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And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.  Genesis 6:6  ESV

God is unchangeable. He called His creation of man ‘good’ in the garden but later expressed that he was sorry He made him. Question #1.) Does God change His mind? If so, maybe I should be worried about my sin causing God to change His mind about me.

The expression “I’m sorry!” means several things. I can apologize for doing something I knew was wrong, wish I could take it back and make the choice all over again. But the expression of being sorry also means something else. “I’m sorry you have cancer,” doesn’t imply that I did something to cause your cancer. It is an expression of regret that you are hurting.  I believe God is expressing regret over the way sin has destroyed people’s lives.

Question #2.) If God knew people were going to sin and break His heart, why did He go ahead and create them? In His omniscience, He knew this moment was coming.

All through childhood, I knew I wanted to be a mother. I grew up in the church, however, and knew that babies are born with Adam’s fallen nature. I knew my children would be like all other children and disobey, hurt my feelings, cause some sleepless nights through the teen years, but the joy of our future relationships outweighed the risks.

God knew when He created us that we would use our moral choice to sin greatly. Yet, He loved us from before the foundation of the world and considered the relationships He would have with us to be worth it all. Even in the moments of regret – those moments when He wished we had chosen to love Him more than we loved our sin, He anticipated the joys He would experience with us.

Oh Father, I anticipate the joys we will share today.  Amen

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  Genesis 6:5 ESV

Maybe you’ve witnessed a tragedy like the following. A pastor, husband, and father of three flips out, packs his bags, and leaves the ministry and his family.  His actions seem to come out of nowhere.  Behaviors can be hard to explain even by those who are most intimate with the one who has done the unthinkable.

For the past week, my devotionals have centered on the tragic story of two brothers, Cain and Abel.  When Cain murdered his brother, did his parents see it coming?  Maybe not.  This horrendous event wasn’t aa spontaneous act.  Though it might have seemed like it to Abel, Cain may not have been surprised that he took his brother’s life. 

Evil deeds originate from the heart.  Inside each of us is a world of simmering thoughts.  We each have our individual, default thought processes, the things we choose to think about most often.  Cain’s murder of his brother began long before the day he struck him down.  Jealousy, rage, disgust, these were the longtime breeding grounds for murder.  Agitation in his soul fed Cain’s thought life.  Perhaps daydreaming of a life without his brother was his favorite pastime.

In today’s scripture, God saw people’s demonic behaviors and declared them evil.  His condemnation was of things outward.  He also commented on the hearts of the people and declared them evil too.  That condemnation was of things inward. My actions today are the summation of my thoughts.  Jesus said so.  “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.  Matt. 15:18  If I heed the Apostle Paul’s advice to take every thought captive, and if I follow David’s example and ask God to search my heart, I won’t be a casualty.  I won’t do something catastrophic and then wonder how in the world I could do such a thing.

In our prayer times, we often pray for someone’s behavior to change.  That doesn’t target the root of the problem. It doesn’t address the place where sin is born.  I need to pray for that person’s internal world that simmers with evil thoughts.  Man sees the outward manifestations of the heart, but God sees the heart and hears the ruminations that precede sinful behavior.  It’s the heart that needs His transformation.  Behavior will follow.

If I don’t like what I do, if I’m discouraged about all my bad habits and longtime strongholds, take me to their source.  Show me my heart, Lord Jesus.  Amen

The sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.  The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them.  Genesis 6:2,4  ESV

The phrase ‘sons of God’ is found in other places in scripture and most agree that it refers to the fallen angels who were cast to earth along with Satan, the leader of their rebellion.  These fallen angels saw the beauty of the women of that time and desired them.  Perhaps Satan wanted to pollute the gene pool to prevent the coming of the Messiah.

Angels have always appeared as men so it should not surprise us that the angelic realm could disrupt God’s order of things and choose to engage sexually with mankind.  (We encounter angels unaware too, sent by God.  Angels can still take on human form.) 

The Nephilim were the children of these unholy unions between demonic beings and human women and they were giants.  No wonder judgment was coming.  Mankind was no longer mankind but a strange mutation of the intermingling of two worlds.

Any of us who were raised in the church can be naïve and shudder at the thought that such a thing could be. But Jude said, “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire.

Unless I take my head out of the sand and know, to what extent, Satan loves to take something holy and pervert it, I will be of little use when it comes time to take the Gospel to situations where profound evil exists.  It is possible for me to be holy while still being street smart.  Jesus was never shocked by evil but saw it in all its ugliness and dealt directly with it.  He didn’t hide from society and relegate himself to synagogue life.  And I can promise you that our kids and grandkids are seeing more evil in school than we can imagine. ‘As in the days of Noah’ scriptures says.  In these days, manifestations of the spirit world are everywhere.  We can feel the kingdoms clashing and the Gospel has never been more relevant to draw those from captivity to the kingdom of God’s dear Son.

Do I feel like You feel as You look at my world today?  If not, wake me up.  Infuse my heart with Your perspective and Your emotions.  Amen

When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son and called his name Noah…  Genesis 5:28-29  ESV

At four different points in my life, I’ve deeply despaired.  It appeared at each juncture that life was never going to change.  There was too much wrong.  There was too much evidence that a resurrection of any kind was impossible. 

It is an awful thing to witness the degeneration of anything.  A marriage, a child’s future, someone’s health, a business.  All self-efforts to save can matter little.  The end seems inevitable.  And if one witnesses this slow degeneration over a long period of time, God can appear powerless as evidence of His presence is absent.  This reinforces the lie that He’s not going to do anything to rescue.

God is never out of options.  Never.  God is never stewing, wondering how He will pull off a resurrection.  Never.  God never withholds to be cruel.  Never.  God is never scrambling at the last minute, throwing something together in haste.  Never.

The birth of Noah is proof of God’s faithfulness.  When the world was sinking into evil and lawlessness, how would God’s promise to Adam and Eve ever be fulfilled?  How would a Savior arise out of a world that God was going to destroy?  Certainly, it appeared that God was nullifying what He had guaranteed.  If we had lived in the days of Noah, watching evil reign on the earth, we would have doubted the ancient whispers of a God who spoke to our forefathers.

In some cave or primitive dwelling place, a baby was born.  His name was Noah.  The meaning of his name was “comfort.”  God brought a baby to the scene, not some spectacular Red Sea deliverance.  He brought a nine-pound bundle of joy instead of a spirit of repentance to the whole of society.  God’s plan of redemption was ushered in without fanfare and the power of this tiny life would not be seen for hundreds of years.  Yet, God’s saving plan was in place.  

God is always active.  Always.  God is working on my behalf.  Always.  When I can’t conceive of a salvation to all that is wrong, He’s already put one in motion in the eternal realm.  When I’m looking for an earthquake to prove His power, He often brings the answer in the sound of a baby’s cry.

In every place someone is fainting today, let them declare that You are the God of beginnings.  In Jesus’ name, In Jesus’ name, Amen

After he fathered Methuselah, Enoch walked with God for 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Genesis 5:22 ESV

Various numbers have eternal significance in the Bible. The number seven is one of them; forty is another. The seventh place in a genealogical line is often significant and none more than in the lines of Cain and Seth. Lamech, from Cain’s line, perpetuated violence. Wild and unregenerate, he was like his father – only worse. Enoch, from Seth’s line, perpetuated righteousness. True and unwavering, he was like his father – only better. I have learned this ~ the righteous and unrighteous propensities in family lines escalate. Nothing stays the same because each generation plants seeds that produce a harvest because God put us in a sowing and reaping world.

Oh, the beauty of Enoch’s life. We only know two things about him. He walked with God and God took him home and spared him the experience of physical death. He walked with God as did his first father and mother in the Garden of Eden. Enoch cultivated this same relationship and turned away from everything that would threaten it.

Life in the Garden of Eden is envied. I long for perfection, but even more, I long for a fellowship with God that has no cobwebs caused by sin. Because sin’s curse is so pervasive, I can give up on my pursuit of a relationship with God like the one Adam and Eve enjoyed. I conclude that it’s not really possible. Enoch disproves all that. He didn’t have the written scriptures. He didn’t have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Yet, he sought God and enjoyed Him like few others and all on a cursed planet.

Faith must be fought for. Intimacy with God must be pursued relentlessly. My flesh must be subdued by unwavering vigilance. This is a race that won’t be won if I coast through life. The Christian life is an upward climb and I take each step relying on God for the grace to desire Him above all others. My daily prayer, “Show me Your glory!” is my insurance against being wooed away by the false promises of sin. As I keep my eyes on Him, the beautiful One, I’m energized to keep going. 

When all is said and done, Lord, I pray for myself and I pray for every woman who reads this today. May it be said of each of us.  ‘She walked with God!’ We may even be like Enoch and never see death. Even so come, Lord Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen

And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD. Genesis 4:25-26 ESV

People of Adam and Eve’s time lived 800-900 years. That’s a long time to labor on a newly cursed earth. That’s a long time to live with the memory of a martyred child, and an interminable amount of time to watch the descendants of Cain mock God and propagate an evil race. 

What’s astounding is that they recognized God’s redemption. They looked for His goodness and welcomed His comfort when Seth was born. With the inception of this child of promise, a new line of descendants began to worship God again. Every time one called upon the name of the Lord, I can imagine their deep joy.

Their sin in the garden didn’t kill Adam and Eve’s faith. Self-condemnation didn’t keep them from looking for a covenant keeping God. The hope of Genesis 3:17, the prediction that a Savior would come from Eve, was not abandoned. As soon as they saw the face of their newborn and named him ‘Seth’, which means ‘appointed’, they recognized the faithfulness of God. The memory of what God was like in the garden had not left them. It served as a foundation for the years of personal famine. 

Their testimony challenges me to look at how I deal with my own sins and failures. If I know the nature of God’s forgiveness, then I look for second chances. I know that my life isn’t ruined and that His mercies are new every morning. He is gracious and will craft another test where my faith can shine. I must anticipate its arrival, or I won’t recognize the face of it when it comes. I’ll wonder if God is mocking me when, instead, He’s giving me the grace and wings to get it right this time. My ‘Seth’ will be staring me in the face, begging the laughter of one who can see God’s prevailing love. 

If you only blessed me when I deserved it, it wouldn’t be redemption and your love wouldn’t be all that different from how I love others. Help me believe in your radical forgiveness and mercy. Amen

Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain knew his wife, and she conceived…. Genesis 4:16-17 ESV

Cain was ambitious. After the murder of his brother, and with the protection of God’s seal, he went on to accomplish some noteworthy things. He settled in Nod and built a city. That earned him fame among the people of his time but he couldn’t see that history would not remember him for his city, but for his sin. Cain never turned back to God.

Depravity isn’t always obvious, even when it’s in front of our faces. Cain’s descendants were civilized. They were craftsmen, even musicians, but despite their skills, they were like their father. Restless, driven, with no amount of achievement bringing them peace.

One of his descendants was named Lamech. He was the first bigamist.  He dominated his wives, even with poetry. He told them, in verse form, that they should live in fear of him because he had committed murder. He used his notorious reputation to subjugate.

He also mocked his Creator. God had said that anyone who shed the blood of Cain would be avenged seven times. How merciful!  Lamech should have worshipped God out of gratitude. Instead, he boasted that ‘he did not need God’s protection, that if anyone came after him for murder, He would take revenge on them, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times.’

We live in a world that celebrates great achievers like inventors, entrepreneurs, intellectuals, and artists. We wrongly believe that education runs counter to the rise of evil. But was any civilization more educated than WWII Germany? And isn’t it Putin, the educated tyrant, who could (and should) be tried for war crimes? Evil is found in the hearts of those who live in a palace as well as those who cry out from a paupers tent.  

Andrew DelBanco, a Columbia University professor, wrote a book called The Death of Satan. He responds to our modern culture that seeks to find an explanation for atrocities like the Columbine Massacre. “A gulf has opened in our culture between the visibility of evil and the intellectual resources to cope with it.” A people without God try to make sense of it but Jesus gave us answers long ago. Educated or uneducated, rich or poor, black or white, the heart is desperately wicked. No amount of achievement can mask the hidden sin of mankind. The only thing that matters is what each of us does with Jesus. What will it profit a man if he changes the world with his invention but ends up in Hell! Cain speaks to us from beyond the grave.

Oh Lord, let my faith resound beyond the days my life – in the lives of my descendants! In Jesus’ name, Amen

“If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.” Genesis 4:15 ESV

An orphan is one who must see to his own needs. He is not under the care and protection of anyone. As a child of God, I often live like, and feel like, an orphan. I forget that God’s seal has been put on me for all eternity; a mark of ownership. God has placed Himself in a position to meet all of my needs.

Cain murdered his brother, Abel. Now, God banishes him from his land and sends him away. He fears retribution from the rest of his family and expresses his fear to God. In the midst of judgment, God shows mercy to Cain and puts a mark on him that will prevent anyone from attacking him. Theologians suggest that it is a tattoo of some kind.

This is what a king does. He decrees, wills, and seals it with a stamp of authenticity. In the ancient world, a seal could be found on a ring, or it hung from someone’s neck on a string. The seal was covered with ink and used like a present-day stamp. A document might be sealed, or a seal might be put on the door of a house or tomb to show that it had been secured and visited by someone of authority.

King Darius even put his seal on the stone that trapped Daniel in the den of lions. It showed all who passed by that his purposes for Daniel’s execution couldn’t be changed.

Lest I feel alone today, uncared for in any way, I need only remember that I am marked in a way that the whole spiritual world can see. I’ve been stamped, imprinted with a seal that no one can revoke. God has made sure that all my enemies know that I am His property and nothing can change my status. Even though I sin, God is not tempted in any way to banish me. I am not Cain! Jesus paid the price for all my sins and gave me His Spirit as proof of my adoption. I may often feel like an orphan but I am not!

Does this change my emotional response to sin? Oh yes! Paul said, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30  Why would I want to injure my relationship with the Spirit of God when His seal upon me is the most wonderful thing I’ve ever received!

The enemy can’t kill me, because I’m your property. When He comes to accuse me and stir up hopelessness, I’ll remind him to take a good look at my mark of redemption! Amen

Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.  Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden.  I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”  Genesis 4:13-14  ESV

The pain Cain expressed had more to do with what he would suffer rather than what God would suffer.  There was no thought that God’s heart was broken because he killed his brother for doing something holy.  What was missing in Cain’s response to God was a real apology!  He only considered the ways he would faint under God’s punishment.

Do you know someone who expresses no remorse?  They are simply, because of the state of their heart, unable to recognize what their sin against another causes.  Many wives and husbands are cruel to each other.  Hurtful things are said.  Treacherous things are done.  When the one who feels betrayed speaks up, and backs up, remorse is absent.  But when the pain of consequences is felt, a token “Sorry!” can be offered.  Considering this to be a proper apology, there is often an expectation that everything should be back to normal. 

All throughout Israel’s history, God qualified the kinds of tears they cried.  God laid out the ground rules from the beginning.  “Obey me and you’ll be blessed.  Disobey and you’ll be led into captivity.”  They did well under the leadership of righteous kings for short periods of time.  Eventually though, they regressed and began to worship idols, throw their infants in the fire, and act disgracefully toward God.  The consequences were felt.  God used enemies, like the Babylonians, to take His people as slaves.  In their great distress, they cried out to God to deliver them.  But God said, in essence, “You are not crying because you agree with me about your sin.  You’re crying because you hate captivity.”  Is this not like Cain?

I bring the message home to my own heart today.  How often have I said, “Father, I blew it.  I did ‘this’ and now I’ve lost what I treasured.  Forgive me.”  My apology was all about me and about what I lost.  I did not picture the face of my heartbroken Father. 

Only You, LORD, can give me a true heart of repentance.  Amen

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” Genesis 4:9 ESV

When asked a question that hits too close to home, skirting the issue is always a temptation. “Where were you last night?” The answer can be short and evasive. “Out!” The one who asked gets the message that the subject is closed. But when God is the One asking the question, the truth should come spilling out. Most often, it does not. Defensiveness runs deep in our carnal nature. 

Cain knew God. God was intimate with his family. Cain knew God’s nature.  He was love but He was also holy. He was powerful but He was also approachable. Did Cain tremble when God came to ask him Abel’s whereabouts? Not at all. The first words of sarcasm in scripture are found in Cain’s retort. “What? Am I my brother’s keeper?”

When I’ve sinned and the Spirit of God inquires, “What have you done?” The only option available to a child of God who is honest and humble is this, “Oh God, I have sinned.  Forgive me!”  True repentance is specific. In the story of Hosea, God said . . . Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously.” Hosea 14:2

When I receive an apology from someone, it is most effective when the other person is specific as to their offense. It’s not helpful at all to hear generalities. “Guess I was a bad friend.” That does nothing to heal the fracture.  It is the same with God. Offering a defense, the likes of ~ “I am human and a failure” ~ brings no freedom and little restoration of the fellowship. The sin was specific; should be the confession.

You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Psalm 139:1-3