The God of Generations
“Show me, Lord, my life’s end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,
even those who seem secure.
“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom;
in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth
without knowing whose it will finally be.
“But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.” – Psalm 39:4-7, NIV
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. – 2 Peter 3:8-9, NIV
“The primary purpose of this genealogy is to record and catalogue the descent of the promised seed, the godly line… it finds its climax and fulfilment in the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.” – John D. Currid
“Following the account of human sin and death, the author sets out by means of genealogy to show the continuing effects of sin but also the faithfulness of God’s promise of procreation and blessing.” – Kenneth A. Matthews
“Walking with God is the key to the chains of the curse.” - T.J. Cole
Genesis 5 is a passage that emphasizes the way that God is faithful to each generation and faithfully working out His plan over generations. This should give us a great deal of hope and a much healthier perspective on time. On the one hand, Scripture is clear that our time is short and that we need to use the time we are given to its fullest potential (see Ephesians 5:15-16). On the other hand, Scripture is clear that God orders history to His ends and His people need not be frantic (Daniel 2:20-21). “Unprecedented” seems to be so overused we’ve become numb to its meaning. Not far behind is the word “historic”, by which of course we don’t mean that every second is history in the making but rather that a certain happening in our day, is soooo important that it’s changing history. Our God works at slower than a marathon pace often though. He longs for His people to know Him in faithful walking. He doesn’t need an epic moment to be shaping and using us, He’s happy to use any moment. After all, He is the God of history.
One of the many things I learned in watching the Olympics over these last two weeks was how a gymnast must direct their eyes to stay well balanced on the 4-inch wide beam. The key is to focus on the end of the beam in each maneuver. Keeping their eyes focused on the ends of the beam allows for balance in the crazy flips, turns and jumps a gymnast takes. Genesis 5 should teach us much of the same thing: keep our eyes on the horizon rather than allowing each twist and turn, bump and bobble to through us off into a tailspin. Our Faithful God is not thrown off because of our mistakes. He is never surprised. He’s yet to be in a situation where He is unsure what to do next with you or your life.
Questions for further discussion/life application:
What big event or situation are you feeling anxious about that you need to entrust to God? How will you remind yourself that ‘God’s got this.”?
What activity or event do you need to complete sooner rather than later as you remember that God will help you do that which He’s entrusted to you? What first step do you need to take today as you make the most of the time God has given to you?
Reflecting on your story, how can you see God working on the horizon of the past?
What future event or generation should you be praying about knowing that God will be at work 100 years from now?
Several of you commented on how helpful the chart was I shared as one of the slides Sunday. Here is the full chart: https://assets.answersingenesis.org/img/articles/2009/01/timeline.gif
