I come from strong sturdy English stock - at least as far back as I have been able to trace my ancestors - to the 11th and 12th centuries. Beyond that lies a mystery until we get to 2343 B.C. or thereabouts. There I can pick up my lineage again. Like you and you and you, I am descended from one of Noah's sons, and since I don't know which one, I let it slide, content that I have Noah himself as one of my Multi-Great-Grandfathers from the past. That means Mrs. Noah is one of my Multi-Great-Grandmothers. Noah and Mrs. Noah had no children until Noah was 500 years old. Then three sons were born to them, Japheth, Shem and Ham. In time the three sons married. Noah and Mrs. Noah kept their little family close to them for they knew the deluge would come right on schedule. God had promised Noah that He would deliver his entire family, “for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation” (Genesis 7:1). At that time, when they entered the Ark, Noah had no grandchildren, and there were none on the way… Noah was 600 years old when they entered the Ark and the floods came. His sons were in their upper 90s, with Shem being about 97 years old at the time of the flood. Shem was 100 years old, two years after the flood, when Arphaxad was born. The royal Seed would pass through seven more generations of Seed bearing patriarchs to Abram. One day, that Seed would find its way to a little town called Nazareth, and to a young maiden named Mary, for this was the Seed that would crush the authority of Satan. First, the proper lineage had to be prepared and such preparation as this, of course, takes time – perhaps thousands of years… I can’t answer for you but for myself, I have no problem whatsoever sharing the lineage of these first ten generation fathers with my wonderful Lord. In fact, I am humbled and truly thankful for the reality of it. And I never cease to be amazed at the way God works. The Israelite nation that descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is not the only nation that rose from the sons of Shem. The Persians (Iranians) were established by Elam, son of Shem. The Jordanians are the descendants of Lot, son of Abraham’s brother, Haran. The Syrians were established by Aram, son of Shem. The Chaldeans (Iraqis) were established by Arphaxad, son of Shem, and the Arabians of Saudi Arabia were established by Joktan, son of Shem. If you are anti-Semitic you are anti-Shem. And if you are doggedly anti-Semitic, but only against the Jews, you may as well add Father Noah to your hate list because he is the father of Shem, and is the legal Grandfather of all men... Noah was the final stretch of a lonely highway that opened up into several highways through the sons of Noah, preparing the way for the nations of the world to be established. This is where we cease to share our lineage with Jesus. Still, I couldn't be prouder to have a righteous man like Noah as one of my ancestors. To think his blood flows through my veins and those long-ago prayers for his posterity reached down through the ages to touch even me. But Noah isn't the only one... Like you and you and you, I am also the Multi-Great-Granddaughter of Noah's Grandfather Methuselah. He lived longer on the earth than any man - so far - and he and Noah were very close. Noah had said the flood would not begin as long as the righteous Methuselah was alive on this earth. Methuselah died only a week before the rains began. Noah’s father, Lamech, died just five years before the flood. So, when the rains began and Noah was ushered into the Ark, He was the last and only righteous man on the earth. What happened to the sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins of these ten generations of Godly men? Those still living at the time of the rain perished in the flood… Methuselah's father was Enoch, the prophet. He was 65 years old when Methuselah was born after which he walked with God another 300 years. The 7th generation from Adam, Enoch was a powerful preacher (Jude 14-16). It was at the young age of 365, God looked at him, and loving him so much He couldn't stand it any longer, He said to Enoch, "Come up here, son, Come on home..." and He took him from the earth while Enoch was still looking up... Enoch's blood runs through my veins as well...I am even flesh of his flesh... Enoch was the son of Jared and, three generations earlier, Enos was the son of Seth and Seth was the son of my Multi-Great-Grandfather Adam. And of course, Adam was the son of God. Adam was made in the image of God except for the blood which was necessary if Adam was going to live and thrive in a clay body in this world. God let it be known, “the (mortal) life is in the blood…” Adam's blood runs through my veins as well...I am even flesh of his flesh... The blood that courses through me has traveled through Adam, Enos, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech and the righteous Noah. The flesh that covers my bones contains the strong and youthful cells of my God-fearing ancestors. The ten-generation line of royal Seed bearers from Adam to Noah was blessed abundantly because they believed God, they obeyed God, they were intimate with God and they kept His counsel. And one day, the Messiah of the whole earth would be born one with them and one with God. The blood of Adam continued to flow through sons of sons, down through the centuries and ages to the stable in Bethlehem where the bloodline was interrupted for one Divine birth that was of God Himself. The blood of Jesus would be the same pure blood the Father had given Adam when he first fashioned him out of the ground – before he fell through disobedience. Jesus would be the new Adam, the last Adam, and He would be without sin, the ultimate Redeemer of all men that would believe… But you know something – Adam was not the first sinner, nor the first to fall into disobedience. Lucifer was the first to rebel against God’s authority, the first to bring the darkness of sin into the light of heaven, the first to war against the Most High God of Heaven and Earth, and the first to deceive the angels of heaven, the serpent of earth and Adam and Eve. I find it amazing that a mere five generations from Adam the earth was corrupt, and a mere ten generations from Adam it was filled with violence. Enoch preached a prophetic Gospel for 300 years yet there is no mention of any converts. If there were any they died before the flood. Five hundred years would pass post-Enoch before Noah preached another 120 years without any converts. It is not written if Methuselah preached in the years between the two, only Noah’s statement that he was “the righteous Methuselah,” but if he did, there were no converts, and he lived right up to the week before the flood. Two faithful saints of God, preaching a combined 420 years, produced no converts. I find that amazing. God is long-suffering and patient, but when the line is crossed and the time has run out, His judgments are just. The earth was so wicked God had to launder it and set it out in the sunshine to dry… Sometimes we forget who we are and where we came from. In some cases, we just don’t know because nobody has bothered to tell us, and we didn’t connect the dots in the scriptures. And with some people, they just don’t give a hoot and a holler. But for those of us that do, there are times when we need that assurance, that lifter-upper of our eyes toward Heaven whereby we say, “Thank you, Father, for giving us witness of such incomparable fatherly faith.” Now if we could only convince the world and have men to understand, perhaps they would repent and return to that incomparable faith – the first of their very first fathers… We all need to remember who we are – and from whence we came – not just when we feel a little depressed, anxious or spiritually abandoned, but regularly, when we pray, we should give thanks for the pillars of our heritage of faith. We need to remember that Jesus also inherited their mortal flesh and bone for His own walk in this world. In Spirit and in blood He was the Son of God, in flesh and bone He was the descendant of David, Ruth and Boaz, Salmon and Rahab, Judah and Abraham, Noah and Adam. In truth he is the Father of the Adam He created and the David He loved. But in His flesh and blood assignment, He was the son of Adam and the son of David. So, is the Christ we love and follow Adam’s Father or Adam’s son? Is He David’s Father or David’s son? I would receive Him either way for He is eternal, with no beginning and no end, whose heritage is from everlasting to everlasting. He gave us His best when He gave us Himself. And because it was the best, He saved Himself till last, after we had tasted and dined on the heritage of our shared ancestral fathers. Jesus Christ is both – Father and Son – He is the gift of love and life to the world through the power of the Spirit of the immeasurable and infallible God. He is the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God and there is no other. He chooses out men – and women – and they follow Him because He is the great I AM who lifts up the weary pilgrim and carries him to his post. There, He feeds and waters and comforts him for the next day’s journey. Enoch will tell you. Noah will tell you. Methuselah will tell you. Seth will tell you. Adam will tell you…for the sake of the Seed to come and the Glory of the Father of all creation, they suffered the mockery and rejections of callous men – men without knowledge who didn’t believe in the God of Adam… Nevertheless, the battle for each came to an end and in their hereafter they rejoice in those of us that follow after them, suffering the same rejections and mockery of hard-hearted men who don’t believe in the Seed that is Christ. We all come from this strong sturdy stock and the millenniums between their walk and ours won’t count a jot or a tittle when we finally meet each other face to face. To see the face of our Lord, then to see the faces of our loved ones, and behind them our ancestral ancients, is not going to be that far into the future. It could be any minute… So, keep smiling, giggle with pure joy if you want to, and share the story of your very first fathers with someone today… Joan Krempel
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