Genesis 4 – Sacrifice & Murder, a Recipe for Division

Murder - sacrifice - division

Wednesday 02/22/17 

Message – Sacrifice & Murder, a Recipe for Division

Series: Thru the Bible – Genesis 4

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Worksheet – HERE.

 

Genesis chapter 4

This chapter teaches A LOT about our past, our development, the division between God’s people and the world and the human heart.

Take note of these things as we go through this chapter:

  1. How quickly man degenerates into a completely wicked heart (1st Generation committed murder).
  2. Genealogies and blood-line tendencies
  3. The nature and end results of sin
  4. The huge gulf that exists between those who seek God and those who seek their own.

 

Verses 1 & 2: Adam knew his wife

As we mentioned before, we do not know if they had been physically intimate prior to this account or even prior to the fall – however, this one is recorded because it produced offspring.

IF they had been intimate prior to the fall and Eve had conceived, that child would have NOT been born in sin nor any of his progeny until one sinned of their own accord. Because this is NOT the case however, all children ever born were ALL born in sin and with a sin nature.

Let’s read Paul’s account of sin and death entering the world before we go any further…

Rom 5:12-21,

“(12) Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (13)  (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.  (14)  Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.  (15)  But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.  (16)  And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.  (17)  For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)  (18)  Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.  (19)  For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.  (20)  Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,  (21)  so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

 

Eve conceived twice and bore 2 sons…

Now, as we will see later on in chapter 5 verse 4, Adam and Eve had many children, both boys and girls. It is in fact possible that the first child ever born WAS a girl…we simply do not know. However, traditionally and overwhelmingly the majority of births mentioned in scripture are boys. The reason for that speaks to God’s purposes and intentions in His written account. It highlights mankind’s purpose and function in His Creation.

God loves both genders equally and so we can lay to one side – once and for all – any misconceptions people have arrived at (and they are nearly endless) which imply this tradition of mentioning the birth of boys nearly exclusively as having something to do with value or importance. No, the reason for their mention is …

  1. To verify the bloodline (lineage) of His people and eventually of the Messiah Himself. Which is why it is often not only boys mentioned, but specifically the 1st born son.
  2. To enforce the importance of blood upon the conscience of His people.
  3. To provide a historical backdrop of it’s importance for when the rite of circumcision was implemented later on.
  4. To remind mankind that it was BY the man – Adam that sin entered the world and at it would be THROUGH the woman, that redemption comes in the form of a MALE child, namely Messiah Jesus.
    1. 1Cor. 11:8-12 “(8) For man did not come from woman, but woman came from man;  (9)  and man was not created for woman, but woman for man.  (10)  This is why a woman should have a symbol of authority on her head: because of the angels.  (11)  However, in the Lord, woman is not independent of man, and man is not independent of woman.  (12)  For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman, and all things come from God.”

 

Cain & Abel

Cain – means “acquired of”. It is uncertain if Eve thought this was the deliverer God had spoken about, but the meaning of the name, hints at that possibility.

Abel – means “vanity” which is interesting when you consider the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes. He would certainly have called the brief existence of Abel – vanity of vanities.

Birth and character/purpose….

Notice:

  • Adam – was a horticultural husbandman – he planted and tended plants both edible and not.
  • Cain – Similar to his father was a farmer, but it would seem his trade was more for produce.
  • Abel – was a shepherd (a keeper of livestock).

This is a trend we will witness in even clearer detail as we progress through Genesis and the bible at large, but it is good to mention it here – The “modern” belief that the first people were primitive cave-dwellers who over the long and slow process of time developed into intelligent, industrious and civilized societies is at odds with the very clear teachings of scripture.

Christian belief requires that man was created EARLY (one literal day after all creatures) and that he was skilled and his hands busy with intelligent pursuits from the beginning!

If the hypothesis of macro-evolution is true – the Bible ISN’T – there IS no common ground!

The whole basis of the entire redemptive story of the Bible is predicated on the notion that sin and death did NOT enter the world until AFTER Adam sinned. Immediately after the fall there was blood shed and death through the sacrifice of animals to cover man’s sin and shame. Subsequently was the first human murder, when Cain killed his brother Abel. First murder was in the heart, then murder followed in man’s actions. The belief of macro-evolution requires death LONG before the advent of man. If this is true – then the bible is false in it’s most basic teaching and there is no need for redemption and our savior is a fraud.

 

Concerning the history of mankind two things worthy of note:

  1. The word pre-historic is an evolutionary term first introduced in France around 1830 in reference to the time before man was smart enough to develop a written language and begin recording events. The term is mostly used for the that period of time believed by secular paleontologist to have occurred between 12,000 BC – 3,000 BC, referred to as the Neolithic period.

pre-historic

The neolithic is used to describe a hypothetical macro-evolutionary time period  where man’s early development took place – it is also referred to as the Stone Age.

The word “neolithic” comes from two words in Greek meaning “new” and “lithic”, meaning “stone”. This belief presents a time when farming was invented and when people started caring for animals, such as cows, sheep and pigs and it was supposedly followed long eras later by the Bronze Age. Both of which, according to the Bible represent that time between the creation and the flood.

  1. The history pieced together from societal remains of ruins is fragmentary at best and open to a wide range of plausible interpretations. Christians can be assured that NOTHING found in antiquity has ever verified any history different than the Biblical account – though other beliefs could legitimately be arrived at given the evidence. What we see is a sudden emergence of civilized society occurring in the fertile crescent around 3800BC.

To “create” a much older earth and a slow progression of primitive man to civilized man evolution has had to read those assumptions INTO the evidence. If you have a trained ear you will be able to pick up on the double-talk and assumptive language used by secular scientists in the fields of geology, paleontology, archaeology.

 

Here is an example:

Where Abram grew up in Ur, archaeologists have discovered evidence of an “earlier” occupation during a time they call the Ubaid period (ca. 6,500 to 3,800 BC). 

These “earlier levels” were sealed off with a sterile deposit of soil which they “interpret” as large deposits of sediment over time from water and wind erosion. However, in the 1920’s when this earlier civilization was found, those excavators interpreted the evidence as proof of the world wide flood of the Bible.

An online article about this says,

These earlier levels were interpreted by excavators of the 1920s as evidence for the Great Flood of the Book of Genesis and Epic of Gilgamesh. It is now understood that the South Mesopotamian plain was exposed to regular floods from the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers, with heavy erosion from water and wind, which may have given rise to the Mesopotamian and derivative Biblical Great Flood stories.

As I said earlier – the “creation” of this time period is based upon a LACK of information and evolutionary assumptions. Because they assume that the erosion HAD to be a slow build up over time – they “create” over 8,000 years of history which has no solid basis in fact.

Ever since the eruption of Mt. Saint Helen’s, we have been able to demonstrate that natural occurrences can cause RAPID burial and fossilization of huge areas in days rather than over thousands of years.

 

Two men, two offerings, two responses…

Gen 4:3-5,

“(3) And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD.  (4)  Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering,  (5)  but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.”

What was the difference?

  • Abel himself was considered righteous – Matt. 23:35
  • Abel’s was offered in faith – Heb. 11:4 (faith comes from hearing – which means they KNEW what to bring)
    • Also, bringing the first born and the fat shows consistency with God’s requirements – Lev. 3:16-17; 7:23-25; 17:6.
  • Cain’s offering was evil – 1 Jn. 3:12 (BECAUSE his works were evil, he committed murder)
  • Cain was serving himself NOT God and rebelled in his ignorance – Jude 10-13

Verses 6-7

“(6) So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?  (7)  If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

  • God sees and God approaches (we are not invisible)
  • God knew Cain had internalized the rejection as personal – SO HE SPOKE TO IT – if you would do well – you would be accepted.
  • This is how we know it was pride that led to Abel’s murder not just anger over perceived rejection. God was making the conditions of Cain’s acceptance clear but he rejected it out of pride.
    • His pride may have been from public feelings of scorn.
    • It may have been because he would have had to humble himself before his brother to barter for a lamb…but this is speculation.
  • This is the first clear instruction concerning sin – it’s intentions for us and our only wise response to it.
    • It crouches at the door
    • It desires to conquer you
    • You must rule over it!

 

Verse 8Cain murders Abel

  • Cain talked with Abel – not much here but it seems possible that this was a method of causing Abel to relax around his brother. Abel HAD to know Cain was angry over the rejection of his offering. So perhaps this walk and talk was intended to condition Abel to let down any guard. This would make his murder easier and more likely to succeed.
  • It seems most likely that this was pre-meditated murder and a little sadistically “poetic” since the word used for field here can be translated as pasture-land, which “COULD” mean that Cain walked with Abel out into his pasture where he raised sheep – even the very lamb that was accepted earlier, in order to murder his brother in that place.

It is interesting to note (as we have before) that there is no effort made to record God warning Abel of the murderous intentions of his brother Cain. It appears – based solely upon the information given – that God was simply allowing man’s free-will to be played out – without interference other than His earlier warning to Cain about sin…

 

Verse 9-16God confronts Cain

  • Here again God gives Cain the opportunity to own his sin.
  • Cain retorts at God in sarcasm – clearly still angry over his offering’s rejection.
  • God does not react to Cain’s disrespectful tone, but points out his guilt of sin, the blame of the murder of his brother via his blood crying for vengeance (Heb. 12:24) from the ground, and pronounces Cain’s punishment.
  • Since he and his father were one – an offspring and continuer of the family name of husbandmen, God takes Adam’s curse and increases its yield upon his son Cain.
    • This speaks to the nature of and difference between Cain’s sin and that of his father Adam.
      • Num 15:30-31, “(30) But the person who acts defiantly, whether native or foreign resident, blasphemes the LORD. That person is to be cut off from his people.  (31)  He will certainly be cut off, because he has despised the LORD’s word and broken His command; his guilt remains on him.”
      • Adam committed treason followed by regret and an awareness of shame.
      • Cain committed high-handed defiance and pre-meditated murder with no accompanying sign or regret or remorse for the sin…only the punishment.
    • Where the ground now resisted Adam and yielded mixed harvests – for Cain it would never respond again. The ground had in effect received the life of his brother and so, rejected the life of Cain forever.
  • Not only this, but NO ground would he permanently call home – an aimless wanderer and homeless vagabond he would be to both His God and the earth.
  • Cain’s grief was self-centered – He exclaimed in his inner anguish that his punishment was greater than he could mentally or emotionally endure, and yet there it was – with no hope of reprieve.
    • Herein lays a lesson – the enemy lies to us about the sweetness of revenge but it turns bitter in the mouth and offers bondage not freedom.
  • Cain realizes, that now – he not only cannot see God – but that God would not no longer observe him. He was finally and truly alone!
  • Because of his total lack of worth – a man with no gift and rejected by God – he would be a marked man – “whoever sees me will murder me.”
    • Notice – God did not say, “..and good enough for you that is!” Instead, He protected Cain even in his defiant and willful despite of God. God cannot be unfaithful to Who He is! God IS JUST but He is also kind, and so he protects Cain from the likelihood of being a victim of murder himself.
    • Cain went out (as into exile) from the presence of God and temporarily took up residence in the city of Nod (which means exile and vagrant wandering).

Blessings! 

 

 

 

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

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Blessings!

 

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!