Genesis 5:21-32 - Noah became the father of Shem, Ham and Japeth

5:21-24

Enoch stands out from the rest. He became a father at the “young” age of 65, but the standout feature of Enoch is that he “walked faithfully with God 300 years”. He also had other sons and daughters.  Unlike everyone else, Enoch did not die. “He walked faithfully with God; then he was no more because God took him away”. Heb 11:5,6 cites him as one of the heroes of faith. God was pleased with Enoch. 

5:25-32

You will notice that some names repeat themselves, so here we have another Lamech.  This Lamech seems to be of a rather more noble character than the previous one! The most important point about this Lamech is that he was the father of Noah. He recognised that God had cursed the ground, and looked to Noah as a source of comfort. God’s blessing more often than not comes through other people. Godly and faithful people are a blessing. So much of the modern world sees people as a curse! Examples include some environmentalists who see the human race as a curse on the world, and those who are keen on population reduction. Abortion is another symptom of this. In God’s creation people are meant to be a blessing.

Noah was 500 years old when he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japeth. This is much later than the other men mentioned had their first child. It is possible, I suppose it is possible he had children before this, but these are the three that really matter.