How do the genealogies in the Bible help our understanding?

The genealogies that we read in the Bible may seem boring to most people, but they are in there for a reason.  One use for them is to measure time.  In Genesis 5 we have a long list of names and ages.  If we take the ages of the people then we can know how long an event took place or how much time went by between events.  But the main reason for the genealogies is to trace the human race from Adam to Jesus (Luke 3:23-38).  Even though these are in the Bible some people waste too much time trying to determine everyone’s descent.  We are not to worry about endless genealogies because they are not necessarily important in helping our fellow Christians (1Timothy 1:4).  However we can learn some things from them if done so correctly.