…Then men began to call on the name of the Lord. (Genesis 4:26)
Seeking Soul, I am back to the “Restaurant” that has become my hiding space to seek the Lord. Today, amid the noises and chats from diverse people encroaching on this space and the sound of Middle Eastern Orient instrumental “Oud” music in the background, I am cast back to Eden. I can barely hear people’s conversations as I am lost in His Prescence filled in His word. God has impressed upon my heart to study the generations that grew outside the Eden sanctuary after Adam and Eve were cast out of the sacred Prescence of God as a result of disobedience.
Mr and Mrs Adam lost both of their children, the second-born Abel, murdered by his brother, and the first-born Cain, cursed to damnation and mental deprivation by God as a result of his atrocities. Through Cain, true worship was exterminated when he killed his brother Abel, whose sacrifice God had accepted. Cain is jealous and masterminds the first murder recorded in human history. God intervened and warned Cain, “…Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6)
The demise of worship comes with Cain being banished from the Prescence of God. Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden (Genesis 6:16). The generations that followed Cain are intertwined in this curse of violence and deprivation. Lamech Cain’s grandson deviates from God’s order of marital fidelity and takes on two wives. Sadly, Lamech continues the generational curse committed by his grandfather Cain when he confesses to his wives: “…I have killed a man for wounding me, Even a young man for hurting me.”
Dear Seeking Soul, as we plunge deeper into prayer, our eyes in His Prescence begin to open to the diverse wickedness that bedevils our souls, families, communities, and nation. Is it not true what the scriptures say about those who choose to forsake God; “…The Lord will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke, in all you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me. (Deuteronomy 28:20) But does God reveal this so that we can join in judging the world? Seeking Soul, would you participate in responding to God’s dilemma; “…I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. (Ezekiel 22:30)
In my study, I am listening to the Oriental dirge music of the “Oud,” reminding me of the pain of the children, mothers, and fathers in the Middle East, ravaged by war that knows no boundaries. Those who sleep and rise with the wails of sirens and the tearing sounds of explosions. The trauma of death, bloodshed, and maiming leave unforgettable scars that only God can heal. The deep-seated vengeance that has become a malignant infection eating into the human soul. I hear the sacred warning from God demanding action. When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your soul. (Ezekiel 3:18,19)
Seeking Soul ALL IS NOT LOST! Despite the decadence and state of spiritual derailment during the Adams era, a new season dawns. The Bible says, …And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Genesis 4:25,26). Abel is replaced in the person of “Seth,” who bears a son called “Enosh”. When all was thought lost, God, in His mercies, remembered Adam and gave him a seed that would restore once more the Prescence of God. With the Birth of Lamech, the grandson of Cain, evil was perpetuated, BUT In the birth of Enosh, the grandson of Lamech, Worship is restored. Hallelujah! And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then, men began to call on the name of the Lord. (Genesis 4:26)
Dear Soul, God is initiating a restoration. As your inner eyes are open, you begin to see gaps that can only be filled with divine intervention, healings that only God causes, restoration of broken relationships, and deep-flowing forgiveness. YES! When you take your space and intercede and bring these issues before God. Do not fall into the trap of fixing the problems and seeking man-made solutions. BEGIN TO CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD. Call the name of the Lord over:
- Every barren circumstance
- Every prevailing evil that binds into captivity
- Every broken relationship
- Every destructive hurt, habit, and hang-ups
CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD!
Oh, Soul, may God now open your eyes to the truth; Cain, in his “possessions,” failed to worship God in Spirit and Truth and is cursed to wander, while Abel, his victim, was all poured out in total surrender just like “breath” as his name suggests. Yet through Adam, a third son, “Seth” as a “Compensation” for his first loss, through whom the prophecy of a seed to crush the serpent’s head would be born. And through Seth, “Enosh,” whose name refers to “Mankind,” is born. God begins all over again to restore a relationship with humanity with the coming of “Enosh.” Enosh also gets Enoch, who walked with God till he was “no more,” and Noah, by whom God begins a whole new lineage of Mankind.
Thus says the Lord, When I shut up heaven, and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2Chronicles 7:13,14) Seeking Soul, take your Bible and notebook; as you read through the story of Genesis 4, ask God to open your eyes to the things that break the heart of GOD. What are the things the Holy Spirit is raising to you that you can begin CALLING ON THE NAME OF THE LORD about?