Genesis 4:1-8
It is the first murder recorded in our human genesis. Of course, the real death came earlier, in the garden, when the humans ate from the tree. Sin enters there and it crouches, waiting. We see the repercussions as that sin makes its way into the next generation and all generations to come.
The writer gives us less than we would like about the exile of Adam and Eve. How do they cope with the pain of the guilt and shame? How do they navigate forging faith in this new territory of life and death? In the strangest of ways, we are left to ponder these unspoken, hidden attitudes that certainly formed the next generation.
Chapter four gives us the merest glimpse, “At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord” (v. 26b). What a timely word of hope for today! Even amid our hardships and troubles, we can call on the name of the Lord. When we need guidance, we can call on the name of the Lord. Let us call on the name of the Lord, for the Church, for the nations, and for the generations that come behind us.
Author: Teanna Sunberg