In Genesis 5 we have another of the seven genealogies in the book of Genesis. Sometimes we rush through genealogies, or even avoid reading them believing them to be unimportant. But there is

information in these chapters that is designed to teach the diligent seeker. Usher used Biblical genealogies to determine that the creative days of chapter 1 occurred about 4,004 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. Apart from noticing the length of the lives of those who were born before the flood, we find the phrase - "and he died" occurs again, and again. This reinforces the sentence of chapter 2verses17, "you shall surely die". The Hebrew phrase actually means, in dying you will die, i.e. the process of corruption will bring you to the inevitable end in your death. The chapter therefore powerfully teaches, "as in Adam all die" (1 Corinthians 15verses22). But the same verse in Corinthians teaches, "even so in Christ shall all be made alive". There is in Genesis 5 one man for whom the words, "and he died" are not written - that is Enoch, whose days of "walking with God" (said twice) resulted in his being taken from the scene of death (cp Hebrews 11verses5). Amos 3verses3 says, "Can two walk together unless they are agreed? “This means that God and Enoch walked together as one; as did Jesus and His Father (Genesis 22verses8). Jude tells us that Enoch was the seventh from Adam, and therefore, as the man of covenant, typical of the Lord Jesus Christ. The probable death Enoch escaped, by God taking him away to another location, was the intended murder of Enoch at the hands of Lamech. The chapter also tells of the man, who lived longer than any other -

Methuselah (969 years); whose name contains a prophecy. His name means, "when he dies it shall be seen". In the year he died the flood came upon the earth, 1,656 years from the creation. Another significant name from Genesis 5 is Noah, whose name means "rest". The turmoil and trouble preceding the flood produced some rest in Noah's walking with God for the Almighty's mind, which had been disquieted by the evils described at the start of Genesis 6. The human imagination was continually fixed on evil. But Noah was a just i.e. upright and righteous man. Noah's life was not without sin; but his intent was on pleasing his Sovereign, by the way he walked. The story of Noah covers 4 chapters in Genesis (6- 9); and a time span of greater than 120 years. God's promise in verse 3 was to bring his judgments on the earth in 120 years’ time. Noah, himself, was at this time 480 years old and without children. 2 Peter 2 tells us that God was forbearing with bringing calamity to the wicked, as His intention is to save, rather than destroy. Hebrews 11verses7 says that Noah acted in faith in order to save the family that at that time he didn't have. Sons were born to Noah after his 500th year. The remainder of chapter 6 gives details of the building of this mighty vessel, whose size compared significantly with ocean liners of the twentieth century. It was made of durable gopher wood; and waterproofed with bitumen (pitch). The Hebrew word for pitch means "to cover", or "to atone for". It was a literal saving of those within; and a parable of the salvation in God's provided ark (the Lord Jesus Christ). Peter explains the parable in 1 Peter 3verses18-22. Baptism is an

ordinance of the Almighty to which those believing the LORD's word submit in order to be saved

(see Acts 4verses12). In this way our sins are atoned for; they are covered; and they are washed away (Acts 22verses16).