Battle For The Truth (Part 22)

Genesis 4:1–7 KJV 1900

1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. 2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Introduction

As many of you listening to me may know, I do not care for the reference of the Pastor’s wife as the 1st Lady. I do not care for it because it carries the connotation that all other ladies are at best 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.

Alluding to a false hierarchy within the body of Christ, which cannot be identified nor supported in Scripture. Nevertheless, because I understand that people have the noblest of intentions when assign this title to her, the title itself has its origin in the secular world—particularly, the political world.

However, since this is not really related to the message, I will refrain from elaborating any further on the topic. I only mention this in passing because if anyone deserves the title of 1st Lady, it is Eve. For she is not only 1st Lady, but also 1st Mother.

Be that as it may, here in Genesis 4, we observe the characteristics of the 1st family consisting of father, mother, and two sons. At the risk of being repetitive, let me remind my listeners that the genre of literature we have before us is called the historical narrative, whose primary intent is to inform or describe for us what happened, and not necessarily what is meant by what happened.

To understand what is meant by the historical narrative or its interpretation, we look to the didactic or teaching literature which is found in the epistles of the NT. If time permits, we will touch on this a little later. For now, let me remind everyone that Genesis is not allegorical, but rather deals with real people that lived and events that occurred.

Here in Chapter 4, we get our first glimpse of life outside of the Garden of Eden and the harsh realities of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in eating of the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. From this point forward we will witness the ongoing struggle between good and evil. Surely there is some good, but evil is more prevalent.

Genesis 4 explains why there is dysfunction within our families. Dysfunction, which is a euphemism for sin, is present within every family from the 1st family to your family and mine. Amen somebody. If you have ever wondered why people act the way they do, it is not that complicated. The answer is found here in Genesis 4 with roots back to Genesis 3. Amen somebody.

V. 1 – “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.”

The narrative does not provide us with any details as to how much time has passed or Adam and Eve’s environment. We only have a snapshot of the beginnings of the 1st family.

The text simply says, “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived…” We understand that this means Adam knew Eve sexually. The evidence is that she conceived and gave birth to Cain their first born. The word Cain means “to get” or “gotten.” Hence, Eve’s words are a play on his name.

She said, “I have gotten a man from the LORD.” Eve’s enthusiasm seems to jump off the page. Perhaps she anticipated that Cain may be the seed that God promised. We know today that Cain was not the promised one, but Eve had no way of knowing.

Side note: Eve had no doubt who was responsible for her conception. Bursting with excitement and gratitude, she exclaimed, “I have gotten a man from the LORD” or “by the help of the LORD.” Eve understood that God alone is the Giver of life and is to be credited with conception and birth. Oh, if people only acknowledged this truth today. In the Beginning, woman came from man (Genesis 2:22-23), but going forward man would come from woman, which is why Adam named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all living [human] beings.

The topic of life, both its origin and sanctity divides liberals (a.k.a. the left) from conservatives (a.k.a. the right). Generally speaking, those of the Liberal persuasion insist that it is the sole right of a woman to choose whether to carry her pregnancy to full-term and give birth or to terminate (abort) the pregnancy whenever and for whatever reason she chooses. Additionally, this group believes that life begins outside of the womb or at birth, and not conception. Therefore, the human fetus does not yet qualify as having a life. This position is referred to as “Pro-Choice or a Woman’s Right to Choose.” And today in the USA, the Pro-Choice position is supported by federal law—legalized abortion on-demand. In contrast, those of the Conservative persuasion tend to lean more towards a biblical position on the topic and insist that it is God who gives life and only God should be allowed to end it. Furthermore, there is ample evidence in Scripture that life begins at conception to which God is responsible (see Genesis 25:21, 23; Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 1:41, 44), and thereby retains all rights pertaining thereto. Finally, since the fetus possesses life, the fetus should have a right to life. There are other laws that support the truth that an unborn child possesses life. For example, if a crime is committed that involves a pregnant woman losing her life and, in the process, the unborn child is also killed. That person is charged with the taking of two lives—the mother and her fetus. Thus, if life does not begin at conception, why is the perpetrator charged with two lives? We all know the answer. Because life begins at conception. Amen somebody.

V.2 – “And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.”

Eve bares a second child, a son who was named Abel. Abel’s name means “breath” or “vapor.” It is often used to describe the brevity of life (Job 7:16; Psalm 39:5; Ecclesiastes 6:12).

Naming him Abel almost seems prophetic to the brevity of his life. We learn that Abel was a keeper of sheep or a shepherd, and Cain was a tiller of the ground or a farmer. There is nothing wrong with either vocations. In fact, to survive, you had to be engaged with a little bit of both vocations.

Vv.3-5 – “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. (4) And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: (5) But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

Another translation for “…in process of time it came to pass…” is at the end of days or the sabbath. Bear in mind that Adam and Eve’s disobedience did not eliminate the Sabbath Day, a day God established as a day of rest and worship. We are told that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.”

In other words, at the appointed time and place, both brothers as a sign of worship brought an offering unto the YAHWEH. Stop right there. Why would you bring a worship offering to someone who does not exist or was not superior to you? The answer is you would not.

Furthermore, how would they know to perform this act unless they were taught and instructed to do so? The answer is they would not know unless they were taught and instructed. The inference being that they were properly taught what was acceptable to YAHWEH.

There is an old expression that says, “the fruit does not fall far from the tree.” Meaning, the children in appearance and character will often closely resemble their parents. What we see in this text are further signs of the struggle between obedience and disobedience.

The struggle and tension of obeying God’s will versus being self-willed. Unlike some of us, God does not grade on a curve. Evidence that Abel made the right choice is God’s acceptance, and God’s rejection of Cain’s offering is evidence that he made the wrong choice. Amen somebody.

Cain’s offering consisted of the fruit of the ground, and Abel’s the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. There are many views as to why God accepted Abel’s offering and rejected Cain’s. Some believe it had to do with the content of the offering itself—animal sacrifice involving blood versus the fruit of the ground which does not involve shedding of blood.

Others believe that it had more to do with attitude than the content of the offering. However, all we know for certain from the narrative before us is that God accepted Abel’s offering, but rejected Cain’s. And, because his offering was rejected, Cain became very angry and his face revealed as much. So, what is going on here and how are we to understand it? Good question.

As mentioned earlier, the interpretation of the historical narrative literature is found in the NT epistles, which contains the didactic or teaching portion of Scripture.

The primary NT reference to this portion of Genesis 4 is Hebrews 11:4, that says, “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” What we learn from the Hebrews 11:4, is that Abel’s faithful obedience to God’s requirement of sacrifice is what caused God to accept his offering.

His faithful obedience no doubt also included what God required. When it comes to sin, the shedding of innocent blood is always involved. This has always been God’s way, which was a foreshadow of how He would ultimately remove fallen man’s sin through the shedding of His Only Begotten Son’s blood, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world. Amen somebody.

Side Note: How did either of the brothers know whether their sacrifice was accepted? Was it something God said or something God did? I submit to you that it was the latter. If we look at God’s interactions with Abraham, Moses, and Elijah concerning sacrifices offered to YAHWEH, we see that His acceptance always involved fire (see Genesis 15:17; Leviticus 9:24; I Kings 18:24-39). Thus, it seems that God’s acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice was consumed by God’s fire. Whereas Cain’s offering remained unconsumed on the alter.

Vv.6-7 – “And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? (7) If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.”

What appears to be a tender teaching moment, God rhetorically asked Cain three questions:

Why are you angry?

Why is your face downcast?

If you do well, will you not be accepted?

Since God is omniscient, we know that He knew exactly why Cain harbored anger in his heart and wore a downcast look upon his face. Cain’s pride was hurt. But rather than repenting or show any remorse for his crime, Cain chose anger and resistance.

Scripture tells us in 1 John 1:8-10, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” Amen somebody.

Apparently, they both were instructed how to come before God. Abel chose right, but Cain chose wrong. It seems here as though God was reminding Cain of something he already knew: “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?” The obvious answer being, “yes.” This tells us that Cain had already experienced the benevolence of God and knew what God required as an offering.

God goes on to say, “if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” This is the first time the word “sin” is mentioned in Scripture. The basic meaning of the word is to ‘miss the mark like an archer who misses the mark. Cain had missed the mark in his approach to worship God.

God says that the cause of disobedience is sin, and sin’s intention is to consume and control you must rule over sin. This means Cain and each one of us has a personal responsibility to subdue the sin in our lives. There is no one else to blame.

The Apostle James put it this way, in James 1:13-15, James says, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: (14) But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. (15) Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

Side Note: What we see in this text is the origin of false worship. False means that which is not true or genuine. Throughout the OT God constantly warned His people through the Law and the Prophets against disobedience and false worship. From the time of their exodus from Egypt, through their Wilderness Wanderings, to their entry into the Promised Land, there were bouts of unbelief, disobedience, and false worship. Even while in the Promised Land, we see evidence of disobedience and false worship from the time of the Judges, through the Kings. In fact, because of disobedience and false worship, God had to expel them from the Promised Land for 70 years.

In fact, when the Lord Jesus Christ came on the scene in 1st Century Palestine, a false king (Herod) was on the throne of David and corruption plagued the Aaronic priesthood (Sadducees). Things were so bad that the religious leadership accused the Messiah of performing miracles by the power of Beelzebub.

Finally, the Book of Revelation identifies false religion spearheaded by Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet as the dominant world religion that God through the Lord Jesus Christ will ultimately judge and destroy. Amen somebody.

Conclusion

My brothers and sisters, if you do not learn anything else from this portion of Scripture, please learn this: If you do well, which means to obey the word of God, God will accept you. However, if you do not do well, which means to disobey, God will reject you.

It is that simple. Amen somebody. In Matthew 17:5, God spoke concerning His Son Jesus Christ and said, “…This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” Jesus said in John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Like Abel, we must believe that God’s word is true.

For Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Amen somebody.

Next week, should the Lord tarry, we will look at the tragic results of disobedience. So until next time, may the Lord richly bless you my beloved. Amen.