Genesis 4: sin and grace

Read: Genesis 4

But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 5:20-21

In Genesis 4 we start to see the order (or disorder) of things that Adam and Eve have initiated unfold.  Cain, we have to assume, offers an insincere offering (maybe the leftover, damaged crops he didn't want, as a contrast to Abel's fat portions (the most valuable part) from some of the firstborn), is filled with jealousy and kills his brother.  A few generations later, Lamech also commits murder.  Very quickly, a desire to choose right and wrong has resulted in humans believing they have the right to decide who lives and who dies.

But what else is happening?  God's grace is still there.  God puts a mark on Cain to stop people from killing him, and he goes on to build a city.  God blesses Adam and Eve with another child, Seth.  The work of cultivation is not cut off, but continues.  Babies are born and generations added, and we see a greater diversity of God-given skills used to carry out this cultivation: nomadic society (verse 20), musical ability (verse 21) and metalwork (verse 22).

And finally, at the end we read: At that time people began to call on (or proclaim) the name of the LORD (verse 26b).  Were people starting to seek God when they saw that there was wrong in the world - things that went in conflict with their God-given consciences?  God had not abandoned his people - even without the written law that came later, the direct revelation that Adam and Eve enjoyed, or the messages of the prophets, God was making himself evident to the people.  As sin increased, so did grace, and people's awareness that they were in need of it.

Previous: Genesis 3:14-24 - the implications of the fall

Next: Genesis 5: '...and then he died'