Sons of Men
Notes
Transcript
No one would deny that American cultural values have drastically changed in the last fifty years. While some would argue that these changes are not necessarily bad, Christians driven by a biblical worldview would have a hard time endorsing the changes we have seen. Nearly half of children are born to unmarried mothers. Divorce rates have risen to almost half of all marriages. Gender distinctions are being diminished or ignored all together. Marriage has been completely redefined. And violence has drifted from the toughest neighborhoods to affect suburban and rural schools. While we as believers would agree that these changes are negative, we must also affirm that they are not unexpected because we know that human hearts are inherently wicked from birth.
Following humanity’s sin and banishment from the garden of Eden. Rebellion progressed to murder quite quickly, as Cain refused to repent of his anger and pride. Then, after God banished him from the community of the living; we find that he left God and settled in the land of wanderers on the other side of Eden from the rest of the community. That is where we pick up the story in
16 Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. 17 Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son. 18 Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael became the father of Methushael, and Methushael became the father of Lamech. 19 Lamech took to himself two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22 As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. 23 Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, Listen to my voice, You wives of Lamech, Give heed to my speech, For I have killed a man for wounding me; And a boy for striking me; 24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
gen 4:16-
The Bible records the birth of Cain’s son and Cain’s city, but from there we get only a list of generations until Lamech. Why is this? Well, I believe we find the reason in what Lamech says and does. He marries two wives then sings them a song about killing at least one man, maybe two. In this we see something of nature of sin’s progression. It took one generation for murder to enter society, but then it takes four generations for obvious evidence of sin’s continued progression. The progression of sin will sometimes progress quickly, while other times slowly, but its progress is sure.
This fact should give us pause, for we are faced with a situation with little hope. Because sin is in us from the start and because sin progresses in our hearts, lives, and cultures, we must come to realize that without divine intervention we will never see this progression of sin restrained. Just as American culture has worsened over the last two-and-a-half centuries after being founded on Judeo-Christian ethics, we must recognize that left to ourselves and without dependence on God, our personal lives and families will turn out the same way.
It is this truth that I want you take home with you this morning: Sin will grow progressively worse within human culture; therefore, we must call on the name of the Lord.
Sin will grow progressively worse within human culture; therefore, we must call on the name of the Lord.
Sin will grow progressively worse within human culture; therefore, we must call on the name of the Lord.
Sin will grow progressively worse within human culture; therefore, we must call on the name of the Lord.
Sin will grow progressively worse within human culture; therefore, we must call on the name of the Lord.
Why must we call on the name of the Lord in the midst of a progressively worsening culture? While this genealogy doesn’t reveal every way that sin grows progressively worse within human culture, we can see two specific ways sin progresses in human culture emphasizing how much we need God. So I’d like to talk to you about these two ways in the rest of our time. First,
Two ways in which sin grows progressively worse in human culture emphasizes our need for God.
Sin grows progressively worse in its pride and self-dependence.
Sin grows progressively worse in its pride and self-dependence (v16-23a).
Sin grows progressively worse in its pride and self-dependence (v16-23a).
Since we’ve already read the passage once, I am going to point out to you how pride begins in Cain’s family and progresses until Lamech. We first encounter Cain’s pride in his interactions with God earlier in the chapter. When God confronts Cain in v7 Cain seems to be thinking he was above correction.
7 “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
God tried to warn Cain about the dangerous path he was walking, but proud Cain ignored God’s warning and was devoured by sin. Cain’s pride is also seen in his whining about the punishment he has to face being too great for him in v13. It shows that he was too proud to repent and turn back to God.
“Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from Your face I will be hidden, and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to bear!
But Cain’s pride doesn’t stop there. These early chapters of Genesis develop a theme of God’s glory vs man’s glory. We’ll see this in later chapters as well. But let me walk you through this development; it begins in 1:26
It shows that he didn’t realize what God had done for him.
It shows that he didn’t realize what God had done for him.
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
God determined to make humanity in His own image as a vice-regent of God’s rule over creation. This was to make His name known throughout His creation. Then in chapter 3 we see the snake questioning God’s goodness in this purpose. In the snake insinuates that man can make a name for himself as he paints God as petty and selfish for making His own name and glory known. Listen to what he says,
5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
gen 3
Motivated by a desire to be like God and to make a name for themselves, Adam and Eve submit to the temptation and eat the fruit.
Fast-forward to chapter 4 and the birth of Cain’s son Enoch. Cain attempts to immortalize his own greatness by creating a city and then naming the city after his own son. This is in v17
17 Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son.
Both Cain’s city and its name reveals that he was more interested in making a name for himself, than he was in making God’s name great.
This same sin progresses to Lamech and his children. Lamech shows his own pride and self-dependence when he marries two women, blatantly spurning God’s design for marriage. From these marriages Lamech has three sons and a daughter, and each of his sons is noted for beginning certain trades. Look at v20-22
21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22 As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22 As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
I’m not really interested in all that they did; however, as a side note: it is interesting to note that very early in human history they were forging implements from both bronze and iron, a fact that reveals how intelligent and resourceful the first generations of humanity were in spite of the fact that our world thinks we are continuing to evolve; I think there is more evidence that humans are devolving than evolving, but that’s a discussion for another time.
What’s more important though is how they were known for what they did. They were identified by their jobs; rather than by their relationship with God. This reveals their self-dependent pride. These men didn’t praise God for providing them with the intelligence or resources to accomplish these tasks; instead they made their own names great based on their accomplishments.
Which leads us then to the last evidence of pride, Lamech’s song which he sings to his wives in v23-24.
24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
23 Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, Listen to my voice, You wives of Lamech, Give heed to my speech, For I have killed a man for wounding me; And a boy for striking me; 24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
It is very interesting that Lamech feels the need to sing a song about his exploits. He does this to impress women (his wives) and to brag about what he’s done (killed at least one, maybe two people). Cain set up a lasting memorial to his name by naming his city after his son; then his progeny sings a lasting memorial to his own name.
It is very interesting that Lamech feels the need to sing a song about his exploits, and that he does it to impress women (his wives) and to brag about what he’s done (his murder). Cain set up a lasting memorial to his name by naming his city after his son, but his sin progresses until his progeny is singing a lasting memorial to his own name.
The implications of this are profound: Who are you trying to make a name for? Yourself or God?
When you come to corporate worship with the people of God, to whom are you trying to draw attention? If you dress flamboyantly or immodestly so that people notice you instead of the work of God in your heart, then you’ve come to worship yourself and make your name great instead of God’s. If you spend most of the service talking or texting with your friends, you are distracting them from the worship of God; you are drawing their attention away from God and toward yourself. If you are constantly getting up and down in the service, to get a drink, go to the bathroom, or do whatever, you are distracting people from worshipping God and ultimately drawing attention to yourself. I’m not saying by doing these things you are consciously trying to make a name for yourself, but I am saying that whenever we draw attention to ourselves instead of pointing them to God, you are guilty of the sin of Cain’s line.
Let me also add that this applies to life beyond the gathering of the church. If you maintain your lawn to be respected in your neighborhood; if you work hard to be noticed by your boss and get a raise; or if you raise your kids so that they won’t embarrass you, you’re guilty of the same. This attitude affects all of our lives. It’s evident in the way and what we post on social media and the way we long for attention. It’s evident in the way we brag about our achievements and in the way we look down on those who don’t have a prestigious job or the right clothes or the latest gadgets. It’s evident in how we believe the laws of human nature can be defeated with Botox and hair coloring products. In our self-important culture we believe that we are the royalty of humanity and our mere presence should be met with rousing applause. This is the progression of a narcissistic culture that encourages self-promotion and independence from God, and we are buying in.
If that wasn’t enough, let me ask you this: When you tell people who you are, is your identity more sourced in what you do than who you are in Christ? This is a tough one. Think about how you would respond if someone asked you, “Who are you?” I would say, “I’m Rory Martin, I’m the pastor of Liberty Baptist Church in Eden Prairie, MN. I'd probably also mention my wife and kids, but I rarely, if ever, mention I’m a child of God. I am self-reliant, self-dependent. I take credit for what I am instead of giving God credit for giving me what I have and making me what I am.
But while pride and self-dependence are one evidence of sin’s progression in the line of Cain, we can see a second as well. We see also that sin grows progressively worse in its violence and self-destruction.
But while pride and self-dependence are one evidence of sin’s progression in the line of Cain, we can see a second as well. We see also that sin grows progressively worse in its violence and self-destruction.
Sin grows progressively worse in its violence and self-destruction.
Sin grows progressively worse in its violence and self-destruction (v23b-24).
Sin grows progressively worse in its violence and self-destruction (v23b-24).
Let me read Lamech’s song to you again.
23 Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, Listen to my voice, You wives of Lamech, Give heed to my speech, For I have killed a man for wounding me; And a boy for striking me; 24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
When we even hear the name Cain, we immediately associate it with murder, but he’s not even the worst murderer in his family tree? Some debate surrounds Lamech’s song; notice the apparent parallelism of each set of two lines in v23:
Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice;
You wives of Lamech, give heed to my speech.
For I have killed a man for wounding me,
And a boy for striking me.
Because of the obvious parallelism of the first two lines, we assume that the same parallelism is in the second two lines; thus the last line of v23 is assumed to parallel the third line. However, nowhere else in Old Testament poetry are the words for man and boy juxtaposed in this way to refer to same person. It seems that instead of speaking of killing one person, Lamech is bragging about killing two different people, and a boy at that. And it seems like he’s looking for reasons to hurt people because he kills people for merely wounding and bruising him. He even mocks God by claiming the right to be avenged eleven times more than Cain was.
Sin was progressing in Cain’s line; things weren’t getting better.
The implications might be a bit harder for us to identify here because we don’t consider ourselves violent, but let me tell you a story of a church fight in Jonesboro, AR that reveals how much we share this tendency to allow violence to progress in our hearts:
Joe Jeffers, an actor-comedian turned traveling evangelist, was invited by First Baptist Church to hold tent revival meetings in June 1930. He became so popular that when the pastor of First Baptist resigned in August, the congregation called him to be their pastor. But a large faction of the church claimed to be misrepresented, so Jeffers stepped down to let the congregation sort it out. Eventually, they chose Dow Heard as their pastor, and Jeffers left town.
But one year later Jeffers returned for more meetings in which he accused Pastor Heard and the mayor of immorality. This led to a brawl between Jeffers’s and Heard’s supporters. One Jeffers supporter was arrested for inciting the brawl, but when the trial began, Jeffers led a prayer meeting at the courthouse in protest. He prayed for God to strike the mayor dead, leading his supporters to attack the mayor and police chief. This violence persuaded the governor to deploy troops to Jonesboro for five days to help keep the peace, but as soon as they left, the violence restarted as someone dropped a tear-gas bomb outside Jeffers’s revival tent.
Tensions continued leading to 21 of Jeffers’s supporters being expelled from First Baptist and Jeffers’s tent was burned down. In response, Jeffers built a building and started Jonesboro Baptist Church for his followers. Not long after this, Jeffers left again, and his church called Dale Crowley, but less than a year later, Jeffers returned again, demanding his church back. Now the attacks against Jeffers were spearheaded by Crowley. Sometimes, the two factions of this new church would hold services at the same time, with two sermons and two choirs going simultaneously. The violence continued to escalate until finally, the two men decided to let the courts decide, and they did, in favor of Crowley.
When Crowley went to claim possession of the building the next day, he ended up in a shootout with Jeffers’s hired watchman. Crowley was unharmed, but his bodyguard (an interesting thing for a pastor to need) was injured and the watchman died.
The next day, when Crowley went to claim possession of the tabernacle, he found himself in a shootout with J. W. McMurdo, whom the Jeffers faction had hired as a watchman and janitor. Crowley was unharmed, but his bodyguard, L. H. Kayre, was wounded; McMurdo was shot twice in the legs and once in the abdomen and died later. Crowley was arrested and, at his October 14 hearing, claimed to have acted in self-defense. On October 17, an unknown assailant tried to assassinate Crowley by thrusting the barrel of a machine gun through the bars of his cell at the Craighead County Jail and firing; Crowley was not harmed. His trial began on January 3, 1934, in Piggott (Clay County), the venue having been changed because of the emotional climate in Jonesboro. After four days, Crowley was acquitted on the murder charge and set free.
In August 1931, Jeffers announced that he would return to Jonesboro to inaugurate an ongoing revival meeting. His sermons included prophetic warnings that the Second Coming was to occur in May 1932, as well as charges of immoral conduct against Heard and Mayor Herbert J. Bosler. On September 9, a brawl occurred at First Baptist Church between supporters of Jeffers and Heard. George L. Cox Jr., a supporter of Jeffers, was arrested and charged with being the aggressor; he was scheduled to be tried the next day. The morning of the trial, Jeffers led a large group of followers to the courthouse in protest; during a prayer there, he asked God to strike the mayor dead, and his supporters physically attacked Bosler and Police Chief W. C. Craig.
To restore order, Governor Harvey Parnell authorized the use of troops stationed at Arkansas State College (now Arkansas State University), reinforced by other troops from around the state. Until they were withdrawn on September 14, the soldiers stationed themselves throughout town, mostly near Jeffers’s tent, which at times held 5,000 people. Two days after the soldiers left, someone dropped a tear-gas bomb outside Jeffers’s tent; each faction blamed the other. Tensions grew between the two Baptist factions until twenty-one followers of Jeffers were expelled from First Baptist and, on October 25, Jeffers’s revival tent was burned down. But the preacher had already planned to establish a tabernacle, named the Jonesboro Baptist Church, at Matthews and Cobb streets, and soon his congregation was meeting there.
Shortly after the church was built, Jeffers left again, and at his suggestion, the church hired as its pastor Dale Crowley of Denton, Texas. Eleven months later, Jeffers returned to Jonesboro and demanded his church back. He had veered from his fundamentalist beliefs, and he and Crowley fought as much over theology as over the control of the church. Sometimes, the two factions of this new church would hold services at the same time, with two sermons and two choirs going simultaneously. After an August 14, 1933, scuffle in which a fistfight occurred and shotguns were brandished, the two men decided to leave the matter to the courts. On October 9, 1933, the Chancery Court ruled in Crowley’s favor.
The next day, when Crowley went to claim possession of the tabernacle, he found himself in a shootout with J. W. McMurdo, whom the Jeffers faction had hired as a watchman and janitor. Crowley was unharmed, but his bodyguard, L. H. Kayre, was wounded; McMurdo was shot twice in the legs and once in the abdomen and died later. Crowley was arrested and, at his October 14 hearing, claimed to have acted in self-defense. On October 17, an unknown assailant tried to assassinate Crowley by thrusting the barrel of a machine gun through the bars of his cell at the Craighead County Jail and firing; Crowley was not harmed. His trial began on January 3, 1934, in Piggott (Clay County), the venue having been changed because of the emotional climate in Jonesboro. After four days, Crowley was acquitted on the murder charge and set free.
Jeffers left for Miami, Florida, shortly after the shooting and later renounced his Baptist ministry, becoming a leader of the Pyramid Power Yahweh group and a self-proclaimed prophet in Missouri. Heard and Crowley soon left Jonesboro, too, but the absence of the chief figures in the conflict did little to alleviate people’s strong opinions of them.
If we don’t guard our hearts from this kind of anger (even or especially within the body of Christ), violence and self-destruction will be the eventual result.
The evidence of sin’s progressive nature should drive us to call on the name of the Lord for help.
The evidence of sin’s progressive nature should drive us to call on the name of the Lord for help.
Do you notice the stark contrast between Cain’s line and what is recorded in v25-26?
25 Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, “God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.” 26 To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.
We see evidence of faith in Eve as she praises God provision of Seth in the place of Abel. And we see the strong dependence on God because people began to call on the name of the Lord. This calling upon the name of the Lord is an important concept in the Old Testament. According to Leonard Coppes, “Usually, the context has to do with a critical or chronic need. The godly recognize the presence of original sin by their continual calling on God. God responds to all who thus call on him.” As makes this clear
18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
Usually, the context has to do with a critical (, [H 8]) or chronic need (e.g., after Cain killed Abel, man realized the full effects of the curse and began to call on God’s name–). The godly recognize the presence of original sin by their continual calling on God (; ; ). God responds to all who thus call on him (). They saw their sin, and they begged God to help them in it.
). They saw their sin, and they begged God to help them in it.
So in contrast to Cain’s line, Seth’s line saw their sinfulness and begged God to help them in it. This is our only hope as we grow increasingly aware of the progressively worsening sin in our lives and in the culture around us.
Let me ask you this, believer, are you more likely to look down your nose at the evils around you or to let those evils drive you to your knees as you recognize your own propensity to such sin? To look with pride at the evil around us, whether in our culture, in our church, or in our homes, is to reek of the same pride that Cain and the Pharisees had. records Jesus condemning the pride of the Pharisees, and it drove them to violence evidence in their unjust treatment of Jesus whom they crucified. Instead of thinking we are better than those around us, wouldn’t we do better following the example of Seth’s line and humbly recognizing that everything in all of humanity is in us and calling on the name of the Lord? If anyone could have justified this thinking it would be Seth’s line because they contrasted so strongly with Cain’s evil line, but instead of inflating with pride, they humbly called on the name of the Lord. Believer humble yourself and call on God for deliverance from your own progressively worsening sin.
But maybe you’re here, and you’ve never called on the name of the Lord. Let me tell you that there is hope in the midst of sin’s progressive growth. Perhaps you are already aware in some way of how bad you are. Let me affirm that the Bible teaches
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
But
But the hope is that God can forgive all your sin and declare you innocent because of Jesus’s death. You see, Jesus’s death on a cross was unjust because He hadn’t done anything wrong. That is what irritated the Pharisees. They put Him to death to silence Him and the conviction in their hearts, but they only made matters worse. Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead, and His disciples have been preaching His name ever since. God turned the tables on the evil people who attempted to thwart His plan because when Jesus died, He placed our sin on Him. He punished Jesus in our place so that we might be able to be innocent (the word the Bible uses is righteous). And when He raised Jesus, He proved that Jesus was righteous. Jesus rose because He didn’t deserve to die. You can have a part in His righteousness if you will only call on the name of the Lord in humility admitting that you are a sinner and believe that He will give you the righteousness of Jesus.
13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
May we all have the humility of Seth’s line lest we meet the same demise as Cain’s line.
May we all have the humility of Seth’s line lest we meet the same demise as Cain’s line.