Vignette #5:  Our Lineup to the Flood

 

Now that we have finally finished with the story of Cain and Abel, the time has come for us to move on to the next Vignette or mini story in our presentation of God’s One Big Story–-an episode that will take us up to the time of Noah and the Flood.  However, to help us put things into perspective and help those who may be new to our group, let’s pause for a brief recap of our story so far. Remember that here at God’s One Big Story, we are engaged in a study of the Bible that is being presented in the form of a Play in Two Acts, with each Act consisting of Six Scenes and separated by one long Intermission. At present, we are in Act 1, Scene 1 where Vignette #5 is about to get underway.

To begin with, in Scene 1, we have been introduced to God in His leading role as “The Celestial Suitor”—the Supreme Being whose ultimate goal is to have a spiritual Family to love for all eternity.  Given that a family is naturally made up of a Husband and a Wife who have children, in this scene (covering the first eleven chapters of Genesis), God has been at work creating a world of nations from which He will choose one—Israel—to become His Wife.  It will be through His relationship with her that His Son, Jesus Christ, will eventually come into the world, and it will be through Him that God will one day obtain the family He has always desired.  Toward that end, here is what God accomplished so far…

• • In Vignette #1/ Genesis 1…He created the earth as the ideal home for His future family.

• • In Vignette #2/ Genesis 2…He created Man and Woman to bear His image on the earth, and to multiply and fill the earth with that image of His glory. He also made them overseers of His creation and charged them not to do one thing—eat the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

• • In Vignette #3/ Genesis 3…He allowed a malevolent spirit named Satan, appearing in the form of a serpent, to test the first couple’s obedience to His will. In the serpent’s temptation, Adam and Eve were presented with the only two real options in life—either to do things God’s way and live, or to go their own way and die.  When Adam and Eve chose the latter, sin, disease, and death passed upon them and all of their descendants.  But when their sin resulted in their separation from God, He graciously showed them that their relationship with Him could be restored if their sins were atoned for through the blood sacrifice of an innocent substitute.

• • In Vignette #4/ Genesis 4…When the time came for Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve’s sons, to offer their own sacrifices to God, Abel’s offering was accepted while Cain’s was rejected. This made Cain so angry that he murdered his brother.  When he refused to acknowledge and repent of this sin, God’s judgment resulted in his separation from God and to a life of wandering.  Later God provided Adam and Eve with another son, Seth, and with his arrival, a division of humanity into two distinct groups took place—with Cain heading up the line of the wicked, and Seth at the head of those in the righteous line.  At the end of this episode, and in keeping with the scriptural practice of identifying the members of the rejected line first, we were given the genealogy of Cain—an incorrigible line that will humanity and ultimately die in the Flood.

This brings us up to date in our Story and to Vignette #5, where we will find the material in Chapter 5 of Genesis—the first of many genealogies contained in the Bible.  While there are many who would consider this to be one of the most boring chapters in the Bible, I think you will be surprised to find that there are some important lessons to be discovered in its rather repetitious presentation of information.

With that being said, the time has come for our Story to resume and for the lights in the theatre to dim and the curtains to part once more.  As they do, we find ourselves looking upon a Stage that is pretty much in the same state as when Vignette #4 ended.  The major difference is that Cain and his line of descendants have moved from the front of the stage to the back, forming a line across the rear of the stage.  The spotlight, which was previously on our right, has moved to our left and is once more focusing on Adam, as we hear our off-stage Narrator begin his recitation of…

This is the book of the generations of Adam.  When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.  Male and female he created them and blessed them and named them Man when they were created.  When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image and named him Seth.

At this, we see Seth walk across the stage and stand next to his father.  As the spotlight moves to highlight him, we hear the Narrator speak again, saying…

The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years, and he had other sons and daughters.  Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died. 

This scene is then repeated five more times, with only the names and years being changed, and with our Narrator continuing in his very formulaic fashion…

When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh.  Seth lived after he fathered Enosh 807 years and had other sons and daughters.  Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.

When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan.  Enosh lived after he fathered Kenan 815 years and had other sons and daughters.  Thus all the days of Enosh were 905 days, and he died.

When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel.  Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel 840 years and had other sons and daughters.  Thus all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died.

When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared.  Mahalalel lived after he fathered Jared 830 years and had other sons and daughters.  Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.

When Jared had lived 162 years, he fathered Enoch.  Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years and had other sons and daughters.  Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died. 

Up to this point, everything has been going along monotonously well, but here—at the seventh generation from Adam—we find something unusual taking place.  Our Narrator, using the most economical description possible, explains this by saying…

When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah.  Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters.  Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years.  Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. 

In other words, unlike his predecessors, Enoch did not experience death but was translated out of his earthly realm of existence and into the heavenly realm of existence with God!  Without offering us any more to go on, and just as though this revelation was of little or no consequence, our Narrator once again resumes his narration with…

When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech.  Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters.  Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.

But just as he seems to be falling back into the same droning pattern of…

When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son and called his name Noah… 

…and the spotlight comes to rest on Lamech, we are surprised to hear a sudden outburst from him, as he makes this prophetic statement about his son…

…Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands…

…after which, our Narrator continues as before with…

Lamech lived after he fathered Noah 595 years and had other sons and daughters.  Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.

After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

 

 

With the line of the Righteous now stretching out on the stage before us, Vignette #5—that is, Genesis 5—abruptly comes to a halt.  The curtains close and the lights in the theatre go down again providing us with yet another pause in our production for the purpose of critiquing what has just taken place.  Although it may be tempting to think that there is nothing worth critiquing in this very abbreviated episode, quite a lot has been revealed here that will need to be discussed.  So, let’s take a moment, change out of our Theatre Patrons’ Hats and into our Theatre Critics’ Hats once more, and get ready to analyze the People, the Patterns, and the Precedents that are being established in Searching for Truth in the First Book of Begats.