Genesis 5:1-32
Genesis 5 begins another major division in the narrative of the beginning of mankind. In verses 1-2 we literally have the signature of Adam declaring that the previous verses were his personal account. He declared, “This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created” (Gen. 5:1-2). These are the last words of Adam. The word book in verse 1, literally means the writing of Adam. The word genealogy means account. Adam is declaring that this is his writing and his account of the beginning of all life. The word Adam is also the same Hebrew word for man or mankind, depending on the context, because Adam is the first of all mankind. Adam has literally written his own account of what happened at the beginning of mankind. These same phrases you will find at every division in these personal histories recorded for us in Genesis. Adam is the author of Genesis 2:1 through Genesis 5:2. From Genesis 5:3 though Genesis 6:9 you will read the personal account of Noah. At the end of Noah’s historical account, you will again read, “This is the genealogy (or the account) of Noah.”
Adam’s last words.
It is very important to consider what Adam thought was vital to communicate in his last words. Anyone’s last words will communicate what they believe, and what they considered to be critical information they wanted to impart. Let’s look at these truths individually.
1. Special creation. Adam is absolutely certain that God specifically and divinely created him and his wife. There was no doubt in his mind that both of them were a special creation of God. Adam did not believe in evolution, or that he had evolved from some lower form of life. Jesus also established this fact when He quoted this very same declaration of Adam in the New Testament. He said, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female’” (Matt. 19:4). It is essential that you realize that Jesus did not believe in evolution either!
Jesus absolutely believed in special creation. This statement of fact by Jesus should be the “final nail in the coffin” for any believer to ever even consider believing in evolution. If you believe in Jesus, then you must also believe in what He taught! Remember, evolution is not scientific in any way, because it cannot be proven by the scientific method. The scientific method requires that any hypothesis to be considered as a scientific theory, must be observable and testable by repeatable experiments. This disqualifies evolution as a scientific theory, because you can’t observe or test something that supposedly took place millions of years ago. Evolution must be accepted by blind faith. However, Jesus has the authority to speak on this topic, because He is the only One who has died and is risen again. Jesus has the credentials of someone who you can believe.
In addition, Adam was so confident that he was a special creation of God that he repeated this fact four times in the first two verses of this fifth chapter of Genesis. The first time Adam asserted this fact of being created by God, is in verse 1 where he stated, “In the day that God created man.” Then the second reference is again in verse 1 when he declared, “He made him in the likeness of God.” The third reference is made in verse 2 when he wrote, “He created them male and female, and blessed them.” The fourth and last reference to being created is when he finished verse 2 with, “And called them Mankind in the day that they were created.” Adam made it absolutely clear that he and his wife were not the result of some accidental circumstance that occurred by random chance through natural selection in the muddy waters of an ancient earth. Adam was stating the difference between naturalism and creationism. These are two diametrically opposed views of life. Naturalism is a worldview that you are the result of accidental circumstance; and creationism is the declaration that you are the result of God’s direct creative hand. Naturalism dethrones God, and creationism enthrones Him to the position He deserves. This is why a Christian cannot believe in evolution, because it is a rejection of the God who declared that He is the Creator, and a rejection of His Word which states this fact. This is not a lightweight or minor issue for your faith. Creationism is a major point of faith. This fact was a major issue for Adam. Creationism was the point Adam wanted to leave us with as his testimony to all mankind.
2. Created in the likeness of God. Another important point Adam wanted to stress was that we are not created as little gods; we were created in the likeness of God. This is what God originally declared in Genesis 1:26-27, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” What does it mean to be created in God’s image and likeness? The Hebrew word image means that we were created after His model. This means God has created us in His spiritual and moral image or likeness. He is the model from which we were made. This simply means that God has created us with the same spiritual and moral characteristics that He has. God is Spirit, so He made us with a spirit, so we could have fellowship with Him. God is love, so He created us with the capacity to love Him, and to love others. God is righteous and holy; this is why He has given us the capacity to live and walk in righteousness, because this is who He is. God thinks and reasons, so He has also made us with the ability to reason through what is good or evil. He has given us the ability to think, choose, and to decide, just as He does. God is our Creator; this is why He has given us the ability to reproduce and create other humans. God is eternal, and this is why He has made every human being to live eternally. We will all stand before Him one day and give account of our lives; then it will be determined if we will be in the resurrection to life, or the resurrection to condemnation (John 5:28-29). For a more in-depth look at these issues please click on this link. https://covenantkeepers.org/bible-studies/old-testament-studies/55-bible-studies/657-genesis-1-14-31
3. God blessed them.
Adam also left us with one last acknowledgment that God had blessed them. Note that Adam doesn’t say, “Well, I got a raw deal from God. He doesn’t really care about us at all, because He threw us out of the Garden of Eden.” No, just the opposite was stated. Adam knew that he and his wife had been abundantly blessed by God. That is a powerful truth that gives you insight into how Adam felt toward God. The Hebrew word blessed is an interesting word, because it is a declaration that someone has received divine favor. If God blesses you, He is giving you His divine favor. If you bless someone else, you are asking or invoking God’s divine favor upon them. Adam was most likely thinking back to God’s declaration in Genesis 1:28 where we read His statement to Adam and Eve, “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” God first gave them life, then He gave them each other, a perfect environment, and dominion over every living thing to sustain their lives. What a blessing!
Jesus used this same word many times in the Beatitudes when He said, “Blessed is the man” (Matt. 5:3-11). Jesus was explaining how anyone could find His divine favor and real happiness in this life. God wants to bless all the people He has created and not hurt or destroy them. But, why does God want to bless us? God told Abraham in Genesis 12:2, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.” God also blesses you so that you can be a blessing to others. He transforms your life so you can have an influence in someone else’s life for good. What God is doing in your life has a direct effect upon your spouse’s life, your children’s lives, your friend’s lives, your roommate’s life, and your coworker’s life. God wants you to be His love and light that reaches out to others around you. This is how you can be a blessing!
How can you begin to experience God’s blessings in your life and then bless others? Peter gives you the answer in his sermon in Acts 3:26 when he says, “To you first, God, having raised up his Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.” God blesses you by working in your life, turning you away from your iniquities, and then turning you to Christ. If you want to experience God’s blessings you need to first receive Christ, which requires you to repent of your sins. Then He comes inside you by the power of the Holy Spirit Who then enables you to turn away from your iniquities. This is where all of God’s blessings will be found. All of this work is motivated by God’s love for you and me. He sent His Son to take the penalty for our sins, so He could ultimately bless anyone who would respond to Him. This is why I love the fact that Adam is making it very clear that God has revealed from the beginning of time, that He wants to bless us!
What were the things Noah believed were important to begin recording?
Now we come to the record of Noah and his account. It is important now to recognize the things that Noah believed were important to record in his history of mankind. Why? Because these things were first and foremost in his mind that he believed we needed to know. The coming flood is an obvious essential topic for him to address, but notice what he begins with in his record.
Adam’s sin nature is pasted on to his children. Vs. 3
Noah begins by writing, “And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth” (Gen. 5:3). The very first thing that Noah acknowledged was that Adam and Eve continued to have children, and these offspring were all born in Adam’s own likeness, and after his fallen image. The word image is the same word used for how man was originally created in Genesis 1:26. This Hebrew word image, means model or pattern. Therefore, as Adam was originally created after God’s model and pattern of His righteousness and with the characteristics of His nature, now Adam as a fallen sinful man is creating children in his sinful model or image (Rom. 5:12; Eph. 2:3; James 5:17). It must have been very obvious to Noah that all of the children born to Adam and Eve were sinners. Even as today, it is very obvious that we don’t have to train our children to lie, cheat, or hold resentment. These characteristics are naturally a part of every child’s nature from the beginning. The reality is that we have to teach and train our children to tell the truth, be giving, and learn forgiveness. Thankfully, to those who have received Christ as Lord of their lives, and are filled with the Holy Spirit, He now gives a new nature that enables them to obey God’s will (2 Peter 1:4; Col. 3:10).
Another very obvious reason Noah knew that Adam and Eve’s children were created in his fallen image was that they all died as Adam and Eve did. This is the ultimate proof that all men are sinners made in the image and likeness of Adam. The only One who was ever born that did not have the image and likeness of Adam’s fallen nature was the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone was born as the only begotten of the Father, as John declared, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1-4). And then John continues, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). He ever lives to make intercession for each of us (Heb. 7:25).
Adam’s obituary.
Next Noah declared, “And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died” (Gen. 5:3-5). This statement was the obituary of Adam. Notice the last few words Noah wrote concerning Adam, “and he died.” These same words are repeated seven more times in this chapter, all stating the fact that all these men lived, and then died. Why is this fact important? Noah was declaring the fact that the soul that sins will surely die (Gen. 2:17). He is reminding the reader of the fact that what God had said would happen, was actually occurring. In Romans 6:23 it also declares this fact, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The result of Adam and Eve’s sin was death for them, and will be death for all of us. Death is what we see all around us, and will be the fate of every human being on this earth. Every one of you reading these words are sinners, which means that you are all going to die one day. Now I know you are thinking, Oh, what a joyous thought! You are so encouraging! But this is reality, and the course of all life here on earth. Death is the result of our sin and the sin of Adam. And yet, if you believe in Jesus Christ, you can be forgiven of your sin, and you will live again. That is the glorious promise of God.
The lineage of the promised seed.
From verses 6-32, we have a long record of the birth of the children in the line of the promised seed of Eve, who would one day bring forth the Messiah. Noah records, “Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot Enosh. After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died. Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan. After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died. Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel. After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died. Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared. After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died. Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died. Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died. Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. And he called his name Noah, saying, ‘This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.’ After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died. And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth” (Genesis 5:6-32).
This genealogic record of the lineage of Seth is very important for several reasons. First, it proves that the promise made by God to Eve in the garden, was a promise that He kept. The child born to Eve whose name was Seth, was the forefather of Noah. This lineage then went through Noah to Abraham, and then from Abraham all the way through the centuries to the child born to a virgin, who was Christ the Lord (Gen. 3:15; Luke 3:23-38). Many think that the genealogies in the Bible are worthless records inserted in the Scripture for no reason, but nothing could be further from the truth. They are the proof that God keeps His Word. He fulfilled every word that He promised!
A second reason this genealogy is here in Scripture, was to show that in this ‘seed’ of the woman were men of faith who believed in God’s promise. When you read of Lamech, Enoch, and Noah you see they are acknowledged in Scripture as men of faith. This again proves that God always has His elect who know, love, and follow the Lord. Remember that in chapter 4, we looked at the lineage of Cain, which recorded those who chose to not follow the Lord. But, in chapter 5, we see just the opposite.
Another thing that is important to realize about this genealogy, is that there were many more children born to each of these parents listed in this record of births and deaths. How can we be sure of this fact? Because the Scripture declares right at the beginning of chapter 5 concerning Adam that, “After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters” (Gen. 5:4). This phrase, and he had sons and daughters,” is repeated eight more times in this same genealogy. It is only logical, that if someone lived 7 to 8 hundred years with no reason to practice some form of birth control, a normal couple would have had hundreds of children. In addition, in Genesis 6:1, Noah acknowledged this geometric progression of children being born when he wrote, “Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth.” Most population estimates place the number of people living on the earth before the Flood may have been several billion people. This is a fact that many have missed as they read this record.
Enoch walked with God. Vs. 18-24
Noah then records, “Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died. Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (Gen. 5:18-24).
It is important to note at the outset that this Enoch is not the same Enoch who was referred to in Genesis 4:17, who was the firstborn son of Cain. Enoch was a common name in those days like John, Steve, or Mary are today. Cain’s son Enoch was an evil man, but Jared’s son Enoch was a godly man, because he walked with God. This declaration that Enoch walked with God, reveals the fact that anyone in those days could have walked with God and had fellowship with Him if they wanted. How did Enoch walk with God, and what did this mean? The Scripture does not tell us, but all that it does say is that he was a man of faith who pleased God, and this was what distinguished him from others (Heb. 11:5).
This testimony of Enoch as a man of faith who pleased God, should cause you to ask the question, “How can I please God?” The answer is simple! The very next verse in Hebrews 11 declares, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). This means that you need to put your faith in the Father and in His Son Jesus Christ. Paul preached that God had commanded him to, “Preach to the people, and to testify that it is He (Jesus) who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:42-43). Jesus also said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24). Each of us needs to realize our responsibility to put our faith in God and choose to please Him before pleasing anyone else.
Another important thing about Enoch was that he pleased God, because he was a preacher of righteousness. Jude 1:14-15 declared, “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’” Enoch was a bold man of faith who told people the truth about the Lord and about their sin. This also was what pleased the Lord about this man’s life. Faith that pleases God will also motivate a person to walk with the Lord all the days of their life. They will not walk with God one month, and then the next walk away from Him. Faith is what makes a person faithful and consistent in their relationship with Him. Enoch stood steadfast against those who spoke ungodly things about him, and he continued to preach. May each of us walk with God in this same manner.
God took him! Vs. 24
Notice that the Scripture declares that God took Enoch. In other words, he did not die a natural death, but God took him alive and raptured him into heaven. Eight times the Scripture declares of each of the other men in the genealogy that, “he died.” But Enoch did not die a natural death as all these other men. Why is this an important point to think about? Because this is the first mention of God taking or rapturing someone off the earth to be with Him in heaven. But this is only one of a multitude of times the Scripture speaks of this phenomenon. I use this word phenomenon, because it is a miracle and a wonder that God would do such a thing. I also need to address this issue, because there are many in the church who don’t believe in the rapture of the church. Is the Rapture a clear teaching in the Bible? I believe it is. Let me show you several examples of God doing the same thing He did with Enoch. These are powerful examples!
In 2 Kings 2:11 it declares that as Elijah was talking to Elisha one day, “Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” So, Elijah was taken just like Enoch, so that he did not see death. Another example was Philip who was caught away in the same manner. The Bible declares that right after he baptized the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:39 it says, “Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.” Philip was caught away, not to heaven, but to another place on earth. Then the Apostle Paul also experienced this miracle of being caught away into heaven. In 2 Corinthians 12:4 Paul declares that he was, “Caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which is not lawful for a man to utter.” This same catching away happened to the Apostle John when he was caught up into heaven in Revelation 4:1. John writes, “After these things I looked, and behold a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, 'Come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this.’” Then in Revelation 11:12 Scripture declares concerning the two witnesses during the Tribulation, “They heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, 'Come up here.' And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.” This will be an awesome demonstration to even their enemies who will see them caught up into heaven right before their eyes. Last, in Revelation 12:5 referring to the woman who bore the male child it declares, “She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her child was caught up to God and to His throne.” This is referring to the resurrection of Christ to be seated with the Father on His throne. With all these examples, it is quite obvious that this catching away is not a peripheral teaching in the Bible. God can catch away or rapture any person or group of people that He wants to, whenever He wants to! It has happened many times before, so believe it.
The most important passage that deals with the Rapture of the church is given by Paul the Apostle in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 where he writes, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” This promise is made to believers who walk with God, who will be alive at the coming of the Christ. What a promise this is! But then the question is, are you walking with the Lord? If you are, then you will be caught up with Him in the air, when He comes for His church. What a glorious day that will be! If you believe in Him, and have asked for His forgiveness, and have received Him by faith, and are walking with Him today, then you are ready to meet Him in the air.
Noah, the preacher of righteousness.
Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died. Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. And he called his name Noah, saying, ‘This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.’ After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died. And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth” (Genesis 5:25-32). So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died. Methuselah lived longer than anyone who has ever lived on the earth. This is an amazing thing to note in this record.
Then Methuselah’s son, Lamech, fathered Noah another man of faith. Lamech should not be confused with Cain’s son, Lamech, in Genesis 4:19, because these were two different men. The Lamech referred to here, was a man of faith, because he predicted that his son Noah would bring rest to the pain of this cursed world, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed” (Gen. 5:29). This prophetic word from Lamech, revealed the faith and confidence this man had concerning the future. This man’s faith was remarkable, because the days of Noah were incredibly evil. I believe we also must have faith that even in the midst of our own evil world, there is deliverance that is coming one day to this earth.
How did Noah bring rest to the world?
Noah was in the family lineage of Christ. Noah would ultimately bring forth the promised Seed of the woman, the Messiah, that would bring the ultimate rest that this world needed. Remember that Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Lamech, Noah’s father, believed God’s promise that was made in Genesis 3, that the Seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent, and thereby deliver all mankind. This is also why Lamech in faith named his child Noah, which means rest. He believed this promise that was made over 1000 years before. Though he didn’t see anything tangible that this rest was coming, he still believed God’s Word. This statement of faith also revealed that this promise had to have been communicated from each parent to their children throughout that time.
Noah is a type of Christ.
One of the most important facts about Noah is that the Bible called this man a type of the Christ who was to come. In 1 Peter 3:18-21 the apostle declared, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering [of God] waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Let me explain what a type and anti-type mean, and how they are used in the Scripture.
First, the word type is used in Romans 5:14-15 where Paul writes, “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.” The word type means an example, pattern, or model of something else. Therefore, Adam’s rebellion against God which brought sin upon all mankind was an example or model of what the Christ would do in bringing deliverance from sin to all mankind. The word type is translated examples in 1 Corinthians 10:6 referring to the moral lessons that we should learn from what the Israelites experienced. Noah was then an example or model of how Christ would also bring salvation to the whole world, and at the same time bring judgment to all mankind.
Second, what does an antitype mean? A type and an antitype are synonymous terms; a type looks forward, and an antitype looks backward, depending on the context. The word antitype literally means something formed after a pattern. In the context of 1 Peter 3:21, he is showing how baptism looks back to the deliverance of the flood and God’s longsuffering during that time. Baptism is a pattern of the deliverance we have in Christ. But, does baptism save anyone? Note that Peter qualifies his usage of baptism by defining what he is referring to, as not the removal of the external filth on the body, but the inward change within the conscience of a person before God. Scripture also teaches us in Hebrews 9:14 that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses our conscience from dead works. This is the inward change that occurs at salvation. Therefore, physical baptism in water is only an outward sign of the inward work that has already taken place in the heart of a believer.
Peter also tells us that the flood is an incredible picture of God’s divine long-suffering. Why? Because God waited so long before destroying all mankind. As I have before established in this series of studies, at the time of the flood there were probably billions of people on the earth. Yet we are told that all of them, except for Noah and his family, that their thoughts were only continuously evil (Gen. 6:5). But some think, “Why did God allow this evil to go on for so long?” It was because of His divine longsuffering. God long suffers, and waits, and waits, and waits for one reason: so that He might save as many people as He can. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). God has told us that He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Eze. 18:23). God’s divine longsuffering is the same reason that judgment has not fallen on the world that we live in today. But the flood is a testimony that judgment will come one day. Are you ready to stand before the judgment seat today?
To conclude, Noah is therefore a picture of death, burial and resurrection. The flood brought an incredible death and burial to all mankind. But Noah and his family reveal the great resurrection of life. Noah is a type of the life you can have in Christ today. Adam was a type of Christ. Also, Jonah was a type of Christ. Jesus referred to Jonah in Matthew 12:38-40 when he was confronted by the Pharisees asking, “‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.’” So clearly there are many uses of typology throughout the Scripture concerning Christ.
But one word of caution. Some try and find types in the Scripture that just aren’t there. A simple safeguard concerning types would be this. When the Scripture declares that Adam was a type, or if Jesus declares that Jonah was a type, you are safe. Let the Scripture interpret itself. Don’t add of take away from what God has revealed in His Word.
As it was in the days of Noah.
One last thought concerning Noah. Jesus said in Matthew 24:37, “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” This warning by Jesus makes it clear that there will be tremendous evil in the final days before the Second Coming of Christ. This is where our world is headed. Are you prepared for this reality? Paul predicted that, “Evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13). Our world is not going to get better and better; the Bible is clear; it is going to get worse and worse! Therefore, you had better prepare yourself for what is coming. I would encourage you to be a Noah or an Enoch. They were men of faith, and that is what enabled them to stand against the tide of evil all around them. Peter said that God, “Saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly.” If Peter called Noah a preacher of righteousness, then this is significant as a demonstration of his faith. God has called each of us to be preachers of righteousness. But you can’t be a preacher of righteousness unless you are living and walking in righteousness. That is absolutely a necessity. You must be walking with the Lord, if you are going to proclaim the way of the Lord, because people want to see the way of righteousness, not just hear about it. But both are essential. I find that people go to extremes and are not balanced in this regard. Some say, “Well, I’m going to preach the gospel and if necessary, use my words,” thinking that their life should be all they need to witness to others. But then why did Jesus send the disciples out to verbally preach the gospel (Matt. 10:7; Matt. 10:27)? Others think, I will just preach to anyone I can find. I don’t have to be concerned with my character and how I treat people. But both sides of this equation need to come together. You will always need words to preach the gospel. This is how a person comes to the full knowledge of Jesus and what He has done for them. You also will need a life that demonstrates the gospel that you are preaching is in fact the truth. If you don’t speak the truth, people cannot know the truth. So, speak up, and preach the gospel! Then walk in love toward those you share with. This is what will enable you to give a complete witness for Christ that He desires.