The LEGACY Of UNREPENTANCE-I— Genesis 4:16-24
Attention:
We will all leave a legacy to our families. But what of any value will they receive?
Background:
Previously we had looked at Cain’s willful disdain of God’s direction for his life, & discovered the ‘Tragedy of Unrepentance’(4:1-15).
Today we are going to examine the descendants of Cain & the resulting transfer of belief.
“the genealogy[:16-24] shows how sin disqualified Cain’s line as the people of blessing”..... God blesses the line of Cain. But notice, He blesses them in a temporal way. That is, only connected to time. Only in the physical were they blessed; not in the sense of the spiritual, or that which is eternal.”—John MacArthur
“Secular culture is a provision from God for man’s life. It is a common grace.”.....“And that contributes to communication, it contributes to culture, it contributes to society.”—John MacArthur
Cain’s legacy was a spiritually derelict/deficient progeny.
Personal unrepentance leaves a legacy of spiritually dereliction/deficiency.
What can a spiritually deficient legacy provide?
8 desires/determinations of a spiritually deficient/derelict population.
1—Spiritually deficient populations seek...
SEPARATION/Segregation(:16)
Explanation: (:16)Don’t bother me
:16—“Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD & dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.”
Cain was doomed to be a vagrant & wanderer so he left the presence of the LORD. Cain made a purposeful choice to leave YaHWeH’s presence, not the other way around. However, Cain’s actions are assumed & anticipated.
The exact wording is used of Satan as he leaves the presence of YaHWeH in heaven.
Job 1:12—“And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.”
Job 2:7—“So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, & struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.”
A human side to determining our entrance into God’s presence. God offers us forgiveness by grace thru faith. What will you do with it?
Conversely to the unrepentant, man is encouraged thruout Scripture to seek/enter YaHWeH’s presence. It is God’s design & desire for us. We should always seek His power & direction(however it may come) in our lives.
1Thes. 1:8-10—“For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia & Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, & how you turned to God from idols to serve the living & true God, & to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”
“He[Cain] sought to be away from the presence[influence] of God, & God sent him out of His presence; so that this was both God’s judgment & Cain’s own choice. And so it is with all who reject God.”—John MacArthur
Though Cain was a wanderer, he centered his wanderings in “Nod.” This proper name seems to enforce the fact of Cain’s “fugitive & vagabond” status(:14) because it is a noun form of a verb meaning ‘to wander.’. It is a land, an area which probably took its name or became designated as such because of Cain’s wandering.
Perhaps Nod is so appreciably separated from all others of Cain’s family so that he can now have a life of his own free of its influence & thereby YaHWeH’s influence. This seems to be borne out thru the genealogical list & statements of :17-24. Particularly as they are compared to the separate & distinct genealogical record of chapter 5.
Nod was “on the east[side] of Eden.”
The “garden” itself was located in an unqualified “eastward” direction in the place called “Eden”(meaning ‘pleasure’)—quite a different concept from “Nod’s” wandering. It appears evident that Adam was driven out of the garden towards an easterly direction.
Gen. 2:8—“The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, & there He put the man whom He had formed.”
Gen. 3:24—“So He drove out the man; & He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, & a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.”
“Went out from”—auy yaw-tsaw’—1) To go out, come out, exit, go forth. Strong–a primitive root; To go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally & figuratively, direct & proxim.
“Presence”—Mynp paw-neem’ pl. (but always as sing.)—1) Face. Strong—The face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally & figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.).
“Lived”—bvy yaw-shab’—V.—1) To dwell, remain, sit, abide. Strong—a primitive root; properly, To sit down (specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication, To dwell, to remain; causatively, To settle, to marry.
“Nod”—dwn Nowd—N. Pr. Loc.—Nod = "wandering." Strong—Vagrancy.
Argumentation:
Christians are encouraged to separate themselves from all that opposes God in Christ.
Lk. 6:22-23—“Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, & cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day & leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.”
2Cor. 6:14-7:1—“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons & daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.” Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh & spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Others seek to Separate themselves from God:
Rom. 1:16-25—“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first & also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness & unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power & Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, & their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, & changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--& birds & four-footed animals & creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, & worshiped & served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”
Illustration:
Use the term ‘Separation of Church & State’ as a catch-all for keeping all traces of Christian truth our of the very government which has been founded upon Christian belief & principle/SEPARATION/Segregation
Many don’t want to be bothered with religious concerns/Keep your religion in the church building!/SEPARATION/Segregation
Application:
?From What & Whom do You seek SEPARATION/Segregation?
?What distinguishes your desire from a spiritually deficient population?
2—Spiritually deficient populations seek...
STABILITY/Family(:17-18)
Explanation: (:17-18)Loneliness, Children
:17—:And Cain knew his wife, & she conceived & bore Enoch. And he built a city, & called the name of the city after the name of his son--Enoch.
Cain had a wife who bore him at least one child. She bore him this child while he was “in the land of Nod”(:16).
The genealogical listings are assumed to be non-exhaustive, focusing upon particular lines of descent. It is obvious that Cain gained a wife though she is never mentioned by name. Thus Cain could have had many more children as his ability would allow. though he was severely limited due to YaHWeH’s curse.
Cain had a wife. There is no explanation as to where Cain got his wife. We only have this limited record which has to this point only recorded the existence of four named persons—Adam, Eve, Cain & Abel.
Scripture also never reveals whether Abel had children providing nieces & nephews. A persons progeny is largely dependant upon at least 3 things: 1)Ability to provide for them, 2)Mental attachment to the task, & 3)The wife’s mutual abilities.
It must be assumed that Cain’s wife would have been one of his sisters!
“Cain’s wife would be his sister or niece, & those who might kill Cain—assuming a family proliferation that spreads over centuries—would be Cain’s siblings.”—Victor Hamilton
This is what we now refer to as the taboo of ‘incest.’ The Mosaic Law—given much later to the Hebrews— would specifically prohibit this practice, classifying it as something practiced by the various Canaanites(Lev. 18:9-11) but not to be practiced by God’s people.
Lev. 18:8-11—“‘The nakedness of your father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness. ‘The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you shall not uncover. ‘The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for theirs is your own nakedness. ‘The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, begotten by your father--she is your sister--you shall not uncover her nakedness.”
Lev. 20:17, 19—“‘If a man takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, & sees her nakedness & she sees his nakedness, it is a wicked thing. And they shall be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness. He shall bear his guilt.”.....“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister nor of your father’s sister, for that would uncover his near of kin. They shall bear their guilt.”
Deut. 27:22—“‘Cursed is the one who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’”
Gen. 20:10-13—“Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?” And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; & they will kill me on account of my wife. But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; & she became my wife. And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’””
“Who this woman was is not certain, nor whether it was his first wife or not; whether his sister, or one that descended from Adam by another of his sons, since this was about the one hundred & thirtieth year of the creation. At first indeed Cain could marry no other than his sister; but whether he married Abel’s twin sister, or his own twin sister, is disputed; the Jews say {g}, that Cain’s twin sister was not a beautiful woman, & therefore he said, I will kill my brother & take his wife: on the other hand, the Arabic writers say {h}, that Adam would have had Cain married Abel’s twin sister, whom they call Awin; & Abel have married Cain’s twin sister, whom they call Azron; but Cain would not, because his own sister was the handsomest; & this they take to be the occasion of the quarrel, which issued in the murder of Abel.”—John Gill
*The biggest problem(s) I personally have with this ‘incestuous’ arrangement are tied to the relational aspect. We are not informed of the relationship Cain had with his sister(s). Whether it was typically ‘sibling’—as currently experienced— or rather ‘distant’—entirely possible— is more important to my satisfaction than the absolute prohibition stated in the Mosaic Law. It is entirely possible that I live in such a sin-sick society that the baggage of rampant perversions plays heavily upon my emotional attachments.
*Some of the prophets faced & expressed this same sort of offense in response—Ezekiel’s fire & Peter’s food are examples of actual God-ordained traditions laid aside or re-arranged for the sake of specific expediencies.
1)Ezekiel’s dramatic description of the conditions wrought thru the beseiging of Jerusalem prior to Judah’s exile.
Ezek. 4:9-17—““Also take for yourself wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, & spelt; put them into one vessel, & make bread of them for yourself. During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred & ninety days, you shall eat it. And your food which you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from time to time you shall eat it. You shall also drink water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; from time to time you shall drink. And you shall eat it as barley cakes; & bake it using fuel of human waste in their sight.” Then the LORD said, “So shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, where I will drive them.” So I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now; I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has abominable flesh ever come into my mouth.” Then He said to me, “See, I am giving you cow dung instead of human waste, & you shall prepare your bread over it.” Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, surely I will cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight & with anxiety, & shall drink water by measure & with dread, that they may lack bread & water, & be dismayed with one another, & waste away because of their iniquity.”
2)Peter’s vision anticipating the arrival of the Gentiles from Cornelius.
Acts 10:9-17—“The next day, as they[men sent from Cornelius] went on their journey & drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. Then he became very hungry & wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance & saw heaven opened & an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him & let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, & birds of the air. And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill & eat.” But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again. Now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house, & stood before the gate.”
*Christians—God’s people—are to be dedicated to the desire of God at all times & prayerfully repentant if they fail/falter His will. This seems to be an example of foregoing one’s convictions for God’s expediency. This always invites shock as it attacks our system of belief thru an avenue of unnatural/foreign offense. Something we have previously wrestled with, gone over & measured in our quest for proper service & Christ-honoring dogma/doctrine. It crosses the line of our personal limits.
Cain’s wife bore a son whose name was “Enoch.”
“It[Enoch] means, "dedicate.".....“there are at least four named Hanoch, or Enoch, in the Book of Genesis. The name seems to fit a son who was viewed by the family as the commencement, or the initiation, or the inauguration of a next generation.”— John MacArthur
Cain built a city & named it after his son.
“In an effort to mitigate his curse, he sets out to build a city.”..... “to name a city after a person was to express ownership & responsibility”—John MacArthur So Cain probably had to relinquish ownership of that which he could not build due to the curse of his wandering.
The “city” was probably nothing like what we would consider a city—New York or Los Angeles, Atlanta, Charlotte or even Salisbury or Statesville. It would have described any fenced or protected place where one would spend the night & awaken the next day.
“Besides this & more, another important principle comes out -- the practically self-righteous man rejecting Christ is then turned out; he leaves the presence of the Lord, & dwells in the land of Nod (that is, "vagabond") where his son is called Enoch, & he builds a city, calling it Enoch too, after his son. Thus he stretches himself in the world, & gives a family name to the town, & the history she[o]ws us artisans, & arts, & sciences, all in the train. He goes out from God, & settles himself in the place of judgment, to do his best with it, in open defiance of God. God neglects nothing, & Cain cannot get out of the reach of His hand, of course; but in his own will he was entirely outside. Cain sets to work to make the earth as comfortable as he can without God; Adam did not want all that in paradise.”—ENT—JND CW 19.80
“Knew”(See :25)—edy yaw-dah’—1) to know. Strong—a primitive root; To know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically & inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; & causatively, instruction, designation, punishment, etc.).
(CONT...)2—Spiritually deficient populations seek...
STABILITY/Family(:17-18)
“Wife”—hva ish-shaw’—1) Woman, wife, female.
“Enoch”—Kwnx Chanowk—Enoch = "dedicated"
“Built”—hnb baw-naw’—1) to build, rebuild, establish, cause to continue. Strong—a primitive root; To build (literally & figuratively).
“City”—rye `iyr—1) Excitement, anguish—1a) of terror; 2) City, town (a place of waking, guarded)—2a) city, town. Strong—a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post).
From—rwe ‘uwr—to wake (literally or figuratively).
:18—“To Enoch was born Irad; & Irad begot Mehujael, & Mehujael begot Methushael, & Methushael begot Lamech.”
Thus begins the genealogical expansion of secular(unrepentant) society or society with no true human witness to God. This is in comparison to the expansion by those who are repentant per “Seth”(Gen. 4:25—5:32).
Enoch(Cain’s son) had at least one child named Irad.
The end focus or course of the genealogy seems to gravitate toward Lamech(:19, 23-24). Lamech was born to the line of Cain thru Enoch(Son), Irad(Grandson), Mehujael(Great Grandson), & finally, Methushael(Great-Great Grandson).
There is no definitive significance attached to the meaning of their names. It is not known if the names are 1)Given at birth or 2)Characterizations applied in adulthood.
This does not mean that these were the first or only children born. It seems that females are not included here. There is only mention of those pertinent to the specific sequence of generations recorded here.
“Irad”—drye ee-rawd’—Irad = "fleet" Strong—Fugitive.
From the same as—dre ar-awd’— from an unused root meaning to sequester itself; fugitive.
“Mehujael”—laywxm mekh-oo-yaw-ale’—Mehujael = "smitten by God"
From—hxm maw-khaw’—1) To wipe, wipe out. & —la ale—1) God, god-like one, mighty one; 2) Mighty things in nature; 3) Strength, power.
“Methushael”—lavwtm meth-oo-shaw-ale’—Methusael = "who is of God"
From—tm math—1) Male, man.(In prose & poetics, less emphasis on sex).
“Lamech”—Kml leh’-mek—Lamech = "powerful"
Argumentation:
God would settle the children of Israel in their own land:
1Kgs. 4:24 -25—“For he[Solomon] had dominion over all the region on this side of the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over all the kings on this side of the River; & he had peace on every side all around him. And Judah & Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine & his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.”
Micah 4:3-5—“He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more. But everyone shall sit under his vine & under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid; For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. For all people walk each in the name of his god, But we will walk in the name of the LORD our God Forever & ever.”
Seek the lasting Stability which God provides in Christ:
Mat. 7:22-27—““Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, & done many wonders in Your name?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, & does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: “& the rain descended, the floods came, & the winds blew & beat on that house; & it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, & does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: “& the rain descended, the floods came, & the winds blew & beat on that house; & it fell. And great was its fall.””
Illustration:
Stability helps us focus. When our lives are turned upside down our purpose is lost & our future is questionable.
Refugees/ Fed by outsiders/Erratic help/Nothing can be trusted/Everything is temporary/Live in tent cities/STABILITY
Horn of Africa famine—As of 3 August, more than 860,000 refugees from Somalia have fled to neighboring countries, in particular Kenya & Ethiopia. The UNHCR base in Dadaab Kenya currently hosts at least 440,000 people in three refugee camps. The maximum capacity of the Dadaab camps is 90,000. More than 1,500 refugees continue to arrive every day from southern Somalia, 80 per cent of them women & children.
Thursday Aug. 11, 2011—Dagahaley refugee camp north of Dadaab, Eastern Kenya, 60 miles from the Somali border. When a mother’s 3-year-old son succumbed to hunger & thirst while fleeing Somalia’s famine, she could only surround his body with small dried branches to serve as his grave. bShe couldn’t stop to mourn — there were five other children to think about. The United Nations warned Wednesday that the famine in East Africa hasn’t peaked & hundreds of thousands of people face imminent starvation & death without a massive global response. About 1,300 new refugees arrive each day in Dadaab camps in northeastern Kenya. The new influx are running away from a famine that is getting worse in southern Somalia as al-Qaida-linked militants in the country barred some major aid groups from operating in its areas of control, worsening the situation of the most vulnerable people/The mother needed STABILITY
People want STABILITY with or without the Lord...And lost men seek it!
Application:
?You seek STABILITY for you & your family? Of course!
?What distinguishes your desire from a spiritually deficient population?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Spiritually deficient populations seek...some of the same things God’s people do.
They do it however, in a different manner & with a different attitude, with a different goal, for a different purpose!
What is the LEGACY you have left to or placed upon your family?
Will they know of & experience the grace of God in Christ?
Do they know of the personal God?...of the testimony of Scripture?
Have they been raised to trust in God? Are you an example of that trust?
Action:
Spiritually deficient populations seek...
1. SEPARATION/Segregation(:16)
2. STABILITY/Family(:17-18)
Presented 08/14/2011am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
