WHEN MEN BEGAN TO CALL
"And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD." (Genesis 4:26)
The first son of Adam and Eve was Cain. When he was born, Eve thought surely this was the promised seed. She cried out, "I have gotten a man from the LORD" (Gen 4:1). If she had any expectations of Cain being the answer to the difficulties brought on by sin, they were quickly dispelled. Cain proved to be "of the wicked one, and murdered his brother" Abel, who was born shortly after himself (1 John 3:12). Abel was righteous, and, by faith offered a pleasing sacrifice unto God (Heb 11:4).
Some time later, we do not know how long, Eve brought forth another son to Adam. She called his name "Seth," which means "appointed." She reasoned, "For God . . . hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew" (Gen 4:25). Later, it says T>"And one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth" (Gen 5:3). He was closer to the Divine image reflected in Adam, than was Cain, his older brother. Seth lived to be 912 years of age (Gen 5:8).
After 130 years, Adam beget Seth, and, after 105 years, Seth beget Enos. It was then, more than 235 years after the fall, that men "men began to call on the name of the LORD." This was a most distinguishing mark–calling upon the name of the Lord. It is worthy of extended consideration.
What does the text mean–"BEGAN to call upon the name of the Lord"? Is not this what Abel did when he offered sacrifice to God (Gen 4:4)? Something more is meant by this text than simply offering something to God, or asking for Divine forgiveness or even intervention. The NRSV reads, "At that time people began to invoke the name of the LORD." The word "invoke" means to appeal to, make an earnest request for, or put into operation. Stated another way, it means men began to seek for God's involvement in the affairs of men, seeking personal affiliation with Him.
Beginning with Enos, the offspring of Seth, there came a sharp division between men. Calling upon the Lord distinguished the godly seed from the seed of the wicked one. There came a sharp division between those who were of God and those who were not–those who looked for the promised Deliverer, and those who did not.
What provoked men to "call upon the name of the Lord?" Why did this trait not occur in Cain's day? He had confronted the Lord, and was even the first to offer a sacrifice to Him (Gen 4:3). It was because of the nature of Seth. He was "in his (Adam's) own likeness, after his image" (Gen 5:3). That was not said of any other son of Adam–not even of Abel. What did it mean?
This was the Divinely ordained lineage of the coming Messiah. Luke, you will remember, traces the incarnate Word back to "the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God" (Lk 3:38). That lineage was not merely arbitrary, without the involvement of humanity. By "calling on the name of the Lord," not only did a separation among men take place, an environment was also produced that God could cultivate and prepare for the coming Savior.
It appears as though Seth, being in the image and likeness of Adam, was more conscious of the Lord. That awareness was apparent. It was also communicated in some way to his son Enos. This consciousness of God was so strong that men "began to call upon the name of the Lord"–both proclaiming and relying upon the Almighty God. What a wonderful point in time that was!
And, would it not be appropriate for such a time to again surface–a time when men would "call upon the name of the Lord" in an unprecedented way? Godly people, by their faith in and commitment to, the Lord, can be used to induce such a thing. In a time when men are calling upon the government, the humanist, and specialists in human behavior, may you provoke men to call upon the Lord.