Alpha and Omega, Part 10
Society’s beginning and sin’s painful results
Genesis 4:1-16
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Introduction
- We’ve begun 2023 with “one purpose”: Knowing there is a God!
-- Continuing our series, “Alpha and Omega”; examining the beginning to the end
- Last: There is a harsh judgment for man & woman, but God still loves them
-- God provided a way, gave them knowledge to survive and help them (us) live
- RE: God said if they sinned, they would die, but physical death wasn’t the result
-- They died a spiritual death, ending direct fellowship with God ... however!
- They learned what mercy meant – even as they were cast out of paradise
- They learned what grace was – even as they had to fend for themselves
- They learned how good God is – even as they had to struggle to survive
-- God provided a way for them to survive – and in that delayed their death
- Isn’t that what we have today? YES! Why? Because of Jesus!
-- We have the same opportunity to know God and receive grace from Him!
- Let’s dive into our passage for today … Read Genesis 4:1-16 / Pray
Point 1 – Five things we learn about society’s beginnings
- It is important for us to see, and realize, about how society began
1. The first children are born (v1-2a)
- RE: Adam & Eve were instructed to reproduce (it’s the only way)
-- Hebrew: yada; to know (to be intimate with one another)
-- The first birth we see in the Bible is of Cain (IMP: no babies before now)
- Imagine what pregnancy would have looked like for them …
-- They had no knowledge of what it might happen, but they trusted God
- They also believed in God’s promise (Gen 3:15) that a redeemer would come
-- The excitement of parenthood is what’s on display - look what we did!
- Later, their next born was named Abel (Hebrew: hebel; vanity, meaningless)
-- What an odd name for a son – but perhaps she knew life’s shortness (re: sin)
-- Go forth and multiply was God’s command, so they obeyed to populate
- Understand: Adam lived to be 930, so there are lots of children born
-- If children had children over 930 yrs., we’d be looking at hundreds of thousands
-- So, yes, there was some inter-relations … but there was no other way
-- Don’t make this weird: only way to populate is reproduction, God commanded
2. We learn the work of Abel and Cain (v2b)
- We know that they had to be hard workers: Cain was a farmer / Abel a shepherd
-- How do we know? Because they would have had to survive in this world!
- But we also must note that they would have been trained by Adam
-- They had to live, re: God showed Adam how to survive; Adam passed it on
-- What we know is that their work provided the very basics: food and clothing
-- APP: This would have contributed to their society and helped them survive
3. There is a personal worship for Cain and Abel (v3-4a)
- These boys had a corporate worship and a personal one with God (again: taught)
-- No specific info on when, but scholars believe prob on the Sabbath (holy day)
-- There is also no specific location given for this (best guess: entrance to garden)
-- We can see how God still speaks to His creation in v5-6 …
- Adam would be very careful to approach God, to be acceptable to Him
-- And he would have taught his family to do the same (results of last time…)
- Want to change how you approach God? Get this … (just sung about it!)
-- “Shake up the ground of all my tradition; break down the walls of all my religion”
-- When it comes to God: must approach His way, not how we think it should be!
- Dad would’ve taught them to worship specifically: by way of a sacrifice
-- Why? Because he knows the price of sin – he saw the result (death of animals)
- But look at what happens: see genuine worship & false worship is displayed
• Abel: Brings what God requires, and is praised
• Cain: Brings what he has grown (or done), and is rejected
-- Hebrews 11:4, “It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.” (APP: bible is living document – still leads us)
- What is it that God requires for sacrifice? Shedding of blood!
-- But Cain is seeking to bring his own offering; his own way; by his own works
-- And God’s response is clear … rejection. He does not accept the gift!
-- Very clear lesson for us in 2023: Pride-driven is not how to approach God!
4. We get to see God’s response and Cain’s reaction (v4b-5a)
- RE: Cain wanted to come before God and make his own way
-- God, being very specific, rejected it without any reservation or “acceptance”
-- APP: Cannot miss this … our offering must be pure (check motivations) also!
-- King David told us about offerings: Psalm 56:12, “I will fulfill my vows to you, O God, and will offer a sacrifice of thanks for your help.”
- Cain, in response, decides that he is going to be angry at God (temper-tantrum)
-- And a rage begins to form in his heart because Adam rcv’d “approval”
-- Look, if you want to know where negative emotion comes from, it’s here
-- Pride is a primary driver of sin, and this is what we must see in this section
- It is not because of anything else – and as info, you cannot legislate goodness
-- Another way: You cannot create laws to control what wicked people will do
-- It is a heart problem, and it is on full display here with how Cain reacts to God
-- EXP: How do we react when God corrects us or instructs us to change?
5. We learn that God warned them, but He still shows mercy (v6-7)
- Yet, in God’s merciful way, he offers grace and mercy and love to Cain
-- Says, “You will be accepted if you do what’s right … so why are you angry?”
-- It is a near perfect picture of God’s instruction to us … sin has consequences
-- But … mercy and acceptance is still offered if you come to the source of it
- Result (v7) If you are going to rebel, sin lies at your door waiting to devour you
-- APP: Sin waits for you to give in, to choose to rebel; offers an easy temptation
-- BIG: This is all sin is – a perversion of what God has told us to
- LIFE: We must master sin; and approach God in the manner that he requires
-- 1 Corinthians 10:13, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”
- Don’t miss this … Cain’s silence to God’s calling is deafening (no response v7)
-- Here is the instruction God gives you and I right now -- and it’s non-negotiable
-- John 14:6, “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
-- God says here is the deal, here is the way, now you get to choose what’s next
- There is nothing else we need to do to be forgiven but to come to Christ
-- Even if we are saved and still trapped in sin … God is willing to forgive us!
- TR: But in that forgiveness, there are still consequences to be dealt with
Point 2 – What are the five results of sinful choices?
- When sin comes knocking, and we answer, there are 5 things that happen:
1. Sin allows rage to turn to deception and murder (v8)
- Look at how this unfolds: Cain lures his brother Abel into the field
-- Why? Anger, pride, and jealousy … man’s worst traits of depravity (about us)
-- Cain is the first man who let sin consume him; became the first follower of evil
2. There is always a confrontation with God when dealing with sin (v9-10)
- God asks Cain one simple question: “Where is your brother, Abel?”
-- His response is just … poor! Flippant: “I don’t know … am I, his keeper?”
-- Don’t miss Cain does: he denies knowledge and denies responsibility (Adam)
- “Seriously God, am I responsible for him, for loving him, for caring for him?”
-- APP: What a crucial lesson for us … are we not responsible for the: Orphans, Widows, Prisoners, Broken-hearted, Backsliders, Diseased, Hungry, Poor, Divorced, Empty, Lonely, Suffering, Thirsty, or the Dying?
- The real tragedy is that we deny knowing where “they” are, even today
-- It is exactly what Cain does, he denies being responsible for another human
-- BIG: He denies he’s responsible for someone close, someone he worships with!
3. Sin brings to us a right judgment from God (v11-12)
- God casts judgment on Cain to bear the curse of this murder
-- He is cast out to experience difficulty in his work, to always wander
-- Even his location of settling (Nod, v16) is a hat tip to a state of wondering
-- What God does is tell him, “You cannot continue here, you have to go”
-- APP: Get this … God is not going to invite you to stay in your sin!
4. Sin’s punishment often brings a complaint against God (v13)
- So, how does Cain respond? Much like we do: “This isn’t fair!”
-- His heart is hard, and his complaint is self-focused … misses God totally
- But more than that – he tries to undo God’s action by saying, “this is too much”
-- He even expresses fear … someone might want to harm him for killing Abel
-- Perhaps he is worried about dad, but prob another, and he is fearful of living
- Typical (not new): he does not repent, but instead focuses elsewhere
-- Even Jesus taught us this and told us how to respond when God speaks
-- Matt 10:28, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
-- Now, don’t miss this … even in punishment … God is still merciful
5. Sin allows us to see God is still a giver of mercy (v15-16)
- God decreed that vengeance was not to be executed upon Cain by anyone
-- He gives Cain a mark, a physical mark, to be identified as protected by God
- Even deeper, it is a warning against all those who might seek to do harm
-- Why? Vengeance is to be handed-out by God, it’s not for mankind to seek
-- Deut 32:35, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back. In due time their feet will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive, and their destiny will overtake them.”
- Society began much like it exists today – choices, sin, and failure to repent
-- But we must see that we don’t need to continue like this! We CAN choose!
- Must see that God is still calling us to repent, He still desires to commune with us
-- And it is our sinful nature/decision that keeps us from Him (it’s always a choice)
-- I wonder, if we CHOSE to be with Him, to see how good He is, would we?
- Pray for:
• Lives that desire to follow God’s calling … fully submitting to His call
• Willingness to admit when we sin, and go to Him YOUR SIN IS NOT TO BIG FOR GOD TO FORGIVE!
