I hope you've had some good reading experiences in Genesis so far. It kind of reads like a Shakespearean tragedy so far. A wonderful set up - but you just know that it's going to get bad. And it does! From sibling rivalry that ends with murder - to the whole world doing evil and getting wiped out for it - to human beings conspiring to reach God - that is, seeking to control him.

You just don't want to read anymore, except that you have to find out what happens. And actually there are hints already about what's going to happen. I was thinking about that verse in Genesis 3:15. I know it's an important one because Bible teachers and professors told me so. But as I read it again it struck me that God had to put a division in place between good and evil. "I will put enmity between you and the woman." God says. Otherwise we would have carried on living in this world without a thought to whether something was good or bad.

Sometimes I'm struck at how even best intentions are stricken with evil. I usually lament that. But I guess we should be glad we can notice that kind of thing. And then turn to God to save us. That's what the stories of Cain & Abel, the flood, and the Tower of Babel are about - not just retelling the tragedy, but turning our faces back to God who meets us not to condemn but to save.