God's Family Tree: The Generations of Adam Text: Genesis 5:1-2
Introduction: Two Family Lines
After the catastrophic events of the Fall in Genesis 3 and the first murder in Genesis 4, the narrative of Scripture could easily be mistaken for a tragedy. Cain, the firstborn of Adam, builds a city in rebellion against God, and his line culminates in the arrogant polygamist and murderer, Lamech. The line of Cain is the line of man building his kingdom, the city of man, in defiance of Heaven. It is a line marked by technological prowess, artistic achievement, and murderous pride. If that were the only story, we would be without hope, destined to repeat the same sad cycle of rebellion and judgment.
But Genesis 5 opens a new chapter, not just in the book, but for the human race. It is a deliberate and stark contrast to the line of Cain. This chapter introduces "the book of the generations of Adam," and it is not a story of man's accomplishments but of God's preservation. It is the story of the promised seed, the covenant line through which the Savior of the world would come. Genealogies in our day are often seen as dry, dusty, and irrelevant sections of Scripture to be skimmed over. But this is a profound mistake. These genealogies are the skeletal structure of redemptive history. They are God's way of saying, "I keep my promises in real time, with real people, in real history." They are the covenantal backbone of the Bible.
In these first two verses, Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, does something crucial. Before he begins the long list of names from Adam to Noah, he resets the foundation. He takes us back to the beginning, back to the creation ordinance, to remind us of God's original design and purpose for mankind. He reminds us of where we came from before he tells us where we are going. This is not just a historical recap; it is a theological anchor. In a world now marred by sin, murder, and rebellion, God reminds us that His original intention was good. He made man in His own likeness, He made them male and female, and He blessed them. The fall did not erase the image of God, though it grievously marred it. And the fall did not nullify God's purpose, though it made the path to its fulfillment a bloody one.
This chapter is the story of the city of God in its infancy, a fragile line of faith preserved in a world hostile to it. It is the story of grace, not of works. It is the history of the church, the family of God, from which the ultimate Son of Adam would one day come to crush the serpent's head.
The Text
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created.
(Genesis 5:1-2 LSB)
The Covenant Record (v. 1a)
The chapter begins with a formal declaration:
"This is the book of the generations of Adam." (Genesis 5:1a)
The phrase "the generations of" (toledoth in Hebrew) is a structural marker that Moses uses throughout Genesis to divide the book into its major sections. It signifies a family history, an account of what came from someone. But this is more than just a family tree for an ancestry website. The word "book" here suggests a formal, written, and authoritative record. This is the official history of the covenant line. After the chaotic and violent history of Cain's line in chapter 4, this is God's reset. This is the line that matters. This is the story God is telling.
This is the line of Seth, the son given to Adam and Eve to replace Abel, whom Cain murdered. It is the line of promise, the line that will ultimately lead to Abraham, to David, and to Jesus Christ. In a world that was spiraling into violence and godlessness, this "book" was a testimony that God had not abandoned His creation. He was preserving a people for Himself. This is a profound comfort. History is not a random series of events; it is the unfolding of God's sovereign plan, and these genealogies are the chapter headings.
The Divine Image Recalled (v. 1b)
Moses immediately grounds this family history in the doctrine of creation:
"In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God." (Genesis 5:1b)
Why does he do this? Because the Fall has happened. Sin has entered the world. Man is now a sinner, inclined to evil. But Moses wants to make it clear that sin is an intruder. It is not part of the original design. God's purpose in creating man was glorious. To be made in the "likeness of God" means that man was created to be God's representative on earth, His vice-regent. We were made to reflect His character, His righteousness, His wisdom, and His dominion. This is what gives every human life its inherent dignity and value. We are not cosmic accidents; we are created icons of the living God.
Even after the fall, that image is not eradicated. It is defaced, shattered, and distorted, like a beautiful portrait that has been smeared with mud, but it is not gone. We still retain the capacity for reason, for relationship, for morality, for creativity, which sets us apart from the animals. And the purpose of redemption is the restoration of this image. Paul tells us that in Christ, we are being "renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator" (Colossians 3:10). The goal of the Christian life is to be conformed to the image of the Son (Romans 8:29), who is the perfect image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). So, at the head of this genealogy that will lead to the Restorer, Moses reminds us of the glory that was lost and, in Christ, will be restored.
The Foundational Pair (v. 2)
Verse 2 continues to anchor our identity in God's creative acts.
"He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created." (Genesis 5:2)
First, God's design is binary. "He created them male and female." This is not a social construct; it is a biological and theological reality baked into the fabric of creation. The modern rebellion against this created reality is not just a rejection of tradition; it is a rejection of the Creator Himself. It is an attempt to un-create God's world and refashion it in our own image. The complementarity of male and female is essential for reflecting the image of God and for fulfilling the creation mandate to be fruitful and multiply. It is the foundation of the family, which is the basic building block of society.
Second, God blessed them. The blessing is tied to the mandate. It is the divine favor and power to be fruitful, to multiply, and to exercise dominion over the earth. Despite the curse that came with the Fall, this original blessing was not entirely revoked. Man would still be fruitful, but with pain. He would still exercise dominion, but with sweat and toil. This genealogy is a testament to that blessing still being at work. Despite the reign of death that will punctuate this chapter ("and he died... and he died..."), the line continues. Life goes on. The blessing persists, pointing toward the one who would ultimately bear the curse for us.
Finally, God named them. "And named them Man." The Hebrew word is Adam. This is profoundly significant. God gives them a corporate name. He created two distinct persons, male and female, yet He names them with a single name: Man, or Adam. This establishes the principle of federal headship. Adam was the representative of the entire human race. When he sinned, we all sinned in him (Romans 5:12). But it also establishes the beautiful unity of husband and wife. Eve was taken from Adam's side, and in marriage, the two become one flesh. Here, God Himself names them as a single entity. The man is the head of this union, which is why the race is named after him, but the woman is an essential part of what it means to be "Man." This corporate identity is crucial for understanding both the fall and our redemption in the second Adam, Jesus Christ, who is the head of His bride, the Church.
Conclusion: The Book of Life
These two verses are the preface to a long list of births and deaths. They set the stage by reminding us of God's good, creative purpose. Man was made in God's image to reflect His glory. He was made male and female to fill the earth with worshipers. He was blessed and given a unified name, Adam.
But we cannot read this chapter without the shadow of Genesis 3. The refrain of this chapter is "and he died." This is the wage of sin. The book of the generations of Adam is also the book of the generations of death. Every name is a reminder of the original blessing of fruitfulness, and every death is a reminder of the curse.
This genealogy, this "book," points to our desperate need for a savior. It traces the line of promise, but it shows that everyone in that line was a sinner who died. They were placeholders, faithfully passing the baton of the promise of Genesis 3:15, but none of them could fulfill it. They were all sons of Adam in his fallen likeness.
But this book of generations points forward to another book: the Lamb's book of life (Revelation 21:27). The first Adam brought a book of death. The last Adam, Jesus Christ, brings a book of life. He is the true Son of Man, the perfect image of God. He came, born into this very line, to live the life we could not live and to die the death that we deserved. By faith in Him, our names are written in His book. We are taken out of the family of the first Adam, which is under the curse of death, and we are adopted into the family of the second Adam, which is under the blessing of eternal life.
Therefore, as we look at this ancient family tree, we should not see it as a dry historical record. We should see it as the scaffolding God used to build the house of salvation. We should see it as a testament to His faithfulness across the centuries. And we should see it as a signpost that points us directly to the Lord Jesus Christ, the true and better Adam, in whom all the promises of God are yes and amen.