A new start

Pray: Ask God to speak to you through his word today

Memory verse: “You shall not murder. (Exodus 20:13)

Consider: What was the last poem you read?

Bible Reading: Genesis 4:23-26

Insight: Lamech speaks the first poem of the Bible in our reading today. Perhaps he sang it to one of the instruments his son made? He proudly tells about a fight where a young man has injured him and in return Lamech kills him. A revenge that again seems a bit disproportionate and it appears that the shame felt by Cain after he murdered his brother has not been communicated to his son Lamech.

The story then goes back to Adam and Eve and the birth of another baby. The name Seth uses the same consonants as a word that means ‘provided’. Seth is a sign of hope for Adam and Eve, a baby that will help them deal with the grief of losing not only Abel but also Cain as well.

Seth goes on to have a son of his own, something that Abel didn’t have the chance to do. It is through Seth, the younger son, that the line of Jesus will come. We will find through other stories in the Bible that God often doesn’t use the people that we expect to bring about his purpose. Here we get a hint that God isn’t fooled by the first, the eldest or the strongest, instead, he uses a completely different criteria to that which we might imagine.

Calling on the Lord would have included worship, prayer and witness. Although people wouldn’t know the name Yahweh until God reveals it to Moses later, they were worshipping the God that created the world who would become Israel’s God.

Tell Us: If God doesn’t choose the strongest, most handsome and fittest person, what criteria does he use? Why do you think that is?

Adam and Eve saw hope in their third son. Where do you see hope?

Prayer Ideas: Praise God that He is just and fair. Repent of any pride you have, particularly if you are proud of something that is not honouring to God. Ask God to give you opportunities to witness to someone who doesn’t know Jesus. Call on the Lord for yourself, perhaps to meet a need that you have.

Do: Instead of a poem declaring the unjust achievements of Lamech, write a poem about the perfect achievements of God

Further Reading: John Goldingay, Genesis for Everyone Part 1.

Cain has a sulk

cain & abel (Photo credit: gabork)

Pray: Ask God to speak to you through his word today

Memory verse: Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. (Romans 6:12)

Consider: When was the last time you had a sulk? What was it about?

Bible Reading: Genesis 4:5-9

Insight: So Cain was angry and his face was downcast. In fact he went into a bit of a sulk and didn’t want to have anything to do with God. But God kept talking to Cain even giving him a warning, saying that if Cain deals with his disappointment and hurt appropriately then he will be accepted. If he doesn’t, then sin is waiting for him. He is in the same position as Eve was, he has the choice to do what is right or what isn’t.

John Goldingay explains that the word for sin used here is a verb that refers to ‘falling short of a target that you should have hit but that maybe you didn’t even aim at. It suggests wilful shortcoming, failure for which you can make no excuse.’

Cain falls very short of the target for his life. He asks his brother to go for a walk into the country, perhaps something they have done before and Abel appears to happily go along with this, not suspecting anything untoward. Whether Cain set out to trick and then kill his brother or whether they got into an argument and Cain lost his temper we don’t know. What we do know is that the jealousy and pride in Cain bred resentment and revenge.

God addresses Cain with a question reminiscent of the one He asked Eve and Adam – Where is your brother? And Cain’s response to Holy God is incredibly impertinent. In essence he is saying “How should I know? I just work the land and you don’t seem to think I’m doing that all that well!”

Tell Us: How do you react when someone suggests you have done something wrong?

Why do you think that Cain blamed Abel for his own sin?

Prayer Ideas: Praise God that he is still at work in our lives. Repent of any times where you have let selfishness or pride get the better of you. Pray for people that have hurt you and ask God to help you master sin and react appropriately when you are faced with disappointment and hurt.

Do: Has selfishness and pride hurt your relationships with family and friends? Where do you need to swallow your pride and go and make up with someone.

Further Reading: John Goldingay, Genesis for Everyone Part 1.