#14. Seth (Gen. iv. 25). The Principle of Substitution.

     We have learned from the record of Cain and Abel of the presence of two seeds upon the earth. 

     The enmity which exists between these two seeds is irreconcilable.  It is a fundamental of dispensational truth to recognize the presence and the utter contrast of the principles for which Cain and Abel stand. 

     The name “acquisition” is affixed to that which is evil, the name “vanity” to that which is good, for another fundamental of dispensational truth is that the present life is comparable to a wilderness journey, and that the believer’s hope lies beyond it.  We now turn to the consideration of what the Scriptures teach about Seth, the son of Adam. 

     At the birth of this son we read that his mother “called his name Seth, for God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew” (Gen. iv. 25).  The word “appointed” and the name “Seth”, are alike in the original.  There is an important difference between the record of Cain and Abel, and that of “Seth”;  in the former case we have a record of deeds, we are told the daily occupation of the two seeds, we are told of the acts of worship also, we are told of the sin of Cain and of his punishment:  this is in contrast with the record of Seth.  Of Seth’s actions we know nothing.  He had a son whom he called Enos, meaning “frail” or “incurable”, he had other sons and daughters unnamed, and died at the age of 912 years.  The man’s individual actions therefore do not constitute the special lesson for us, it is his position in the line of purpose that does.  A similar observation may be passed upon the life of Isaac.  Of the three “fathers” of nation of Israel, Isaac’s life is the most passive and quiet as the type of the promised Seed, his birth, and his offering on the mount are of more importance than his subsequent manner of life, and from another standpoint Isaac, like Seth, speaks of substitution, for Isaac (and in Isaac, all Israel) lived because of a ram that was offered “instead”. 

     The words of  Gen. iv. 25  indicate that Abel was, humanly speaking, the chosen vessel through whom the deliverer should come, for Eve tells us that Seth was appointed as “another seed instead of Abel”.  It is beyond the limits of Scripture, and therefore beyond the bounds of our investigation or speculation, to fathom the mystery that lies beyond these simple words.  On the surface it appears that Cain spoiled the purpose of the Lord, and that He was compelled to appoint another to take Abel’s destined place.  Appearances however are deceptive.  We believe the fact of Scripture that the Lord will accomplish all His pleasure, and leave the demonstration of this truth to the Lord Himself in His own good time.  For us, the more important truth is that God definitely accepts and adopts the principal of substitution in the accomplishing of His purpose. 

     Adam himself was dealt with not merely as a private individual, but as head and representative of unborn millions who had no voluntary association with his deeds (e.g., Rom. v. 14-21);  the penalty threatened in the garden of Eden was suspended and endured by Christ instead.  This substitution was typified to Adam and Eve in the provision of the “coats of skin” (Gen. iii. 21).  By reason of death provision is made in the law for “that son that is priest in his stead” (Exod.xxix.30). 

     The principle of substitution is seen in the choice of Levites, “all the firstborn are mine”, said the Lord, “for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto Me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast:  mine shall they be” (Numb. iii. 13).  Although such was the case, yet the Lord immediately before had introduced the principle of substitution, saying, “And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn” (iii. 12).  The firstborn of animals also were the Lord’s, yet provision is made in  Exod. xiii. 13  that “every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb”.  The reader will call to mind the many passages in the New Testament where the Lord Jesus is said to suffer or die for us, and we would commend to the earnest student a thorough examination of this wondrous theme.  We must turn back for a moment to  Genesis v.  to make one other observation concerning Seth.   Genesis v.  commences the book of the generations of Adam;  there, Cain and Abel are not mentioned.  After the statement of the creation of Adam in verse 2, the book of the generations of Adam goes straight on to the birth of Seth, and he it is who heads the list.  The substitute is here seen in an undisputed position, Cain and Abel are never again mentioned in the Old Testament.

     In the genealogy given in  I Chronicles i. 1,  the order of  Genesis v.  is retained, viz., “Adam,  Seth,  Enosh”.   In the genealogy of the Saviour by Luke the same is true (Luke iii. 38).  Now just as Cain and Abel never come into the book of the generations of Adam, but that honour is unreservedly given to Seth, the substitute, so in the Person of Christ, the last Adam, the second man, the whole creation will recognize in Him, and not in Adam, the One to whom dominion belongs, the glorious head of a new creation, the “former things”, like Cain and Abel, having passed away.