A Summary of Genesis genealogies viewed through God's Divine Plan of Redemption by Rev. Abraham Park

A Summary of Genesis genealogies viewed through God's Divine Plan of Redemption
by Rev. Abraham Park


1. THE REDEMPTIVE SIGNIFICANCE FOUND IN THE GENEALOGIES

1. What is God's redemptive history?

∙ The history of God's Work to save mankind(who fell into the path of death because of sin)
∙ The history of His Work to save the entire universe
∙ Flows in the plot of creation, all and restoration
∙ Focus is on who the Promised Seed(Messiah) is
∙ How the people of God will find salvation through Him
∙ Topics and focus of redemptive history pointed out clearly through each character that appears in the genealogies

⧠ The history of redemption is very concisely compressed in the names and ages of the characters recorded in the genealogies

∙ Genesis 5 is Adam's genealogy, 10 generations from Adam to Noah
∙ Genesis 11 is Shem's genealogy, 10 generations from Shem to Abraham
∙ Introduces the flow from Adam to Abraham and how Messiah would come as a descendant of Abraham
∙ Forms a list of each character's birth, age at procreation and lifespan
∙ These characters lived 4,000 to 6,000 years ago
∙ Completeness of the genealogies affirms God's Work of redemption did not cease in any generation but continued throughout history

⧠ After Genesis genealogies, genealogy continues to Boaz (Ruth 4:18-22) from Perez, Judah's son and then to King David.

∙ Matthew 1 summarizes Old Testament history of redemption (Matthew 1:1)
2. WHY DO WE STUDY THE GENESIS GENEALOGIES?

∙ Careful study of the Genesis genealogies will lead to a clearer understanding of God's divine plan for redemptive work through Jesus Christ.
∙ All the descriptions of persons, their names, births and deaths offer insight into circumstances surrounding each time period and play a role in uncovering different aspects of Jesus Christ who would come through their lineage.
∙ These genealogies are the core of the redemptive history and provide a short cut to comprehending God's divine plan (of salvation)
There is no meaningless sound in the world(1 Corinthians 14:10). The Biblical genealogies contain countless treasures of meaning to be discovered. We must not commit the grave mistake of overlooking them as meaningless lists of persons. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we must discover and follow the rich vein of redemptive history that flows through the genealogies.


2. STRUCTURE AND FLOW OF THE GENEALOGIES

God's work in redemptive history in various forms has 1 clear purpose and direction a to send the promised Messiah for the redemption of His chosen people (Hebrews 1:1-2). The Bible records how God carried out His Plan and how Jesus, who is at the center of this plan was sent. Genealogies organize this vast plan into a concise and compressed structure.
1. Structure of the genenalogies

⧠ 2 linear forms, ascending or descending:

∙ Linearly ascending order (from descendants to ancestors), e.g. Luke 3
∙ Linearly descending order (from ancestors to descendants), e.g. Genesis 5 and Genesis 11. The focus of descending order is the last person on the list. Noah, 10th generation in Genesis 5 genealogy and Abraha, 10th generation in Genesis 11 genealogy

⧠ Vertical or horizontal:

∙ Vertical format records the direct line of offspring, e.g. Cain's line in Genesis 4 and Seth's line in Genesis 5.
∙ Horizontal format records simultaneously the lineages of different sons of one figure, e.g. Noah's sons, Ham and Jepheth in Genesis 10:2-20, Nahor (Genesis 22:20-24), Ketutah (Genesis 25:1-6) and Esau (Genesis 36:1-43).

2. Two distinct flows of genealogies

⧠ Satan relentlessly attempts to thwart God's work of redemption as it continues through each era.

∙ Cain's act of murder (Genesis 4)
∙ Herod's conspiracy to kill the infant Jesus (Matthew 2:1-13)

⧠ Biblical genealogies divided into 2 different lines:

∙ Genealogy of the faithful who lived to fulfill God's Will (Seth's line, Genesis 5)
∙ Genealogy of the unfaithful, whose lives stood against God's Will (Cain's line, Genesis 4)

⧠ Genealogies of the sons of faith are the center stem of the Biblical genealogies.

∙ Adam's genealogy in Genesis 5 (Adam to Noah)
∙ Shem's genealogy in Genesis 11 (Shem to Abraham)
∙ Boaz's genealogy in Ruth 4 (Judah's son, Perez to King David)
∙ Matthew 1 genealogy (42 generations from Abraham to Jesus)

⧠ Bible also writes about genealogies of unfaithful:

∙ Cain's genealogy in Genesis 4
∙ Sons of Ham in Genesis 10:6-20
∙ Ishmael's genealogy in Genesis 25:12-16
∙ Esau's genealogy in Genesis 36:1-43

Genealogies of faithful are recorded in vertical format, without omitting any generation from the first to the last until it finally bears fruit with Jesus Christ. Genealogies of the unfaithful come to an abrupt halt. Although they prosper and became founders of new cultures and civilizations, they ultimately perish and disappear from history because they opposed God and afflicted His chosen people.