Revisiting A Macrocode Found in Genesis

Back in 2007, I shared a blog post that described what a "macrocode" is and showed a fascinating one that had been discovered within the book of Genesis.


The meaning of names given in Genesis gives us a prophetic sign pointing towards the Person of Jesus Christ and what He would accomplish in His mission for our salvation!


The fact that Jesus is LORD, and he was born on this earth as the awaited Jewish Messiah cannot be overlooked by Christian believers. The Old Testament is filled with prophecies that were ultimately fulfilled by Jesus Christ. There can be no denial of this. It is only unbelief that does not allow a person to see exactly who Jesus REALLY is!


As we celebrate the MIRACULOUS birth of Jesus in two days, may the wonder of His love for you bolster your faith in Him!


Merry Christmas!


~ Christine

The original post can be found here.

Today, I just want to focus on the section that discusses the macrocode:

GENESIS 5


I find it interesting that the passage in Hosea about God using models and types comes within the context of Him using names to illustrate a point. This is how we find our first type in this study…


Who loves reading through all the genealogies in the Bible? While at first glance they seem long and boring, they are there for a reason. Take a look at this passage…


1This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.


2He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.


3And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.


4After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters….


…And on and on it goes. However, there is a great mystery under the surface of this chapter just waiting to be discovered.


What’s in a name? How many of you have looked up your name to see what it means? As a society, this practice is all but lost today, but in ancient times it was simply the way it was done. Parents named their children after key events of the times, or after God (or gods in pagan cultures). That’s why the term “el” appears in so many Hebrew names for instance. It is a name for God. With this genealogy however, not only do the names give insights to man’s early history, they also paint a much broader picture. Let’s take a look…


ADAM


The first name, Adam, comes from adomah, and means "man." As the first man, that seems straightforward enough.


SETH


Adam's son was named Seth, which means, "appointed." When he was born Eve said, "For God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew." (Genesis 4:25) See, the Bible even helps us out with the name meanings.


ENOSH


Seth's son was called Enosh, which means "mortal," "frail," or "miserable." It is from the root word anash: which means to be incurable; used of a wound, grief, woe, sickness, or wickedness. (It was in the days of Enosh that men began to defile the name of the Living God by the way)


KENAN


Enosh's son was named Kenan, from which can mean "sorrow," dirge," or "elegy."


MAHALALEL


Kenan's son was Mahalalel, from mahalal, which means "blessed" or "praise"; and EL, the name for God. Thus, Mahalalel means "the Blessed God."


As I said, often Hebrew names included El, the name of God, such as Dani-el, "God is my Judge," Nathani-el, "Gift of God," etc.


JARED


Mahalalel's son was named Jared, from the verb yaradh, meaning "shall come down." Some authorities suggest that this might have been an allusion to the "Sons of God" who "came down" to corrupt the daughters of men, resulting in the Nephilim ("Fallen Ones") of Genesis 6, but that’s a whole other study…


ENOCH


Jared's son was named Enoch, which means "teaching," or "commencement." He was the first of four generations of preachers. In fact, the earliest recorded prophecy was by Enoch, which amazingly enough deals with the Second Coming of Christ. (Found in Jude 14-15)


METHUSELAH


The Flood of Noah did not come as a surprise. It had been preached on for four generations. But something strange happened when Enoch was 65, from which time "he walked with God." Enoch was given a prophecy that as long as his son was alive, the judgment of the flood would be withheld; but as soon as he died, the flood would be sent forth.


Enoch named his son to reflect this prophecy. The name Methuselah comes from two roots: muth, a root that means “death”; and from shalach, which means "to bring," or "to send forth." Thus, the name Methuselah signifies, "his death shall bring."


And, indeed, in the year that Methuselah died, the flood came. Methuselah was 187 when he had Lamech, and lived 782 years more. Lamech had Noah when he was 182. The Flood came in Noah's 600th year. 187 + 182 + 600 = 969, Methuselah's age when he died.


Here’s a riddle for you…


If Methuselah was the oldest man in the Bible, how could he die before his father?


The answer: Enoch never died, he was translated, or raptured, before the flood (a type of the Church before the great tribulation)! “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” Genesis 5:24, Hebrews 11:5


It is interesting that Methuselah's life was, in effect, a symbol of God's mercy in forestalling the coming judgment of the flood. It is therefore fitting that his lifetime is the oldest in the Bible, symbolizing the extreme extensiveness of God's mercy.


LAMECH


Methuselah's son was named Lamech, a root still evident today in our own English word, "lament" or "lamentation." Lamech suggests "despairing."


NOAH


Lamech, of course, is the father of Noah, which is derived from nacham which means, "to bring relief" or "comfort," as Lamech himself explains in verse 29...


“And he called his name Noah, saying, "This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.”


Let me ask you this; was the curse lifted after Noah? Did man no longer have to toil with his hands, or work for his provision? No. In fact, one doesn't need to be a rocket scientist to realize that the curse is very much alive, well, dead actually, today. So even here we see an allusion to something greater within the text…


So let’s see what all these names say when we put them together, in the order they are given in the Bible…


Hebrew




English






Adam
Man


Seth
Appointed


Enosh
Mortal


Kenan
Sorrow


Mahalalel
The Blessed God


Jared
Shall come down


Enoch
Teaching


Methuselah
His death shall bring


Lamech
The despairing


Noah
Rest, or comfort




Simply add a few simple conjunctions and read it again…


Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest.


Here is a summary of God's plan of redemption, hidden here within a genealogy in Genesis! You will never convince me that a group of Jewish rabbis deliberately "contrived" to hide the "Christian Gospel" right here in a genealogy within their venerated Torah!


Remember our key verses here…


“The volume of the book it is written of me…” and “Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”


Now just for something to throw out to you, these types of models (actually called Macrocodes) are all throughout the Old Testament. For our purposes here, we have only covered one that reveals the identity of the true Messiah and illustrates salvation through the cross. Remember, “Jesus Christ and Him crucified”, and also Jesus’ words directing us to the Law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms. That’s where we should direct our attention.

Written by Jerry Cesario