Daily Scripture: Genesis 4:25-26
25 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.” 26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD.
Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com
Reflection Questions:
With Cain and Abel, the story of human families got off to a bleak start. Genesis said Seth was born as a new gift from God (“Seth” is a play on the Hebrew words for “appointed” or “given.”) In Luke 3:38 , we see that the gospel writer traced Jesus’ line of descent all the way back to Adam—through Seth, the third son, the renewed hope.
- Picture a group of Hebrews around a fire, listening as a wise elder shared the “where we came from” story. Abel died; Cain proved disloyal. Seth’s birth was the crucial link that let Adam’s family line reach to Noah. When have you feared that you were at a dead end, and sensed that God had opened a new path into the future?
- Verse 26 often leads readers to ask: Didn’t Adam and Eve worship God? The change here was in using God’s Hebrew name (Yahweh) in praise and prayer. Have you moved from praising a vague, good “force” to worshipping a divine “person” who loves and cares for you? If so, what helped you see God asYahweh, the personal God of the Bible?
Read Rev. Penny Ellwood’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com
Weekly Prayer:
God of creation, I use lots of technology, and count on many safety systems and firewalls—yet all too often I feel lost and incomplete. When I am slow to hear your “still small voice,” I thank you for your persistence, for following me all the days of my life (Psalm 23). Thank you for the ways that Genesis tells me you care about even your erring and rebellious children. Draw me closer to your heart; make me part of the line of Seth. Amen.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.
