If we rushed through this story, we might miss the beauty of God’s intervention. We might believe humanity was a lost cause even then, but that’s not what God is like. God is not indifferent to sin, because God is not indifferent to humanity. Love intervenes, which is why God approached Cain to warn him and offer him a way of escape from temptation.

• How does God’s warning to Cain communicate His love and grace to sinful humanity?
• Have you ever sensed God offering you a way out of temptation?

The God who shows mercy is the God who will keep His promises. God promised Eve a son who would crush the serpent’s head. With Cain in rebellion and Abel dead, the situation seemed dire.

God gave Adam and Eve a son named Seth. Through Seth’s lineage, Eve’s promised Son would be born 4,000 years later. At the Cross, blood would be shed once again, but not by sin; instead, Jesus’ blood was shed for sin.