Verses 1&2, following the line of Adam down through Seth—a genealogy. First of all there is a summary of the first few chapters, verse 2, man and woman. In verse 3, the principle that Adam begat in his image one called Seth. But notice in verse 1 that God made man in the image of God, soul and spirit gave him inner life. But now we find that Seth is the image of Adam, which means all members of the human race, after Adam sinned, who are born into the world are born with a sin nature.
Verse 4 – “…and he begat sons and daughters.” This is where Cain got his wife, and where they all got their wives to begin with.
Starting in verse 6 we have a genealogy which is very important, for without this genealogy we have no salvation. The line of true humanity which takes us down to the virgin birth comes through this genealogy, through the line of Seth. Notice a principle in all of the verses through this chapter. We see with each one the words, “they lived” and “they died.” Notice that in the line of Cain you don’t have this phraseology—no mention was ever made of their living because they were always seeking to find a substitute for fellowship with God. The unbeliever is always looking for happiness, and even if he finds it, it never satisfies him. So in the true sense they do not live because all of these people in the line of Seth because they were born again, they were regenerate. Death is never mentioned in Cain’s line because it was taboo—never talk about death. They were afraid of death because after death the judgment. So in the line of Cain there is nothing to face after death but judgment, but in the line of Seth they talked about death because they were born again and prepared for it, and death meant something wonderful to them. It mean absent from the body and face to face with the Lord. So all the way through this chapter “they lived, they died,” their life was filled with wonderful things because they accepted Christ as saviour and because God provided many wonderful assets for them in time; therefore their lives were filled with thrilling things, with things that added up to happiness.
The names:
“Kenan” means deplorable in the sense that man himself is deplorable; this is the opposite of energy of the flesh. He only becomes dependable when he uses what God provides.
“Mahalalel” means praise of God. This line praised God.
“Jared” means descent. This is the descent of the seed of the woman.
“Enoch” again, which means consecrated or dedicated. This time it is a spiritual dedication which becomes a source of blessing.
There are several things that need pointing out in this chapter. Note verse 21—Methuselah is the oldest person who ever lived. His name means when he is dead it shall be sent. The day that Methuselah died was the last day on the earth for the unbeliever. It was the day the flood began. As long as he lived judgment was being held up. This is an illustration by antithesis of the fact that the day Christ returns judgment begins for the human race.
Verse 22 – Enoch walked with God; Verse 24—“and he was not for God took him.” Enoch was translated before the flood came. It is an illustration of the Church which is translated before the Tribulation comes. “Enoch walked with God” means he had marvellous fellowship with God. He is cited in Hebrews 11:5,6 as one of the greatest people of all time for fellowship with God. He walked with God—Genesis 5:22; he pleased God—Hebrews 11:5,6; he proclaimed God—Jude 14 & 15. Enoch was the first prophet of the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.
There are two types of typology to be noticed. The typology between Cain and Abel and then the typology between Abel and Seth. Cain and Abel stand as representatives of the human race. Every member of the human race falls into one category or the other. Cain represents the unbeliever, religious type; Abel represents the believer. All of the human race is divided by Cain and Abel. They form the categories for the human race, and the categories are set up by John 3:36. We also have a typology between Abel and Seth. Abel died and is a picture of Christ dying on the cross; Seth took his place and was alive, and this is a picture of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There are many analogies here:
Abel died childless; the Lord Jesus Christ dwelt alone during His earthly ministry. Christ is the last Adam in that sense.
Abel died a violent death at the hands of his brother; Jesus Christ was crucified by His brethren the Jews.
Seth was raised to take Abel’s place; Jesus Christ rose from the dead to become the firstfruits of them that slept.
Sons and daughters came through Seth, not Abel; regeneration comes as a result …