Brothers

Introduction

We are in our summer series of open sermons. I mentioned at the beginning of the summer that we are going to be exploring various chapters through the bible and today we are going all the way back the beginning in Genesis and looking into chapter 4.

When I was doing sermon planning, I had thought this was going to be about the story of two brothers. I had titled it “Two brother” but this passage once I began to study and to prepare to bring the Word to you this morning this passage is filled with so much more.

It has a famous line in this chapter,

“Am I my Brother’s Keeper”

This always stood out to me and it was what drew me to this text, but the greater outline from the writer of this text has four elements of our lives that we need to be aware of as we lives our lives for Christ.

We are going to explore 4 major parts of our lives, Our Worship, Our Confession, God’s Grace, and His blessing.

In Exile

To begin we must put this text in the greater context of the storyline of the Bible.

If you are not familiar with Chapter three in the book of Genesis you would know that this is the description of the fall of Adam and Eve and their subsequent removal from the Garden of Eden.

This removal and exile was not only from the Garden, but also from that close intimate relationship with their creator.

The cause of their action was very significant as it affected us as created beings holding the image of God.

Mankind since that moment in time has been in exile from God, but the Good News is that God was never satisfied with the actions of man

and made a way that we can return from the marred relationship with God and be restored to Fellowship with God.

That’s the gospel, the Good News

But in this moment of the story, found in Chapter 4, we find the new exiles begin to develop a new relationship with their creator.

Let’s turn to the Genesis and begin with Chapter 4 vs 1

Genesis 4:1–8 ESV

1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” 8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

Let’s pray

Worship

Have you ever felt like you were in Exile?

I mean those moments in your life when you feel alone, abandoned, cast aside.

What is the first thing that you feel like you should do?

Do you grab hold of the Eeyore personality in

Winnie the pooh and go around with a cloud around your head.

Is that the life of an exile?

In this passage we find the couple who have just been exiled from the Garden and they conceive, give birth to their first son, in all that they begin to Worship God.

Eve’s View of God

The narrative begins with Eve. To worship, let’s look at Eve’s view of God.

The coupe begins to have children and she does two things.

She recognizes her ability to bring forth life

She acknowledges that God is active in the mystery and wonder of Conception and birth.

So here is a thought......

When you come to worship do you come figuratively with your hands up or your hands out.

In other words do you come to worship and praise Him no matter what the circumstance or is you worship as a means to an end to have a relationship with God to be provided with the blessings.

In researching this passage I found that there can be two ways to see the worship of Eve in this passage.

The first is one of the Hands up to God.

Remember in Chapter 3 God told the serpent

Genesis 3:15 ESV

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

With the first Child, Eve could be praising God that He is active in bringing about that moment.

I could imagine that in her mind this would not take the generations it did, rather like most parents, there is great promise and potential in your offspring.

I guess this is the first parent that had unrealistic expectations of her child and what he or she would grow up to be.

The second interpretation that we can surmise from Eve’s worship is her hand out.

Commentators have taken this as This is what I have done.

I created a child. Yes God helped me, but look what I am able to do.

One commentator even went so far in that Eve was comparing herself to God in being able to create a man, like God had.

I will let you decide your take on the two perspectives, but I will remind you that when we come to worship, we come in two ways,

Hand Up or Hand out.

Worship to give or worship to get.

Eve’s second child, Abel who’s name is the same description found in Ecclesiastics of meaningless give the impression that Eve’s worship begins to give a sense of God why are you not acting in my life.

The Brother’s Worship

The writer of the text then moves that focus of worship from the mother to her sons.

an offering was brought forth to God by both of the boys.

Eve had’t lost faith in God, as her faith and teaching was given to her boys as they grew and came to worship to God themselves.

Yet once again we see the two ways of worshiping.

Hands up or hands out.

I believe Abel came with his offering with a hand up. While Cain gave his offering with his hands out.

Why, God was pleased with one and not the other.

Many have speculated that the offering of shed blood was pleasing to God over the offering of produce, but there is now description in the text to describe

“the why” of God’s approved over the other.

It has been said

“Several times, especially in prophetic literature, we are informed that God’s reason for rejecting a sacrifice or offering was usually that religious ritual became a substitute for obedience and holy living.”

- pg 59- Hamilton, Victor: Handbook on the Pentateuch

The writer of Genesis wanted to make clear that it was our response from our worship that indicates our heart or intention.

Remember, Man sees the outward, God sees the heart.

Cain’s came with a hand out. He wanted to receive a blessing from God for what he had done. What he had come to offer.

That is the key point and difference between coming to worship God with a figurative Hands up and Hands out.

Does our worship come with strings attached?

God I come to worship because of the blessings I receive or because of who you are?

How many people do you know that when the prayers offered to God are not answered they begin to blame God, get angry at God for not granting the desires of their heart.

Hands out worship.

How many people do you know that no matter what circumstance is thrown at them, they still continue to praise God for who He is.

Cain was like the first person.

He came to God and worshiped Him. Offered up the work of his hands and then discovered he did not receive the response from God that he wanted.

He was Angry.

Angry at God.

Has their been times you are angry at God. The world we live in today has many opportunities for us to get angry, and we wonder why God doesn’t deal with people like we believe He should.

But what does God do with Cain? Does He rebuke his for his Anger? Does he wait for the Angry to go away or see if it will fester,

no God brought Cain’s attitude to light by asking him

“Why are you angry.”

God warns Cain that our response good or bad is our choice,

Anger if not dealt with can lead to sin

Ephesians 4:26 ESV

26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

What makes you angry?

I read a story the other day,

Mendelssohn once visited the cathedral at Fribourg, and having heard the great organ, went into the organ loft and asked to be allowed to play it. The old organist, in jealousy for his instrument, at first refused, but was afterward prevailed on to allow the great German composer to try the colossal “thunderer” of the cathedral. After standing by in an ecstasy of delight and amazement for a few moments, he suddenly laid his hands on the shoulders of the musician and exclaimed: “Who are you? What is your name?”

“Mendelssohn,” replied the player.

“And can it be that I had so nearly refused to let Mendelssohn touch this organ!” said the organist..

Christians often refuse to let God have His way in their life because they are afraid of the outcome. Little do they know that if they would let God do as He sees fit the outcome would be much greater than anything they could dream of.

Source: The Homiletic Review, Volume 31, I. K. Funk and D. S. Gregory

In our worship do we come with our hands up or our hands out.

As we continue along in the text, you can tell that Cain did not listen to the admonishment or warning from God.

Look for a moment at verse 8

Genesis 4:8 (ESV)

8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother.

Have you ever wondered what that conversation was about?

We have no idea how close they were as siblings. Was their sibling rivalry all their lives, did they get along. Did they chose two different career paths to stay away from each other.

Were they talking about the offering, or talking about God’s response to Cain.

Was Abel attempting to help Cain deal with the anger he had with God.

We are not told what the conversation was, but we are told that the sin that was at Cain’s doorstep as foretold by God, came in and Cain murdered his Brother.

Remember, Cain was angry at God for not accepting his offering and Anger turned to Jealously which turned to harm.

This should be a reminder for all of us, as we come face to face with the anger in our lives, it how we deal with the anger. So many time I see people take it out on our fellow brother or sister with their words or their actions.

Sin is creeping at the door of our lives as well

Let’s continue reading the text

Genesis 4:9–14 ESV

9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

Confession

The writer of Genesis in this narrative now takes us to the critical part of the story.

Confession

What brings you to the point of confession?

Is confession a part of your spiritual discipline or practice.

John reminds us

1 John 1:8 ESV

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

One thing is certain,

God will confront our sins

God will hold us accountable for the sins in our lives, we need to bring to Him.

God didn’t waste any time confronting Cain,

Cain’s response, “ Am I my brother’s Keeper?”

I would like to challenge each one of us, that we should be one another’s keeper.

Keeper of correcting in a lovely way when we are wrong.

Challenging us as we walk in our journey of transforming our lives to be that of Christ

Do you have someone in your life that holds you accountable?

Are in in a cord of three. A group that comes together to challenge one another in our lives?

I was listening the other day to a well known preacher who was preparing to preach upon a topic of doctrine of concern in his church and began to read authors who hold to that view.

His accountability partner in another town saw his reading list and came down for coffee to see if he was wondering from the truth. That is accountability.

We need to be our brother’s keeper?

Cain’s Response to God’s

Cain’s sarcastic response to God showed how he was avoiding the very thing that needed to be confronted in his life.

One writer put it this way.

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 2: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (2. Repentance (4:9–15a))

13–14 The meaning of this passage turns on how we understand Cain’s reply in v.13. Did Cain complain that his “punishment” was too great to bear? Or should we understand his reply to be that his “iniquity” was too great to forgive? .......

...... The fact that the Lord’s response was one of mercy and protection suggests that the author understood Cain’s words as those of a repentant sinner. By themselves Cain’s words do not necessarily suggest repentance, but the Lord’s response (“Very well; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over,” NIV mg.) implies that Cain’s words in v.13 are words of repentance.

Is confession a part of your spiritual worship.

God is a forgiving God when we come to him and confess.

1 John 1:9 ESV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I’m not sure about you, but I would rather come to the Lord with confession on my mouth than having Him come to me and asking me what I am doing.

Grace

The third part of this narrative is the Grace of God shown to Cain.

That same grace that we can receive as lost sinners when we come to him.

Genesis 4:15 ESV

15 Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.

How do you explain grace to someone.

Grace is fully given to someone from someone, and in most cases the grace given is not earned but given freely.

I once heard a story

Two friends met each other on the street one day. One looked forlorn, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, “What has the world done to you, my old friend?” The sad fellow said, “Let me tell you: three weeks ago, my uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars.”

“That’s a lot of money.”

“But you see, two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand dollars, free and clear.”

“Sounds to me that you’ve been very blessed.”

“You don’t understand!” he interrupted. “Last week my great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost a quarter of a million from her.”

Now the man’s friend was really confused. “Then, why do you look so glum?”

“This week—nothing!”

Has our lives of worship become with expectations and are downcast when we receive nothing.

We can often come to the point where we expect to get certain blessings that God never promised us, and when they do not come, it is easy to get bitter.

Source: Unknown

Grace

some commentaries describe that God marked Cain against those who would want to avenge the murder. He was given refuge from what he should have received, death..

Grace

Isaiah 53:6 ESV

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Grace

We are all recipients of God’s Grace. We all have sinned, yet God’s grace removed the stain of sin in our lives and replaces it with a greater mark.

John 1:12 ESV

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

We are marked children of God.

God’s grace in our lives allows us to enter the presence of God as his beloved children.

Cain lived the rest of his life in the protection of God’s Grace.

In fact, this was the first establishment of the city of refuge found throughout the Old testament.

A place of refuge, a place of Grace. A place where they didn’t get what they deserved.

This morning are you feeling like God could not accept you for what you have done.

Are you downcast for once again struggling with the things of this world.

God’s gift of Grace is freely given to those who call out upon the name of the lord.

God’s grace is there for all to receive no matter what you have done.

God’s grace is easy to accept.

Acknowledge God gift of Grace

Believe in Him, and confess him as your saviour from your sin.

To come into your life a new a fresh way to restore the broken relationship with your creator and to walk with Him.

If you have not done this, may I encourage you to do it today.

Don’t wait any longer.

Come to God and accept the grace for your life.

Today!

Blessing

The last part of this chapter leaves the readers with Hope.

Genesis 4:25–26 ESV

25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” 26 To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.

God’s promise of blessing hadn’t changed.

Eve thought,

that her first and oldest son would be the one,

but God had different plans.

One writer puts it his way.

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 2: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers 4. Blessing (4:25–26)

In such narratives as these, the author clearly betrays his interest in the “seed” (zeraʿ, 3:15) of the woman. Chapter 5 shows just how seriously the author takes the promise in 3:15. The focus is on the “seed” and the one who will crush the head of the snake. A pattern is established in chapter 4 that will remain the thematic center of the book. The one through whom the promised seed will come is not the heir apparent, that is, the eldest son, but the one whom God chooses. Abel, the younger of the two sons, received God’s favor (4:4); Seth, still the younger son, replaced Abel. Cain takes his place in the narrative as one who was not to become a part of the line of the “seed.” With him throughout the remainder of the Book of Genesis are Japheth (10:2–5), Ham (10:6–20), Nahor (11:29; 22:20–24), Ishmael (17:20), Lot (19:19–38), and Esau (ch. 36).

When we think of God’s blessing we have to be careful that we are not coming to God with our hands out to get the blessing, but our hands up praising God for who he is and what He does in our lives.

The chapter ends with a note of promise and a state of spiritual high for the people.

They begin to call upon the name of the Lord.

In Summary

As our worship team comes forward to prepare us in a response to worship, may I remind you of a picture of our lives.

We are to Worship God figuratively with our hands up. Showing that we are seeking nothing from God as opposed to our hands out seeking the many blessings God does and has in store for us.

Let’s Pray.

Response to Worship

Benediction