How many times do you need to hear something before you remember it?
As a child, I was often told the same thing. I was a slow learner and a bit stubborn. Nevertheless, I needed repetition to learn something.
As an adult, I can pick up a lot on the first pass, but there are plenty of times when I need to read and interact with something several times before becoming familiar. And that says nothing of mastering a subject.
How about you? Do you need repetition to learn something?
Last week, we finished Genesis 4, the end of a major section of Genesis. Today, as we pick up Genesis 5:1-2, we enter the second of the eleven major sections of Genesis.
This is the written account of Adam’s family line.
When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind” when they were created.
Genesis 5:1-2, New International Version
As I wrote, this is the beginning of the second major section of Genesis. Except for this one, all these divisions start with “This is the account of…” Today, we find the additional word “written.”
Is this a written source other than the Scriptures themselves? Reference to written sources is not uncommon in the Scriptures, but they are rare. For example, Numbers 21:14 refers to the “Book of the Wars of the Lord.”
There is some repetition in Genesis 5. While we may be tempted to skip over the repetition, we must pause and ask ourselves if the Lord is telling us something. This repetition is a reminder given throughout Scripture: God created us. It was not evolutionary chance, survival of the fittest baboon, or apelike creature.
The language imitates Genesis 1:27-28, thereby tying the significance of these genealogies to creation theology. Human life descends from God. Humanity is special. We bear the “image of God.” This repetition isn’t accidental. It’s purposeful.
Adam’s family line isn’t separate from the lines we’ve discussed (in Genesis 4). Both Seth’s and Cain’s lines are descendants of Adam. Both the righteous and unrighteous family trees of these men are still within the family tree of Adam.
Scripture gave us this reminder in Genesis 5:1-2. Allow me to remind you what I wrote when we covered Genesis 1:27-28.
The crown of God’s handiwork is humanity. The narrative marks the prominence of this creative act in several ways. Human life alone is created in the “image of God” and has the special assignment to rule over the created order.
God’s image defines how humans differ from animals. Scripture puts animals in a different life category, as plants and humans are all in a special category. This distinction of being in the image of God applies to no other creature. Let that sink in. We are not merely “higher animals.” Nor are the animals equal to us. We are unique. We are special. We are created in the image of God.
We have little indication that a single attribute of a person makes one in God’s image. Together, the human species is God’s image. The Hebrew word “image” here implies “copy.” In that sense, we are a copy of God.
From the rest of Scripture and a study of human culture, we see that the human spirit includes the following characteristics, among others. These are part of the image of God in us:
- awareness of a moral code “written” or impressed within a conscience
- concerns about death and life after death
- propensity to worship and desire to communicate with a higher being
- consciousness of self
- drive to discover and capacity to recognize truth and absolutes
The uniqueness of humanity is unmatched in the rest of creation.
That means you are made in the image of God.
You know what else? So is every single human being you see (or don’t see, for that matter!).
The culmination of our Lord’s creation: humanity, the living statues to the greatness of our God’s creativity.
Life Meets Theology 