruit being produced by this process. The implications of this word are much too great, making it impossible to translate into a brief phrase. In this case we find it necessary to “absorb” the intent of this sentence rather than simply “read” it. As one of my favorite seminary professors used to say, “feel the force of God’s Word here.”

Personally, I think a lot of the iterative, the element of going back and forth, had to do with Enoch ascending to heaven and back; as Paul said, “whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows,” then writing down what he had been instructed to write in order to produce the Book of Enoch…

NKJ 2 Corinthians 12:2-5
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago– whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows -- such a one was caught up to the third heaven.
3 And I know such a man -- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows --
4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
5 Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities.

Translation-
reciprocal: they walked about to and fro with one another daily

intensive causative reflexive: he dedicated himself completely in performing his own daily tasks and affairs in ways faithfully corresponding to the will of God pertaining to such matters.

These words do not come close!

“he (Enoch) walked with God (Elohim)”

and he was not.

and he was not (as compared with others having died); he disappeared by simply vanishing from the earth. Our old friend because, offers the reason for having given that statement: because God (Elohim) took him away to Himself. Heaven took Enoch away to be with God…

Lamech lived 182 years, and had a son. And he called his name Noah, saying, "This one will comfort us concerning our work
and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed."

Noah {no'-akh} "rest"

He became the new seminal head of the human race because those of his family were the only survivors of the Flood.

"This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed."

Translation:

This one, he will bring comfort, consolation to us with regard to the separation from or removal of the work and separation from or removal of the travail of our hands, from the separation with the soil in relationship to the full force of the curse of Yahweh.

Translation:
This one, he will bring comfort, consolation [piel-intensive active] to us with regard to the separation from or removal of the work ( {ma-`a-seh'} deed, work labor, husbandry) and separation from or removal of the {`its-tsah-bone'} pain, toil, hardship– of our hands (where the idea of toil, of travail, of labor pains, and burden of bearing children is conspicuously absent from these expressed desires)…

Translation:
…from the separation (from the reversed consecration principle back to to the original consecration principle) with the soil in relationship to the full force (piel) of the curse of Yahweh.

Implication:
They were feeling sorry for themselves and were looking for consolation by obtaining relief from the burden having been placed upon them by the original curse of God with regard to the difficulty of (1) the heavy toil of hard work being necessary to produce acceptable results,
and (2) especially for the pain caused by working hard with the hands in the work of tilling of the soil by the original curse upon the soil; (3) mainly the expression of frustration and pain of oppression from the whole idea of having the order of consecration reversed, so that they
were painfully aware of their stock in being servants of the soil, livestock, etc., and had grown very tired of it.

Implication:
Consolation is the key word here.

Who looks for consolation?

NKJ Luke 2:25
And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

NKJ Luke 6:23-24
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation.

NKJ 2 Corinthians 1:5-7
For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your
consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.

NKJ 2 Corinthians 7:6-7
Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.

NKJ Philippians 2:1
Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,

NKJ 2 Thessalonians 2:16
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace,

NKJ Philemon 1:7
For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.

NKJ Hebrews 6:18
that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

At the birth of Noah, for some unknown reason, there was prompted an actual hope expressed, that this one would be the special one among men who could deliver them from the curse of the Fall; therefore, Noah was looked upon by the covenant-grace people who trusted in God, as a savior, a deliverer (a Moses, Christ figure) from the common oppression caused by the reversed consecration principle; the curse.

Hence the naming of this child as “Noah,” after his birth.

Why?

What was so special about this child that so much hope would be initiated at his birth?

Next…

What I can say now, is this:

here were only two in the Sethite line who definitely performed a prophetic office; Enoch and Noah.

Both, according to the New Testament, engaged in a prophetic mission of witness and warning.

In the Book of Jude, Enoch is reported to have prophesied of the coming judgment of God against blasphemous sinners.

Did Lamech have any writing, or oracle from God to help him decide in the naming for his son (Noah)?

This gets very interesting!

Many will be surprised on the Day of Judgment when they discover that it was just as the Word of God says; only the righteousness of Christ is able to save you.All men are sinners and no one can save himself. God is just, so He must punish sin; but He is also merciful, moreover gracious, and offers His Son as the perfect sacrifice in order to purchase a place for you in heaven, which He offers to you as the free gift of eternal life. As we continue to examine man’s earliest duties with regard to the covenant of works, although they can be categorically divided into two distinct types of classes; one in relationship with God, and the other in relationship with fellow man, all covenant stipulations are expressions of the will of the Lord. The law of the covenant is the law of man’s image-sonship.

Jesus is God Incarnate

In order to pay the debt of our sins, He came from Heaven, having been sent by the Father, where He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father even unto the shameful death upon the cross in order to pay the debt of your sins.This gift must be received by faith, believing that Jesus’ perfect life and Cross Work was His complete and necessary Atonement for your sins, in your behalf.Faith is a gift that comes by the Power of God the Holy Spirit working in a person’s innermost being. The Holy Spirit has the authority and power to quicken your dead spirit, to make it come to life. If you have not done so before this moment, ask Jesus to forgive you your sins, tell Him you’ve stop trying to be your own savior, and ask Him to come into your life right now, and to give you eternal life. Then, in faith believing, thank Him for the gift that He is giving you, the one He paid for in full in your place, in Jesus’ name,AMEN