“Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah”; so begins the not usually read and thought to be boring account of names in the book of 1 Chronicles.
But.
Are they just names?
Let us look at some of them:
Adam. You cannot read that name and not think about God and creation, and the entry of sin into the world. Adam also reminds us of the last Adam Jesus Christ (see 1 Cor. 15:45–47) who came from heaven. But Adam was from the dust of the earth.
Seth. He reminds us of likeness. Adam and Eve were created in the image and likeness of God himself (Gen. 1:26, 27). But Seth was born in Adam’s own likeness and image (Gen. 5:3) which was by then tainted and corrupted by sin. And someday as we trust the last Adam Jesus Christ, we shall bear the likeness of him, the man from heaven (1 Cor. 15:49).
Enosh. The Bible records that it was after Enosh was born that men began to call on the name of the LORD (see Gen.4:26b). Can you recall that time of your life when you started to acknowledge God’s hand on your life? Does that remind of you how far you have moved away from him now?
Let me skip a few names. The Bible doesn’t give more details about their lives. But wait a minute. Look at Luke 3:35 last part and 36. It is through these men that the human ancestry of Christ is traced through David and Abraham up to Adam. Remember it is your link with Christ that gives your life it’s meaning and also makes it has a sense of direction and purpose.
Now Enoch. He walked with God (Gen. 4:24). He was the seventh from.Adam and prophesied Christ’s Second Coming (Jude 14). He did not experience death but was taken away. Something that will happen to all believers when Jesus comes again (1 Thess. 4:17). But the most important certificate given to Enoch is that he “pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5) which is the result and hallmark of faith in God.
Coming to Methuselah. He lived the longest on earth. 969 years. Died in the year of the flood. Reminds us that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and also that death is God’s judgement on sin. Life will end however much you are in love with it.
And finally Noah. A man who found favour in God’s eyes, a righteous man and blameless among the people of his time. He too walked with God (Gen. 6:8, 9). He reminds us of the safety we have in the ark when the flood of God’s judgement comes. And that ark is Jesus himself (see 1 Peter 3:20, 22; 2 Peter 2:5). Are you safely inside the ark?
Related Posts:
Adam, Seth, Enosh, … Noah
Adam and Jesus Christ
Enoch Walked with God
Enoch Walked with God; So Can You!
Enoch–The Earliest One Who Prophesied of Jesus’ Second Coming and Experienced it!
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Insight
One’s own name sounds the sweetest in the world. You feel that when someone calls out your name or find it written or printed somewhere. How delighted you can be when you find it written in the Book of Life?