Waxing Faith

“But Yahweh said to him, ‘Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.’ And Yahweh appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him.” – Genesis 4:15

Today’s Symphony of Grace

Genesis 4 shows us the first murder as Cain kills Abel, yet God marks Cain for protection. Joshua 4 memorializes God’s faithfulness with twelve stones from the Jordan crossing. Job 4 introduces Eliphaz’s misguided counsel to the suffering patriarch. Psalm 4 displays David’s evening prayer for God’s favor and peace. Proverbs 4 calls us to get wisdom and never forsake her. Isaiah 4 promises the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious. Matthew 5 opens the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes. Acts 4 shows the early church’s bold preaching despite persecution. Romans 4 explains Abraham’s justification by faith. 1 Thessalonians 4 encourages holy living and hope in Christ’s return.

Ten chapters spanning murder and mercy, judgment and justification, suffering and sanctification. But the thread connecting them all took my breath away.

This is the God who remembers His covenant and actively works to restore what sin has broken.

The Mark of Mercy

Genesis 4 stopped me cold this morning.

Here’s Cain, fresh from murdering his brother, standing before God with blood on his hands. We might expect immediate judgment, swift justice, final condemnation. Instead, we get this stunning verse: “And Yahweh appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him” (Genesis 4:15).

A sign of protection.

For a murderer.

From the God whose image was stamped on the victim.

This isn’t God excusing sin or minimizing murder. Cain is cursed, exiled, marked as a wanderer. But even in judgment, mercy appears.

Even in cursing, protection comes.

As John Calvin observed: “Though Cain was unworthy of God’s care, yet God extends some token of His goodness even to him.” This is divine grace in its rawest form.

But here’s where Scripture began interpreting Scripture beautifully.

Romans 4 gave me the theological framework to understand Genesis 4’s strange mercy. Paul writes about Abraham, “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Romans 4:5).

God justifies the ungodly. Not the deserving, not the righteous, not the reformed.

The ungodly.

Cain was ungodly. Abraham was ungodly before his calling.

We are ungodly.

Yet God’s grace reaches toward all of us with the same protective mark He gave to history’s first murderer.

Memorials of Faithfulness

Joshua 4 connected to this theme with remarkable power.

God commands Israel to take twelve stones from the Jordan riverbed and build a memorial. “So that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh’” (Joshua 4:6-7a).

These stones weren’t just historical markers. They were testimonies to God’s covenant faithfulness. Physical reminders that the same God who parted the Red Sea would part the Jordan River. The same God who made promises to Abraham would fulfill them to Abraham’s children.

But notice the pattern.

In Genesis 4, God marks Cain to remember His mercy even toward murderers. In Joshua 4, God commands Israel to mark stones to remember His faithfulness even through impossible circumstances. This is the God who makes memorials of His grace.

Richard Sibbes captured this beautifully: “There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us, more grace in God than guilt in us.”

The stones in Jordan testified to the same truth as the mark on Cain. God’s grace exceeds our failure.

When Comfort Becomes Cruel

Job 4 introduced a jarring note into today’s symphony.

Eliphaz speaks with the confidence of a man who has never truly suffered: “Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?” (Job 4:6). He means well, but his theology is fatally flawed. He assumes that suffering always indicates secret sin.

This connected powerfully with Matthew 5’s Beatitudes. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).

Notice the difference.

Eliphaz offers explanations. Jesus offers comfort. Eliphaz tries to solve the mystery of suffering. Jesus promises divine consolation for those who suffer.

Thomas Watson understood this distinction: “It is not the knowing soul that is most happy, but the believing soul.”

Eliphaz had knowledge but lacked faith. He could explain suffering but couldn’t comfort the sufferer.

Jesus, in the Beatitudes, turns this upside down. The mourners are blessed not because their mourning makes sense, but because God will comfort them.

Here’s Scripture interpreting Scripture again. Isaiah 4 promises that “the Branch of Yahweh will be beautiful and glorious” (Isaiah 4:2). The Branch who would fulfill Matthew 5’s promise to comfort those who mourn.

The same Branch who would justify the ungodly as Romans 4 explains.

The Boldness of Grace

Acts 4 showed me what happens when people truly grasp God’s restoring grace. Peter and John, fresh from healing the lame man, stand before the same religious leaders who crucified Jesus. Do they apologize? Compromise? Water down their message?

Not at all.

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). This is bold preaching, but notice what produces such boldness.

It’s not human courage.

It’s confidence in God’s restoring power.

The same God who marked Cain for protection, who parted the Jordan for Israel, who promised comfort to mourners, now empowers His apostles to speak boldly about salvation. Grace doesn’t make us timid.

Grace makes us bold.

John Owen taught: “The greatest sorrow and burden you can lay on the Father, the greatest unkindness you can do to him, is not to believe that he loves you.”

Peter and John believed God loved them. That belief translated into fearless proclamation.

The Pattern of Restoration

What emerged clearly through today’s reading is God’s consistent pattern of restoration. He doesn’t just forgive sin. He actively rebuilds what sin destroys.

Psalm 4 captures this beautifully. David prays, “You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and new wine abound” (Psalm 4:7). This isn’t just forgiveness. This is restoration of joy, gladness that exceeds material prosperity.

God doesn’t just remove guilt. He replaces it with gladness.

Proverbs 4 explains how this restoration works practically. “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day” (Proverbs 4:18). Restoration isn’t instant. It’s progressive. Like dawn breaking, God’s restoration work in our lives grows brighter over time.

This connected beautifully with 1 Thessalonians 4’s promise about Christ’s return.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Ultimate restoration. Not just of individuals, but of all creation.

The same power that marked Cain, parted Jordan, and raised the lame man will one day raise all the dead.

Divine Memory and Human Hope

As I closed my reading this morning, I was overwhelmed by the reliability of God’s memory.

He remembers His covenant with Abraham (Romans 4). He remembers to protect even murderers (Genesis 4). He commands memorials so His people remember His faithfulness (Joshua 4). He promises to remember mourners with comfort (Matthew 5).

Charles Spurgeon put it perfectly: “God’s memory is the guarantee of our security.” When we forget His promises, He remembers them. When we doubt His love, He demonstrates it. When we fear He’s abandoned us, He marks us with signs of His protection.

The God revealed in today’s ten chapters is not the distant deity of philosophy. He’s the covenant Lord who pursues, protects, and restores. Even Cain, history’s first murderer, received a mark of divine protection. How much more will He protect those who trust in Christ’s righteousness?

Thomas Brooks reminds us: “God’s thoughts of love toward us are more in number than the sands of the sea.” Today’s reading showed me the truth of that statement across the span of Scripture. From Genesis to Thessalonians, the same loving God remembers His people and works for their restoration.

Tonight, I’m resting in this assurance. The God who marked Cain for protection has marked me with Christ’s blood for salvation. The God who commanded memorial stones for Israel has written my name in the Lamb’s book of life. The God who promises comfort to mourners will wipe away every tear.

His memory is better than our memory. His restoration exceeds our imagination. His grace surpasses our greatest failure.

How is God’s pattern of restoration becoming visible in your own life? What memorials of His faithfulness can you point to as you read through His Word intensively?