The Significance of Seth

Seth is often glossed over in Genesis. We go from Adam and Eve to Cain and Abel, skip forward to Noah and the flood, maybe touch on Babel, and then go ahead with the story of God's calling of Abraham. But Seth is a figure to consider - especially within the context of Luke's mentioning of him in Jesus' genealogy (see Luke 3:38, Jesus is the "son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God").

Things are not looking so good as the reader moves from Adam and Eve's sin to Cain's murder of his brother Abel, and then, to the corruptness of Lamech. As Moses in the wilderness unfolds the drama to Israel of their origins, the people might have been left with a feeling of despair - where is our hope? But then Moses ends Genesis 4 with the transition, "And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, 'God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him'...at that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD" (Gen. 4:25-26). The child of hope is born. His presence was a source of comfort to Adam and Eve, because previously evil seemed to have impeded the purposes of God. But the promise that one day Eve's offspring would rise up to crush the serpent's skull would not be thwarted (Gen. 3:15). Seth's birth brought about the beginning of true religion - that of calling upon the LORD's name.

But how do we know that Seth is special? If one continues to read into Genesis 5, Moses explains. Adam was created in the image and likeness of God. This image is composed of both structure and function. In the fall, while we retained the structure (i.e. intellect, reason, speech, physical and emotional faculties, etc.), our image no longer functioned in such a way as to glorify God. They were redirected to serve the creature rather than the Creator (Romans 1). All men born after Adam retained this same perverted image. But now we read that while Cain may have retained the image, the likeness and image of Adam were particularly reflected in Seth (Gen. 5:3). He is distinctly different from Cain in that it pleased God to have the younger son, Seth, be the heir of the divine promise instead of Cain. Cain was passed over, while Seth would be listed among the chosen vessels to carry the genealogy of our Savior to fruition.

SDG