Being Prepared
“and he died.” (Genesis 5:4)
When the Bible repeats the same thing multiple times, I do believe that God is trying to make a point. In Genesis 5, the point is simple – death is inevitable. Though our culture attempts to push death to the very edge of our mental landscape, we all have a duty to be prepared. How? How does one prepare to die?
First, we must “call upon the name of the Lord.” (Gen. 4:26; Heb. 11:4-5) Genesis 5 recounts the death of those descended from the godly line of Seth, and it should be noted that God records each of their deaths. Does this not accord with what we read elsewhere in Scripture? “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” (Ps. 116:15) The wicked God only knows from afar, but He knows His people well because they call upon Him in days of prosperity and in days of problems.
Two, we must pass our faith to our children. This faith (for what else is calling upon God but an act of faith?) was passed down from generation to generation. Hundreds of years later, Lamech held an infant Noah in his arms and hoped for the fulfillment of God’s promised rest. This sort of spiritual lineage does not happen by chance, but by intentional cultivation in our homes. When our life leaves us, have we left unto our children an inheritance of righteousness? (Proverbs 13:22)
Three, live as one who walks with God, not as one who walks with the world. (Gen. 5:24) What does this mean? When one compares the wicked line of Cain, their lives were marked by extravagance– much music, much wealth, many wives, much violence. Yet, a quick perusal of Seth’s line shows a marked simplicity. As Peter often phrases it, their lives were one of pilgrims. The wicked multiple the nerve endings of their anxiety by the accumulation of wealth; the godly remove anything and everything that hinders their walk with God. I have been with a many of families who took trailer after trailer of things to the dump, but spoke very little of things of eternity. Remember, readers, only eternal things endure.
Fourth, keep our consciences clean, void of offense to God and man. Lamech’s conscience was ungodly, unruly, and unfeeling. This posture may be easy when you are young, feeling ten-foot tall and bulletproof. But when you are old, conscience devours a man from the inside out. Those prepared to die keep their conscience clean, constantly turning it over and washing it with the blood of the lamb (Heb. 9:14). Christ purchases us much liberty of conscience, but that liberty for us to walk more tenderly toward sin and more purposefully towards God and man (Gal. 5:13). A man prepared to die prepares his conscience.
Lastly, live and die with an expectation of God’s promise being fulfilled. All of Seth’s line died with expectation that the promise-making God was also a promise-keeping God. These promises carry us through our lives and make shallow the river of death at our passing. Those who die in doubt die in the most tormenting of conditions. A wounded body is one thing, but a wounded soul – who can bear? (Proverbs 18:14)
Reader, let me remind you that this article is not for the old. No, it is for the young. One, this preparation takes time, for it must be worked thoroughly in your own heart and in the generations which come after you. Do not wait until you are on your death bed to get these affairs in order; do it now. Your life will be lived in greater freedom at al times when you are prepared to lay it down at any time.
