One of the many wonderful things about the Bible is the hidden messages that are all through the scriptures. When we read the Old Testament and we see the different lists of names we roll our eyes and just skip over those passages as if they are unimportant. There is nothing in God's word that is unimportant or is just there for no reason. The list of names that you brush off as boring can have a profound meaning.

What do I mean? There is a genealogy listed in Genesis 5, this is one of these lists. On the surface, it seems to be just a list of names but it is so much more.

In Genesis 5 we see the genealogy of Adam who as you may know was the first man. It also gives us how long they lived. Adam lived for 930 years. WOW!

 Here is the list of names from Adam to Noah:

Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah.

On the surface, it is just a list of names. Adam and his sons and his sons. But it is actually a word puzzle and when you put it together it is foretelling of the coming Messiah, our LORD Jesus Christ.

Here is how it works. You take all the names listed minus a name or 2 and then you put what each name means and you see the picture.

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 = Comfort, Rest

If you add a few words to make it a sentence it would read like this: Man is appointed mortal sorrow, but the Blessed God shall come down teaching His death shall bring the despairing comfort, and rest.

What a beautiful picture of the coming Messiah. The Old Testament from Genesis 1:1 speaks of Jesus Christ. We have the pleasure of knowing the whole story from beginning to end. Pray and let the word of God speak to you daily.

So next time you see a list of names in the bible don't just brush it off as unimportant or boring, look into it deeper and ask the Holy Spirit to show you if there is more to it than just a list of names.