ADAM’S DESCENDANTS. From Adam to Noah
Genealogies remind us that people are important to God both as individuals and as members of families. They are more than just lists of names to preserve family traditions. In the Bible, these lists verify God's promise that the promised “seed of the woman” would come. When that promise was made, Abraham, as the father of the Jews, wasn’t yet born, so the first list served as a reminder to all of humanity that Jesus Christ would come as the perfect man to take away the sin of the world.
All humans are connected by the same blood, regardless of where we are on Earth. Our shared roots from Adam and Eve break down all man-made barriers of prejudice. People build walls for many reasons, but through our Lord Jesus Christ, every man, woman, and child who personally claims the sacrifice for sin by repenting and trusting in Christ can be saved. Scriptures remind us that each person is a unique and precious creation of God. He made each one with the desire to share life and fellowship with Him if they choose to. Sin has brought death to all because everyone has sinned and fallen short of God's glory. However, the way is open for everyone to enter into this relationship with Him by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Comfort. Gen.5:29. “This same shall comfort us.”
As humanity grew in number, it also grew in wickedness. Those who were godly began to mingle and then marry those who were sinful, causing a breakdown of morality. Once that deterioration begins, it rapidly accelerates until what God intended people to be has no resemblance to what He created us to be. Instead of glorifying God and enjoying fellowship with Him, people choose to do evil and follow the downward path of sin.
When Noah was born to Lamech, Lamech expressed his hope and joyfully said, “This same shall comfort us.” The name “Noah” and the word “comfort” sound quite similar in Hebrew. Noah was the one who would bring comfort to sinful humanity through his preaching of righteousness and by building the ark to preserve a remnant of people who knew and trusted God. When the flood passed, God acknowledged Noah’s sacrifice on the altar and promised not to place a further curse on the ground. Sorrow and weariness from labor remain, and the heart of man has not changed – but God offers us hope when we look to our Lord Jesus Christ as His Ark of Safety for us today.
The Consolation
When our Lord Jesus Christ came, comfort arrived for a sin-sick world. Christ is our ark of safety. He is a refuge for anyone who chooses to enter that Ark by faith.
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The bitterness of sin causes misery and grief for every lost soul. The pain of the heart and soul leads to distress and anguish because the wages of sin is death.
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Consolation does not come from the earth itself or from the world system. Neither can it offer what is needed to those who are deliberately blinded by sin. Consolation and comfort must come from heaven. “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be made rich.”
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Consolation arises when our Lord Jesus lifts us from the depths of sin and shows us the Father. He proved His love by personally taking our guilt upon Himself. He paid the full penalty of sin by experiencing its consequences on our behalf.
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The comfort and reassurance we now receive come from God alone. His justice is satisfied through the saving work of Christ on the cross.
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On this journey of life, a believer finds comfort in difficult times knowing that our Redeemer lives and that our life is now hidden with Christ in God. Though affliction and persecution will come, faith in our Lord Jesus provides comfort in sorrow and trouble.
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Health may fade and earthly possessions be lost, but our consolation and comfort in our Lord Jesus Christ stay.
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Friends may leave us, and foes may challenge and invade us, but our consolation remains untouched.
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Treachery and death may follow one after the other, but Jesus Christ, our Consolation and Comfort, remains the same yesterday, today, and forever.
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When we walk with the Lord through the valley of the shadow of death, we fear no evil because our Consolation and Comfort are with us. He is faithful to His own people in peril, storms, fearful attacks, and times of potential despair.
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It is from the well of springing water that He gives, and we can hear and experience the words of this hymn personally.
Come, ye disconsolate, where ‘er ye languish,
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel;
Here, bring your wounded hearts,
Here, tell your anguish,
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.
Joy of the desolate, light of the straying
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter,
Tenderly saying,
“Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot cure.”
Here, see the bread of life, see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above.
Come to the feast of love;
Come ever knowing,
Earth has no sorrow but heaven can remove.