Have you ever been tempted to skip past the long lists of genealogies in the Bible? Let me encourage you to go ahead and read them anyway.
Within the long lists of genealogies, there is often times hidden jewels of knowledge. For instance, the fifth chapter of Genesis is an entire chapter devoted to naming the descendants of Adam and Eve.
One reason to know this information is because it’s history. It’s the story of real people, like us. It also has very interesting information within that can teach us things and cause us to ask good questions.
For instance, you will quickly notice that most of the paragraphs end in the same manner,
5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died (emphasis mine).
8 So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died (emphasis mine).
But not all of the paragraphs end in this manner. For instance, in verse twenty-four, there is suddenly a change in the language,
24 Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
If you’ve been to many funeral services, this phrase will sound familiar. It’s common for the person officiating the funeral service to say something along the lines of, “Last Tuesday, the Lord took Wes to be with Him.”
Of course, we know that what he means is that last Tuesday, Wes died, but we say the Lord took Wes, because of where we he went after he died. But is that what Moses meant when he wrote that God took Enoch? It’s not. What the verse means is that Enoch didn’t physically die. God took him BEFORE he died. Now that’s interesting.
Another thing that stands out in this genealogy is the number of years that each person lived.
…all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years… all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years…all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years…all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years…
This raises a great question, “How did these people live so long?” And the follow-up, “Why don’t people live that long anymore?” We’ll answer those questions in an upcoming, future article. Until then, stay curious!
Much love,
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
