Read: Genesis 4-7
Daily Focus Verse: “Cain was then building a city, and he named it after Enoch.” (4:17b) … “‘God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.’ Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.” (Genesis 4:25b-26).
Devotion: I love seeing lists in scripture. Reading through the family lines of Adam and Eve may seem tedious, but there is so much we can learn from it. Today we read through the story of Cain and Able, and then looked at the family lines of Cain and Adams other son Seth. I find it interesting how Seth and Cain have generations with either identical or similar names. Seth and Able both had sons Enoch (Cain) and Enosh (Seth). Down the linage they both had offspring named Lamech. Now in Cain’s family Lamech is a dastardly murmurous scoundrel. However, in Seth’s family, Lamech is the father of Noah and is said to have lived 777 years. For the Israelites 7 is a number of completion, or perfection, so to see one Lamech say he is completed in wickedness 7×77, it is a big contrast to see the other Lamech lived 777 years of perfect completion. With Enoch, of Seth’s family, we get them first worshippers of the LORD (4:26). Whereas in Cain’s family, Enoch only had a city named after him. I find the two lists in Genesis 4-5 set up a contrast—or a point, counterpoint—between the two family lines. One is terrible, rotten, and no good, while the other is set up as following and worshipping God. While Cain’s family is shown to us as evil, and wicked, we see that descendants of Cain are credited with being the first to domesticate livestock (4:20), they invented music and musical instruments (4:21), and are credited with the creation of bronze and iron (4:22). Wow! The point is, no matter how bad the family, no matter how fallen from God’s grace, it is still possible for beauty to exist. God can use all manner of brokenness to make something beautiful.
Prayer: LORD we know it is You who takes our brokenness and makes us beautiful. We pray to you today that in the midst of the chaos of our world you would use us to make something beautiful. Make in us something new LORD so that we may go out into the world and partner with you in making something beautiful. Amen.
Additional scripture: “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)