# 5 - The Descendants of Cain - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein we explore the genealogy of Adam and his descendants, revealing God's faithfulness amidst human frailty. Discover the deep significance of these generations as they unfold the promise of redemption and point toward the coming of the Messiah.
Episode 5 of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein is inspired by the Book of Genesis.
Sign up for The Chosen People devotionals at https://www.thechosenpeople.com/sign-up
For more information about Yael Eckstein and IFCJ visit https://www.ifcj.org/
Today's opening prayer is inspired by Psalm 136:1, “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
Listen to some of the greatest Bible stories ever told and make prayer a priority in your life by downloading the Pray.com app.
Show Notes:
(01:13) Intro with Yael Eckstein
(03:05) The Descendants of Cain - Cinematic Retelling
(18:26) Reflection with Yael Eckstein
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:00
Speaker 1: Previously on The Chosen People, Kan where is your brother?
00:00:09
Speaker 1: God's question mirrored the question once posed.
00:00:12
Speaker 2: To his father Adam.
00:00:15
Speaker 3: Where are you?
00:00:17
Speaker 1: God knew the answer. He was inviting Cain to dialogue
00:00:21
Speaker 1: with him, to acknowledge his mistakes.
00:00:28
Speaker 4: Please stop, Oh blessed are you now?
00:00:32
Speaker 3: Abel?
00:00:34
Speaker 1: But now that the Creator's justice fell upon Cain, he
00:00:37
Speaker 1: realized he was wrong, woefully and terrifyingly wrong. The earth
00:00:43
Speaker 1: vibrated as if sobbing over Abel.
00:00:46
Speaker 2: The earth that has opened its mouth to receive your
00:00:49
Speaker 2: brother's blood will be cursed because of you. The earth
00:00:54
Speaker 2: will no longer give you its strength. You shall wander
00:00:58
Speaker 2: this land, hung, starved, undeprived.
00:01:04
Speaker 1: Their sins mock them, but they were also sealed by
00:01:08
Speaker 1: God beloved and chosen to be heirs of his mercy.
00:01:17
Speaker 5: In the wake of the fall. The story of Adam's
00:01:19
Speaker 5: descendants and folds into a saga of survival and promise. Shalloon,
00:01:23
Speaker 5: my friends, I'm ya l extein here in the Holy
00:01:26
Speaker 5: Land with the international Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and
00:01:31
Speaker 5: this is the Chosen People. In each episode, we'll explore
00:01:35
Speaker 5: epic tales inspired by the Hebrew Bible to uncover lessons
00:01:39
Speaker 5: that still resonate. Today, we will traverse tales of faith, failure,
00:01:44
Speaker 5: love and loss. We will press into the story of Israel.
00:01:48
Speaker 5: We'll discover what it means to live a life of
00:01:50
Speaker 5: purpose and step into the calling that God has for
00:01:54
Speaker 5: each one of us. God chose the nation of Israel
00:01:58
Speaker 5: on Mount Sinai. Through the story of the Jewish people,
00:02:02
Speaker 5: we will discover one abiding truth that we are all
00:02:06
Speaker 5: chosen for something great. In our story, so far, we've
00:02:10
Speaker 5: seen the world in its infancy, a masterpiece crafted by
00:02:14
Speaker 5: the hands of God himself. We've seen unity between God
00:02:19
Speaker 5: and man, man and woman, humanity and creation. And then
00:02:22
Speaker 5: we witness the fall of humanity, shattering the dreams of
00:02:26
Speaker 5: God and man. And as we turn to Genesis five,
00:02:30
Speaker 5: this story continues to unfold with the genealogy of Adam.
00:02:37
Speaker 5: It might not seem like a story, but this genealogy
00:02:40
Speaker 5: is a story of God's faithfulness in midst of human frailty.
00:02:45
Speaker 5: And it's a story of how the descendants of Adam
00:02:48
Speaker 5: and Eve fit into the grand narrative of Scripture. Together,
00:02:54
Speaker 5: let's discover how their stories intertwine in a world cast
00:02:58
Speaker 5: and darkness, and they shine the light of God's promise
00:03:03
Speaker 5: and to us all.
00:03:07
Speaker 1: Adam cradled the new born Babe and looked out at
00:03:10
Speaker 1: the horizon. The dust lid skies were painted with strokes
00:03:15
Speaker 1: of crimson and charcoal. A chill bit at Adam's cheeks.
00:03:20
Speaker 1: He brought the babe close to his chest to shield
00:03:22
Speaker 1: him from the wind. He looked down at the sleeping child,
00:03:26
Speaker 1: its face tense, shut.
00:03:28
Speaker 3: From the world.
00:03:29
Speaker 1: The years had taken the glow away from Adam's eyes.
00:03:33
Speaker 1: They were lower, duller and worn from years of toil
00:03:37
Speaker 1: and loss. Yet this new child brought a lightness to
00:03:41
Speaker 1: Adam's countenance. A smile crested on the edge of his
00:03:45
Speaker 1: mouth as he stroked the infant's crinkled nose.
00:03:49
Speaker 6: Your name will be sir.
00:03:52
Speaker 4: You shall be my appointed son, chosen and set apart
00:03:56
Speaker 4: to here our family's heart break.
00:04:00
Speaker 1: Adam's voice was soft, like worn leather. It had taken
00:04:05
Speaker 1: him years to recover from the loss of Abel. His death,
00:04:09
Speaker 1: coupled with Caine's exile, nearly destroyed Eve. Her flame flickered
00:04:14
Speaker 1: dimly now, But with the birth of Seth, perhaps the
00:04:18
Speaker 1: embers of hope would be found.
00:04:20
Speaker 6: This world is cruel but filled with beauty.
00:04:24
Speaker 3: O son subdue it here for it.
00:04:30
Speaker 1: The babe opened his eyes slightly to look at his
00:04:33
Speaker 1: father's face. Adam saw a sea of possibilities reflected in them.
00:04:39
Speaker 6: One day your mother and I will return to the dust,
00:04:44
Speaker 6: But through Yo you will live on, Like seeds falling
00:04:50
Speaker 6: from the trees.
00:04:52
Speaker 2: Our legacy will continue.
00:04:54
Speaker 1: Through Yo, through Seth, a lineage of redemption would fall,
00:05:00
Speaker 1: one that would last through destruction and despair. The earth
00:05:05
Speaker 1: was still young, and humanity multiplied from within small families
00:05:09
Speaker 1: and stretched outward. Came, driven by a restless ambition, ventured
00:05:14
Speaker 1: further east, carving a name for himself in the annals
00:05:18
Speaker 1: of history. His progeny, a dark brood, sowed the seeds
00:05:22
Speaker 1: of destruction, chaos, and pride, marring God's creation with their deeds. Seth, however,
00:05:30
Speaker 1: chose a different path, one laden with the weight of redemption.
00:05:34
Speaker 1: He bore the mantle of responsibility, determined to infuse the
00:05:39
Speaker 1: earth with the essence of God's character. Step by arduous step.
00:05:45
Speaker 1: In the twilight years of Adam and Eve, Seth fathered Enosh,
00:05:49
Speaker 1: a child destined to be a pivotal thread in the
00:05:53
Speaker 1: divine tapestry of redemption. Seth lived to see the birth
00:05:57
Speaker 1: of his grandchildren and great grandchildren, each a beacon of
00:06:01
Speaker 1: hope in a world teetering on the brink. Enosh begot Cannon,
00:06:06
Speaker 1: and sons and daughters flowed from his lineage, spreading across
00:06:10
Speaker 1: the earth. When Enosh's time came, he returned to the dust,
00:06:15
Speaker 1: as had his forebears. Cannon's first born, Mahalalel, continued the
00:06:21
Speaker 1: line his life a fleeting whisper, before he too succumbed
00:06:25
Speaker 1: to the curse of mortality. Mahalalel sired Jared, who in
00:06:30
Speaker 1: turn begot Enoch. The descendants of Cain and Seth fanned
00:06:35
Speaker 1: out across the land. Tribes formed, some finding refuge in
00:06:40
Speaker 1: the mountain ranges to the west, while others journeyed further east,
00:06:44
Speaker 1: erecting cities and towers that stood as monuments to their pride.
00:06:49
Speaker 1: Amidst these clashing legacies, Enoch walked, a righteous man, navigating
00:06:55
Speaker 1: the perilous expanse, seeking the Creator's light in a world
00:07:00
Speaker 1: fraught with darkness. Enoch paused at the Great Gates with
00:07:06
Speaker 1: a cart behind him. His son Methuselah padded close behind
00:07:11
Speaker 1: like a pup. Enoch despised these places. They were brewing
00:07:16
Speaker 1: with wickedness, yet he required the iron hoarded within.
00:07:21
Speaker 4: Stay close to me, Meddie, keep your eyes sharp and
00:07:24
Speaker 4: your steps light.
00:07:26
Speaker 1: Navigating the crowded streets, Enoch led his son through the chaos.
00:07:31
Speaker 1: Methusella clung to his father, eyes wide with fear at
00:07:34
Speaker 1: the vagrants and traders who argued with venomous tongues. Rough
00:07:39
Speaker 1: men lurked in shadows, predators seeking prey. Statues of wood
00:07:43
Speaker 1: and bone carved into disfigured and beastly warriors cast dark
00:07:48
Speaker 1: shadows that seemed to swallow the light. The father and
00:07:52
Speaker 1: son marched up a large dirt path carved from the
00:07:55
Speaker 1: stone side of the mountain. The path was large enough
00:07:59
Speaker 1: for five horses to trots side by side. The path
00:08:02
Speaker 1: led to a foreboding tower of wood, steel, and stone,
00:08:07
Speaker 1: from which smoke billowed, carrying the acrid scent of charred flesh.
00:08:12
Speaker 1: The sight and smell of it made Methusella pause. The
00:08:16
Speaker 1: towers seemed to him like a dragon's den, a mountain
00:08:20
Speaker 1: of evil and violence. Pikes holding up the severed heads
00:08:24
Speaker 1: of men and beasts were erected around the perimeter. The
00:08:28
Speaker 1: sight made Metthusella's stomach churn. He turned his chin up
00:08:32
Speaker 1: to his father, observing the resolute gaze he had. If
00:08:36
Speaker 1: knock was nervous, he didn't show it. At the entrance,
00:08:40
Speaker 1: they knocked on the gates, reinforced with rough metal and
00:08:43
Speaker 1: mammoth bone. They cracked open, revealing two guards with spears poised.
00:08:49
Speaker 4: What's your business, My son and I have come to
00:08:52
Speaker 4: barter a for iron. I need more tools to tend
00:08:56
Speaker 4: my farm.
00:08:58
Speaker 1: The men scanned them up and down, nodded, and opened
00:09:01
Speaker 1: the gates. Methuselah's eyes widened with terror when they entered.
00:09:06
Speaker 1: Sitting atop thrones hewn from the scars of the great lizards,
00:09:10
Speaker 1: were beasts like men. They were nearly ten feet tall,
00:09:14
Speaker 1: with arms like tree trunks and jaws like chiseledonyx. Their
00:09:19
Speaker 1: faces were deformed, with brows casting shadows over their serpent
00:09:23
Speaker 1: like eyes. Methuselah could feel their voices in his chest
00:09:28
Speaker 1: when they spoke.
00:09:29
Speaker 3: If it isn't Enoch, the man who walks with the
00:09:34
Speaker 3: Creator himself, what brings you to our domain?
00:09:43
Speaker 4: We need iron? Our tools have worn, and you have
00:09:46
Speaker 4: taken all the iron in the region. What will you
00:09:50
Speaker 4: give me in exchange?
00:09:52
Speaker 3: So formal?
00:09:54
Speaker 7: Why not stay a while? With us, n Og, you
00:09:57
Speaker 7: could tell us some of your favous tales about the Yellois.
00:10:02
Speaker 7: We have wine and women plenty.
00:10:07
Speaker 4: I can ship a third of my next harvest in
00:10:09
Speaker 4: exchange for your iron. The summer has made the ground rough.
00:10:15
Speaker 4: Good tools would break the earth much quicker.
00:10:19
Speaker 3: What's to stop us from just taking your farm, Nanoch?
00:10:26
Speaker 3: We've consumed other farms within our borders. How about we
00:10:33
Speaker 3: give your little plot of land rock?
00:10:37
Speaker 4: That'd be unwise.
00:10:39
Speaker 3: We see there, you forget who you're talking to.
00:10:50
Speaker 1: The creature gripped the shaft of his spear with his
00:10:53
Speaker 1: monstrous paws. Murder was in his eyes. Methusela could tell
00:10:58
Speaker 1: he was ravenous for any excuse use to put Enoch's
00:11:01
Speaker 1: head on one of those pikes outside. Yet his father
00:11:05
Speaker 1: remained voice unyielding. He stood with a confidence that somehow
00:11:10
Speaker 1: towered over even these giants.
00:11:14
Speaker 4: Take my land, consume it, and it will be gone.
00:11:18
Speaker 4: You and I both know you can't farm like the
00:11:21
Speaker 4: sons of Seth. But strike the steal with me and
00:11:25
Speaker 4: I'll give you a third of what I grow for
00:11:27
Speaker 4: the first harvest, and a sixth for the other three
00:11:30
Speaker 4: after that.
00:11:32
Speaker 7: You sons of Seth. Think you're so clever, not clever
00:11:39
Speaker 7: enough to secure the.
00:11:40
Speaker 1: Iron, not strong enough.
00:11:42
Speaker 7: To strike down the great beast, to fortify your walls.
00:11:47
Speaker 7: Do we have a deal, car.
00:11:52
Speaker 3: Enock, so Siria, so righteous y. You may be favored
00:12:04
Speaker 3: by the Creator, But tell me, do you bleed like
00:12:12
Speaker 3: the other sons of Seth? We cut open?
00:12:16
Speaker 1: One stood from his throne, feet shaking the earth with
00:12:20
Speaker 1: each step. As he strode toward Enoch, his nostrils flared
00:12:25
Speaker 1: like a bull's. Methusala could have sworn he saw smoke
00:12:28
Speaker 1: smoldering out with each breath. Enoch remained perfectly still, chin
00:12:34
Speaker 1: up and pointed toward the giant. Methuselah tried not to shake,
00:12:39
Speaker 1: drawing strength from his father's resolve. The beast stood only
00:12:43
Speaker 1: a few feet away, blocking out the light from the fire.
00:12:47
Speaker 1: There was a long, unsettling pause. Methusela's throat clenched, keeping
00:12:53
Speaker 1: the breath from exiting his lungs. His father was still.
00:12:57
Speaker 1: The man's hulking frame leaned forward. He bore his teeth
00:13:03
Speaker 1: like a wolf and spoke.
00:13:06
Speaker 3: You have a deal, Adoch, but failed to pay, and
00:13:12
Speaker 3: I'll take your wife, hate your children, and use your
00:13:17
Speaker 3: eldest as a toad.
00:13:21
Speaker 4: I'm a man of my word, with the Creator as
00:13:24
Speaker 4: my witness, I shall pay my share.
00:13:27
Speaker 3: Oh the Creator, you think hearing his name gives me comfort?
00:13:38
Speaker 3: Get out of here, and before I change my mind.
00:13:43
Speaker 1: Enoch wasted no time. He turned on his heels and
00:13:46
Speaker 1: left Methusela padded behind him like a puppy. They left
00:13:51
Speaker 1: the city, its stench lingered on them for a while.
00:13:55
Speaker 1: They crossed the brook separating the city in their land,
00:13:58
Speaker 1: then scaled the grassy knoll. They made it to a
00:14:01
Speaker 1: small summit, A singular cedar tree swayed to the midnight breeze.
00:14:07
Speaker 1: Methuselah could see the stars twinkling through the breaks in
00:14:11
Speaker 1: the leaves.
00:14:12
Speaker 4: What were those, father, Were they men?
00:14:15
Speaker 6: Ah?
00:14:16
Speaker 3: Yes?
00:14:17
Speaker 4: And no, they're the nephelim, spawn of the sons of
00:14:22
Speaker 4: God and daughters of men. So they're sons of angels. Ah. Yes,
00:14:31
Speaker 4: Do you remember the story of the garden?
00:14:33
Speaker 1: Matthusella nodded, waiting expectantly for his father to speak.
00:14:38
Speaker 4: Our ancestors were enticed by the tree of knowledge. They
00:14:42
Speaker 4: wanted to be like God, exchanging his will for them
00:14:46
Speaker 4: for pride. And they fell still. They multiplied and began
00:14:52
Speaker 4: filling the earth. When the sons of Adam multiplied here
00:14:55
Speaker 4: on the world and daughters were born to them, the
00:14:58
Speaker 4: heavenly beings saw that they were good. Just as Adam
00:15:03
Speaker 4: and Eve took the fruit of the tree, the divine
00:15:07
Speaker 4: beings took the daughters of men what came from them
00:15:11
Speaker 4: with the Nephelim neither human nor divine, creatures born from
00:15:16
Speaker 4: lust and pride. So now they just rule this land
00:15:21
Speaker 4: like gods. They are chiefs in this land, but not gods.
00:15:26
Speaker 4: They think they're gods. They think their strength makes them divine.
00:15:31
Speaker 4: That there's only one God. He has made us in
00:15:34
Speaker 4: his image. We are his appointed stewards of the world.
00:15:38
Speaker 4: The Nephelem know this, and hate us all the more
00:15:42
Speaker 4: for it. They were terrifying. You're right to fear them,
00:15:47
Speaker 4: but don't fear their size or their strength.
00:15:50
Speaker 3: Fear the evil they bring.
00:15:53
Speaker 4: This earth has been corrupted, Maty, It's been tainted not
00:15:57
Speaker 4: just by the giants, but by the darkness that's spread
00:16:01
Speaker 4: in the hearts of men. I fear the Creator won't
00:16:05
Speaker 4: endure this evil much longer. Why is that evil grieves
00:16:12
Speaker 4: his heart? Dis corruption, this violence, it wasn't his intention.
00:16:18
Speaker 1: Enoch sensed his son's discomfort. He brought him in close
00:16:22
Speaker 1: and sighed.
00:16:24
Speaker 4: Walk with him, as I have teach your sons what
00:16:27
Speaker 4: I've taught you, Perhaps we will endure the judgment to come.
00:16:33
Speaker 1: Enoch's words were edged into Matthusila's heart. The boy kept
00:16:37
Speaker 1: them close. He grew into a man watching his father
00:16:41
Speaker 1: faithfully walk with the Creator. So faithful was Enoch that
00:16:46
Speaker 1: he didn't taste the sting of death. His forefathers Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kennan, Mahalala,
00:16:54
Speaker 1: and Jared all returned to dust, But the Lord saw
00:16:58
Speaker 1: Enoch and spared him. One day, as Enoch walked along
00:17:02
Speaker 1: those same grassy knolls, he was taken up to be
00:17:06
Speaker 1: with his Creator. Enoch left the earth, and now it
00:17:11
Speaker 1: was Methusalah's turn to carry the torch of God's promise.
00:17:15
Speaker 1: Methuselah fathered Laymock and lived an abnormally long life. He
00:17:20
Speaker 1: lived long enough to meet his grandson Noah. He watched
00:17:23
Speaker 1: Noah closely, seeing Enoch's heart in him. When Methuselah passed,
00:17:30
Speaker 1: Noah was the last to honor the Creator. A solitary
00:17:34
Speaker 1: light in a dark world. He alone carried the torch
00:17:38
Speaker 1: of devotion. Misery and corruption had spread like a disease
00:17:43
Speaker 1: in the heavenly plain above earth. The Lord spoke, lamenting
00:17:48
Speaker 1: the state of his world.
00:17:50
Speaker 2: My spirit shall not abide in Man forever, for he
00:17:54
Speaker 2: is flesh. A hundred and twenty years is what they
00:17:58
Speaker 2: will have left. I will blot out man from the
00:18:02
Speaker 2: face of the land, for I am sorry that I
00:18:06
Speaker 2: have made them.
00:18:08
Speaker 1: A storm was coming, the purifying and terrifying work of
00:18:12
Speaker 1: God was at hand. Yet in the midst of it
00:18:16
Speaker 1: all hope still remained. It flickered like a faint light
00:18:22
Speaker 1: carried carefully by Noah.
00:18:30
Speaker 5: Genealogies most of us find them boring. The names and
00:18:34
Speaker 5: ages feel like never ending list. But beneath the surface
00:18:39
Speaker 5: we have to see there's a message. Genesis five begins
00:18:43
Speaker 5: by saying, this is the written account of Adam's family line.
00:18:47
Speaker 5: When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness
00:18:50
Speaker 5: of God. Here's how it says it in Hebrew. In
00:18:53
Speaker 5: the scriptures, the Saifer Toldotta dam beyond bore Eloy Madam
00:18:59
Speaker 5: bid moo Asato. The great sage ben Azi said this
00:19:05
Speaker 5: verse is the basic principle of the entire Bible. Now,
00:19:10
Speaker 5: doesn't that sound strange? Of all the important verses in
00:19:14
Speaker 5: the Bible, of all the amazing and important Bible stories
00:19:17
Speaker 5: that we will study, of all the important lessons and
00:19:20
Speaker 5: commandments that the Bible gives us, how could this simple
00:19:24
Speaker 5: verse contain the essential principle to all of God's word. Well,
00:19:29
Speaker 5: let's think again about what it means to be created
00:19:31
Speaker 5: in God's likeness or God's image. As we have said,
00:19:36
Speaker 5: it means that we can always feel that God is
00:19:38
Speaker 5: with us, that he loves us, and that he forgives
00:19:41
Speaker 5: us for our sins. He provides us with a pure
00:19:44
Speaker 5: soul and wants us to do good things for ourselves,
00:19:47
Speaker 5: for our families, and for others in need. Now, as
00:19:50
Speaker 5: we will see, some of the generations in these genealogies
00:19:54
Speaker 5: that we're studying today respected that they were made in
00:19:57
Speaker 5: God's image, and others did not. Even today, some people
00:20:03
Speaker 5: recognize that they are made in God's image and they
00:20:05
Speaker 5: lived their lives by that idea, and other people don't.
00:20:11
Speaker 5: But we know that God shows us the right way
00:20:13
Speaker 5: to live. We know that to live in God's image
00:20:17
Speaker 5: means that we give to others, that we believe in justice,
00:20:21
Speaker 5: that we make this world brighter by doing good deeds
00:20:24
Speaker 5: that we pray that we connect to God. God tells
00:20:28
Speaker 5: us in his very own words in the Bible what
00:20:31
Speaker 5: it means to live by Him. What ben Azzi is
00:20:36
Speaker 5: saying here when we talk about this verse being one
00:20:39
Speaker 5: of the most important, is that as we study the Bible,
00:20:43
Speaker 5: just as we're doing right now, we need to remember
00:20:47
Speaker 5: that we are reading God's holy words. It's the same
00:20:52
Speaker 5: God in whose image we are created. We are created
00:20:56
Speaker 5: in God's image, and we're reading his desires for us.
00:21:02
Speaker 5: Isn't that incredible when you really think about how God
00:21:06
Speaker 5: wrote the Bible for us and that we are a
00:21:09
Speaker 5: part of him. Isn't that such a good feeling? One
00:21:14
Speaker 5: more thought about this seemingly simple verse. The phrase in
00:21:18
Speaker 5: this verse, it says written account, comes from a very
00:21:22
Speaker 5: simple Hebrew word, say fair. Well, say fair in this
00:21:27
Speaker 5: verse might be translated as written account, but what it
00:21:30
Speaker 5: really means is book. Maybe this verse is telling us
00:21:35
Speaker 5: all that each of us, from Adam and Eve right
00:21:38
Speaker 5: down to you and me, is a book, a story,
00:21:43
Speaker 5: a written account that God has not abandoned. Each one
00:21:47
Speaker 5: of us is a book about how we use that
00:21:50
Speaker 5: being created in the image of God, to change the world,
00:21:54
Speaker 5: to fix the world, and to make it beautiful. I
00:21:58
Speaker 5: know how I'd like my story to read, and I
00:22:01
Speaker 5: know that you know how you would want your story
00:22:04
Speaker 5: to read too. And those are the values by how
00:22:07
Speaker 5: we have to live our lives each day. Now, let's
00:22:12
Speaker 5: talk about Adam. Adam is the beginning. The story of
00:22:18
Speaker 5: Adam and Eve is foundational. Their story is our story.
00:22:23
Speaker 5: We see in them our own struggles, our own brokenness.
00:22:26
Speaker 5: But we see how sin has marred our relationship with
00:22:29
Speaker 5: God and with each other. But we also see hope.
00:22:34
Speaker 5: The Hebrew word for hope is tikuva, and we see redemption,
00:22:39
Speaker 5: the hope for redemption and the belief in redemption. Adam
00:22:44
Speaker 5: and Eve's genealogy in Genesis five is a testament to
00:22:48
Speaker 5: God's faithfulness that despite their failure, God's plan continues through
00:22:54
Speaker 5: their descendants, from Seth the appointed One, to Eno, who
00:22:58
Speaker 5: walked with God, to Noah, the bringer of rest. Each
00:23:03
Speaker 5: generation from Adam and Eve carries the promise of God's
00:23:08
Speaker 5: goodness forward. Now let's look at Enoch, who the Bible
00:23:14
Speaker 5: says walked with God in a world marked by sin
00:23:18
Speaker 5: and death. His faith stands out. He had a closeness
00:23:23
Speaker 5: with the Creator that set him apart from others. And
00:23:26
Speaker 5: then the Bible tells us that he was no more
00:23:29
Speaker 5: because God took him away. Eno didn't experience death, he
00:23:36
Speaker 5: was just taken up by God. In this we see
00:23:39
Speaker 5: a glimpse of a day when life triumphs over death,
00:23:44
Speaker 5: the possibility of Eden being restored once again to the
00:23:49
Speaker 5: time when there was no suffering. Enoch had a son, Mitusela,
00:23:55
Speaker 5: who was the oldest man to ever live. He lived
00:23:59
Speaker 5: wait for it, nine hundred and sixty nine years. But
00:24:05
Speaker 5: in Hebrew the name Mitusela has another meaning. Mitusela means
00:24:12
Speaker 5: in his death shall bring Now doesn't it sound a
00:24:18
Speaker 5: little bit ominous? What did Mitusela's death actually bring. Well?
00:24:26
Speaker 5: It brought the flood, It brought judgment. For every one
00:24:30
Speaker 5: of those nine one hundred and sixty nine years, God
00:24:33
Speaker 5: delayed his judgment, giving humanity more time to repent. Every
00:24:38
Speaker 5: year Mitusella lived was another year that the people could
00:24:42
Speaker 5: have turned their heart back to God, another year for
00:24:46
Speaker 5: Noah to build the ark, another year for the world
00:24:49
Speaker 5: to turn back to themselves, to turn back to truth,
00:24:54
Speaker 5: to turn back to God. But the world didn't repent,
00:24:58
Speaker 5: and when Mitusella died, the flood came, which we'll get
00:25:02
Speaker 5: to in the next episode when we explore Genesis six
00:25:05
Speaker 5: the story of his grandson Noah. But here in Genesis five,
00:25:09
Speaker 5: there's a rich legacy in these genealogies of Adam, who
00:25:13
Speaker 5: was created in God's image. It moves to Seth, the
00:25:16
Speaker 5: appointed one of Eno who walked with God, pointing to
00:25:20
Speaker 5: the hope of eternal life, of Mitusela, whose long life
00:25:24
Speaker 5: shows God's mercy before judgment. And all of those lead
00:25:29
Speaker 5: to Noah, the one through whom God would preserve humanity.
00:25:35
Speaker 5: So we have to ask, what is the thread running
00:25:40
Speaker 5: through all these generations that this scripture tells us about. Well,
00:25:46
Speaker 5: it tells us about one thing, God's promise to speak
00:25:52
Speaker 5: more on this genealogy, and what else it tells us
00:25:55
Speaker 5: is my good friend, Bishop Paul Lanier, thank.
00:25:58
Speaker 8: You so much. I was just sitting here listening to you. Rightly,
00:26:03
Speaker 8: Note that just bringing up the word genealogy can sound
00:26:08
Speaker 8: so boring, can seem so uneventful unless you're doing what
00:26:13
Speaker 8: we're doing right now and searching the scriptures and studying
00:26:17
Speaker 8: the remarkable lives of men and women are fathers and
00:26:22
Speaker 8: mothers of the faith. But I've got a question. If
00:26:27
Speaker 8: God is eternal, meaning if God has always existed as
00:26:32
Speaker 8: he exists now and will forevermore exist and not just existing.
00:26:38
Speaker 8: If God is ruling and reigning and sovereign and sitting
00:26:42
Speaker 8: upon the throne where he has no peers, and he's
00:26:45
Speaker 8: omnipotent and omniscient and omnipresent and immute all of these
00:26:50
Speaker 8: glorious attributes. If that is God, and if you and
00:26:54
Speaker 8: I were created to be everlasting and we are, then
00:26:59
Speaker 8: where does this, this whole issue of genealogy and generations
00:27:04
Speaker 8: fit in. Well, that's really a great question. And you
00:27:08
Speaker 8: know that in the garden God had prophesied over Adam
00:27:12
Speaker 8: and Eve and said to them, if you doubt my word,
00:27:17
Speaker 8: if you deny it, if you disobey it, and you
00:27:21
Speaker 8: partake of the fruit of rebellion against the covenant between us,
00:27:25
Speaker 8: then in that day you will surely die. But when
00:27:30
Speaker 8: we've studied the scriptures, we find that they did not
00:27:34
Speaker 8: immediately fall lifeless to the ground when they disobeyed him.
00:27:38
Speaker 8: So what does it mean. Well, it means that tragically,
00:27:42
Speaker 8: something catastrophic was unleashed throughout the totality not only of
00:27:47
Speaker 8: their being, but all of creation itself. It diminished their
00:27:52
Speaker 8: minds in the thinking, their conversation between one another, how
00:27:56
Speaker 8: they related to each other, even to the garden, and
00:28:01
Speaker 8: how they related to goden Your Bible says that the
00:28:06
Speaker 8: Lord would come walking in the garden in the cool
00:28:08
Speaker 8: of the day, and how they would anticipate it, nothing
00:28:12
Speaker 8: like it. But once they had abdicated their identity, their
00:28:17
Speaker 8: position in God, strange things started happening. How Adam looked
00:28:23
Speaker 8: at himself, how they looked at one another, got to
00:28:27
Speaker 8: the point bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.
00:28:30
Speaker 8: And then God, it's not my fault, it's her fault.
00:28:35
Speaker 8: And then how they even related to him. God. They
00:28:39
Speaker 8: had once rushed to his coming with greatest anticipations because
00:28:44
Speaker 8: they loved him, and they loved those moments with him.
00:28:48
Speaker 8: But once they had diminished themselves through rebellion, the Bible
00:28:53
Speaker 8: says that they tried to hide themselves.
00:28:56
Speaker 3: In the garden with the garden.
00:28:58
Speaker 7: Can you believe this?
00:28:59
Speaker 8: They so old fig leaves together and tried to cover themselves.
00:29:04
Speaker 8: I know that sounds so silly until I start thinking
00:29:08
Speaker 8: about some of the things I've tried to hide behind.
00:29:14
Speaker 3: Maybe you have to.
00:29:16
Speaker 8: And so there was life and death and life and
00:29:20
Speaker 8: death and life and death and generations genealogy. But this
00:29:27
Speaker 8: is what's beautiful about it. God has a remarkable plan
00:29:32
Speaker 8: for your life that's so extraordinary, so wonderful, that it
00:29:38
Speaker 8: takes more than your life to fulfill. It now requires generations,
00:29:45
Speaker 8: sons and daughters and grandchildren. And when I look at
00:29:49
Speaker 8: these men and women once they left the garden, I'm
00:29:53
Speaker 8: in awe. They did not die that day. They didn't
00:29:56
Speaker 8: die either next day or a year later, a decade,
00:30:00
Speaker 8: or even a century. These people lived for centuries. Can
00:30:06
Speaker 8: you imagine that. But as time passed by from the
00:30:11
Speaker 8: garden and they were distanced from the garden, their interaction
00:30:16
Speaker 8: with the glory of the Lord that had so permeated
00:30:19
Speaker 8: their very bones, their molecular constitution was now compromised, threatened, diminished, gone,
00:30:28
Speaker 8: and they were left then to wrestle with mortality. And
00:30:36
Speaker 8: so we have this genealogy. And for Christians we look
00:30:40
Speaker 8: in the New Testament at the first book, the book
00:30:43
Speaker 8: of Matthew, who was a CPAA tax gatherer, if you will,
00:30:48
Speaker 8: who thought very methodically, very logistically, was very important for
00:30:53
Speaker 8: Matthew that the Jewish people in particular know that Jesus
00:30:59
Speaker 8: was Jewish, and so Matthew includes three different genealogies of
00:31:04
Speaker 8: fourteen persons each.
00:31:08
Speaker 3: Wow.
00:31:09
Speaker 2: Wow.
00:31:11
Speaker 8: But now I want to close my part of this
00:31:14
Speaker 8: by speaking to you directly, Elle, something I've already said
00:31:18
Speaker 8: to you privately, and I've spoken it publicly several times.
00:31:21
Speaker 8: But I want our people listening now to hear it.
00:31:25
Speaker 8: That's how indebted, how grateful I am to you for
00:31:29
Speaker 8: all you've taught me about Jesus of Nazareth. Now I'm
00:31:36
Speaker 8: not referring to Jesus Christ. That's a faith issue. That
00:31:41
Speaker 8: may be what I believe as a Christian about Jesus
00:31:45
Speaker 8: of Nazareth. But when I just think about not God's Son,
00:31:49
Speaker 8: but Mary's boy. Yeah, Ell, every time I see you
00:31:54
Speaker 8: in Israel and you're talking about the Sea of Galilee,
00:31:58
Speaker 8: Jesus of Nazareth was there, or Bethlehem or any of
00:32:02
Speaker 8: the other extraordinary places that you go as a Jew,
00:32:06
Speaker 8: and you share about the festivals and all the particulars
00:32:10
Speaker 8: of being Jewish. You help me understand more about Jesus
00:32:16
Speaker 8: of Nazareth, and I'm deeply grateful to you. Could I
00:32:21
Speaker 8: pray with you now, all of you. God is so good,
00:32:24
Speaker 8: and I just want to close my part with a blessing.
00:32:26
Speaker 2: Father.
00:32:27
Speaker 8: I thank you for these extraordinary people listening to us now,
00:32:30
Speaker 8: searching the scriptures, discovering much about you. I thank you
00:32:34
Speaker 8: for these moments. Now, bless each of us and our generations,
00:32:38
Speaker 8: and for all this we give you praise.
00:32:42
Speaker 3: Men.
00:32:44
Speaker 5: Before we go, let's go back to Enoch, who walked
00:32:47
Speaker 5: with God. Enoch wasn't just a man who knew or
00:32:50
Speaker 5: believed in God. He had an ongoing intimate relationship with God.
00:32:54
Speaker 5: Enoch's walk with God as a model for us all,
00:32:58
Speaker 5: not just on the Sabbath or Sunday, and not just
00:33:01
Speaker 5: during the good times, but every day, in every moment.
00:33:06
Speaker 5: But as we close, the reason why I bring up
00:33:08
Speaker 5: EEno once again and how he walked with God is
00:33:12
Speaker 5: because of this is because throughout the story of the
00:33:16
Speaker 5: Chosen People, walking with God is what has made us
00:33:21
Speaker 5: His chosen people. It's our very identity. From Eno to
00:33:28
Speaker 5: Abraham to Moses to David. What set these holy biblical
00:33:34
Speaker 5: figures apart? Wasn't there perfection? No, they weren't perfect. They
00:33:41
Speaker 5: sinned and they were flawed. But what made them perfect
00:33:45
Speaker 5: in God's eyes. What made them one of the Chosen
00:33:49
Speaker 5: People was their faith, and for us today this principle
00:33:53
Speaker 5: still stands. We are called to trust and to follow
00:33:57
Speaker 5: God next time from here in Israel, as we meet
00:34:02
Speaker 5: Adam and Eve. Their story is a lesson on what
00:34:05
Speaker 5: it means to be human, to walk with God and
00:34:09
Speaker 5: to live a life of purpose. I can't wait to
00:34:12
Speaker 5: study it with you. With blessings from the Holy Land.
00:34:17
Speaker 5: This is your el Exstein, and you are listening to
00:34:20
Speaker 5: the Chosen People.
00:34:24
Speaker 1: You can listen to the Chosen People with Isle Eckstein
00:34:27
Speaker 1: add free by downloading and subscribing to the prey dot
00:34:30
Speaker 1: Com app today. This Prey dog comproduction is only made
00:34:35
Speaker 1: possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina,
00:34:39
Speaker 1: Max Bard, Zach Shellabarger and Ben Gammon are the executive
00:34:43
Speaker 1: producers of The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, edited by
00:34:47
Speaker 1: Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by
00:34:52
Speaker 1: Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold,
00:34:57
Speaker 1: Sylvia Zaradoc, and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore.
00:35:01
Speaker 1: Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Bree Rosalie and
00:35:05
Speaker 1: Aaron Salvato. Special thanks to Bishop Paulinier, Robin van Ettin,
00:35:10
Speaker 1: Kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team at International Fellowship
00:35:15
Speaker 1: of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot
00:35:18
Speaker 1: com productions on the Prey dot com app, available on
00:35:21
Speaker 1: the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you
00:35:24
Speaker 1: enjoyed The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, please rate and
00:35:27
Speaker 1: leave a review.
Related Episodes
The Tragedy of Dinah
# 43 - The Tragedy of Dinah - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein we confront the devastating consequences of violence, vengeance, and the pursuit of justice without mercy. This episode delves into one of the Bible's darkest chapters, exploring the complexities of human sin and ...
Jacob & Esau Reunited
# 42 - Jacob & Esau Reunited - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein we explore a powerful story of reconciliation, where years of betrayal and fear give way to forgiveness, healing, and restored relationships. This episode reveals timeless lessons on grace, courage, and the t...
Wrestling with God
# 41 - Wrestling with God - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein we dive into Jacob's transformative encounter at the Jabbok, where he wrestles not only with a mysterious figure but with his own identity and destiny. Discover profound lessons on struggle, perseverance, and findin...
