Our Family Tree
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Genesis: Foundational Principles for Life • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 36:00
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1. To forget one’s ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without a root. — Chinese Proverb
2. He who has no fools, knaves, or beggars in his family was begot by a flash of lightning. — Old English proverb
Over the years I have learned a great deal about the family I come from. Research, study and looking back has revealed a wealth of information.
The Johnstone Clan
The Johnstone Clan
A Scottish clan… we are a border clan, fierce, ruthless, and powerful
Our family crest and motto… Never Not Prepared
My son Joseph has taken up the bagpipes and along with that done more study into our Johnstone Family
We have discovered some pretty interesting characters and prominent individuals in my family tree.... However, I have discovered I come from a long line of dead people!
Our family. Like branches on a tree we all grown in different directions, yet our roots remain as one. (As we look back and see death in our family trees it is because of the ROOT!)
The simple fact is this... I along with you have our family tree rooted in sin! From the beginning we see after Adam brings sin into the human race that mankind is born in a sin depraved state. This is fully seen and depicted in the narrative of the first two born… Cain and Abel Genesis 4:1-16
Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord.” Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? “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.” Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. “Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. “When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to bear! “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.” So the Lord said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him. Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Cain & Abel
Cain & Abel
Here is two brothers… some scholars think they may have even been twins.
REMEMBER the first audience that is reading these accounts would be the Israelite nation wandering in the wilderness after receiving God’s Law.
God had clearly expressed what His will was and what true worship was
We see here that BOTH cain and Able are religious BUT we see a stark contrast between the two!
It is a sad statement but the path to hell will be paved with good intentions.... Look at Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
Our SIN requires a suitable covering acceptable to the God we have sinned against!
Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves.... God HIMSELF provided the covering, an animals life, blood, death… to covered them.
The necessary covering for sin only comes through death!
Consider Hebrews 9:22 and Hebrews 11:4
And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
Cain in his pride wanted to serve, worship God his way rather than God’s! Man’s ideas vs God’s
In this narrative we see the seed of the woman meet conflict with the seed of the serpent and Cain falls prey...
We see through this narrative and many others n scripture that Cain’s heart was EVIL… whereas Abel had a heart of FAITH!
We also see Several Mosaic motifs were founded here in the record of these events: (JUST READ THIS)
(1) Sacrifices should be offered to God from a heart of faith, and should be the best of the livestock, the firstborn (v. 4).
(2) Israelites had responsibilities to their brothers—they were each others’ keepers and must not kill one another.
(3) Homicidal blood polluted the land, crying out for vengeance—spilled blood raised its voice of accusation (v. 10).
(4) Blood revenge was averted by God through protective care, just as later removal to a city of refuge would avert an avenger.
(5) Punishment for guilt was at the foundation of Israel’s theocracy. (6) Life without God is a dangerous life without protection.
(7) Sometimes the elder was rejected in favor of the younger, turning the normative societal custom around.
Why waste your money looking up your family tree? Just go into politics and your opponents will do it for you. — Mark Twain
We are going to look at Adam’s family tree… and scripture records for us two offshoots of Adam’s line...
Two Family Lines
Two Family Lines
One line was evil and produced evil while the other was faithful and produced righteous descendants…
Genesis 4:17-26 records for us the family line of Cain.
Cain’s Line... Unfaithful
Prosperity
Wealth, livestock, growth in family offspring
Creativity
Musical instruments, forging tools weapons from metals
Powerful
Cities, wealth, kings, nations
Lustful
Stepping away from God’s plan, desires of the flesh, two wives
Sin is progressing and prevalent!
Boasting of their evil deeds (Lamech)
Cain’s line is contrasted in scripture with the line of Seth who is introduced in Genesis 5:3
When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.
Seth’s Line… Faithful
Prosperous
We see offspring, family growth
Lives lived over accomplishments
We see God address the heart… eternal over accomplishments on earth temporal
Walking Faithfully with God
Enoch (Hall of Faith with Abel) walked with God… he did not die
Looking ahead in Faith
Lamech Noah’s father looking to the Rest and Peace God had promised in faith
In looking at these two family lines I can’t help but wonder if the people of Israel as they read these accounts for the first time recall the words of God in Exodus 20:3-5
“You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,
The consequences of sin carry on as do the faithful actions of a father, grandfather, great grandfather… We NEED TO SHARE WITH OUR CHILDREN!!!
*** These men Could have taught the next generation*** (Show timeline slide)
From Both Lines we See
Speaking from the heart
Lamechs from both lines...
Genesis 4:23-24 & Genesis 5:29
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; If Cain is avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the Lord has cursed.”
Living, Marriage, Children
Death
Our Family Tree is Rooted in SIN!!! … Therefore Death will be seen in our line of ancestors!
The Johnstone motto is Never Not Prepared… therefore I want my family, I want you to be prepared!
There would one day be a tree that dealt with the root of sin
On that tree would be offered, Once again provided by God, a sacrifice
The PERFECT SACRIFICE… the Lamb of God
The very Son of God would shed His blood, offer His life, and die once for all
AND… because of this sacrifice we would be ADOPTED into the Family of God!!!