GENEALOGIES are often considered to be not just the LEAST IMPORTANT but also the most BORING parts of the Bible. Definitely not fascinating. And apparently not super important either. But is that assessment ACTUALLY TRUE? Let’s take a look - on this episode of Masterpiece!
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The genealogies in the Bible are not just beautiful and fascinating works of art - they also play a really crucial role in this book, because they’re an indication of life and new beginnings in the midst of a fallen world and because they give hope that the promised savior will indeed come. In fact, the theme of salvation is always present in the genealogies and one of the ways to see this is to once again focus on the intentional design of the text.
Let's take a look at the first two genealogies in the Bible in Gen 4 and 5. At first glance you might think that the genealogy in chapter 4 begins after that story in verse 17 but actually it already starts in verse 1 with the birth of Cain. So the story of Cain and Abel in the first half of the chapter is actually part of the genealogy - in the sense that it gives us more information about the first descendant of Adam, which is Cain.
The first genealogy continues in verse 17 with the birth of Cain’s son Enoch and again there is a brief narrative about Cain, then we have three more descendants and then we get to Lamech who is the seventh person from Adam and here we again have an expansion where we learn more about this man: for example, that he has not just one, but two wives, that he has three sons and that like Cain he is a murderer. But he seems to be even worse than Cain because he apparently killed multiple people and he also openly brags about it. In other words, the genealogy climaxes with a character who very clearly demonstrates what Cain’s attitude will ultimately lead to.
The genealogy stops at this point, but the narrative does not. It continues in verse 25 where we read about Eve giving birth once more and the interesting thing about this is that the way this is reported is almost identical to the beginning of the chapter, but this time, instead of focusing on what SHE has achieved, Eve talks about what GOD has provided. So at the end of a chapter that is characterized by human achievement and autonomy from God which leads to violence and death there is hope of new life because of the seed which God provides.
This hope continues in the second genealogy in chapter 5 where we have a pretty regular pattern: A certain individual lived a certain number of years and fathered another individual. After he had fathered this person, the individual lived a certain number of years and fathered sons and daughters. And all the days of this individual were this many years and he died. So that’s the pattern, but here also there are deviations: everywhere else in this chapter it says that an individual lives after they father a son. But in the case of Enoch’s, the seventh from Adam, it says: he walked with God. Also: Everyone else dies, but Enoch is taken by God. Which again gives hope that death will not have the last word. So we have two genealogies right next to each other and both highlight the seventh individual who appears to stand representative for the two lines.
Interestently, there is another deviation in verses 28-29, where we again have a man named Lamech. So toward the end of both genealogies there’s a Lamech and both of them speak. The first Lamech speaks about retaliation, the second speaks of comfort. The first Lamech celebrates sin, the second longs for relief from the consequences of the fall. And he associates that relief with his son Noah whose name means rest and who has three sons like the Lamech in the first genealogy. Lamech brings violence and death to others, but Noah saves others from death in the waters of the flood. Which reminds us of another savior, the ultimate savior, the ultimate comforter who is able to rescue us from a world of sin and evil and bring us safely to a world made new, just like Noah. And the amazing thing is: that savior is not just the climax of all the genealogies of the Old Testament, he’s also the second Adam which means, he’s the first of the genealogy of the redeemed and we can be a part of that genealogy through the new birth Jesus is offering us.
18 апр 2021
