Missions Paul

 “You’re just like your father!”

 (Genesis 5)

Adam – 930 years: Adam was a sinner, we know the story now, “and then he died.”

Seth – 912 years: Seth established the line of Christ; his father, Adam, created the sin that saw Christ come to die for, “and then he died.”

Enosh – 905 years: Enosh was in the generation that walked with the Lord and longed for Him to move (4:26), “and then he died.”

Kenan – 910 years: Kenan is listed in the genealogical lists in 1 Chronicles 1 and Luke 3; we don’t know anything more about him: “and then he died.”

Mahalalel – 895 years: Mahalalel is mentioned in extrabiblical sources (in the Book of Enoch, he has a vision of the earth being destroyed), but nothing more than genealogical lists in the Bible: “and then he died.”

Jared – 962 years: Jared is in the same genealogical lists as above, “and then he died.”

Enoch – 365 years: Enoch walked with God; he pleased God; he did not die; he was searched for but was not found. Like Elijah, God took the man who knew intimacy with him. He went to be with the Lord alive; he did not taste death.

Methuselah – 969 years: Methuselah, the oldest man ever, in the genealogical lists, “and then he died.”

Lamech – 777 years: Seth’s descendant, not Cain’s, prophesies his son’s redemptive call about the flood, “and then he died.”

Noah, Shem, Ham, Japhet, are kept alive for the description of their story in the next chapter.

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 Being made in the image of somebody else and being made in their likeness doesn’t necessarily mean you will live your life like they have done.

 The essential principle is this: it is not what you look like, but how you are living that counts. “Enoch walked with God,” as his predecessor Adam used to do, but lost it.

 In Christ and because of what he has done, you and I can walk with God. We may not look much, our genealogy may be suspect, but we can say “I walk with God!”

You can live your life in such a way that there is something to say other than you age, “and then he died.”

The consequence of sin is clearly seen throughout this chapter with that phrase, “and then he died.”

The whole list will inevitably be fulfilled except for the intervention of God, seen in Enoch and later fulfilled in Christ. As Christians, it is never “and then he died” for we are taken home in our death to be alive forever and ever!

When you may think all hope is lost, God can step in with a blessing. 

Just when you think all that is happening is waywardness and disobedience, a new path can open up.

When a generation may think their name is more important than anyone else, a new voice can emerge, calling on the name of the Lord.

“Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD” (Genesis 4 v 25-26)

The grandson of Adam lives in an era when people are starting to pray to the Lord.

He is named ‘mortal’ perhaps because Seth realised that, as the replacement brother of Cain, who had killed Abel, life was indeed very fragile. His name also means ‘people’ and could be referring to the significant increase in population.

The devastation of Cain killing Abel was felt deeply in that the Cainites turned their back on the Lord. However, the Sethites, people like Enosh, despite the turbulence of their world and the increasing sinfulness as the population grew, called on the name of the Lord. This was not only a private prayer, but a community’s declaration of its faith in God.

Never let a day go by without calling on the Name!

Even though you may live in a time that seems desperate and wayward, you can be like Enosh’s generation, who longed for God to move. There have always been two different paths. The generations of Cain built cities, achieved great things, and created a great deal. The generations of Sethites built altars.

In every generation, some walk on the broad path, and those who walk on the narrow path. Some call on themselves, and others call on God. 

Are you laying a foundation of the GOSPEL for the next generation? Are you calling on the name of the Lord?

Today can be a day of blessing or a day of cursing. It is in your hands, well, in your mouth. The story of Lamech is one of justified retaliation, which Jesus would later turn into a call for limitless forgiveness.

“Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech. Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah. Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.” (Genesis 4: 17-24)

Lamech, the father of Noah, has a name meaning ‘strong man’ or ’wild man’. Not only was Lamech the Bible’s first recorded polygamist (Adah and Zillah), but he seemed to be even worse than his ancestor Cain. It was not because he took more than one wife. However, it was because he presumed on God’s grace after taking revenge.

We don’t know what happened, but it would appear that the punishment did not fit the crime. He truly believed that those who tried to take revenge on him for his revenge would receive the vengeance of God 77 times over—a huge presumption on the mercy of God.

Interestingly, when Jesus teaches Peter to forgive, He says that he should forgive not seven times, but seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22).

People with a deep desire for justice, those who carry a sense of right and wrong, are prone to revenge and retaliation.

Has there ever been a time in our lives when we wanted to take revenge? Of course! How we retaliate depends on our standing with God. However, all retaliation is wrong, whether that be in words or actions.

“Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”
1 Peter 3: 9
Lamech’s son, Tubal-Cain, invented the first primitive sword, and weapons of war are first seen. Lamech came home not only boasting to his wives of how he took revenge on some person who wounded him, but worse than that. Lamech believed that with his son’s swords in his hands, though Cain would be avenged 7-fold, for him it would be 77-fold. The sword would now bring about greater retaliation from any attack by the enemy.

Lamech was now self-confident and self-sufficient because of the weapon he had in his hand. The sword meant he did not have to trust God, even if it was still a thought of doing so.

So, how strong are you, and is it in you to be ruthless with people?

What is in your hands can be a blessing or a curse.

We have all seen how position and power can inflict a retaliation that is way beyond what is equal to any mistake or pain inflicted on you. We have seen that in the regime leaders around the world, government leaders, and, sadly, we have seen it with Church leaders.

The abuse of power. Justified in the eyes of those who hold the sword in their hands, but not in the sight of God.

Let’s be different today. Where there is hurt, let us bless. Where offence comes, let us take every barrier down. Where there is war, let us bring peace. Who do you struggle with today? Bless them. Show kindness. Demonstrate the cross. Die for them. Please do not pick up the sword, no matter what they have done.

Even with a murderer, one’s heart can be moved with compassion … maybe. The scandal of God’s mercy matches the scandal of man’s sinfulness.

“Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” But the LORD said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” (Genesis 4 v 11-16)

The consequence of Cain murdering his brother was worse than what his parents had experienced. Whatever he does with the ground will not produce anything for him. His brother’s blood fell to the ground, and the earth was hardened for Cain to farm it.

His response is remarkable and pitiful. He fears being murdered. He actually now recognises that God is watching him and within that is protection. Pity he didn’t think of that before he murdered his brother. He knows he deserves vengeance, and he begs for mercy.

Now this is where our humanity cannot cope. God showing mercy. I mean, we want it ourselves, but not for those who have committed such crimes against others. But this is mercy. Mercy isn’t fair. God puts a mark on Cain not to point him out as a sinner, but to protect him from what would be justice. Cain is given a chance to live.

For the second time, we see another exile. Like father, like son. This time, worse, the intimacy is even more detached than his father’s.

But his story reveals hope. We will see how he marries, builds again, and has descendants who, with various abilities, produce good things.

Mercy breeds hope, and aren’t we glad we know it for ourselves?

Our enemy traffics in dark places, speaks words that no one else can hear, and lures us into traps that we haven’t comprehended. Here is the story of the world’s first murderer.

“Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.” (Genesis 4:6-10)

Let’s go out to the field, which isn’t there in the earlier versions of the Bible. It is there with a footnote because it helps us understand what Cain said to his brother and why they were in the field.

But we don’t know what Cain said. In the original, that’s the point. But the voice of a brother got him into a place where he could be killed. There is a voice of the enemy that wants to close you down, finish you, to steal, kill, and destroy, and he will speak to you. He will use words that no one knows, but these are hidden. Secret words, he traffics in hidden places. But make no mistake, he wants you out in the field; he wants you to follow him, to be in a situation, a circumstance, where he can destroy you.

Sin is personified as a predatory animal, crouching, waiting for the opportune moment to pounce. Cain had a choice, God had warned him that he had, but he chose the wrong decision. His anger blinded him, and it led him to become the first murderer. Unresolved sin can very quickly devastate. Unbelievably, Cain showed no responsibility or remorse for his actions; somehow, he felt justified, and his heart was hardened.

There’s a haunting beauty in how Abel’s story connects to the larger biblical narrative. In Genesis 4:10, God tells Cain that Abel’s blood “cries out” from the ground. Later, in Hebrews 12:24, the author contrasts Abel’s blood with Christ’s blood, noting that Jesus’ blood “speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”
Abel’s blood cried out for justice; Christ’s blood speaks of mercy and forgiveness. Yet both testimonies emerge from faith—Abel’s faith in offering his best to God, and Christ’s faith in offering himself for our salvation.

This story is more than a rivalry between brothers. It contains an essential truth for us still today in how we approach God. They both brought an offering, but one pointed to faith and the other to works.

“Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favour on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering, he did not look with favour. So Cain was furious, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. (Genesis 4 2-8)

This wasn’t about animals being better than vegetables! It was about faith. Abel probably didn’t realize what his offering was pointing to. He hadn’t seen how everything in Bible history leads to the sacrifice of the Son of God on a cross. Neither had Cain.

They didn’t understand the Lamb of God, a title for Jesus Christ, who takes away people’s punishment for sin.

But when these two offerings were made, God accepted one and rejected the other. We do not know how this was determined, but perhaps it was by fire from heaven, which generations later would be experienced especially within the Temple.

Cain offered the work of his hands as a sacrifice. This practice still exists today. It was relevant for the author writing to a community of believers who were being tempted to return to a works-based system of worship, like Judaism. For us, it remains present as well. Cain trusted in his own reasoning and efforts, believing his work would impress God.

Abel offered his sacrifice by faith. What does that mean? It was a blood sacrifice—a substitute that pointed to Christ, of course. His offering had to die to bring worship to God. This wasn’t just about Abel, but about the animal. There was nothing in Abel that he could get, but his offering was acceptable because of the life in the blood of the sacrifice. Very early in history, Abel understood—even in a basic sense—that approaching God requires something to be sacrificed.

The main point is this: we cannot approach God through our own efforts or strength, but only by the blood sacrifice of another. Don’t go back to the Old Covenant; the New Covenant is much better because it is fulfilled by the superior sacrifice of Jesus Christ, not by our own works. We never approach God based on what we have done, but on what He has done for us. This hero – Abel – still speaks to us today.

The story of Eve has always caught my attention. She has been blamed since time began. It has been encouraging to revisit her journey carefully. We all have sinned and fallen short, haven’t we? So I conclude her story with these two verses.

“Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man … Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, ‘God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.’” (Genesis 4:1, 25)

There are moments for all of us when we know we cannot turn the clock back, we cannot undo the past, and all that greets us in the morning is regret. At these times, it takes courage to believe again.

It takes courage to acknowledge that God is in your pain.

She gave birth. What did that mean? She experienced what she had never experienced – pain. She had never witnessed it in anyone, nor had she felt it herself. But she knew God, who had forewarned her of such pain (3:16), was with her “With the help of the Lord…”

It takes courage to know God is in control.

It takes courage to believe that the pain will enlarge you, stretch you so that you receive what He has for you. The promise will not pull you; the pain will.

It takes courage to believe you can still accomplish great things. “I have brought forth,” whatever you are facing, don’t listen to those who say you cannot do it; you can, with God.

It takes courage to move on.

If you are willing to go again, God will always be there for you.

To see your family divided is hurtful enough. To witness a murderous death within your family by a family member is a nightmare. To realize it was done through deception, which was your own previous failing, and your sin is now passed to the next generation, is unbearable.

What did Eve do? She again gave birth. She began again. She moved on.

Success is getting up one more time than the number of times you fall.

The future is not in what you have lost. Seth’s name meant substitute. Eve lost Abel. But it was in Seth that the bloodline would be traced to the birth of Jesus Christ, God’s substitute for our sin.

The past will always be the same. Please stop trying to change it. Start believing the best is yet to be. It takes courage to move on.

If we read the expulsion only as God’s judgment, then we have missed a great deal. You see, in the saddest of moments, you can find a diamond.

“The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Genesis 3 v 21-24)

God clothes them with garments of skin. Whose skin? It doesn’t say. Do they leave the garden covered with the skin of something that died for them? Is this the gospel, right at the beginning of time, speaking loudly of grace and mercy?

God drove the man out, but the biblical story tells us that God went with them. God would be found again by them and by the generations to come. This is the first exile, and there would be more to come, and in every one of them, God comes to His people again. Whether that be Egypt, Babylon, or a small village in Israel, which becomes the centre of the world, where God takes on human flesh, God comes to us. He always has, He always will.

God placed a ‘cherubim and a flaming sword’ on the east side of the Garden. Behind the fire stands the Tree of Life, waiting; the cherubim still guard.

This is all at the beginning of the book. But we have read to the end, haven’t we? We know what has happened and what is to come, don’t we?

“To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7) This was a message to Ephesus, which, heeding the warning of Jesus amongst the letters to the seven churches, became a major Christian centre with thriving churches. Within Ephesus, a magnificent temple of Artemis stood, accompanied by a beautiful garden that offered asylum to criminals who managed to escape into it. This may well be the connection Jesus is referring to when He says there is a garden, the paradise of God, where the tree of life is at the centre. This is not unrepentant criminals but repentant Churches.

But let’s keep going to the very end. “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 22:1-5)

In a perfecting of Eden, the garden has become a city, and God is no longer hidden behind the trees. We have changed, been made holy, His character and nature, His mark, is on our lives, and we will see Him! We will finally look upon God and live!

Since Adam and Eve, we have tried our entire lives to see God in all His fullness and have failed every time. But not now. His glory within us has changed us to become like Him, so much so that we will see His face!

In what has to be one of the saddest moments in the whole of the Bible, we see the separation of God and man.

“The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Genesis 3 v 21-24)

Adam and Eve start their walk out of Paradise and probably did what feels natural to all of us. I imagine them looking back because I would have done the same.

They reflect on what they once had and who they once were. What lies ahead doesn’t seem as promising as what is behind them. They look back and see the light of that ‘flaming sword’ guarding the tree of life. They would never know what they once knew. I keep wondering if they would even have the faintest hope that one day they would walk with God in the cool of the day again.

They had to leave.

“The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil,” God confirms what the serpent promised. However, what the serpent didn’t tell them within that temptation was the weight they would feel of their moral consciousness, the shame and fear, and instead of rising to be like God, they broke under the heaviness of it all.

Yes, they had to leave. “He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” That wasn’t solely punishment, though the phrase ‘drove them out’ indicated the seriousness of what they had done. It was grace. God was not going to allow them to live forever in their fractured, sinful state. That would have been an eternal curse. It would have been hell.

What was ahead of them?

Interestingly, it was to do exactly what they were doing in the garden—working—but with a big difference. From now on, they would labour with the sweat of their brow as they navigate the thorns and thistles. Life will be different; they will face opposition to their efforts, have days filled with frustration, and nights that are sleepless.

So they depart. The last thing they see is not God but the “cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” Even if they wanted to, and they most likely did, returning was impossible. It was over. The tree of life remained there. But this perfection was now guarded as if protected for a moment to come. They didn’t know what we now know. As they looked back, they realized they would never return, when in fact, God was saying, ‘not now’. To be continued … in many ways.

U2’s song “Grace” concludes with a heartfelt reflection. It demonstrates how grace transforms ugliness into beauty and uncovers goodness everywhere. This is both inspiring and thought-provoking.

Reflect on what it means to notice God in an imperfect but created world, to see Him in the simple setting of a manger, and to find Him in the pain of the cross. These moments are ways we encounter grace, shaping how His grace takes root in us.

From the moment you wake today, everything that happens is touched by His grace. Remember, He watches over you, blesses you, loves you, and shows you favour — not alone, but through every part of the world around you, just as He has shown grace in key moments in Scripture.

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3 v 15)

Isaiah 42:3 – “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.”

Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus showing kindness to those who are hurt or struggling. For example, to the leper who asked, “If you are willing,” Jesus replied, “I am willing.” To the woman who thought, “If only I could touch his garment,” he said, “Take heart, daughter.” To the man with demons who cried, “Swear you won’t torture me,” Jesus gave him freedom and peace, leaving him calm. Each meeting shows how grace changes suffering.

Eve, too, was a bruised reed.

But consider God’s response carefully. Don’t focus solely on the banishment; look deeper into what else God provided.

There was a promise—a promise that would shape the hope of all generations.

In verse 15, God spoke a word of hope. Someone would come to save. The first promise about the Messiah would come from this guilty, broken woman. The first person to sin was also the first to hear about the One who would defeat sin. God said the snake would hurt the Savior’s heel, but the Savior would crush the snake’s head. By dying and rising again, Jesus defeated the powers of darkness and proved that He was stronger.

There was a covering.

Eve tried to cover herself and Adam with fig leaves, but it did not work. God’s covering came through a sacrifice. Their shame was covered by the life of an animal given in their place. In the same way, your guilt is covered by what Jesus did—He is the Lamb of God. This is amazing grace.