> [!Scripture] > **25 Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, "God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him." > 26 To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the LORD.** <img src="https://audio.mhbbible.com/media%3Agenesis%204%2025-26.jpg" alt="Genesis 4:13-15" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"> > [!success] Audio Commentary > <audio controls src="https://audio.mhbbible.com/Genesis%204%2025-26.ogg"></audio> ## Brief Observations - **Adam and Eve’s grief: the heavy cost of original sin** — The murder of Abel and Cain’s impenitence and apostasy brought them spiraling regret. They knew none of this would have happened had they not eaten the forbidden fruit and invited sin and death into the world. In one moment they lost two sons—Abel to death, Cain to self-ruin. Family love, when perverted, becomes one of life’s most reliable promoters of unrestrained hatred (see Esau’s grudge against Jacob). + **Parental sorrow and self-blame** — A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him (Proverbs 17:25). Parents often lament their children’s corruption as derivative from their own failures—and in many cases it is. Adam and Eve could not escape this weight, yet God did not leave them crushed under guilt and shame. - **God’s mercy: Seth, the appointed replacement** — In grace, God gave them another son. Eve named him Seth, saying, “God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.” Seth did not replace Abel in her heart—children are not commodities—but he replaced him in carrying forward the promised holy seed. Abel’s blood became the seed of the church because his death made room for Seth’s life. + **Seth’s name and legacy: settlement and humility** — Seth means “set, settled, or placed”—the opposite of Cain’s sentence as a nomadic vagrant. Seth did not exploit his birthright for self-glory. He named his son Enosh, meaning “weakness, frailty, misery”—a reminder that all men in a fallen world are fragile. The best men remember their frailty; no settlement removes our vulnerability. - **“Men began to call upon the name of the LORD”** — This marks a spiritual revival in Adam’s family after Cain’s defection. Public worship increased; private piety was emboldened in the assemblies. It was not the first time they called on the Lord, but a reawakening after tragedy. The holy lineage continued through Seth, ensuring the Messiah would come from it. + **Revivals often born from tragedy** — American history shows a religious boom after World War II’s atrocities—Billy Graham’s crusades drew millions, “In God We Trust” was added to currency, “under God” to the Pledge. Adam’s family survived the first homicide and a cursed generational divide—the second major fall since paradise lost. Shock from Cain’s madness, the spread of evil, and a godless city spurred renewed faith and worship. - **Tragedy should revitalize faith, not crush it** — When we witness unspeakable evil or major loss, these things should stir us to call on the Lord more fervently. Pain bears witness to Hell and life without God’s presence. The beautiful is mixed with the tragic, yet the best things in life are often forged in the deepest pain. Would we really trade what we love most to avoid it? + **Humanity bifurcated: the world and the church** — All humanity was represented in Adam, then split into two archetypes in Cain and Abel. Cain’s line walked away from God, building a city on impiety. Seth’s line experienced revival and began to call on the name of the LORD. This separation—profane versus professors—became the birth of the world and the birth of the Church. The chessboard was set for the drama of man’s rebellion and God’s redemption. - **Genesis 4: the development of the human condition** — This chapter is one of the most prescient in Scripture. What it means to be human has never changed since Cain struck down Abel in the field, and it will never change until Christ the Savior returns to establish His eternal kingdom over all the earth. The patterns of sin, grief, mercy, revival, and division remain the same. ## Full Commentary This is the first place we've read about Adam and Eve in this chapter, and undoubtedly they carried a lot of grief over what Cain had done to Abel. The murder alone was enough to spiral into painful regret, but it was sharpened by Cain's impenitence and apostasy. They also knew none of this would have happened had they themselves not transgressed in the Garden of Eden. They consumed the forbidden fruit and invited sin and death into the world. Now sin and death caused them to lost two sons in a single moment. Family is one of life's best promotors for unconditional love. When this family dynamic is perverted and the love is turned inverse, it also becomes one of life's most reliable promotors of unrestrained hatred. Cain and Abel aren't the only examples of murderous hatred from one brother for another. We also see this between Esau and Jacob later on in Genesis. Rebekah, who was the boys' mother, took action to save Jacob from Esau so she wouldn't have to share the same grief Eve felt. Listen to part of the story in [[Genesis 27.41-46|Genesis 27:41-45]]: >**Genesis 27:41-46** >41 So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob." >42 Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, "Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you by planning to kill you. >43 "Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise, flee to Haran, to my brother Laban! >44 "Stay with him a few days, until your brother's fury subsides, >45 until your brother's anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I will send and get you from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?" Scripture says a foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him ([[Proverbs 17.25|Proverbs 17:25]]). The reason for this is because it's easy for parents to lament the corruption of their children as derivative from themselves. They think it's their fault that their children have gone astray. And in many cases it is. So what are you supposed to do if you're a parent in Adam and Eve's position and one of your sons irreversibly devastated the entire family and destroyed his own life in the process? If you can't justify the tragedy as not being your own fault, are you just supposed to be crushed under the guilt and shame? Not at all. That's not what happened to Adam and Eve either. God was merciful with Adam and Eve, and so he gave them more children to rebuild their family. Eve named her new son Seth and said, "God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him." I don't think Seth replaced Abel in Eve's heart. Children are not commodities which can be replaced with more children. But Seth did replace Abel in terms of carrying forward the promised holy seed of Adam. Seth became the man upon whom the church was to be built up and perpetuated. In this way Abel's blood became the seed of the church because his death brought cause for Seth's life. Enemies of God mistakenly believe if they martyr enough Christians then the church will be culled. This is not the case with God. He ensures the martyrs are replaced by those who come after them, and the death of the martyrs becomes an edifying testimony to build up church. Even if there doesn't appear anyone to take up the cause of the martyrs, God Himself is able to raise up children from the stones if He must. Seth's name means "set, settled, or placed" and this meaning is a reminder that Seth's bloodline would continue to the end of time. The Messiah would come from Seth's lineage. Also notice how the meaning of Seth's name is the opposite of the sentence God gave to Cain. God told Cain he would be nomadic vagrant, a wanderer upon the earth. Seth's name indicates settlement and staying in one place. Seth didn't take advantage of his birthright to glorify himself as something more than human. He named his own son Enosh, which is a name that denotes weakness, frailty, and misery. These were conditions attributable to all men in a fallen world. The best men and women in life are the ones sensible enough to remember their own frailty. There is no settlement, no matter how deep the roots, which removes the vulnerability of our frail frame. There's a peculiar line at the very end of this chapter. Scripture says, "Then men began to call upon the name of the LORD". I think this means the reintroduction of religion in Adam's family. It may have provided Adam some consolation to meet his grandson Enosh. The fact that the holy lineage could be continued through his son Seth probably relieved Adam that his actions hadn't ruined everything. Even though he lost paradise and introduced the sin which would break Cain's mind and cost Abel is life, he still got to meet a grandson who was the product of him trying to walk in the truth. So much of life is this way. The beautiful is mixed in with the tragic and the tragic is often accentuated by malevolence. But in the final analysis it's not obvious you would want it any other way - at least not in this life. Many times the best things in life are the products of the most pain. Would you really want to give up what you love most in order to avoid pain? When we think about Adam's family calling on the name of the Lord, I don't think the birth of Seth is the *first* time they called on the Lord's name. I think this just indicates as spiritual revival in Adam's family after the tragic defection of Cain. This revival meant public-facing worship was increased and those who maintained private piety were emboldened to take their faith to the assemblies. It's very common for spiritual revivals to be kicked off by some tragic event. American history records a religious boom in the years immediately following [[World War II]]. This was largely a reaction to the war's atrocities. Evangelists like Billy Graham were able to draw massive crowds. At his 1957 New York Crusade, it's estimated 2.4 million people attended to hear him speak. In 1956 the expression "In God We Trust" was added to U.S. currency. In 1954 the phrase "under God" was added to America's Pledge of Allegiance. For millions of people in the western world, these years represented the very beginning of their faith journey. In the same way, Adam's family survived the first homicide and a cursed generational division. It was like the second major fall since paradise lost. When Adam's family saw Cain's dissolution into madness, when they witnessed the passing and concentration of evil from one generation to another, when they witnessed the establishment of an entire city on its foundations, this shock gave them reason to renew their faith and their resolution to worship. The same should happen for us today. When we experience major tragedies or witness unspeakable evil, these things should revitalize our faith and not crush it. This pain bears witness to the reality of Hell. It bears witness to the reality of what it's like to be without the presence of God. There's also another element this line, "Then men began to call upon the name of the LORD." Remember how we discussed all of humanity being represented by Adam? Then all of humanity was bifurcated into two archetypes in Cain and Abel? Now I think we begin to see the results of this bifurcation. When Cain and his future family broke off from Adam's family, this division created a fundamental distinction in all of the human race. It is the distinction between the professors and the profane. Cain and his people walked away from God and built a city on impiety. Adam and his family experienced religious revival and began to call on call upon the name of the Lord. This new categorical separation (which was a natural continuation of the separation between Cain and Abel) became like the birth of the world and the birth of the Church. The chessboard had now been set and all of the pieces were positioned to unfold a dramatic history of man's rebellion and God's redemption. That brings us to the end of chapter four and so naturally that will be a good place for us to end this study. Genesis chapter four is one of the most prescient sections of holy scripture because it describes and presents the development of the human condition. What it's like to be human has never changed since that moment Cain struck down Abel in the field and it will never change until Christ the Savior returns to establish His eternal kingdom over all the earth.