Summary:
Though we do not look to the same promises that these people looked to, we can still look back and see that our God is truly a promise keeping God. Further, we can see that since He is a promise keeping God, then He will certainly fulfill those promises that have yet to be fulfilled. We look to the promise of that Scarlet-Thread of hope Jesus to come back for His own.
Genesis 5-11
You know, it’s interesting that sometimes we hear of people tell those who experience some sort of hardships to look for a “silver-lining.” That is, they are to look for a possible “good” in a bad situation. That may be good advice to an extent, but in Christianity, it’s a little bit different. Instead of looking for a silver-lining, what we need to be looking for is the Scarlet-Lining, the hope for all mankind, Jesus Christ.
When we learn to do this, suddenly, our circumstances suddenly have a purpose. Now, we may not know what that purpose is every time, but we do know that because of Christ, every single circumstance can be endured with a knowledge that 1) God loves us and 2) God can gain glory out of it.
This is important to remember in light of the depressing scenes from which we’ve just come. Jealousy, premeditated murder, shock, callousness in light of the crime; pain, chaos, destruction, sin, and corruption— a world and way of life we are very familiar with— all occurring just one generation after the fall of mankind.
But if you remember, in Genesis 3:15 God promised that He would raise up a seed from Eve that would ultimately crush sin and death forever and completely restore what was lost in the fall. And from that point forward, all throughout the pages of the Old Testament, God continued to remind His people of this very promise.
Moving forward through the Bible, we know this seed was the God-Man, Jesus Christ our Savior who became sin for all mankind, bore our inequity and sorrow, and was crushed under the judgment of God the Father in order that God’s prophecy be fulfilled and mankind could be redeemed back to God.
However, it is important to remember that at the time when all of these events were taking place, the people who knew and honored God could not see the full picture that we can see on this side of the cross. They simply relied upon God’s promises, looking for that Scarlet-Lining, and it all begins right here.
Just follow along as these passages unfold.
The Scarlet-Lining Was God’s Promise of Hope— Genesis 5:1-6:8
Starting in Genesis chapter 5, you might see something disturbing if you look close enough. You’ll read the words, “… and he died.” As this generational account is given, it is reminding us of something very sobering, death continually comes for us as a result of the fall. Over and over again we read this pattern: 1) The telling of how long a particular individual lived 2) How old they were when they had their first child 3) They die… which equates to: A person is born, they get married, they have children, and they die.
The above passage was written as a separate section, but is still a continuation of the “Creation Drama.” It was actually written to be a shock to the reader so that we would know what was happening to us, as the only creation made in God’s image, was in complete contrast to God’s original design.
However, what we find inside of this passage is very interesting. When you’re examining this portion of Scripture you should notice is that an entirely new line of genealogies are being given. In Genesis four we’re given a genealogy out of the line of Cain. In Cain’s family line we see an obvious departure from from God and His way. But starting in Genesis 4:25 we see something exciting, “And Adam knew his wife again; she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.”
These are sad words, but great words. Though Eve recognized that her own son had become the murderer of her younger son, God had blessed again and given her a third child named, Seth. The name Seth means “Compensation” and holds the idea that God not only provided her a son to replace Abel (as compensation), but a son that could possibly be the one whom God had promised and would bring restoration. She was looking for the “Scarlet-Lining” because of God’s promise.
Obviously, we know that Seth was not the Messiah, however, it is though this line that God started building and preserving a righteous line that would lead to the Messiah. Just look at what happens in the line of Seth in verse 26 of chapter 4, “And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.”
If we were to follow this linage in chapter 5 in detail, we would see that there was growing anticipation of God’s fulfillment of His promise with each generation, and this anticipation came with fathers from the line of Seth teaching their children how to follow after God, and more than that, explaining to them that God promised to do away with sin and death.
And because of this promise, fathers were so expectant of it, and had such faith in God to complete it, they began to wonder if their sons could possibly the One whom God had promised. Just look at some of these names:
- “Mahalaleel” means “Praise of God”
- “Enoch” means “Dedicated”
- “Lamech” means “Powerful”
- “Noah” means “Rest”
- Note: Look at what Lamech said about his son Noah in Genesis 5:29, “And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.”
The Scarlet-Lining Was God’s Promise of Mercy— Genesis 6:1-10:32
Obviously we have entered into the flood narrative when God justly poured out His judgment on the earth for the pervasive sin that existed throughout mankind. If we were simply thinking of this event in terms of its bare facts, we could categorize it simply as:
- Man’s wickedness was pervasive on the earth
- God decided to send judgment by way of a world-wide flood
- God provides grace to one family (Noah and family) and instructs him to building an arc
- The arc is to sustain Noah and his family, as well as two of every kind of animal for over a year
- Judgment is carried out with 40 days and 40 nights of rain
- God pushes a “restart” button on humankind with Noah and his family
- God gives a promise never to flood the earth again and gives the sign of the rainbow.
This is what we might know as the “Sunday School” version, but there is a tremendous amount more to the story than this. The flood narrative actually centers around a theme of God’s commitment to mankind and to the New Covenant He would establish. It is from this point, God would continually be known by His people as a “Covenant-Making” “Covenant-Keeping God. And what makes this so very significant is the fact it is revealed in this passage the absolute depravity of man and the absolute holiness of God.
This section starts out by telling us a story… about us. We can certainly get stuck on information in this passage about who the “Sons of God” were or, who are the “Daughters of men?” We can give ideas about how they must be evil angels taking wives of mankind, thus creating giants, corrupting the human race, and becoming a threat to God’s plan in sending a Messiah. We can talk about how they are simply a ruling body of men who were evil and corrupting the line of Seth and therefore a threat to God’s plan in sending a Messiah. Or, if there those don’t work, we can talk about other theories that could possibly apply here. However, ideas like this muddy the water a little bit and miss the point as to what the real issue is. The real issue is the heart of man.
In Genesis 6:5 we read, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and the every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” This was not merely an indictment of people living during this time, this was a holy observation of a holy and righteous God made toward all of humanity. That said, what this passage makes abundantly clear is that before God, we are all hopelessly guilty and worthy of death.
However, in this passage, we are also introduced to the Scarlet-Lining of God’s Mercy and grace; mercy because just judgment was held back, and grace because a means of salvation was provided for all who would receive it.
This is when we read of a man named Noah who, “… found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” This one man understood the significance of why he was alive; he understood the significance of who he was and who God was and this caused him to be… “a just man and perfect in his generation, and to… walk with God.”
This is what a true understanding of God’s mercy and Grace will do. It will overwhelm you to follow hard after God, no matter what anyone else does around you. And it is this kind of person that God loves to use as a vessel for His glory; and that is exactly what we see here.
Despite the fact that all of humanity stood guilty before God (even Noah), He used Noah as a vessel of His glory by commissioning him to build an Arc of salvation. Where there should have been judgment on all, God gave mercy and grace.
We also need to pay attention to the fact that God’s grace is even more amplified after He commissioned Noah to preach of the coming judgment the entire time the Arc was being built. However, only the animals God provided to the Arc and Noah’s immediate family.
And just as God promised, everyone and every creature on the arc were completely saved; and every person on the outside of the arc were completely destroyed.
A last piece to this narrative comes by way of the rainbow that came after God’s New Covenant with Noah, and really, to all of mankind mentioned in Genesis 9:1-19. This was unilateral and binding covenant of God’s mercy that explained that God would continue to allow the flourishing of the human race and would never again flood the earth. Actually the reason we are still here, is because this convenient is still in effect.
The Scarlet-Lining Was God’s Promise of Preservation— Genesis 11:1-9
The third major theme in this section happens at the infamous “Tower of Babel.” After the flood, God had given a command once again to be fruitful and multiply, and further gave instruction about the sacredness of human life.
However, in this section, we find that once generation after generation had passed, the sacredness of human life turned into an unholy pride, and instead of being fruitful and multiplying, we find that people were centralizing and unifying. And in this centralization and unity, they all have what they think is a fantastic idea. They’ll build a tower.
Now, if it was just a tower that would be one thing; but it was not just a tower, it was a challenge to God. Genesis 11:3-4 says, “And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone ,and slime had they for mortar. And they said, Go to, let us build a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”
They wanted recognition and show God and the rest of the world, in case they were scattered abroad, just what they were made of! What is funny is that the way verse 5 reads in the Hebrew text is that God was illustrating how He actually had to come down to see this little tower and little city that they thought was so big and impressive. “And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.”
What we learn ultimately from this situation is that when people are unified, sin actually compounds and gets worse and worse. But with God’s covenant, His objective is to preserve us— and so what He does is given to us in Genesis 11:6-9:
“And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and the have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of the all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.”
The point is that God had promised to preserve the human race but that we posed a threat to ourselves by this kind of unity. Therefore, God separated the people groups so that we could be saved from ourselves. God had to separate us in order to preserve us.
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Discussion Points:
Discuss how each of these points are applied to this Biblical narrative:
- There is always cause to praise God in light of the continual mercy and grace He has shown us.
- Like Noah preached salvation by way of an arc in his day, we must preach salvation by Christ in our day.
- Pride always leads to disobedience
- God never allows the proud to ultimately succeed