Genesis

1. Genesis The Book of Beginnings Genesis 4

2. Genesis 4:1-2 “Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.” Later (NASB: ‘and again) she gave birth to his brother Abel” (NIV) • Our heart attitude toward approaching and knowing God actually determines our destiny in eternity • If we are willing to accept God’s Word, approaching Him solely on the basis of faith in God’s provision, through the shed blood of the Redeemer, God’s Lamb, Jesus Christ, then we are spiritually heaven-born, identifying with the seed of the woman (Jesus)

3. Genesis 4:1-2 • But if we continue to distort and reject God’s Word, relying on our own personal merits to earn salvation, we are in effect interposing our own will in place of God’s • We are presuming to be ‘as gods, knowing good and evil’ (Genesis 3:5) and consequently becoming the seed of the serpent • This two-fold division of humanity is perfectly illustrated in the first two sons Adam and Eve had after the Fall

4. Genesis 4:1-2 “Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant” • This is the first use of the Biblical euphemism for marital intercourse • KJV: ‘Adam knew his wife’ • Such an expression uniquely emphasizes both the full harmony and understanding of man and wife (one flesh) and also an ideal awareness of God’s purpose as implemented through the human capacity for sexual love and reproduction

5. Genesis 4:1-2 Cain is born: “With the help of the LORD, I have brought forth a man” Eve is a believer in Jehovah, and trusts God’s promises Eve suffered through childbirth – if she had children before the birth of Cain, she did not suffer severely Eve saw the faithfulness of the LORD Jehovah in giving her a son

6. Genesis 4:1-2 Q: Were Cain and Abel twins? A: It is not clear; there is no mention that she ‘knew’ Adam again, when Abel was born; or that she ‘conceived’ again, until Seth is born (Genesis 4:25) Q: If Cain mean’s ‘begotten’, what does Abel mean? A: Abel is a masculine proper name, meaning ‘nothing special’, or ‘vanity’; this may mean she thought he was weaker, or it may be a prophetic presentiment of his untimely death (K & D, p. 109)

7. Genesis 4:1-2 ‘Cain’ means ‘begotten,’ referring to the joy of acquisition • She takes it by faith that he will grow to manhood • She may have hoped that Cain would be the promised Deliverer---even though he was born through the seed of the man, not the ‘seed of the woman, who is a son of Jehovah Himself’ as Jesus was • I John 3:11-12 “For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous”

8. Genesis 4:1-2 Abel was truly in the household of faith • He is mentioned in Hebrews 11 :4, and called ‘righteous’ and a ‘prophet’ • Jesus spoke of Abel as ‘righteous’ (Matt. 23:35; Luke 11:50-1) • Jesus seems to mean that Abel was a man who believed and obeyed God’s Word, with righteousness thus imputed to him. • As a prophet, Abel must have received God’s Word by divine revelation and preached it by divine enablement; Cain must have refused, and disobeyed

9. Genesis 4:1-2 As the boys grew, Cain became a farmer, and Abel became a shepherd Both were honorable occupations Cain’s fruits provided food Abel’s sheep provided clothing, and perhaps were used for sacrifice (but not for food until after the Flood) The lesson which God provided in Genesis 3, in providing a covering by sacrifice, required the shedding of blood, which Abel’s sheep would provide

10. Genesis 4:1-2 Mankind was not authorized until after the Flood to use animals for food • Gen. 1:29 “I give you seed-bearing…for food” • 2:16 “You are free to eat from any tree…” • 3:19 “By the sweat of your brow you will eat” • 9:3 “Everything that lives and moves shall be food for you” As the population grew, Abel’s sheep would no doubt have been available by trade or purchase to anyone who wished to use one for sacrifice or for clothing

11. Genesis 4:3-5

12. Genesis 4:3-5 “(2b) Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. (3) In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. (4) But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, (5) but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast”

13. Genesis 4:3-5 Adam and Eve had been driven out of the garden, away from the presence of God. • However, by grace, and in light of His promise of a Redeemer, Jehovah Elohim still allowed them to approach Him under certain conditions, to hear His Word, and receive guidance

14. Genesis 4:3-5 • Adam and Eve had other children (Genesis 5:4) • Cain and Abel may have had many brothers and sisters prior to the events described in this chapter. • They were both grown men, and their parents had been given divine instruction to multiply. • They may have regularly offered sacrifices, but this is the first time God made a distinction between the offerings • We do not know if these sacrifices were voluntary, or if God had required them. The Bible does not say

15. Genesis 4:3-5 • It seems likely that God did give instructions, and that Cain disobeyed them. • This entire occurrence can only be understood in the context of an original revelation by God regarding the necessity of substitutionary sacrifice as a prerequisite to approaching God. • Perhaps the revelation was given to Adam/Eve at the time God provided coats of skins for them, and banished them from His presence in the Garden of Eden • It is possible Cain had to find a sacrifice from Abel each time he offered a sacrifice to God

16. Genesis 4:3-5 God Himself had pointed out both occupations to Adam---the tilling of the ground by the employment assigned him in Eden, which had to be changed into agriculture after his expulsion, and the keeping of cattle in the clothing that He gave him (3:21). Moreover, agriculture can never be entirely separated from the rearing of cattle; for a man not only requires food, but clothing, which is procured directly from the hides and wool of tame animals. (K & D, p. 109)

17. Genesis 4:3-5 Therefore Cain, in presumption and rebellion, finally would no longer accept one of his brother’s sheep, but instead brought the fruit which his own efforts had coerced from the earth that God had cursed. He offered these fruits possibly in a spirit of carelessness and perhaps in a spirit of pride, and perhaps in a spirit of rebellion What we do know is that his heart was not right before the Lord, and his offering was not in faith, as was Abel’s God rejected the gift (Morris, p. 137)

18. Genesis 4:3-5 Hebrews 11:4 “By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead” (NIV) Cain’s countenance ‘fell’ and he became bitterly angry He may have been outwardly pious and obedient toward God, but this incident revealed the inward heart; pride and resentment was festering

19. Genesis 4:3-5 Cain’s anger was expressed toward God, but also toward Abel Abel was an outward symbol of the fact that Cain’s works were not adequate to take him into God’s presence

20. Genesis 4:6-8 • 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” • 8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”(disputed text) While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. (NIV) • (NASB: 8 “And Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field…”

21. Genesis 4:6-8 The words do not command the suppression of an inward temptation, but resistance to the power of evil as pressing from without, by hearkening to the word which God addressed to Cain in person, and addresses to us through the Scriptures. There is nothing said here about God appearing visibly; but this does not warrant us in interpreting either this or the following conversation as a simple process that took place in the heart and conscience of Cain. (K & D, p. 112)

22. Genesis 4:6-8 “God talks to Cain as to a willful child, and draws out of him what is sleeping in his heart, and lurking like a wild beast before his door. And what He did to Cain He does to everyone who will but observe his own heart, and listen to the voice of God” (Herder, quoted in K & D, p. 112)

23. Genesis 4:6-8 Cain had a choice to make: • Obey God, and His Word, and ‘do well’ • Disobey God, rebel against it, and ‘sin’ This is the first use of the word ‘sin’, although the thought is implied in Genesis 16b and 4:7 with the meaning to oppose the will of God

24. Genesis 4:6-8 Cain chose to go his own way, rejected God’s warning, and sinned Abel, as God’s first ‘prophet’ (Luke 11:49-51) must have counseled against this decision, but the seeds of pride, envy and hatred bore their better fruit (Morris, p. 138)

25. Genesis 4:6-8 Luke 11:47 “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. 48 So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. 49 Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’ 50 Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.

26. Genesis 4:6-8 Q: Talking in the field? What did they talk about? • Abel counseling repentance? • Cain accusing God of wrong-doing? • Cain accusing God of showing favoritism? • Cain accusing Abel of self-righteousness?

27. Genesis 4:6-8 I John 3:11-12 “This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.” By describing this as ‘murder,’ John is saying that the evil deed was premeditated, going to the field to be free of the interference of others (his parents, and siblings---God?)

28. Genesis 4:6-8 “…it is apparent that the first slight entrance of sin into the world through the mere eating of a forbidden fruit had quickly resulted in much more bitter fruit---namely, the crime of [killing a family member]. The seed of the serpent was quickly striking at the seed of the woman, corrupting her first son and slaying her second, thus trying to prevent the fulfillment of the [Messianic] promise right at the beginning of human history” (Morris, p. 139)

29. Genesis 4:9-12 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.”

30. Genesis 4:9-12 As soon as the evil deed was done, God called to Cain This time God had to go to the field to find him, instead of Cain bringing his sacrifice to God God’s first question is pedagogic, designed to elicit truth and confession from Cain---God already knew what had happened, and where the body of Abel was Instead of acting in fear and humility of God, Cain boldly denied knowing anything about it

31. Genesis 4:9-12 • Cain told a blatant lie • Cain may not have known where Abel was spiritually (he is with God, the first righteous dead person in ‘heaven’) • When God confronted Adam after his sin, Adam responded in confession and repentance, but Cain does not • Cain lies to God, and challenges God’s right to even question him • The long-cherished sin of Cain hardened his heart and perverted his senses

32. Genesis 4:9-12 God no longer speaks to Cain in mercy---only in judgment Cain stilled the hated prophesying voice of his brother, but he could not still the voice of shed blood speaking from the ground, and from Almighty God knowing it Abel was righteous before God, yet was violently murdered Abel is a type of all who suffer for righteousness sake (Matthew 5:1-8 and the Sermon on the Mount)

33. Genesis 4:9-12 Matthew 5:10-12 [The Sermon on the Mount]: • 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. • 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  • 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

34. Genesis 4:9-12 “Innocent blood has no voice, it may be, that is discernible by human ears, but it has one that reaches God, as the cry of a wicked deed demanding vengeance” (Delitzsch, K & D, p. 113) Murder is one of the sins that cry to heaven

35. Genesis 4:11-12 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. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

36. Genesis 4:11-12 “and now be cursed from the earth” Q: Does this mean to be driven away from the land so he no longer has a resting place---always wandering? Q: Does it mean the earth is cursed (No, Gen. 3:17 ‘cursed is the ground’), but withdrawing the strength of the ground as a personal judgment against Cain? Because the earth has been compelled to drink innocent blood, it rebels against the murderer, and when he tills it, it withdraws its strength, so that the soil yields no produce (Lev. 18:28And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you.)

37. Genesis 4:9-12 “a fugitive and a vagabond (homeless, banished) shalt thou be in the earth” “God takes guilt away by forgiving it (Ex. 34:7); man carries it away and bears it, by enduring its punishment (Num. 5:31). Cain leaves in despair, complaining not of the greatness of his sin, but only of the severity of the punishment He acknowledges the enormity of his iniquity; and the penalty for it; and he no longer questions the Lord, but cries out that the punishment is more than he can bear

38. Genesis 4:13-15 13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.

39. Genesis 4:13-15 God spared his life, although Jehovah Elohim could have exacted the death penalty (Gen. 9:6) Cain’s impudence had become a cry of fear He feared that in his wretched condition, and in retaliation for the murder of Abel, he would be in constant danger of his own life • From others already born • From Adam’s grandchildren born, or yet to be born “the way of the transgressor is hard…” (Prov. 13:15)

40. Genesis 4:13-15 Q: What is the sign, or ‘mark of Cain?’ Scripture has many ‘signs’ • Sun, Moon, and Stars • Rainbow after the flood • Circumcision • Moses gave 10 ‘signs’ to Pharaoh to ‘let my people go’

41. Genesis 4:13-15 Q: The Sign of Cain? Eyes? A strange color? Skin? Turned Black or White? A tatoo on forehead, hand, or arm? A letter of the Hebrew alphabet? An Historical ‘sign’: All of Cain’s relations died in the Flood; only the line of Seth remained (Noah, and his 3 sons and family)