THE MEN OF GOD BEFORE THE FLOOD
TEXT - Gen. 5: 1 - 8, 19 - 32
INTRO. - God has had his men in every age. God will not leave
this world without a witness to himself. Here in Gen. 5 we
see the history of those who loved God from Adam to the
flood. The flood came when the godly line of Seth found here
in Gen. 5 began to mix with the ungodly line of Cain found in
Gen. 4: 16 - 24. The cause of the flood is given in Gen. 6: 1
- 3. God’s people, the salt of the earth who were the moral
and spiritual preservative against sin, began to mix with the
world and lost their power and purpose. God says "as it was
in the days of Noah so shall it be in the days of the coming
of the Son of Man" so we will see this mixing repeated in the
last days.
As God’s people begin to allow the world to set their
standards of what is right and wrong, dress, habits, and
morals rather than allow the Word of God to set them we step
a little closer to the same conditions that brought the
flood.
Thank God that there are still a few people who love and
serve Him. Gen. 5 lists the names of ten men from Adam to the
flood who got right with God and lived for him during those
dark days. The men list in Gen. 5 were godly for several
reasons.
1. They are separated from those listed in Gen.4 where
we find the godless line of Cain.
2. The names of these ten men have godly meanings.
3. Five of these men are mentioned with a bit of detail
and all said of them says they were godly.
LET US LOOK BRIEFLY AT FIVE OF THESE MEN AND SEE THE MESSAGE
THAT GOD HAS FOR US.
I. ADAM -- WHEN I THINK OF ADAM I THINK OF DEATH - Gen. 5:1-2
I Cor. 15:22 says,"...in Adam all die". Gen. 5 is one
of the saddest chapters in the Bible. It is like walking
through a cemetery and reading the names on the tombstones.
Death is the end of the sad story of sin. God told Adam that
in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Adam ate and Adam died. His family died. We are by birth and
by nature children of Adam. Seth was born in the image and
likeness of his father Adam and Adam died (5:5), and Seth
died (5:8), and we will die.
This chapter teaches me the great truth that no matter
how long you live you are going to die. This chapter also
teaches the truth that no matter how long you live. you will
be in eternity a lot longer than you were here in time.
Notice vs. 5, 8, 11, 14, ... 27. Here we find people who
lived many years and yet they died. The oldest lived almost a
thousand years and yet he has been in eternity for at least
five thousand years and will be there forever.
The one sin of Adam (they both had the same name
according to Gen.5:2 until Adam the man called Adam the
female Eve) led to the deaths of all these others. See James
1:15. When I think of Adam I think of death.
II. SETH -- WHEN I THINK OF SETH I THINK OF THE INFLUENCE OF
A GODLY MAN - Gen. 5: 3 - 7
Gen. 4:26 shows the influence of Seth upon his son. We often
fail to realize the influence of a man upon his family for
God or against God. We see a genealogy here that is like a
iron chain with one link influencing the next. One break
would have affected the whole chain. Because of the godliness
of Seth he influenced his descendents who influenced their
descendents. If Seth had become like Cain his brother, there
would not have been men like Enoch and Noah years later.
ILL.- I had the privilege to pastor a rural church that was
over 120 years old. This church was unique in that it
had several generations of families attending. I was
surprised to realize that families where the parents
were faithful to all the services of the church had an
influence over the years on their children’s families
and their grandchildren’s families to do likewise.
Families who attended only Sunday morning services or
were irregular in their attendance seemed to reproduce
these habits in the families of their children and
grandchildren. There were exceptions to the rule but
they were few. When I think of Seth I think of the
influence of a man upon his family.
III. METHUSELAH -- WHEN I THINK OF METHUSELAH I THINK OF THE
MERCY OF GOD - Gen. 5: 21, 22, 27
When I think of Methuselah I am reminded of the mercy of
God. Did you ever wonder why God allowed him to live to be
the oldest man who ever lived? If you get a pencil and paper
and do some figuring you will find from this chapter and
others that Adam lived until Methuselah was 243 years old.
Noah lived until Abraham was 53 years old. You will find that
Methuselah lived until the 600th year of Noah.
The name "Methuselah" means "when he dies it shall be
sent". It was in the 600 year of Noah states Gen. 7:11 that
the flood came. God said in effect that as long as this man
lives I’ll spare the world but when he dies judgment will be
sent. Every year that Methuselah lived show the mercy and
patience of God. See I Peter 3:20 and II Peter 3:9
But one day this man died and judgment came. See
Gen.7:11. God allowed Methuselah to live to be the oldest man
who ever lived so as to show his mercy and long-suffering.
If the mercy of God only lasted the 1656 years from the birth
of Adam until the flood and there has been over 4000 years
since the flood, this world is long overdue for judgment.
Hebrews 1:2 speaks of "these last days"! We had better watch
the heavens and live pure lives for the Second Coming is
certainly near.
IV. ENOCH -- WHEN I THINK OF ENOCH I THINK OF LIVING A HOLY
LIFE - Gen. 5: 21 - 24
Gen. 5: 21-22 tells us that Enoch was converted at the age of
65 when his son Methuselah was born and he walked with God
after his conversion for 300 years.
I believe he was brought to God by the prophecy that God had
placed on the name of his son. He never knew how long his son
would live but he knew when his son died judgment was coming
and so he got right with God while there was time.
A birth brought Enoch to the Lord.
A death brought Isaiah to the Lord. See Isa. 6:1
Enoch walked with God for 300 years.
Only two people are said to have walked with God. One was
Enoch and the other was Noah. See Gen. 5:22,24 and Gen.6:9
Both lived before the flood.
Gen. 17:1 speaks of walking before God. Abraham did this.
Deut. 13:14 speaks of walking after God.
Col. 2:6 speaks of walking in God.
But Enoch walked with God.
Some people claim they just cannot live for God in this age.
Enoch walked with God before the day of Pentecost, before the
day of the church, before the day of the Bible, before the
day of gospel music and he did it for 300 years. If he could
walk with God for 300 years under such circumstances, surely
you and I can walk with God for 20 to 50 years today with all
we have.
What does it mean to walk with God?
It is a walk of faith - See Heb. 11:6
It is a walk of being pleasing to God - See Heb.11:6
It was a walk of steadfastness.
It was a walk of agreement - See Amos 3:3
Enoch walked with God and was not for God took him.
Before the flood God raptured Enoch.
Before the Captivity God raptured Elijah.
Before the Great Tribulation God will rapture the Church.
Heb. 11:5 adds something that Gen. 5 does not. Heb. 11:5 adds
that "he was not found". This tells me that somebody missed
him. Let each of us live so as to be missed. If you died
would you be missed? By whom? I knew a man who regularly
prayed for me three to four hours at a time. When he died I
missed him.
Robert Murray McCheyne used to say live so as to be missed
and when he died at the age of 29 all of Scotland mourned his
passing.
Live a live so holy and when you die you will be missed.
Missed by the people of God. Missed by the world. Missed by
the Enemy.
V. NOAH -- WHEN I THINK OF NOAH I THINK OF THE SAFETY FOUND
IN CHRIST - Gen. 5: 28-29 and Gen. 6: 1,2,5, 8-9
Noah built the only way through the wrath of God at the
flood. Jesus is the only way through the wrath of God for the
lost who face a Christless eternity.
The Ark is a type or picture of Christ.
The ark was a God planned salvation.
The ark was an adequate salvation.
The ark was a free salvation.
The ark was the only salvation
Jesus’s coming was a God planned Salvation. See John 3:16
Jesus is an adequate Salvation. See Heb. 7:25
Jesus offers a free Salvation. See Rev. 22:17
Jesus is the only way of Salvation. See Acts 4:12
COME TO JESUS.
