It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - The Line Of Adam Series

“It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - The Line of Adam”

(Genesis 5:1-32)

I remember the first time I heard a sermon on this chapter, and I was wondering, how are we going to stay awake through this one? I had glossed over it a few times and really didn’t think it served any purpose except for real history buffs. But I left that day with a much greater appreciation of how God put everything in the Bible for a reason. Hopefully this can happen for you as well, even as we prepare for Christmas.

Why did God give us this chapter of scripture? To show what happens because of sin. To show what happens when we “walk with God”. To show how God is in the details. One thing we don’t want to do is get lost in figuring out the accuracy of the genealogies. They were not meant to be complete.

There are no idle words in the Bible however, and though not everyone is mentioned, those who are can be considered important figures during this time, both for how they lived and even more so for where they are in the birth line of the savior. Many scholars have gotten bogged down in the numbers only to miss the message.

So what is the message in this list of names? Well let’s start with:

I. A Reminder That God is Our Creator

For the first time the Bible is called a book, indicating that some kind of writing was in use by the time of Noah. This is the book of the generations of the first Adam, then in Matthew 1:1, we have the book of the genealogy of Christ, the second Adam.

God makes a very obvious point here that Seth was in Adam’s image, not God’s. This gives us more insight into what “in God’s image and likeness” means. Not so much is it physical, but Seth is fathered with the nature of his father, that of a fallen sinner destined for death, whereas Adam was created in God’s image, or nature, until He sinned.

This reminder is not just to let us know that God is the creator but also that we are accountable to Him. Next is:

II. A Recognition of Children as a Blessing

Remember the blessing “be fruitful and multiply”? Well, even with all the curses coming down, God maintains this blessing. Children are a blessing and have become the solution to death in terms of keeping our legacy or seed going. God continues to give us the ability that he has to create life. Let’s look at Isaiah’s prophetic words about a special child being a blessing to come:

Isaiah 7:10-14 Moreover the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11“Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.” (in other words, no matter what your situation)

12But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!”

13Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? 14Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel (or God with US).

9:6 For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

11:1-5 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. (Jesus is the branch)

2And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

3And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

or decide disputes by what his ears hear,

4but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

5Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,

and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

Have you ever wondered why God sent the Savior as a baby? Could it be that one of the reasons was to reinforce the idea that children are a blessing and that we have this God given ability to create life and have hope through our children?

Back to our Genesis passage we are shown that:

III. A Result of Sin is Physical Death