A Time of Firsts     

   Does the first born always feel superior to siblings? When God favored his younger brother's offering, Cain took it hard. 

   Then the Lord said to Cain (and to all of us), 'Why are you angry? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.' (Genesis 4:6)  

   Cain stubbornly held to his attitude and killed his brother Abel. There was no Focus on the Family in those first days. 

   God banished Cain from the land, but when Cain cried to the Lord: I will be hidden from your presence (Genesis 4:14), God put a mark of protection on him. 

   Enoch, the seventh generation from Adam, walked closely with God in faith, trust and obedience - becoming the first prophet (communicator) in an ungodly generation. God eventually took Enoch into his presence, bypassing human death. 

   In Hebrews 11:5, the faith chapter, Enoch pleased God. In Jude verses 14-15, Enoch had prophesied that the Lord is coming to judge and convict the ungodly. The Spirit must have conveyed that to Jude. It is not in Genesis. Decades later, John received that same communication from above (Revelation 19). 

   Back to Genesis. Humans, free to act (and the devil free to deceive), became so wicked and full of violence that it "pained" God. (When the Spirit withdraws, this will happen again.)  

   There was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Communicating to Noah alone, the Creator exercised his prerogative and started over.

   Cue the rainbow.

Monday: Terms of the agreement