12 英翻中 Genesis 4:25—6:8 創世記 4:25—6:8 20/3/2025
CHAPTER SEVEN Genesis 4:25—6:8 WHEN THE OUTLOOK IS BLEAK, TRY THE UPLOOK
Sin had entered the human race, and it didn’t take long for the corruption it spawned to spread and defile God’s creation. Like a cancerous tumor, evil infected civilization and brought death wherever it went. God’s vice-regents on earth, created in God’s image, couldn’t manage their own lives let alone God’s creation, and things began to fall apart. This section of Genesis covers over 1,500 years of human history, years that are overshadowed by sin and sorrow. But when the night is the darkest, the stars shine the brightest, and when the outlook is grim, the uplook is encouraging. Thirteen different people are named in this section, and four of them stand out because they’re associated with something special that God did to encourage His people. Those four were Seth, Enosh, Enoch, and Noah.
Seth—a new beginning from God (4:25; 5:1–5) The only ray of hope in that dark day was God’s prom ise that a Redeemer would one day be born of the woman and conquer the serpent (3:15). But Abel was dead, so he couldn’t beget a child, and Cain, the unbe lieving murderer, had wandered off and built a city in the Land of Nod, east of Eden. Would God’s promise be fulfilled? How could it be fulfilled? God is sovereign in all things and His plans aren’t frustrated by the foolish and sinful ways of mankind. Because He is the sovereign God, He “works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11 nkjv). “But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases” (Ps. 115:3 nkjv). The Lord enabled Eve to conceive and bear a son whom she named Seth (“granted”) because God had appointed him to replace Abel. Genesis 5 is the first genealogy in Scripture and introduces “the book of the generations of Adam” (v. 1). Ten generations are listed here, from Adam to Noah, just as ten generations are listed from Shem to Abraham in “the generations of Shem” (11:10–26).1 Eight times in Genesis 5 you find the melancholy phrase “and he died,” for death was now reigning over mankind because of Adam’s sin (Rom. 5:12–17, 21). Sin and death still reign today, but through Jesus Christ we can “reign in life” (vv. 17, 21). In Bible history, very often the birth of a baby has made the difference between defeat and victory for God’s people. During the Jews’ difficult years in Egypt, Moses was born and became the liberator of his people (Ex. 2:1–10). When the lamp of prophecy was burning very low, Samuel was born to bring Israel back to God’s Word (1 Sam. 1–3), and when the kingdom was disin tegrating under Saul, God sent a son to Jesse whom he named David, the man God had chosen to be the next king (Ruth 4:18–22; 1 Sam. 16). At a very low point in Jewish history, by the grace of God, one little boy continued the messianic line from David (2 Kings 11:1–3). In spite of Satan’s attacks and the disobedi ence of His people, God was faithful to work so that His promise of a Redeemer would be fulfilled. Knowing this should encourage God’s people as they see the world turning more and more toward sin and rebellion. God is sovereign and He will accomplish His purposes.
Enosh—calling on God (4:26; 5:6–11) Seth was 105 years old when his son Enosh was born (5:6). “Enosh” means “man” and comes from a Hebrew word that means “frail, weak.” It’s the word for man that emphasizes how fragile and weak we really are in ourselves. A remarkable thing is recorded in connection with the birth of this boy: at that time, people began to gather together to worship God, proclaim His name, and pray.2 There was a revival of public worship and believing prayer as the descendants of Seth met together in the name of the Lord. While the worldly Cainites were boasting of their strength and valor (4:23–24), the godly Sethites were giving glory to the name of the Lord. Throughout sacred history, it has been the godly remnant that has kept the work of the Lord going in this world. Time after time, the nation of Israel drifted into idolatry and spiritual lethargy, but a believing rem nant was raised up to keep the light burning. These courageous people cried out to God for deliverance, and He heard them and answered their prayers. After the flood, Noah’s small family was the rem nant God used to people the earth. The prophet Elijah thought he was alone in serving Jehovah, but 7,000 people in the land re-mained faithful to the Lord (1 Kings 19:9–18). Whoever wrote Psalm 119 was part of a faithful remnant (v. 63), and the prophets wrote about the believing remnant in their day (Isa. 10:20–23; 37:31–32; Jer. 11:23; Mic. 4:7; Mal. 3:16). Isaiah named one of his sons “a remnant shall return” (Isa. 7:3), and a remnant did return to their land after the Babylonian captivity. God used them to rebuild the temple and the city of Jerusalem and to restore the Jewish nation as a political entity. How many people does God need to get a job done? Ten righteous people in Sodom could have saved the city from destruction (Gen. 18:16ff.), and Jesus said that He was present if only two or three were gath ered in His name (Matt. 18:20). Jesus sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to empower 120 believers, and Paul evangelized the Roman Empire with a small team of men and women who were wholly devoted to the Lord. God has always looked to the remnant to pray, trust Him, and get the work done. So, when the work of the Lord looks like it’s failing, and you feel like you’re the only one left to serve God, remember Enosh and the godly remnant in his day that called on the Lord. “For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few” (1 Sam. 14:6 nkjv).
Enoch—walking with God (5:12–27) People like Kenan, Mahalalel, and Jared may not seem important to God’s great story of salvation, but they are important,for they were “living links” in the great generational chain that reached from Seth to the birth of Jesus Christ. God’s promise in Genesis 3:15 could never have been fulfilled were it not for the faithful ness of many undistinguished people who to us are only strange names in an ancient genealogy. When Enoch was sixty-five years old, his wife gave birth to a son whom they named Methuselah (“man of the dart”). This was a turning-point in Enoch’s life, because he then began to walk with the Lord (5:22, 24; see 6:9). Did the responsibility of raising a son in such a godless world so challenge Enoch that he knew he needed the Lord’s help? Or when the baby was born, did God give Enoch insight into the future so that he knew the flood was coming? We don’t know, but we do know that the arrival of this baby changed Enoch’s life. The meaning of Methuselah’s name isn’t significant, but his long life of 969 years is significant. In the year that Methuselah died, the flood came!3 Perhaps the Lord told Enoch this news after the baby was born, and it so gripped his heart that he began to walk with God and do God’s will. “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness” (2 Peter 3:11 nkjv). The fact that Jesus is coming again to judge the world ought to motivate God’s people to lives of holiness and obedient service (1 John 2:28—3:3). The sobering phrase “and he died” isn’t used of Enoch, because Enoch is one of two men in Scripture who never died. Both Enoch and Elijah were taken to heaven alive (2 Kings 2:1–11). Some students see in Enoch’s pre-flood “rapture” a picture of the church being taken to heaven before God sends tribulation on the earth (1 Thess. 4:13—5:11). It was “by faith” that Enoch was taken to heaven (Heb. 11:5). He believed God, walked with God, and went to be with God, which is an example for all of us to follow. Imagine how difficult it must have been to walk with God during those years before the flood, when vice and violence were prevalent and only a rem nant of people believed God (Gen. 6:5). But Enoch’s life of faith wasn’t a private thing, for he boldly announced that God would come to judge the world’s sins (Jude 14–15). In his day, the judgment of the flood did come, but the judgment Enoch was announcing will occur when Jesus Christ returns, lead ing the armies of heaven and condemning Satan and his hosts (Rev. 19:11ff.). Enoch’s life and witness remind us that it’s possible to be faithful to God in the midst of “a crooked and perverse generation” (Phil. 2:15). No matter how dark the day or how bad the news, we have the promise of our Lord’s return to encourage us and motivate us to be godly. One day sin will be judged and God’s people will be rewarded for their faithfulness, so we have every reason to be encour aged as we walk with God.
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