Genesis 5:18

Genesis 5:18 says, And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:  Verse nineteen states, And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:  Verse twenty adds, And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.  Verse twenty-one states, And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:  Then verse twenty-two declares,  And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:  We are told that Enoch walked with God.  I believe that Enoch had a very close personal spiritual relationship with God, and not that he walked with God physically.  Verse twenty-three states, And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:  Then verse twenty-four proclaims, And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.  Enoch is one of only two people who thee Bible tells us never died.  When Enoch was three-hundred and sixty-five years old, God took him on to heaven.  Verse twenty-five states, And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech:  Verse twenty-six adds, And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:  Then verse twenty-seven adds, And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.  The only thing of significance about Methuselah is that he lived longer than anyone else listed in the Bible.  Verse twenty-eight says, And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:  Verse twenty-nine states, 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.  We are told that Noah was to be a comfort to the people, but he became the one through whom mankind would be physically saved.  Verse thirty adds, And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:  Verse thirty-one concludes, And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.  Verse thirty two states, And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.  Instead of one son, three sons of Noah are named.

Genesis 5:1

Genesis 5:1 says, This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;  We are told that this book, or chapter will give the genealogy of Adam, and are reminded that Adam was created by God in the image of God.  Verse two states, Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.  God created both men and women.  Verse three says, And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:  We are not told about the birth of Cain and Abel, but of Seth when Adam was one hundred and thirty years old, and the genealogy will be followed through Seth.  Verse four states, And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:  We are told that Adam lived for eight hundred years after Seth was born, and he had more sons and daughters, about whom we have no information.  Verse five declares, And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.  Adam and Eve had not eaten of the tree of life, so after nine hundred and thirty years he died.  Physical death and suffering were a result of disobedience to God, and everlasting life with God can only be restored through our faith in Christ.  The next several verses list Seth and his descendants.  The only thing we might note is that all the descendants were not listed.  Verse six says, And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos: Verse seven adds, And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:  Verse eight concludes, And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.  Verse nine states, And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:  Verse ten adds, And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:  Verse eleven concludes,  And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died. Verse twelve states, And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:  Verse thirteen adds, And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:  Verse fourteen concludes, And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.  Verse fifteen states, And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:  Verse sixteen adds, And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:  Verse seventeen concludes, And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.

Genesis 4:18

Genesis 4:18 says, And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.  This is simply a list of the descendants of Cain, and there is nothing much to add to it.  The earth was being populated is about all that we might say.  Verse nineteen states, And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. In  this verse, we see that God's concept of marriage was already being corrupted.  What we must always remember is that marriage is an institution created by God, where a man and a woman become one flesh under the authority of God.  No man made law is ever going to change that, but unfortunately we too often leave God out of marriage.  Verse twenty says, And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.  This verse tells us of the occupation of the descendants of one of the sons of Adah, Jabal and his descendants.  The raised cattle.  Verse twenty-one adds, And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.   Adah's other son, Jubal, and his descendants were musicians.  Verse twenty-two declares, And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.  Zillah, the other wife of Lamech, had a son named Tubalcain,, and he was a metal smith, I guess would be accurate.  Zillah also had a daughter named Naamah, and we are not told what she did.  Verse twenty-three declares, And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.  Though we are not told who, we are told that Lamech called his wives to him and told them that he had killed a young man.  We are not told why or how he did this, but simply the fact that he did.  He knew that he had done wrong.  I guess confessing to his wives was a good thing, but it did not change the facts.  Confessing our sins, especially to those closest to us may be a good thing, but it does not excuse the sin.  Verse twenty-four adds, If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.  Lamech felt that his punishment would be much greater than Cain's was.  No sin is punished any greater for one person than it is for another.  All sin leads to death, to everlasting separation from God, unless we accept forgiveness through Christ.  Verse twenty-five states, And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.  I am not sure how much time passed, but at some point Adam and Eve had another son named Seth, whom Eve said was another seed because Abel had been killed.  He was not a replacement for Abel though.  I do not believe that one child can ever replace another, but can only be another blessing themself.  Verse twenty-six declares, 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.  Even though Adam and Eve had walked with God in the garden of Eden, we are told that with the birth of Enos, the son of Seth, people began to call on the name of the LORD, or the only real God.  No matter how close our parents may be or have been to God, we must call on Him individually to be saved.

Genesis 4:13

Genesis 4:13 says, And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.  Cain had killed his brother out of jealousy and anger, but he complained to God that his punishment was greater than he could stand.  Life was no longer going to be easy for Cain, but he should have been grateful that he was alive.  We too often seem to feel that our punishment is unfair when we should simply acknowledge that we should be grateful that we are alive and have the ability to repent and be restored to God, as did Cain.  I believe his attitude shows that he still had not taken responsibility for his actions.  Verse fourteen states, Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.  Though Cain would be a vagabond, he was not driven from the face of the earth.  We are not really told of anyone else knowing about what Cain had done, so we should question why everyone would want to kill Cain.  Of course, there is also the question of where everyone came from if Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel were the only people who existed.  Whoever the people were, Cain said everyone would want to kill him, possibly based on the way he treated Cain.  Cain was judging others based on his own attitude.  Verse fifteen declares, And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.  God protected Cain from being killed.  Today, if we are alive, even if we refuse to follow God's teachings or even believe in Him, we are alive because God sustains our life.  God said anyone killing Cain would be punished seven times worse, and he put a mark on Cain so that everyone would know who he was.  I don't believe that this was a mark that would pass to Cain's descendants as some claim, but was a mark unique to Cain.  His descendants, like ours, are not punished for our sins, but each individual is held accountable for his or her own.  Verse sixteen states, And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. Cain went to dwell in the land east of Eden.  Eden was not the only place in the world, and Cain was not the only one cast out, so his punishment may not have been as severe as he claimed.  We never find an account of Cain accepting responsibility for his actions and asking forgiveness, and since he evidently did not, then God's face was indeed hidden from Cain as he had stated earlier.  Sin, especially unconfessed sin that we know we are guilty of, will always stand between God and us.  Verse seventeen declares, And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.  We know that there were at least a few more people than what has been revealed, because Cain had a wife.  This does not make the account of Adam and Eve and the garden of Eden incorrect.  Cain and his wife had a son that they named Enoch and built a city named after Enoch.  Then, we begin the genealogy verses.

Genesis 4:1

Genesis 4:1 says, And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.  This is the first recorded birth, and God is credited with giving life to the baby, Cain.  We should always acknowledge God as the source of life.  Verse two states, And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.  Then, we have a record of the birth of Abel, and are told both Cain and Abel's occupation, so evidently some time had passed since their birth.  Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer.  Verse three declares, And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.  After some time, Cain brought sacrifice to God.  This was before the sacrificial system was set up, so we must assume that this was something that Cain decided to do on his own.  This does not say that Cain brought the best of his fruit to God.  If we are going to give something to God, we need to make sure we are doing so with His guidance and that it is the best that we have.  Verse four states, And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:  Abel brought an offering to God, and we are told that it was the first and best of his flock.  We should always give the best that we have to God.  Verse five proclaims, But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.  Some people say that Cain's offering was not accepted because it was not a blood sacrifice.  We need to remember that this was before what was to be sacrificed was spelled out and that it was a voluntary sacrifice.  I believe the reason the sacrifice of Cain was not accepted was because of his attitude.  I believe Cain made the sacrifice to bring praise to himself and not to God.  Likewise, I believe that Abel's sacrifice was accepted because his attitude was to give God the best.  We cannot give to God for any reason other than to bring glory to Him and expect Him to have to accept our sacrifice and praise us.  I believe that Cain's countenance fell because he expected praise and did not receive it.  Verse six asks, And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?  God asked Cain why he was upset.  Like Cain, we really have no reason to be upset if we offer something to God for the wrong reason and He rejects it.  Verse seven adds, If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.  God told Cain that if his attitude toward God was right, then his sacrifice would be accepted.  God did not say that if Cain brought the right sacrifice that it would be accepted.  We should always bring the best that we have to God for His glory, and when we do our sacrifice will be accepted.  Verse eight states, And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.  We are told that Cain talked with Abel.  I believe that it was not a polite conversation on the part of Cain.  Cain was not satisfied with talking, but was so angry he killed Abel, who had done nothing to Cain.  I believe that self righteousness was behind the murder.  We can never allow the successful worship of God by someone else to make us angry.  If we feel that someone is being more blessed, then we should simply praise God for their blessing.  Verse nine proclaims, And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?  God asked Cain a simple question that He already knew the answer to.  Cain did not answer, but responded with a question for God.  We are never going to outsmart God, no matter how we may attempt to deflect His questions.  Cain asked if he was his brother's keeper, as if he didn't know what had happened to Abel.  We can be certain that when God asks us a question that He already knows the answer, and if we are guilty of sin our only response should be to confess that sin and ask for forgiveness.  Verse ten asks, And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.  God told Cain that He knew that he had killed Abel.  The truth can never be hidden from God, no matter how evasive we may be.  Verse eleven states, And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;  Then verse twelve adds, When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.  Sin will never go unpunished.  Even though Christ took on the punishment of our sins Himself, they were and are still punished.

Genesis 3:14

Genesis 3:14 says, And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:  The serpent was at least used by Satan in the deception of Eve, and but it was really Satan that was punished.  We may simply be following the deception of Satan when we sin, but we will still have to accept punishment for our sins.  Verse fifteen adds, And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.  Though spoken to the serpent, this relates more to the woman and Satan.  This refers not to the serpent, but to Satan.  The woman had been deceived by Satan, but now there would be an enmity between them.  Satan really is always the enemy of people, wanting only their destruction in an attempt to justify his own actions.  Then, there is a reference to Christ, the One Who would bruise Satan's head while Satan bruised His heel.  Satan may have felt almost victorious at the death of Christ, but it proved but a temporary bruise in terms of eternity.  Verse sixteen declares, Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.  The women was not left blameless.  Though she had been deceived, she was still responsible for her disobedience.  Pain in child birth was her sentence, and we could add the fact that her husband would rule over her.   Still, we should view this as with both husband and wife being obedient to God.  Verse seventeen says, And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;  Though Adam attempted to blame both the woman and God, he was told he was responsible for his own actions.  We cannot place the blame for our sins on anything but our own disobedience to God.  I don't believe that we are  guilty of sin simply because we were born, but are guilty of sin when we are capable of knowing what God wants us to do and not doing it.  God had made it clear to Adam what was not allowed, and Adam did it anyway.  Verse eighteen adds, Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;  Then verse nineteen continues, In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.  Instead of a garden where everything was in harmony, Adam was going to find the ground cursed and have to labor for his food.  I believe that we will always find life harder when we do not follow God's teachings.  Verse twenty states, And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.  Adam named the woman Eve, meaning she was the mother of all people who lived.  Verse twenty-one declares, Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.  God made coats of skins for Adam and Eve.  Someone may personally believe that it is sinful to wear fur and leather, but God certainly does not teach this.   We should never attempt to make things true when they go against Biblical teachings about God.  Verse twenty-two proclaims,  And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:  Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but had apparently not eaten of the tree of life.  God said that this was not going to happen.  Verse twenty-three adds, Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.  Adam and Eve were evicted from the garden of Eden, and sent to earn their own way.  Verse twenty-four states, So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.  We don't need to speculate where the garden of Eden was or is, because God has hidden it from us and prevents us from going there.  Our way to everlasting life with God is through accepting Jesus as our Savior and Lord, and that is what we really need to concentrate on.

Genesis 3:9

Genesis 3:9 says, And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?  God called to Adam, not because He didn't know where Adam was, but to allow Adam to respond to Him.  We do not have to find God, because He will always call us to Him.  Nor can we hide from God, since He always knows where we are, both physically and spiritually.  Verse ten states, And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.  Adam responded that he heard the voice of God and was afraid because he was naked, as he had always been.  Adam's physical state was not really what made him afraid, but his spiritual state was.  We have no need to be afraid of God unless we have been disobedient to Him.  Verse eleven asks, And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?  God asked how Adam knew he was naked.  Then, God asked if Adam had eaten of the tree that he had been told not to eat of.  When we sin, I believe that we will be made aware of it, and sin is always disobedience to God's will for us.  God knew what Adam had done, but He was waiting for Adam to acknowledge it.  God knows when we sin, and if there is to be forgiveness and restoration, we must acknowledge what we have done.  Verse twelve declares, And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.  Basically Adam answered that it wasn't his fault, but God's fault or at least the woman's fault.  Adam said you gave me the woman, and she gave me the fruit and said to eat it.  We cannot blame God for our sins, nor can we blame others.  Adam knew what God had said, but he chose to listen to the woman instead.  Verse thirteen asks, And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.  God asked the woman what she had done, and she answered that she was beguiled, or tempted and deceived by the serpent.  If we do not have an understanding of God's word or a firm belief in what He tells us, then we may likewise be tempted to disobey Him.  Like Adam, the woman attempted to put the blame elsewhere.  Ultimately, we must confess and accept the responsibility for our own sins.  Then we can either ask God's forgiveness or continue to bear the responsibility for our sins.