Written by Richard S. Thompson Saturday, 06 November :00 - Last Updated Thursday, 11 November :37

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Written by Richard S. Thompson Saturday, 06 November :00 - Last Updated Thursday, 11 November :37"

Garry Bailey
5 years ago
Views:

1 Genesis: Lesson 6 Genesis 4:1-4:24 In the last lesson, we ended with Adam and Eve being driven away from the Garden and the tree of life which was guarded by a flaming sword. However, he had the promise of the LORD that from the woman would come a "seed" who would crush Satan's head and restore life to mankind. That was why the woman was given the name "Eve," (the Hebrew hv;ai {khav vä'}) which means "life." Thus we see how fitting is the first verse in Chapter 4 Genesis 4:1 Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. [ a] She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man." Of course, the hope of Adam and Eve was that the promise of God would be fulfilled through Cain, or the line of Cain. Genesis 4:2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. [b] Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. It is worth noting that the text here only specifies that Cain was born and Abel was born subsequently. The context implies that Cain was the first child born, but we don't know for sure if Abel was the second child or not. It is clear from Genesis that Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters. There are only three children of Adam and Eve mentioned by name in the Bible (Cain, Abel, and Seth). Other children, daughters of Adam and Eve, are implied as the wives by which Cain and Seth produced children. The rest of Adam's children are not named specifically because they are not important to the story, but they may have numbered over a hundred (Adam lived for 930 years and Seth was born when Adam was 130 years old). Abel is important to the Biblical account because he was a righteous man (Matthew 12:35, Hebrews 11:51), and 1 / 15

2 his life was an example of how the righteous would be hated by the unrighteous. Cain is also important to the story because his life is an example of the LORD's ever extended mercy to those who reject Him. Genesis 4:3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. We have to understand as implied, that some instructions had been given as to what were acceptable sacrifices in the period. We know that God had established a precedence in Genesis 3:21, when God himself made an animal sacrifice to cover the sin of Adam and Eve. When Genesis was preserved for Israel, after the Mosaic Law, there would have been no purpose in recording an obsolete system of worship, so those instructions are naturally omitted from the Bible. We know at heart, that the difference was that Abel's offering was offered in faith and Cain's was not. (Hebrews 11:4 "By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did.") It seems likely to me that Cain's lack of faith expressed itself in making a grain offering (which for certain occasions was acceptable in 2500 years under the Mosaic Law and represented the righteous life of Christ) because he was expressing not a confidence in God's grace, but a confidence in his own works. Genesis 4:4a But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. [c] Note that the significance of the sacrifice of the firstborn was already established 2,500 years before it was written in the Mosaic Law (Deuteronomy 15:19-21). This also indicates that the LORD had communicated to Adam what was the acceptable method of worship. Abel's secrifice was acceptable, but Cain's was not. Why? Because Cain's offering of fruit did not speak of the redemption that was to come freely from the LORD. His sacrifice was tantamount to trying to please the LORD by his sacrifice. It was "fig leaves - version 2." Genesis 4:4b-5a The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. [d] Arthur W. Pink in "Gleanings in Genesis" offers an insightful comment. "In bringing the offering he did Cain denied he was a sinful creature under the sentence of divine condemnation. He insisted on approaching God on the grounds of personal worthiness. Instead 2 / 15

3 of accepting God's way, he offered to God the fruits of the ground which God had cursed. He presented the product of his own toil, the work of his own hands, and God refused to receive it." Genesis 4:5b So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Cain was angry with the LORD and felt disrespected. He was suffering from arrogance. He was the eldest brother, he had sacrificed perfectly good food which he had won from the earth by honest toil. He didn't want God's grace, he wanted to justify himself. Genesis 4:6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? It is certainly worth remarking that the LORD himself spoke to Cain, and not for the last time. One can only wonder if this was more common in the ante-diluvian (pre-flood) period. This was probably the way it had been revealed what was the proper mode of worship. Genesis 4:7a If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? This was the LORD making the offer of salvation though faith. Genesis 4:7 But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires [e] to have master 3 / 15

4 you, but you must master it." The LORD knew the hatred and murder that was in Cain's mind, and He knew the terrible consequences that would follow for Cain. Genesis 4:8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. In spite of the LORD's unusual condescension, Cain ignored God's offer and behaved as if he believed the LORD could not see him. Genesis 4:9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?" Of course, just as the LORD knew the answer to His question when He called to Adam and Eve, "Where are you," after they had fallen, so here, He also already knew what Cain had done. Genesis 4:10 The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. In Hebrews, Paul comments on this scene: Hebrews 12:23b-24 "You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel." Abel's blood called out for a curse as a result of a murder. Jesus was murdered by the Jews, but His blood spoke forgiveness and blessing. 4 / 15

5 Genesis 4:11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. This was a curse which was intended to bring Cain back to the LORD. Genesis 4:12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth." The curse on Adam was that the ground would have to be worked to yield a crop. The curse on Cain was that no matter how hard Cain worked, the ground would not yield a crop. The purpose of the curse was to show Cain that his works were futile. Cain's offering to God had been the fruits of his labor. God had wanted a sacrifice of a firstborn of a flock to signify faith in God's promise. The only thing which Cain could raise from then on were flocks. Perhaps Cain would catch on. Evidently, he never did. Genesis 4:13-14a Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; Note that the Lord never said Cain would be hidden from God's presence. In fact that was part of what God was addressing when He answered Cain. "Not So!" Part of Cain's problem in his actions so far was that He acted as if he was not continually in God's presence. Genesis 4:14b I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill 5 / 15

6 me." The words "whoever find me," implies that there are at this time other many other grown sons and daughters of Adam and Eve. Genesis 4:15a But the LORD said to him, "Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Note that the vengeance of the Lord for Cain's murder would be seven times the vengeance for Abel's murder. Seven is the number of grace. Cain was the sheep that had gone astray and was the subject of even more of God's grace. Cain never realized it. That was left to his one of his descendants. Genesis 4:15b Then the LORD put a mark sign on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. The Hebrew word t/a {owth} translated "mark" is also used in speaking of the rainbow of God's promise to Noah and the miraculous signs of Moses. It might have been something like a light emanating over or around Cain. Whatever it was, it was something that made anyone who saw Cain ever aware that he had supernatural protection. Genesis 4:16 So Cain went out from the LORD's presence [f] and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. [g] 6 / 15

7 The name "Nod" Ö¹ {nåde} is derived from the Hebrew verb Ö¼ {nüd} which has two meanings. The first is "to wander" and the second is "to have compassion on." Both are meanings are in play here in Cain's life. He was caused to live in "the land of wandering," which was also "the land of God's compassion." The Generations of Cain. For years when I studied Genesis 4, I was exposed to what seems to be the nearly universal interpretation of this passage. That rather grim interpretation holds that the LORD recorded how Cain sinned in murdering his brother Abel, how God cursed him, and how he died. Then, as that interpretation goes on, God spent the last half of the chapter to record a number of generations in one line of Cain which ended with Lamech and his children. They say that this shows Lamech murdering a man, which showed that the line of Cain had learned nothing. Supposedly, they are never heard from again, presumably perishing in the flood of Noah. I used to accept this interpretation even though I knew that it was jarringly inconsistent with the message of Genesis 3 which is a message of grace and hope. I accepted it even though I knew it was incompatible with the Bible's great theme of God's persevering grace. Let us read the story of the generations of Cain. h ] Genesis 4:17-24 Cain I lay with his wife, [h] and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoc Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad, III [j] and Irad was the father of Mehujael, IV [k] and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, V [l] and Methushael was the father of. II [i 7 / 15

8 Lamech. VI Lamech [m] married two women, one named Adah [n] and the other Zillah. [o] Adah gave birth to Jabal; [p] he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. His brother's name was Jubal; [q] he was the father of all who play the harp and flute. [r] Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, [s] who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. [t] [u] Tubal-Cain's sister was Na'amah. [v] VII Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, [w] a young man for injuring me. If Cain [x] is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times." Reading through this passage in the past I, was always troubled by several things. The first thing was that, the standard explanation for this entire section on the line of Cain was that it was a cautionary tale on the evil line of Cain. I was troubled by this because I have often noted that 8 / 15

9 God delights in showing that no people are beyond his grace. Korah who rebelled against Moses is an example. [y] Yet God delighted in the fact that the Sons of Korah wrote eleven of the Psalms and the Prophet Samuel was the seventeenth generation from Korah. Furthermore God expresses his opinion of condemning people for the sins of their fathers [z] in the Book of Ezekiel: Ezekiel 18:1-4 "The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: " The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'? "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son--both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die." Why then would God spend eight verses in Genesis 4 condemning the line of Cain's children in for the sin of their father? Particularly, when we find out in the next chapter that nearly all of the rest of the human race (many of whom were descended from Abel) wound up condemned by their own sinful choices. Remember, Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters, all of whom had many sons and daughter on to over ten generations. Of the hundreds of thousands of descendants of Adam and Eve who must have been alive at the flood, only eight were saved. Why would God focus on the line of Cain? I concluded it was to show something else. The second thing that I could never understand was how Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-Cain could be the Fathers of any people who "live in tents" and "raise livestock" and "play harps" (note the present tense used by the patriarchs to describe these people). After all, by the time of the patriarchs, the flood had occurred, and only those descended from the male line through Seth had survived. Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-Cain and all their descendants and knowledge were supposedly wiped out in the flood by the time Genesis was written down. But that drew my attention of an unusual occurance in the genealogy of Cain, the mention of Lamech's daughter Na'amah. Na'amah is the only daughter mentioned in all the genealogies in Genesis from Adam to Jacob, That seemed worth noting, because every word in the scriptures is there by God's express decree. As I read and reread Genesis 4, I saw something that I had missed. It was something that Cain seemed to have missed too. That something was that the LORD's judgment on Cain was gracious, and demonstrated to Cain his persevering love. The LORD did not tell Cain, after he had killed innocent Abel, that the penalty was death, which would have been a just punishment. 9 / 15

10 Instead, he told Cain that his life was more valued than before. His life was protected by a sevenfold penalty. God's response to Cain's sin was not to reduce Cain's value in the LORD's eyes, but to increase it. I could not help thinking about the parable of the lost sheep. Mark 15:4-7 "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Then as I read down to the story of Lamech with the understanding that the sevenfold protection was God's grace to Cain, I began to understand the story. Lamech called his wives together to announce something important. Genesis 4:23-24 Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times." The traditional interpretation is that Lamech was arrogantly boasting of his "Sin." Consider this, what Lamech did is not even against the Mosaic Law. Exodus 22:2 "If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed;" Second, if the sevenfold protection of Cain was grace, then the seventy-seven fold protection of Lamech is grace. I was struck by the connection to the passage in Matthew: Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 10 / 15

11 It is interesting that the number seven is identified in the Bible with grace or completion time and time again. As I read down to the passage of Na'amah the oddity of a woman being mentioned in the Genealogies struck me. Since I had long been aware that the peculiar mention of women in the Genealogy in Matthew is related to the Messianic line I proposed this question. What if Na'amah married back into the Line of Seth? What generation number was she and which generation would she most likely marry into? I counted. Na'amah is the seventh generation (See count in Genesis 4 above). Again the number seven. If she married the seventh generation of Seth (listed in Genesis 5) she would have married Methuselah. Methuselah's son was named Lamech. More interesting still, since Lamech was the name of Na'amah's father. To round out the picture it turns out that Lamech the son of Methuselah who would have completed this union of seventh generations lived to be 777 years old. He also got to make the first confirmation of the Messianic promise to his line since Adam (Genesis 5:28-29). The name Na'amah means "pleasant, sweet, beautiful, delightful." Considering the story began with the rejection of Cain's offering it is appropriate that it ends with Na'amah whose offering of faith was pleasant to God. I believe that the Lord's promise to Cain was God's way of saying to Cain that he was still under grace despite his sin. Cain evidently was never to understand or accept God's grace. Lamech finally did and he and his house were saved and brought into the family of Enoch and became the Grandfather of Lamech and the Great-grandfather of Noah. Furthermore, I believe that the families of Lamech and Enoch (Methuselah's father) moved together and the daughters and granddaughters of Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-Cain married into the line of Enoch and brought their family skills and knowledge with them which were taken into the world after the flood by Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth and their four wives. This interpretation brings the passage in perfect harmony with the whole theme of the Word of God, both the written and the Living. The idea that God would devote a half chapter to a line of people that died in their sins doesn't ring true. However a confirmation of His loving grace is in wonderful harmony, and the more rewarding when you understand it by carefully searching God's word. Ezekiel 18:23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? 11 / 15

12 When I started looking for grace in the passage, the number seven just kept bouncing up. Seven generations, sevenfold protection, seventy-sevenfold protection, 777 years of age. If this is the correct interpretation of this passage, and I believe it is, God purposely kept it obscure. Why? So that we can uncover it, and realize anew that God is always a God of grace. To those who want to see God as a hard man who "harvests where he has not sown and gathers where he has not scattered seed" (Matthew 25:24) God will judge them according to their own hearts. But God will richly reward those who love Him as a God who always deals with us in compassion. Jonah knew just what God was like. Jonah 4:2 I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. I believe Lamech finally saw God's love, and God rewarded him by removing the curse through Na'amah his Daughter. A few years after I came to the conclusions above, I noticed that the name Cainan, which is listed in the Genealogy of the Lord in Luke 3:36 and in the Septuagint versions of Genesis 10:24 and 11:12 can be translated "of Cain" or "son of Cain." He was the grandson of Shem. We know it was in the original, because it is inscribed by the Holy Spirit in Luke. The name seems to have been expunged from later Hebrew texts. I couldn't help wondering if this expunging of a name that indicated descent from Cain was an example of how people refuse to recognize God's grace to Cain. [a] The name "Cain" in the Hebrew resembles the verb translated "I have produced" later in the verse. [b] Abel means "a breath." [c] It is also worth noting the difference between the offering of firstborn of the flock and the fruits of the soil. The first born was hardly the most desirable from an economic point of view. The mature animal would be bigger. The fruits of the soil offer no such economic inferiority. The point of the offering of course was not economic value, but the foreshadowing of the sacrifice of the innocent, firstborn, son of God. 12 / 15

13 [d] The Hebrew word here is h[;v; which means "to look." Although the context seems to imply "with favor,"those words are not in the original. The picture that is drawn here parallels the presence of the LORD above the mercy seat looking down on the blood of the sacrifice poured there on the day of atonement. How the LORD showed his satisfaction we do not know. Most probably the blood was burned up with fire from Heaven, like the offering of Elijah (1 Kings 18:38) or Manoah (Judges 13:20) [e] The Hebrew word is %8&:; (tesh-oo-kaw'). An alternate rendering has been given by some Hebrew scholars, which makes more sense "Sin is lies at the door. It desires to master you, but you must master it." The word translated desire only occurs 3 times in the OT. It also occurs in Genesis 3:16 and in Song of Songs 7:10. [f] That is, his face to face meeting with the LORD. [g] If Eden was located on Mt. Zion, east of there would have been Tigris and Euprates valleys. [h] Obviously a grown daughter of Adam and Eve. [i] Enoch means "dedicated." [j] Irad is derived from the word for "wild ass" and can mean "fleet." [k] Mehujael means "smitten by God." [l] Methushael means "who is of God." 13 / 15

14 [m] Lamech is thought to mean "powerful" although the etymology is uncertain. [n] Adah means "ornament." [o] Zillah means "shade." [p] Jabal means "a stream of water." [q] Jubal means "a river." Perhaps the origin of "jubilee" or which denotes "the sound of the trumpet." [r] Note the implication that the descendants of Jabal and Jubal were alive at the time of writing after the flood. In other words, Jabal and Jubal were related to at least one of the eight people who entered the Ark. [s] There is no agreement on the meaning of this name but one of meanings given is "brought out of Cain." [t] If the families of Lamech and Enoch came together in the marriage of Naamah and Methuselah as I believe, the tool making of Tubal-Cain would have been very useful in the construction of the ark of Noah. [u] Note that none of these descendants of Cain were farmers. That was part of the curse. [v] Naamah and her brothers were the seventh generation from Cain. I believe she married Methuselah the son of Enoch of the line of Seth. Her son was named Lamech after her father. 14 / 15

15 [w] Unlike Cain, Lamech had no "mark" to protect him. However, having been forced to kill to protect himself, he reasoned God's response would be grace. [x] It could well be that Cain was still alive and the head of his family. After all, Adam live 230 years after the birth of the 8 th generation through Seth. If so, Cain's mark or sign was a perpetual testimony of the persevering grace of God. [y] Korah is compared to Cain in Jude 1. [z] Deuteronomy 24:16 "Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin." 15 / 15

Cain and Abel Sermon 8th November 2015

1 Cain and Abel Sermon 8th November 2015 Reading: Genesis 4: 1 26 Cain and Abel Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, With the help of the LORD I have