"And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, 'For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.'"
The birth of Seth brings Adam and Eve, and all of humanity, hope. Through the lineage of Seth there would be born unto us a Savior, the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord. He is the one spoken of who would bruise the head of the serpent, the devil, (Gen. 3:15), whose evil character and intent is seen manifested in Cain, who killed his brother Abel. The devil used and manipulated Cain, through Cain’s own jealousy and pride, to attempt to cut off the natural means by which Jesus would be born. He (Satan) was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44), and to this day he continues to use every means possible to keep you and I from coming to faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” (Rev. 12:12). Satan’s desire is to keep us living in the spirit and the way of Cain, building our lives apart from the presence of the Lord, trying to keep us cut off from the life God wants to give us. We see this illustrated in Genesis 4:16-24, as Cain goes out from the presence of the Lord, and proceeds to develop a society wholly dependent on human ingenuity and whatever they could accomplish on their own. On the other hand, we see a different progression taking place in the family of Seth. According to vs. 26, “then men began to call upon the name of the Lord,” their hearts were stirred and moved to prayer, preaching, and testifying in the name of the Lord.
We call upon the name of the Lord because we see and know our ultimate need, and have not found an answer within ourselves or among men. We call upon Him because He is the Creator of all things, and Possessor of all knowledge. We call upon the name of the Lord because we see and know that we have a God who is alive, and who loves us and desires to bring us back to Himself. When we call upon the name of the Lord we know that He hears us. So whom else would we call upon? “For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
In these dark, uncertain, and fearful days, let it be known that God has directed all of history, even to the point of God Himself dying on a cross, to give us a fresh start. So call upon His name today and every day, and receive His life giving Spirit. He will never turn away anyone who humbly and honestly seeks Him with their whole heart.
~ Jim Krauser
