Genesis 2:4-4:26, God’s Promise of Hope Amidst Man’s Rebellion

Introduction

Good morning, beloved! It is a wonderful joy for us to gather once again and open God’s Word together. If you have a Bible, please open with me to Genesis 2. Last week we began a new series through the book of Genesis. Over the next couple of months we will do a sort of macro-study of this wonderful book together. In doing this survey from 30,000 feet, I want us to see together the glorious riches of who God is and what He is doing in the world for His own glory and the joy of His people.

I want us to know Him, love Him, and delight in Him all the more as we see Him revealed in Scripture and see how all of His redemptive plans and purposes find their ultimate fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. This morning we continue our study by looking at Genesis 2 through Genesis 4.

Normally we first read through the entire passage up front. We will read the entire passage this morning, but we will do so piece by piece throughout our time together this morning. So, let’s begin by praying and asking the Lord to help us understand and apply His Word to our life and ministry together.

PRAY

“I don’t understand.” Perhaps you have heard this common refrain from others when tragedy strikes or when challenges arise. Perhaps you have even said this yourself. There’s an unsettling diagnosis; a great act of violence or injustice; the loss of a loved one to the ravages of death––and we either say or hear those puzzled and hopeless words––”I just don’t understand. How could this happen? Why are things the way they are in my life and in this world we live in?”

If you are not a Christian, the passage we are looking at this morning gives a clear answer to those all too common questions. If you are a Christian, you should already know the answer to that question. It has been said that in order to find a solution to a problem the first step is admitting that you have a problem. Part of our conversion experience and becoming a Christian begins by acknowledging our fundamental problem. Only then are we able to properly take hold of God’s gracious provision in Christ.

Whether a Christian or not, we all know the importance of having a right diagnosis in any sphere of life. When it comes to medical diagnoses, we value a good doctor who is diligent to make a right diagnosis of our ailments so that they can make the right prescription to help us get better. We would rightly be frustrated by a doctor who prescribes flu medication for a heart disease or for chronic back pain. A right diagnosis of the problem is necessary for a right solution to the problem. A problem cannot be solved by throwing just any solution at it.

And yet that is exactly what many do in our day who have not given heed to what is revealed to us in this passage. We understand the importance of right diagnosis when it comes to physical problems and ailments. But sadly too many of us do not understand the greater significance of a right spiritual diagnosis.

All religions and secular ideologies have tried to diagnose what is wrong with humanity and the world in which we live. And they all have come up with a number of solutions. “We just need to be good for goodness sake.” “We just need to do more good than bad.” “We just need to acquire more knowledge and develop more advanced technology.” The suggestions go on and on. But God has given us these chapters in Genesis so that we would know what our real problem is as well as the pervasive depth of our problem. He even gives us the first hint of the solution.

Why did God give His people this passage through Moses? So they would understand why evil exists and know their desperate condition as sinners and look confidently to the Lord for deliverance. That is exactly why we too need God’s Word that is given to us here in Genesis 2 through 4.

Main Point––Look to God’s Word to know what was meant to be, to know what is wrong with us and the world, and to foster hope in God’s gracious and merciful provision for us in Christ.

If you’re taking notes that’s our outline:

What Was Meant To Be (Genesis 2:4-25)

What is Wrong With Us and the World (Genesis 3:1-4:1-26)

God’s Gracious and Merciful Provision (Gen. 3:15, 21; 4:25-26)

What Was Meant To Be

Before we can truly appreciate the depth and significance of our problem, we should first consider what was meant to be. God gives us a wonderful picture of how things were supposed to be as we look at Genesis 2:4-25. Follow along with me as I read those verses for us.

READ Genesis 2:4-25

Notice how this section begins–– “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created...” That phrase will appear in a similar way at various points throughout the book of Genesis. We’ll see it next week when we begin with Genesis 5. It is the author’s way of providing structure to the entire book. So, everything from Genesis 2:4 through the end of Genesis 4 was intended by the author to be seen as one literary unit.

Another thing we should note about what we just read is that this is not a new development in God’s creation activity. Rather, it is a literary flashback to the creation events of day 6 with particular attention given to God’s creation of mankind. We’re being given a more in depth account of that very significant time in creation which helps further elaborate God’s good purpose for His image bearers. That’s the first thing we’ll note together from this chapter.

God’s Good Purpose

Back in Chapter 1, we saw the narrator regularly referred to our Creator as God. We are given this picture of a transcendent sovereign Creator that rules over all of creation. But, then, there’s a slight shift when we get into Genesis 2. The Creator is not just referred to as God. He is referred to as the LORD God. We are introduced to God’s covenant name––Yahweh. Not only is our Creator a transcendent sovereign who rules us and all things. He is also personal and immanent.

He is not some vague unknown powerful force at work behind all things. While certainly transcendent and all-powerful, He is also a personal being who intends to draw near in covenant fellowship with His image bearers. As I said last week, God did not need us. He did not create us because He was lonely. He chose to create us for His own glory. He chose to create us and have fellowship with us, that we might glorify Him and enjoy Him. In that, he gave us a particular function as His representatives in close fellowship with Him.

Last week, as we looked at chapter 1 we gave particular attention to man’s kingly role. As God’s image bearers we are emblems of the King of heaven, commissioned to rule on his behalf over all creation and display His glory. Now, here in chapter 2, we’re given another dimension of God’s good purpose for His image bearers. We see in Genesis 2:15 that after the man was formed––“The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

Contrary to what many might want to believe, the requirement to work is not a result of the Fall. Human beings were created and intended to work as stewards and caretakers of God’s good creation. Productive work as God’s image bearers has always been a part of God’s good intended purpose for us to represent Him and bring Him glory in this world.

Now those particular verbs––work and keep––are quite interesting. The verb “work” also means “serve” and the verb “keep” also means “guard.” Both verbs were used for the Levitical priests in relation to their serving in the Tabernacle. They were to “serve” God in His sanctuary. They were also said to “guard” the Tabernacle by carefully observing religious commands and duties as well as guarding it from intruders. Whereas Chapter 1 emphasized man’s kingly role, chapter 2 adds to it our priestly role.

Not only that, notice in verse 16 that God gives a command to the man. He says, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” This will become all the more clear in the coming verses. What we will see is this command does not stay with the man only. God would create a helper fit for him––woman––and the command is also passed on to her.

God gave a command––His Word––to the man who was to communicate that word to other image bearers. We’ve seen a kingly role in which man is given dominion over all creation to rule and subdue it on God’s behalf. We’ve seen a priestly role in which man was to work and keep the garden-temple of Eden in service to God. Now we see a prophet-like role in the responsibility to obey and communicate God’s Word to others. That was God’s good intended purpose for man.

God’s Perfect Provision

We also see God’s perfect provision in what was meant to be. First, and most obvious, is the provision of life. Verse 7 tells us, “the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” God formed him. God breathed into him. God gave him life––physical, mental, and spiritual life. Every capacity he would need to represent God in creation as prophet, priest, and king.

God’s perfect provision included a lavish place of abundance to live. Verse 8––“the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.” The name “Eden” communicated the sense of luxury, or pleasure. The first Greek translation of the Old Testament used the word “paradeisos (which is where our English word “paradise” comes from) to translate the Hebrew term for garden, communicating the idea that this was a royal park. Our God is not a killjoy! He wanted us to delight in Him and His good creation.

God provided an idyllic and luxurious garden setting for man to dwell with Him. In it he also provided an abundance of resources at the man’s disposal. There was the provision of “every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” He was only restricted from one specific tree. There was an abundance of water as we see four of them named in verses 10-14. There’s mention of other resources––gold, bdellium, and onyx stone.

Then there is the provision of complementary human companionship. Look at verse 18–– “Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’” After the man had named all the creatures of the earth––another demonstration of his God-given authority––God caused a deep sleep to overcome him. While he slept, he took one of his ribs and made it into a woman and brought her to the man as his wife.

We have the first marriage here. It was given and intended to be the closest and most intimate of human relationships. So much so that it is said to be a “one-flesh” union. It would even supersede that of one’s relationship to parents as the wife now becomes the man’s primary responsibility of love, care, and provision. Nothing was to come in between and separate this perfect union which God had created for His glory and their joy together in Him.

God’s Wise Prohibition

Real quick, we must note God’s Wise Prohibition. We glanced at it a few moments ago, but let’s revisit for a moment verses 16 and 17. He gave them every tree in the garden for food except one. Why did God put such a tree there––the tree of the knowledge of good and evil––and then forbid it? We’re not given an answer explicitly in the text, so we should be cautious if and how we answer that. We certainly must not charge God with any wrongdoing. He does not and cannot sin. It is against his very nature.

A couple of others I read during the week have said it was there as a test. A reminder of God’s authority over them and His abundant goodness to them. Would they submit to His good and wise authority as the Sovereign Creator over all? Would they content themselves in Him and His abundant and perfect provisions for them? Would they trust Him and His good character and love for them in all that He had done for them and given to them?

He may have created us as His image bearers to represent Him and serve as prophet, priest, and king in creation. But such a role was to be carried out under His authority and for His glory. Would man submit to His good, wise, and sovereign purposes for His glory? Or would man try to usurp God’s glory in pursuit of his own glory? Chapter 3 answers that question for us. It explains to us what is wrong with us and all the world.

What Is Wrong With Us and the World

Beloved, be very careful of believing that your sin is a result of being in a bad situation or poor circumstances. We’ve seen that our first parents, Adam and Eve, had perfect fellowship with God and one another in a luxurious garden paradise. They had it all. But that could not stop what we see happen in Genesis 3.

READ Genesis 3:1-24

Sin Pervasively Corrupts the Human Condition

The first thing we must note from this passage is that sin pervasively corrupts the human condition. The serpent comes on the scene. We’re not given any details about his origin, nor do we need to be. God has given us all that we need to know. The serpent comes on the scene and it doesn’t take long to figure out that there is evil at work in his intentions. Right there in the very first verse he asks a question about what God had said.

He deliberately twists what God had actually said and he does so in a way as to sow doubt in the woman’s mind––“did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?” Sadly, in her attempt to correct the serpent, she herself misrepresents God’s command by adding to it. The command was to not eat of the forbidden tree, but she adds not touching it as well. Then, the serpent gets even bolder by outright contradicting what God said would happen if they ate from that tree.

God said the penalty would be death and the serpent tells her in verse 4, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Isn’t that the very essence at the heart of all temptation? “God’s lying to you! He’s keeping good things from you! You can’t trust Him. He just doesn’t want you to be like him. He doesn’t want any competition! Don’t listen to him. Take what belongs to you. You deserve it!”

They bought the lie––hook, line, and sinker. The woman saw that it was good for food and a delight to the eyes and that it was desired to make one wise. Rather than turn away, she fixated on it. She bought into the promise of the lying serpent, rather than believing the promises of God. Sin is deceptively appealing isn’t it? It looks good in the moment. Perhaps even feels justifiably right. But it always fails to deliver what it promises. Where it promises life and joy, it only really brings chaos, ruin, and death.

The woman ate. Where was Adam? Remarkably, right there with her. The woman gave him some to eat and he did. He failed to rule over the creature who was deceiving him. He failed to keep and guard God’s good creation from the serpent's crafty deception. Failed to protect his wife. Failed to honor God’s Word. A complete and total failure as God’s prophet, priest, and king. And the consequences were immediate and drastic.

Their eyes opened––they are exposed, they are afraid, and they are ashamed. Try as they may to cover up what they had done, their efforts failed. Our sin will always find us out. We cannot hide. Our all-knowing ever-present Creator knows and sees everything. They could not hide. In his sin, man does not seek after God. He runs to the shadows and tries to take cover on his own. But God, being rich in mercy, reaches out to seek and to save the lost.

Though the relationship was fractured, God tenderly sought out Adam and Eve. And He questions Adam. He already knew what happened. He didn’t need to ask. But our God is gracious and merciful. Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He’s giving the man an opportunity to own his sin and confess it. From there the blame game erupts. We often note the man blames the woman. But it’s actually worse than that. He blames God! Did you catch that? He says to God, “the woman whom YOU gave to be with me!”

How many of us here this morning have done the same. We’re in our sin, we know we’re guilty. But rather than own it we defy the Creator and blame Him for the circumstances that, from our twisted perspective, caused us to sin. Such is the corrupting extent and influence of sin on the human heart. We see ourselves as victims of external factors and circumstances when really the problem is with our own sinful hearts. We sin because we ourselves are sinners. We’re no different than Adam and Eve once sin gave way in them.

The blame game continued. The woman blamed the serpent. Then God’s just punishment is handed down beginning with the serpent. From now on he will be looked on with contempt. He was crafty above all, but now he is cursed above all. There will be enmity between his offspring and the woman’s offspring down through the ages. The woman is cursed with painful childbearing, striking at the very heart of what makes her distinct from man as the “mother of all living.”

There is also the curse of marital strife. She will compete with her husband for headship in their relationship. She will “desire” to oppose Adam and assert leadership over him, contradicting God’s plan for Adam’s leadership in marriage. Adam will abandon his God ordained role of leading, guarding, and caring for his wife, and give in to a distorted desire for “domineering rule” over Eve.

The man is cursed with difficulty that will accompany his work. Remember it is not work that is the curse. Work was part of God’s good purpose for man before the Fall. The curse is that the work will be difficult and toilsome. Rather than enjoying the abundant provisions of the garden of Eden, Adam will have to painfully work and struggle for his food. He will have to work the very ground from which he was made. The very ground to which he would return one day when he died.

It was a terrible price to pay. The exact opposite of what was intended. Both man and woman failed to honor and glorify God as His representatives in creation. And God was faithful to his promise. They ate of the forbidden tree and they died as a result. First, spiritually. Sin totally corrupted their entire person. Their very nature as human beings was tainted with sin such that everything about them––every word, thought, and deed––would be tainted with the stain of sin. Put out of the garden––the divine sanctuary––they would both, years later, taste physical death.

This is why things are the way they are now, beloved. This is why we experience difficulty ruling over creation. This is why we experience work difficulty and economic hardship. This is why we experience difficulty in our marriages and relational strife with one another. This is why we experience pain and difficulty in having children. This is why we experience the suffocating influence of indwelling sin and temptation. This is why we experience life filled with pain and suffering and hardship all the way up to the day we die.

This is why we feel alienated from God and from one another. There is mercy to be found in this passage. We’ll see that in a moment. First we need to continue on into Genesis 4 to fully appreciate how terrible the Fall was. How pervasive its effects were. So pervasive in fact that it transcends generations.

Sin Permeates Through All Generations

That’s what we see in the account of Cain and Abel. We learn that the depth and problem of sin is not unique to Adam and Eve. Their sinful nature will now be passed down to all human beings who would follow. Though we still have the capacity for good, as God’s image bearers, we must recognize that mankind is not fundamentally good. We are corrupted with a sin nature that runs deep. It is now an intricate part woven into the very fabric and DNA of our existence. Sin permeates through all generations.

READ Genesis 4:1-26

What we just read is an extension of what preceded it in Genesis 3. In it we see the depth and pervasiveness of sin in humanity as a result of the Fall. In the opening verses we see a sort of dutiful indifference toward God as well as jealousy on the part of Cain. Why did God have regard for Abel and His offering, but not Cain and his offering?

It isn’t because of the work they do and the kind of offering they made. It's not so much that Cain’s offering from his fields was lesser than Abel’s offering from his flock. The Law given later by Moses prescribed grain offerings at times for certain reasons. There’s a couple of things to note. For one, it seems that Abel’s offering was the best he had to offer. The cream of the crop. The firstborn from the flock. But Cain’s, it seems, was sort of an afterthought. There’s no indication he brought the firstfruits or the best he had to offer.

We also learn in Hebrews 11:4 that Abel gave his offering in faith. By implication, Cain did not. He didn’t value God––worshiping Him and coming before Him––in the same way that Abel did who apparently saw God worthy to be worshiped and to receive the best he had. In faith, Abel offered the best he had to offer knowing that everything he had ultimately belonged to the LORD. Cain, however, was jealous for himself and kept the best for himself. What he did give was out of a sense of forced and dutiful obligation. Joyless and faithless obedience, which of course is really no obedience at all.

So, God favored Abel and his sacrifice. And Cain couldn’t handle it. His reaction is one of envy and rage and it offers us a glimpse into the actions of the sinful and self-righteous heart of man when we are passed over for the blessing and favor of another. We may not react in outward violence the way Cain did toward Abel. But what about the inward seething, and jealousy, and hatred we harbor when passed over? The kind that Jesus says does in fact make us guilty of murder.

Beloved, we must beware of our own sense of self-righteousness and self-pity that leads us to react as Cain did, either inwardly or outwardly. God sought to correct Cain in his self-righteousness. But despite God’s gracious warning, he murdered his brother in cold blood. Then, when God graciously confronted him––giving the opportunity for confession––Cain boldly lies and rejects any responsibility for the well-being of his brother. But God knows. He knows and sees all. And the punishment was severe.

Did you notice what caused Cain’s grief? This is just as tragic as his murder of Abel. His response isn’t one of remorse over offending God. He doesn’t weep for the blood of His brother and the heartache it must have caused his parents. He says, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.” He’s upset over the consequences for his sin, not the sin itself. It is the first recorded instance of what the apostle Paul later referred to as “worldly sorrow” in 2 Corinthians 7, which only leads to death.

When you sin, beloved, there will always be consequences. But, when you sin, are you more grieved by the consequences? Or are you more grieved at having offended a holy God and the pain you have caused others? There is a vast difference between the two. Between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow. The former leads to death. The latter one produces repentance that leads to salvation. Oh that we would be a people who are far more grieved at our offense to God. Who are less concerned about the consequences we bear for our sin.

Even with the consequences he faced, Cain was a recipient of God’s common grace. He married. He had children and grandchildren. He and his offspring were productive. Building cities. Managing livestock. Producing instruments and tools and weapons. But that didn’t erase the sin nature that pervasively continued down through the generations.

We see this man, Lamech, who descended from Cain. He corrupts God’s good design of monogamous marriage between one man and one woman by taking two wives. He also murders and boasts about it. On and on the downward spiral of sin continues throughout the human race. It continues on from there throughout the rest of the Bible. It still pervades our very existence today in each and every one of our lives. Is there any hope? Can we glean any hope from the texts before us this morning? Absolutely!

God’s Gracious and Merciful Provision

Having felt the overwhelming destruction of sin and the Fall in our passage this morning you may be feeling a little parched. These are hard things to dwell on, but we must dwell on them. Nevertheless, we cannot end in the dry and weary land of sin and rebellion. Before we end I want us to drink deeply from the infinite well of God’s grace that permeates the entire passage. We have hope because of God’s gracious and merciful provision that is demonstrated in these very verses. I’ll quickly draw your attention to three things and then we’re done.

First, did you notice the incredible promise that God made even as he was pronouncing judgment on the man and woman back in Genesis 3? Not only did God allow them to live instead of striking them dead right then. He also ensured that they would have children. He spoke of the woman’s offspring that would be at enmity with the offspring of the serpent. Though the serpent’s offspring would bruise the heel of the woman’s offspring, her offspring would prevail over the serpent by bruising his head.

This has been known throughout the church age as the protoevangelium, or the first promise of the gospel. This promise can be traced and is worked out all through the rest of the Bible, down through the ages. We learn in Revelation 12 that the serpent is none other than the Devil and Satan himself. His offspring are all of those who throughout time and history have stood opposed to God and His people.

Second, we see God’s provision to cover man’s guilt. Adam and Eve tried to cover themselves with fig leaves, but it was insufficient. We are totally incapable of covering our own guilt and shame before the Lord. Before sending them out of the garden, in Genesis 3:21, he provided them garments of skins to clothe them. This would have certainly involved the death of an animal. This is the first hint we have of substitutionary atonement. The shedding of blood is the penalty for our sin.

Third, the woman clearly was holding on to the promise of offspring who would bruise the serpent's head. She rejoiced at the births of Cain and Abel. But Cain revealed himself to be of the line and lineage of the serpent when he murdered Abel. Abel was dead and left no offspring of his own. But God was faithful to preserve the line. He gave her another son, named Seth. And more children came after him. And at that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD. Which is simply to say they worshipped him and called out to him in prayer.

They began to seek the LORD in worship, longing for the fulfillment of His promise to crush the head of the serpent through the woman’s offspring. And one day the offspring of the woman, the promised One, the LORD Jesus Christ, came and lived the life we were supposed to live in glad submission to the Father. Unblemished by the stain of sin. He then died the death we all deserve for our sin. Then he rose from the grave.

In all of this he defeated sin, death, and the grave. He crushed the serpent’s head. He is the perfect unblemished image of the invisible God. He is the great Prophet, Priest, and King that we all need. Only His blood can atone for our sin. Only His righteousness provides sufficient covering for our guilt and shame before God. And it is ours only by faith in Him and His finished work on the cross

Conclusion

Beloved, Christ and Christ alone is our only hope in life and in death. He is the promised provision for our greatest need. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All of us are in need of forgiveness. It is not something you can earn on your own merit. It is not something you can find anywhere else. You can find mercy and forgiveness for all of your sin by faith alone in Christ alone. By resting in the finished work of Christ.

One day, when Christ returns, you will live to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. Just the way God intended. But you must come to Him in repentance and faith. That is my hope for everyone here this morning. This is the great hope we sing about and will sing about for all eternity as those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. While we wait and as we long for that final day of redemption…

Look to God’s Word to know what was meant to be, to know what is wrong with us and the world, and to foster hope in God’s gracious and merciful provision for us in Christ.