“Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands” (v29). Humanity was enduring the broken relationships and grinding, hard labor that resulted from Adam and Eve’s tragic attempt to be like gods. But God was not absent. Noah, whose name in Hebrew sounds like ‘rest’ or ‘relief’, symbolized hope for his parents, and Enoch walked closely with God (v21-23).

“When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God” (v1). Generation after generation, humans suffered the consequences of using our God-given potential in sinful ways. But Jesus, the New Adam, broke the curse so that we could walk in freedom and fellowship with our Creator.