Genesis 4 Please read this section because I do not have room to quote it here.
The descent of mankind leads to the first murder. And notice that the first murder is a religious war! Some will object to God’s right to reject one man and accept the other. Many will object to the concept of hell or eternal punishment. And when the New Testament describes hell both as a lake of fire and also as outer darkness I see those again as poetic images. However this concept of separation from God and judgment is here in the Bible from the beginning. This theme cannot be ignored.
The significance of Genesis 4
Some say that there are “many paths leading to God” but this Biblical story seems to reverse that precept. The Biblical story implies that men have created many religions that are running away from God. The Biblical story is that God created all things good but mankind perverts all things-including religion. The Biblical story is that mankind must come to God on His terms, not our own, and that our Creator does have the right of judgment.
Genesis 5 Please read this section because I do not have room to quote it here.
The genealogies of the Bible have a purpose. They seem to connect the story to real historical people. Genealogies bring stories out of that mythical realm into a more historical context. I believe the genealogies of Jesus given in the gospel accounts serve that purpose. Even if these genealogies do not serve the purpose of historical dating they definitely separate the Bible stories from other more mythical legends. We will look at some Canaanite myths for comparison in a later chapter. Some have used these genealogies for dating but that is pushing the purpose too far. Some genealogies simply highlight the important figures like using Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln to represent American heritage.
The long life spans are difficult to me and others because they are out of our normal experience. Part of my common sense wants to dismiss these as fantasy. However, there is another caution in my heart saying to wait because there could be more than what I think that I know. The classical Biblical thought is that the earth was very different before the flood. Here are some notes from my NASB study Bible; “Whether the large numbers describing human longevity in the early chapters are literal or have a conventional literary function, or both, is uncertain. Some believe that several of the numbers have symbolic significance such as Enoch’s 365 (a full life) and Lamech’s 777 (completeness). The fact that there are 10 names in the chapter 5 list and also in the chapter 11:10-26 list makes it likely that it includes gaps, summarized in large numbers. Other ancient genealogies outside the Bible exhibit similarly large numbers. Example 3 kings in a Sumerian list also containing exactly 10 names are said to have reigned 72,000 years each-obviously exaggerated.”
