# 47 The Brevity of Life

The Book of Genesis Day 47 Ge 4:1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the LORD." 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Who did Eve “acquire a man from?” From the Lord, and once again we see that God is the Lord and giver of life! You can catch the excitement in her voice over the fact that she had a boy! Would this be the one who would take care of business with the serpent? Would this be the one who would “crush his head?” (Gen 3:15) The name “Cain” means “a lance, a weapon that strikes fast!” Could it be that this enmity between the serpent and man will be over soon? You can’t blame Adam and Eve for thinking that way, we would probably be thinking the same thing! We want it over and we want it over NOW! Well, as we shall see, Cain will indeed strike quickly, but not in the manner Adam and Eve had hoped for. Then she bore another child and named him “Abel.” His name means “emptiness or vanity, something transitory. ” How would you like that for a name? “Transitory!”Like it or not, it’s a name that God has given to all mankind due to the curse. Ps 39:4,5 says, "LORD, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. 5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah” The word “vapor” here is the same Hebrew word for Abel! So you see, these first two children are reminders to us of how quickly our time on earth can come to an end! They are constant reminders of how quickly things can turn, and how important it is for us to redeem our time wisely. The wisest thing we can do then, is to get right with the Lord, before He calls us home. Reflect: Do you know what your name means? ( Go ahead, google it!) Do you know any Bible verses that tell us how to “get right” with the Lord? (Jn 3:16, Mk 16:16, Acts 2:38) How do the following verses speak to the brevity of life? (Luke 12:20, Ps 23:4) Pray: Lord, help us to have a sense of urgency that we may learn to number our days. Grant to us the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus, Amen