What is the biblical history of early humanity?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

The Bible is the story of God and His interaction with His creation. Specifically, it is the story of how mankind fell with no hope of redeeming itself and how God provided Jesus as the way of redemption. God's redemptive work in early humanity begins with creation, where He made Adam and Eve in His image and gave them dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:27–28). Despite their sin in the garden of Eden, God promised a future Redeemer who would crush the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15). Even in their rebellion, God showed mercy by clothing Adam and Eve and protecting them from eternal corruption (Genesis 3:21–24). When humanity's wickedness reached its peak, God spared Noah and his family, preserving a remnant through the flood to restart humanity (Genesis 6:9—9:19). Throughout these events, God’s grace and justice were evident, continually pointing toward His ultimate plan of redemption through Jesus Christ.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• Genesis 1—11 is the beginning of the history of early humanity and sets the stage for all of history.
• Genesis 1 outlines the seven days of creation. God is more than capable of creating the universe in seven days, and there is no biblical reason to assume He did otherwise.
• On the sixth day, after God had created the land animals, He formed Adam, the first man, out of clay and breathed life into him. Genesis 2 fits into the Genesis 1 summary here, detailing how God showed Adam the animals he was to have dominion over so that Adam could understand that he needed a partner. God formed Eve out of Adam's side (Genesis 2:18–25).
• After creating Adam and Eve, God outlined their mission—to procreate and rule over creation (Genesis 1:28).
• At some point before the creation of Adam and Eve, Satan and some other angels rebelled against God (Isaiah 14:12–14; Revelation 12:4). Satan set out to damage both God's creation and God's relationship with His creation. He started by tempting Eve.
• In the garden of Eden were many trees, including two specific trees: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life (Genesis 2:9). On the sixth day of creation, "the LORD God commanded the man, saying, 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die'" (Genesis 2:16–17). God did not ban Adam from the Tree of Life, as indicated by His instruction.
• Satan tempted Eve and she ate the forbidden fruit. Eve offered the fruit to Adam, who was with her, and he also ate of it (Genesis 3:1–6). As God had said, death, and all its side effects, became reality. God pronounced curses on all three parties and expelled Adam and Eve from the garden (Genesis 3:7–24). In the midst of the curses, however, God gave the first hint of His plan to save Adam and Eve and their descendants from eternal punishment: He promised One who would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15).
• In banishing Adam and Eve from the garden, God prevented access to the Tree of Life so they would not live for eternity in corrupted, damageable physical bodies (Genesis 3:22–24). He also provided mercy as He killed and skinned an animal to provide durable clothing for Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21).
• In Genesis 4, Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve, both offered sacrifices to God. Abel's was accepted because he offered it in faith (Hebrews 11:4), “but for Cain and his offering [God] had no regard” (Genesis 4:5). Despite God's warning (Genesis 4:6–7), Cain let his anger fester and committed the first murder, killing Abel. As punishment, God cursed Cain's strength, turning the man who thrived in growing crops into a wanderer, unable to find provision from the land.
• Within six generations, we see how much humanity developed. Genesis 4:22 records the creation of "all instruments of bronze and iron" (Genesis 4:22), giving us a quick indication of the intelligence and skill of the early generations.
• People at that time lived long lives, but this also had a negative result: people were able to plan and accomplish incredible evil over a long time span (Genesis 6:5). The Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and human women, added to the corruption and wickedness of the earth (Genesis 6:1–4). It got so bad that God grieved He had even made man and sent the flood to clean the slate (Genesis 6:6–7).
• In order to save a remnant of both people and animals, God chose Noah, described as the only righteous man, to build a giant ship (Genesis 6:9, 14). Noah obeyed God and took his wife, three sons, and their wives, along with representations of every kind of animal (Genesis 7:13–16), and were in the ark for just over a year while rain and violently expelled groundwater covered everything they'd ever known (Genesis 7:11–12, 24; 8:13–14).
• When the flood waters receded and the Holy Spirit dried the land, the ark landed on Mt. Ararat. God promised not to destroy the world again with a global flood (Genesis 8—9).
• After the flood, people were allowed to eat meat, and their relationship with animals became more antagonistic (Genesis 9:2–3).
• After the flood, there was a substantial and rapid decrease in lifespan. Noah died at 950 years old. Ten generations later, Abraham's 175 years was considered "a good old age" (Genesis 25:7–8). Humans were no longer given such long times to plan great evil.
• The next major event involved the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1–9). God had commissioned Adam and Eve to fill the world with people and to spread out (Genesis 1:28). He gave that same commission to Noah and his family (Genesis 9:1). At some point after the flood, in opposition to this mandate, the people “said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 10:4). Babel is identified as part of Nimrod's domain in the land of Shinar (Genesis 10:10). In response to the people breaking God's word, God divided their languages, dividing their unity of culture and purpose, and scattered the people across the face of the earth.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• The biblical history of early humanity occurs in the Old Testament.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

The time recounted in early Genesis has many lessons for us, but one of the most significant is how quickly people can turn their backs on God. Adam and Eve walked with God and spoke to Him directly, yet their son committed the first murder. Going by the genealogies given in Genesis, Adam was still alive during the time of Methuselah and Lamech; Noah was born about 130 years after Adam's death. Yet the people were so evil that God had to destroy them. Noah was still alive when Abraham was born. Yet during that time, God had to divide the languages and the tribes to mitigate the people's reach of evil. While Noah was still alive, new religions were created, assigning powers and authorities to gods that didn't exist, and lasting into the ages of the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans (it's believed the goddess Ishtar, found in the Epic of Gilgamesh , went on to inspire Venus and Aphrodite). Although the story of the flood spread with the tribes of Babel, it was often distorted beyond easy recognition.

Despite humanity’s rebellion and continued sin, God’s plan of redemption and restoration that was promised in Genesis 3:15 continued. His faithfulness and lovingkindness led to clothing Adam and Eve, to protecting them from living in a continued state of sin and the curse of sin, showing grace to Cain, saving people from themselves, saving Noah and his family, promising never to flood the earth again, etc. The biblical history of early humanity is full of assurances of God’s character—especially His goodness and sovereignty—which give us hope for now and for eternity. The same God who created the universe, sustains us. The same God who clothed Adam and Eve provided the covering we need to be saved from our sins. The same God who saved Noah calls us to find our salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The same God who promised to restore and redeem all that sin destroyed is still at work until the day where all will be made new (Revelation 21:1–5).

UNDERSTAND

• God created humanity in His image, but Adam and Eve's disobedience brought sin into the world.
• Despite humanity's corruption, God showed mercy, preserving a remnant and promising redemption.
• Throughout the early generations, God pointed to His ultimate plan of redemption through Jesus, beginning with the promise of a Savior in Genesis 3:15.

REFLECT

• What does God’s involvement with early humanity reveal about His character and plan?
• How does God’s judgment of sin along with evidence of His grace impact your relationship with Him?
• How does the promise of redemption through Jesus encourage you when you face the brokenness of the world today?

ENGAGE

• The men in the line between Seth and Noah all lived between 777 and 969 years, save for Enoch whom God took early (Genesis 5:21–24). These impressive lifespans were due to at least a couple of factors. When God made the world, He called it "good." It couldn't have been so without being able to sufficiently provide healthful food for its inhabitants. In addition, Adam and Eve were created physically perfect. They had no DNA anomalies and passed on no congenital defects. This is also why their children were able to marry each other with no physiological repercussions.
• Noah’s three sons—Japheth, Ham, and Shem—became the ancestors of all who are alive today. Specifically, Shem is the ancestor of the Jewish people (Genesis 11:10–26; 12:1–3). Ham is the ancestor of the Egyptians and the Canaanites (Genesis 10:6). While some speculate that the "division" in Peleg's time (Genesis 10:25) refers to the breaking of Pangea, it likely more simply refers to the scattering of people after the Tower of Babel.
• How does the rapid increase in human wickedness before and after the flood challenge our understanding of human nature and societal progression?