Blessings Of Genealogies Really – Genesis 5:1-32

The Blessings of Genealogies

We read all of Genesis 5 that morning, and it took two and a half minutes of names. Some of you probably thought you could not believe we just spent that long on genealogies. People call them boring or irrelevant. My passion that day was to show that neither is true. The record of generations is full of blessings.

Genealogies Remind Us That God Keeps His Promises

Go back to Genesis 3:15, the first mention of the gospel. After Adam and Eve sinned, God told the serpent that the seed of the woman would crush his head. It is a seed form of the gospel, and more light comes as we read on. We meet Cain and Abel and think Abel might be the one, but Abel was killed. Then Seth. “The Book of Genesis is going somewhere,” and it is going to Jesus. The gospels introduce him, Acts proclaims him, the epistles explain him, and Revelation reveals him as who he said he was. Galatians 4:4 says, “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman.” That was the seed we longed for, and on Palm Sunday we celebrate God keeping his word.

Genealogies Remind Us That God Has a Plan

It is one thing for a parent to promise something and another for a parent to have a plan to carry it out. Genesis shows its plan with a repeated phrase. I asked the church to follow along and underline it. Genesis 2:4 says “these are the generations of the heavens and the earth.” Then 5:1, the generations of Adam. Then 6:9, the generations of Noah. Then 10:1, 11:10, 11:27, 25:12, 25:19, 36:1, and 37:2: Shem, Terah, Ishmael, Isaac, Esau, and Jacob. The structure of the book keeps tracking the seed forward. Just as God has a plan for the seed of the woman, he has a plan for you: “you’re not forgotten he has a will for your life you’re not just a name on a page.”

Even Palm Sunday was planned. In Matthew 21, Jesus told his disciples exactly where to find the donkey, and Matthew says it was to fulfill the prophet who said your king is coming, humble and mounted on a donkey. And this coming Friday, and the Sunday after it, are part of the same plan.

Genealogies Remind Us That God Uses All Kinds of People

Genesis 5 has ten generations. A few names, like Enoch, Noah, and Methuselah, stand out, but most we have never heard, and some sons and daughters are not even named. “This is not about people as much as it’s about God and his plan and his purpose.” In Matthew 1, the genealogy of Christ includes Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba, women with storied pasts. “God uses imperfect people.” James says God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. “Are you humble enough this morning for God to use you?” We do not come on our big horses dressed like the king of the world.

Genealogies Remind Us That God Is Sovereign

Cain and Abel looked like a loss for the good seed. Then Seth. Through the whole Old Testament, people longed for someone who would not fail them through death or depravity. Israel looked at Jesus and did not think he was the person God would use. We look around today and ask, Lord, do you really win? “We know that God wins.” One commentator said “the genealogies bear testimony to the faithfulness of God and fulfilling his promises.” We do not have to fret and fuss. We are to be faithful, live humbly, and let God use us.

Pastoral Admonitions

Rest in the truth that God keeps his promises, so you can bank on them. Rest in the truth that he has a plan: the Bible says he chose you before the foundation of the world. Rest in the truth that he has the power to accomplish it. He is not hoping he can pull it off. Horatius Bonar said, “the first Adam dies and we die in him but the second Adam dies and we live in him the first Adam’s grave proclaims only death the second Adam’s grave announces life.”

There is a cycle of life, too. Eight times in this chapter it says, “and he died.” Hebrews 9:27 says it is appointed for man to die once, and after this the judgment. Spurgeon told of a man who trusted Christ after hearing that phrase repeated. If you do not know Jesus and are not prepared to die, I would love to share the gospel with you. And God takes note of the faithful, so make the most of the dash between your dates.