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When Humans Are in Charge

June 10, 2018 Speaker: Mitchel Kirchmeyer Series: Genesis: Beginning the Journey Home

Passage: Genesis 5:1– 6:8

What happens when humans are in charge?

Sometimes we need to be convinced about how bad things are for us. We aren’t convinced by being told once. In fact, we often aren’t even convinced by being told. We need to be shown. Years ago, there were lots of ads and commercials convincing us that smoking is bad for us. I remember one that showed a person in a wheelchair all burnt and full of tar. It was showing us what the effects of smoking would look like if they were on the outside.

I also remember ads about not drinking while driving. Today, there’s a different activity that we shouldn’t be doing while driving. What is it? Texting. There are ads and commercials all over convincing us that texting while driving is bad for us. There’s a billboard around here that shows a picture of the green speech bubble for the text messaging app with a little red number in the corner showing an unread message. The ad reads: Better left unread than dead. The message? Texting while driving is bad for you and could kill you.

There’s a series of internet ads that I’ve seen which show some people driving in a car. Then the driver decides to check their phone. Then the ad puts us in their point of view. They look up and there’s a car in front of them. We experience a car crash through their eyes. These ads are convincing us that texting while driving is killing people! People are killing themselves doing it and they are killing others.

You’d think we would just need to be told once: hey, this is really dangerous and could kill you and others so don’t do it. But we think, “It’s just one text. It’ll only take a second. I’ll just do it quick. Other people crash but that won’t be me.” But we need convincing, so these ads and commercials are aimed at that.

Series Introduction
Today, we are continuing our series in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Genesis is a book of beginnings. In these opening chapters we have seen how God created us to be at home with him and how that home becomes broken. We are no longer at home with God, but Genesis is all about how God puts a plan in motion to bring us home. That’s why the name of this series is: Beginning the Journey Home.

Sermon Introduction
Chapters 2 through 4 were introduced with the title: these are the generations of heaven and earth. In other words, this is the story of heaven and earth - this is the story of how everything got the way it is. In chapter 5, we have a new title: This is the book of the generations of Adam. In other words, this is the story of Adam’s family - this is what becomes of Adam and his descendants. As I said last week, chapters 3 through 11 of Genesis are dark. They show the ugly reality of humanity. They show the ugly reality of how bad sin is.

We need these chapters in the Bible because we need to be convinced about how bad sin is. We need to be convinced that sin kills us and it kills others. We too often think to ourselves: “Sin isn’t that bad. I know God says not to do this but it will be ok.”

Sinning is doing what God says is bad. When God tells us what is bad and we do it anyway, we are rejecting his authority over us. We are taking charge. But the reality is that humans are very bad at being in charge. We aren’t made to be in charge. God is supposed to be in charge and we are to serve as his ambassadors, representing his interests and desires. But we need to be convinced that sin is bad and that it’s bad for us to be in charge.

The big question this passage answers is: what happens when humans take charge? What happens when humans take charge?

Let’s start in chapter 5 verses 1 through 2.

How it’s supposed to be (5:1-3)

These two verses remind us of how everything was supposed to be. Verse 1 says:

5 This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. 2 Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created. (Genesis 5:1-2)

Chapter 3 was horrible. Adam and Eve rebelled against God and were sent out of his presence. Chapter 4 was horrible. Cain murdered his brother in cold blood and things only got worse with each generation of Cain’s family.

But these words at the beginning of chapter 5 take us back to the goodness of chapters 1 and 2. They take us back to the picture of humanity at home with God and everything as it was supposed to be. God created both male and female in his image and likeness, which means we are supposed to be God’s representatives on earth, reflecting what he is like. Verse 2 reminds us that God gave Adam and Eve his blessing. He blessed them and told them to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. They were commissioned to care for God’s good creation and cultivate its good potential. Humans were made to live with God - home is where our God is.

Verse 3 says:

3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. (Genesis 5:3)

The image of God is passed down to Adam’s children, but because it is passed down through Adam it will be compromised like Adam is. The image of God in humanity has not been obliterated, but it has been tainted and corrupted. It’s like a piece of art that has been ripped, banged up, and soiled. You can still see the image but it isn’t what it was.

After this return to the goodness of chapters 1 and 2, Genesis starts showing us how bad humans are at being in charge. We were supposed to live in God’s kingdom, but we wanted to set up our own. We want to be king of our lives. We want to be in charge.

What happens when humans take charge?

The big question this passage answers is: what happens when humans take charge? This passage gives us five consequences. The first consequence is: Instead of life, there is death. Instead of life, there is death.

Verse 4 and 5 introduce us to a formula that will be used throughout this chapter. Verse 4 says:

4 The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters. 5 Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died. (Genesis 5:4-5)

Verses 6 through 8 repeat the pattern:

6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh. 7 Seth lived after he fathered Enosh 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8 Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died. (Genesis 5:6-8)

There are ten genealogy lists like this in Genesis but this is the only one that makes sure we know these people died. Through ten generations in this list, nine of them end with “and he died.” The first verses reminded us of God’s good creation where he breathed life into man and warned that if they did not obey him that they would surely die. Adam and Eve disobey and God sends them out of his life-giving presence

The first death after this went on Cain’s resume when he murdered his brother. But here, we see God’s word come true with the repeated “and he died, and he died, and he died, and he died.” God made us for life with him but life without him is death. That’s the consequence of taking charge: we now live with death.

The second consequence of humans taking charge is: Instead of blessing, there is curse. What happens when humans take charge? Instead of blessing, there is curse.

God gave us his blessing to fill the earth as his representatives and subdue it. But when Adam and Eve took charge, deciding to disobey God, God cursed the ground. They would now experience frustration and difficulty living in God’s world. This is expressed by Lamech in the 9th generation. Verse 28 says:

28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son 29 and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” (Genesis 5:28-29)

Lamech longs for relief from the painful toil of working under the curse. He names his son “Noah”, which sounds like the Hebrew word for “relief” or “comfort”. Lamech hopes his son will somehow bring relief from humanity’s stressful work. Humans were supposed to partner with God in working his good creation, but because we rejected his authority it is painful toil.

The third consequence of humans taking charge is: Instead of goodness, there is wickedness. What happens when humans take charge? Instead of goodness, there is wickedness.

When God was creating everything in Genesis 1 over the course of six days, at the end of each we read: and God saw all that he had made and it was good. But take a look at chapter 6 verse 5. In verse 5 we read this:

5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)

Now, God doesn’t see good. God sees wickedness. What does God see that is so bad? We need to back up for the answer. Verses 1 and 2 of chapter 6 say:

6 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. (Genesis 6:1-2)

“Multiply” is what God told humanity to do. He said be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. As his representatives, God wanted humanity to fill the earth with his goodness.

But as they multiply, the sons of God saw the daughters of men and took them as their wives. It’s not clear who the sons of God are. There are three main options people propose. One is that these are godly men from the family of Seth who are intermarrying with ungodly women from the family of Cain. In other words, people who follow God are marrying people who don’t follow God. A second is option is that the sons of God are ancient kings who are taking multiple wives into their harems. The third option is that these are angels who have left their assigned post to take humans as their wives.

None of these is a knockout, but the angels option is the most likely. While the identity of the sons of God is not clear, their violation is. Remember, when God was creating everything in Genesis 1, at the end of each day we read: and God saw all that he had made and it was good. God told Adam and Eve that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was off limits. God is the one who declares what is good. But when the serpent tempted them, we were told that Eve saw that the fruit of the tree was good and she took it and ate it. Now here, we are told that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were good (same word) and they took as their wives any they chose.

God is the one who sees and declares what is good. Eve saw and declared something good that was off limits and then she took it. The sons of God see and declare something good that is off limits and they take it. God created marriage as the union of one man with one woman. God made woman to be man’s helper, but now even that holy and special union is corrupted as they join themselves to the sons of God instead of men. The sons of God, whoever they are, are taking what is off limits to them and are perverting the marriage bed in pursuit of their sexual appetites. God has given us limits for our good. Whatever is outside those limits is bad. God is the one who draws these lines. When we see what is outside those limits, declare it good, desire it, and take it, that is sin.

Because of this, God says he will limit man’s life to 120 years. God breathed life into humanity, but now he will withdraw his the breath of life at 120 years. There are exceptions to this in the Bible and God doesn’t immediately implement this limit, but in comparison with the long life spans of chapter 5, we now experience much shorter life spans because of our sinfulness.

The fourth consequence when humans take charge is: Instead of serving God, we serve sin. What happens when humans take charge? Instead of serving God, we serve sin.

This also comes from verse 5 in chapter 6 which says:

5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)

“Every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” That is not what you want your boss to write on your yearly performance review. The word for “intention” is a pottery word. Like a potter forms a pot, man’s heart forms only evil. Everything our heart produces is evil. We are enslaved to sin. It’s just like God told Cain in Genesis 4: if you do not do good, sin is crouching at your door, it’s desire is for you.

The fifth consequence when humans take charge is: Instead of pleased, God is grieved. What happens when humans take charge? Instead of pleased, God is grieved.

After God looks out on his creation and sees only the wickedness of man, verse 6 says:

6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:6-7)

Often the Bible will use human emotions to describe God’s reactions. God is the transcendent, powerful Creator of everything. But he is also the Lord who is close and personal. These verses give us that picture of the God who is near and personal. When God looked out at his creation in Genesis 1, he was pleased and declared it very good. That is no longer the case.

Even people who haven’t read the Bible know that God sends a big flood and saves the animals by having a guy named Noah build a big boat. That’s the story that is coming and these verses are like a movie trailer preparing us for it. God warned that if humanity chose to take charge and disregard him as their King that they would surely die. The fact that generations upon generations and thousands of years pass before God brings about the flood is a testimony to the depth of his patience. God surely is slow to anger.

When we think of the flood, we often picture an angry God flying off the handle. He has had enough and explodes with rage. The picture here is of a grieving God keeping his word. Yes, God administers the consequences, but humanity chose them. He told them what would happen if they took charge but they did it anyway.

The word for “grieved” here is used in the Old Testament to describe a deep, intense emotion. Eleven brothers feel this way when they hear that their sister has been raped. A son feels this way when he hears that his father plans to murder his best friend. A father feels this way when he hears his son has been killed. Think about how you’d feel in those situations. Your sister was raped. Your father is going to kill your best friend. Your son died. There’s a mixture of anguish and anger.

That anguish and anger is what God feels as he looks out and sees the wickedness of humanity. We were supposed to be his representatives. We were supposed to work with him as his image bearers. We were supposed know his love and love others the same way. But when God looks, he sees none of that. He sees generation after generation rebelling against him, calling good what he has called evil, hurting and killing each other, and corrupting all that he has made. How you’d feel if your sister was defiled by another man is how God feels about his image bearers defiling themselves and all he has made. God is grieved because those whom he created to be his representatives have become his enemies, fighting against his purposes so now he must fight against them instead of working joyfully with them. At this, he feels anger and anguish.

Good News

All of this is meant to convince us that we have a problem. It’s meant to convince us that sin is really bad. When we do what God says is bad, it doesn’t bring about anything good. And it’s meant to convince us that we are really bad at being in charge. When we crown ourselves king of our lives instead of God, it brings death, curse, wickedness, enslavement to sin, and grief to God.

We need to be convinced of the problem so we will look for the solution. Passages like this are intended to make us hunger and thirst for the solution. They parch our mouths. They do it by holding up a mirror to show us what we have become and what we are doing to ourselves. We need to look in the mirror of Scripture to see just how bad sin is and how bad we are at being in charge.

Two people in this passage give us hope. In the seventh generation of chapter 5, Enoch breaks the pattern of death. We aren’t told about how anyone else lives. We are told they had kids then died. But in chapter 5 verse 21, we are told:

21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 22 Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. (Genesis 5:21-23)

In a world of death, Enoch escapes it. “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” After a life of relationship with God, God takes Enoch to be in his presence.

Then in chapter 6, God looks out and is grieved by the wickedness he sees and determines to blot out humanity. Then in verse 8 we read:

8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:8)

God sees Noah and he is pleased. Next week, we will learn that Noah is described the same way as Enoch: Noah walked with God. Enoch and Noah know they aren’t in charge. God is in charge and they trust him.

Know this truth as you leave today: Jesus is the solution to our problem. This passage is meant to make us hunger and thirst for a Savior and his name is Jesus. Jesus defeated death, Jesus defeated the curse, Jesus defeated sin, Jesus defeated evil, and Jesus opened a way for us to be part of God’s good kingdom once again.

When we look at the death of Jesus on the cross, we see both how bad sin is and how good God is. We made a mess and Jesus on the cross was like a sponge absorbing the death, curse, sin, and evil we spilled into our lives and into our world. When we surrender our lives to him, he absorbs it all. We couldn’t do it. We are soaked with all that stuff and a soaked sponge can’t absorb anything more. A sponge full of poison can’t absorb poison. But Jesus came and lived a perfect life. His sponge was totally dry. But for everyone who trusts in him, he soaks up that poison from their lives so we can live free of it.

As long as we believe sin isn't that bad, we won't hunger and thirst for Jesus. Many of us are in denial, even those of us who have been following Jesus for years. We are in denial about how bad sin is. We are in denial about how bad it is that we don’t pray or read our Bible, we are in denial about how bad it is that we are always harsh with our spouse and kids, we are in denial about how bad it is to gossip and complain about others behind their backs, we are in denial about how bad it is that we’d rather watch TV and look at our phones than love our families. We deny how bad it is that hear God’s Word and walk away unchanged. This passage is here to tell us: it’s really bad! It’s killing you and it’s killing others! You need Jesus and other people need you to be following him.

We need to admit there's a problem. It's only when we do that we'll seek the solution. It's only when we do that we'll desire what God offers us in Jesus. Awareness of our sin isn't to beat us down. It's to drive us to our Savior to drink more of the cure. Sin does not bring good into our lives. It only brings bad.

You know what God does when he sees sin? This passage tells us he grieves. If you have stopped grieving over your sin, then you are not in a good place. If you have a self-righteous and judgmental attitude when you see the sin in other people’s lives, then you are not in a good place. God grieves when he sees sin. Sin is killing us and killing others and that should make us sad.

Genesis has been challenging to me. We saw how Adam and Eve blamed when confronted with their sin. We saw how Cain showed no remorse and took no responsibility when confronted with his sin. I see those same patterns in me. Too often I can defend myself and justify my actions and blame other people or circumstances instead of taking ownership. Recently, God has showed me that I have all not been feeling remorse or grieving over my sin. I might say “I’m sorry” with the right words, but I’m not feeling sorrow in my heart. I’m returning to a goal I set at the beginning of the year which was to bring my sin to God every day, recognize what I deserve for it, then thank him for Jesus who takes it away. I’d encourage you to think of a similar habit. We need to grieve with God over the effects of sin in our lives

When it comes to sin in other people’s lives, the wrong attitude is: You’re not following the rules and you need to get in line. We also shouldn’t think we are better than them. We also shouldn’t tell people, “Oh it’s ok, God loves you anyway.”

Our attitude toward people should be: “I’m grieved at what these actions are doing to you and those around you. I love you and want more for you.” Who in your life do you need to change your attitude toward?

How much would change if we reacted to sin like God does? We could spend a lifetime learning to react to sin like God does, but how would that change your relationship with God? How would it change your relationship with others? How would it change your family and our church community? If we would stop reacting with pride and blame and justification and self-righteousness and start reacting with grief, that would make a world of difference.

Conclusion
Throughout Genesis 3 through 11, we see sin start as a seed then grow like a weed and take over the world. Then God does what he warned he would do: he administers justice. People who commit treason against the King of the universe don’t go without the consequences. But we also see God’s grace on full display as we go. This ugly picture that Genesis shows us is meant to hold up a mirror on how bad sin is and create in us a hunger and thirst for Jesus and the salvation he offers from it.

More in Genesis: Beginning the Journey Home

December 9, 2018

Jacob and the God More Powerful Than Him

December 2, 2018

Jacob and His Sons Fail to Walk with God

November 18, 2018

Jacob's Search for Acceptance