01-26 Living Without The Lord

Genesis 4:11-26

It is estimated by the World Bank Group that 56% of the world’s population live in cities. That is expected to rise to 68% by 2050. Now, a study by the U of Michigan says 83% of US population live in urban settings and that by 2050 it will be around 89%. With rare exceptions (like our state and county), the trend is seeing more people move from rural areas to urban/suburban areas—and for various reasons: better job markets, better education opportunities, increased cultural diversity, access to transportation, medical care, and social activities.

There is a draw/attraction (esp among Millennials) to live in cities rather than rural communities. I don’t think this is a moral issue. I’m not here to say living in the country is right and living in the city is wrong—though everyone seems to have their opinions. And the Bible doesn’t suggest that God is against cities (though He does destroy some). He chose to make His abode in the city of Jerusalem in the temple. John has the vision of the holy city New Jerusalem descending upon the earth, where God’s people will assemble together. So God is not against the city.

There is however, characteristic to the city a propensity to live life without God. According to a study by the Carsey Institute, there is a higher percentage of rural Americans who say they attend church regularly than those in urban and suburban settings. The authors write

“Not surprisingly, given the small-town life of rural residents, the church is a focal point for many, a place where neighbors worship, socialize, and reflect on the state of the country. Rural Americans' denominational preferences tend to vary in distinct ways by region. In the South, for example, most people are Protestant (77 percent), and by and large they are Baptists, mostly Southern Baptists, whose conservative theology has long made a mark on Southern culture and everyday life. Catholics dominate in the East; the Midwest is more mixed, home to a large proportion of Protestants (mostly Lutherans, Methodists, and Baptists) and a sizable number of Catholics; and the West remains the most "unchurched" region in the country.”

While there are some advantages that come with city-life, there are many distractions with all their vices and maladies that make it difficult to keep God at the center of daily living. I know this is a broad generalization of the city (since there are many devoted followers of Christ in cities around the world). And there is also a great need for Christ in rural America as we see in our own community.

What we see in Scripture is that the development of the 1st city is born out of judgment. And it may have been Cain’s answer to being cast from the presence of God—what he thought was the way of survival.

A Xn philosopher by the name of Jaques Ellul has written extensively about the development of the city in Scripture. He writes in a book called The Meaning of The City:

“For when man is faced with a curse he answers, ‘I’ll take care of my problems.’ And he puts everything to work to become powerful, to keep the curse from having its effects. He creates the arts and the sciences, he raises an army, he constructs chariots, he builds cities. The spirit of might is a response to the divine curse.”

Because of the radical depravity of his heart, man will become increasingly independent from God and that is manifest in Cain and his family as they live life without the Lord. And there are lessons to learn whether we prefer rural life or city life.

As we walk thru the narrative together, let me give you 6 points that keep the urgency of living life with the Lord—firmly planted in our minds.

1. The Curse on Cain

vs 11-12

The backdrop of God’s judgment is the murder of Abel. Cain killed his brother, consumed with burning anger toward God for rejecting his offering—that anger was then directed at his little brother. The apostle John gives a very graphic image of the manner of that death: cutting his throat. When God confronted Cain—he not only lied about knowing the whereabouts of Abel but took a defiant, flippant, indifferent attitude: “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

God responded to Cain in a way that highlights his omniscience: “voice of...blood...”

God then proceeds to pronounce judgment upon Cain and issues the 1st curse of a human: “You are cursed...” (same language with serpent 3:14). Cursed from the ground is not meant to say he would not have contact with the soil but God explains what he means in vs 12. Cain would no longer enjoy the productivity of his profession. When he tills the ground the abundance of its fruit would be kept from him.

Then God says “you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.” Those 2 terms taken together reveal he severity of God’s judgment upon Cain for murdering his brother. He was consigned to live his life apart from the community that he had grown up with. His life would become an aimless wandering and one in which the ground would not be richly productive. The ties with family are now broken. He would be a pariah—outcast on account of his violent sin.

Now, if we think that’s a harsh punishment—this is actually less than Cain deserved. Gen 9:6

Genesis 9:6 NASB95

6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.

Capital punishment, even as it continues to be a divisive issue, underscores the inherent value of human life. There is a sanctity about human life b/c it is the image of God. God would have been just to take Cain’s life at that moment. Instead, God showed rich mercy toward Cain.

Victor Hamilton writes:

The Book of Genesis, Chapters 1–17 2. A Judge and a Criminal (4:8–16)

In some ways it is a fate worse than death. It is to lose all sense of belonging and identification with a community. It is to become rootless and detached.

2. The Complaint of Cain

vs 13-14

You see the severity of God’s punishment toward Cain in his response...

Cain recognizes just how severe this curse is “My punishment…” even though it was far less than he deserved, he thought it was more than he could endure. So he complains to God. But the complaint is not out of recognition of what he deserved or out of repentance. He is filled with self-pity and refuses to see the just hand of God toward him.

This is how horrible sin is. Cain brought to God a disobedient sacrifice and when God rejected it, he became angry with God and directed his anger toward his brother in premeditative murder. He should have been struck down at that moment. But Cain accuses God of being unfair. He maintains this “woe is me” attitude and not seeing God’s discipline directing him toward repentance.

James Boice “one of the clearest marks of sin is our almost innate desire to excuse ourselves and complain if we are judged in any way. But that’s not fair! How many times have you complained against God who, if he was only fair and not also merciful, would have sent you to hell before you awoke this morning.”

Proverbs 28:5 NASB95

5 Evil men do not understand justice, But those who seek the Lord understand all things.

The unregenerate have no business talking about justice b/c they do not understand it.

Let me show you a biblical contrast of this principle at work:

Luke 16:19-31;

Not thinking about the wrongs he commited in his lifetime (even to Lazarus) but only thinking of how unfairly he was being treated. Evil men do not understand justice.

Now contrast to this:

Luke 23:39-43;

This man was given paradise…Cain did not understand justice. Interesting how, in a sense, he lost paradise when the thief was gaining it (you have driven me…).

3. The Compassion Toward Cain

vs 15

God is compassionate toward the sinner. God doesn’t walk back on the sentence He handed down, though He did promise to preserve Cain’s life even in the midst of those who might want to get retribution on him for killing his brother.

Instead the would-be killer of Cain could expect full divine retribution (7fold). Then God set a mark upon Cain (sign NASB). There is endless debate over the nature of the mark and its location (some say a tattoo, special hair style, one ancient rabbi suggested it was a dog that would accompany Cain wherever he wandered.—but we simply can’t know. It was clear to all those who would see Cain that God had set His hand of protection upon him.

There is a compassionate grace toward the sinner. Cain’s sin cannot be ignored and God judged him and he will pay the penalty for it. But God also protects the criminal and makes sure he doesn’t fall victim to violence himself.

Jesus taught His disciples:

Matthew 5:43–45 NASB95

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

God is gracious toward those who do not deserve His benevolent goodness (precisely the definition of grace). But there is still the underlining truth that man’s sin separates him from holy God. So Cain “went out from the presence...”

The land he settles would become a permanent testament to this truth. “Nod” means “wandering” and it would remind him of the divine sentence of being a vagrant wanderer. Interestingly, Scripture never mentions Nod again. Its location was east of Eden—away from the presence of the Lord. Here, Cain would begin to live his life without the Lord.

4. The Children of Cain

vv 17-18

The Bible only records 1 child born to Cain but Moses gives us a brief genealogical record of Cain’s descendants.

Cain “had relations” (knew) his wife=Enoch. The same language was used of Adam & Eve. Nothing is said about Cain’s marriage and yet one of the points many stumble over is the identity of Cain’s wife. She is unnamed yet she must have been one of the “other daughters” of Adam & Eve (5:4). How could Cain have married his sister?

Today, you would be charged with incest for doing that. The great danger would be related to inbreeding where recessive genetic conditions increase the likelihood of severe birth defects b/c the parents are closely related. This has happened b/c our genes carry mistakes. Those mistakes are amplified when close relatives marry.

Think of it like this…would you rather drink a cup of water out of the Bitterroot river after it dumps into the Clark Fork (having all of Missoula’s pollution), or would you go up high into the mountains where it begins as a little stream?

Cain married his sister. No big deal then. Abraham married his half-sister. After Moses it was expressly forbidden: (Lev 18:6-18)

Leviticus 18:6 NASB95

6 ‘None of you shall approach any blood relative of his to uncover nakedness; I am the Lord.

They have a son—Enoch (not that Enoch) and Cain built a city and named it “Enoch-ville”.

The Heb word city has no reference to size (could be great or small) but has more to do with a settlement that would have a wall for protection.

I don’t think you’d want to live in this city. Moses recounts 6 generations living here and if the last guy is any indication as to the nature and quality of life in that city—it was filled with arrogant, self-seeking hard cases.

5. The Corruption Out Of Cain

The allurements of the city life become quickly apparent in the 6th generation from Cain, a man by the name of Lamech. Lamech is the 1st polygamist in the Bible—married 2 wives. This was a tragic departure from the will of God that was declared to Adam & Eve from the beginning:

Genesis 2:24 NASB95

24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

Now, polygamy will not be departure from God’s purpose for Cain’s descendants only. Those who descend from Seth will also reap disastrous results from polygamous unions. But here, polygamy is exalted by the godless Lamech.

The names of his wives can be a window into the heart of what this man cherished…Adah means “ornament, beauty, or pleasure.” The other wife, Zillah, means “to clink, to tinkle” and is an allusion to the sweetness of the feminine voice. He was probably attracted to her after he married Adah, having heard her talk. Lamech worshiped beauty. He even named his daughter Na-amah (pleasant or loveliness).

Now, Adah’s sons excelled in their pursuits: Jabal (father of those…livestock). Jubal was the founder of the musical arts. Zillah’s son, Tubal-cain was a blacksmith “forger...” Now these professions and pursuits are not bad in and of themselves. But when they are pursued as a life without the Lord, there will only be corruption.

See Solomon Eccles 1-2;

Lamech’s corruption doesn’t end with polygamy—but with murder. This song is known as “the song of the sword.” Kidner writes:

Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary The Family of Cain (4:16–24)

Lamech’s taunt-song reveals the swift progress of sin. Where Cain had succumbed to it (7) Lamech exults in it; where Cain had sought protection (14, 15) Lamech looks round for provocation: the savage disproportion of killing a mere lad (Hebrew yeled, ‘child’) for a mere wound is the whole point of his boast

He is boasting about killing a boy and in his pride—he thinks he deserves God’s protection 70x more so that Cain. This is a man high on himself—too good to be judged.

6. The Contrast with Cain

vv 25-26

Ch 4 ends with a precious contrast to the family of Cain. Adam & Eve have another son—Seth (appointed or replacement). Once again, Eve acknowledges her dependence on God and even exalts the goodness of God in her own heart-brokenness.

Seth also has a son (Enosh—mortal man). That name is often referring to the frailty and insignificance of man. Can you see the contrast b/t Seth and Cain (and their children)? Cain brings forth corruption and Seth represents the principle repeated in Scripture:

James 4:6 NASB95

6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

1 Peter 5:5 NASB95

5 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Psalm 112:1–2 NASB95

1 Praise the Lord! How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who greatly delights in His commandments. 2 His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed.

Moses finishes with this statement, “Then, men began to call...”

Listen my friends, this is where you want to be. You want to be those who call upon the name of the Lord. You want to be the ones who are blessed by God b/c you are living life with Him.

Let me close with 2 Words:

Examine

your hearts before the Lord. Paul in 2 Cor 13…test yourselves. Those who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

Then, examine your heart--Are you living your life with the Lord? You don’t have to live in a city to be secular (“commune with God in nature”)—what about obedience of joining the assembly of the saints to praise and worship? There are many other ways to live without the Lord:

James admonishes believers who thought they could live life with X:

James 4:13–17 NASB95

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Now, sin—as always can be forgiven when you confess it and turn from it. God is gracious and will cleanse you and restore you.

Edify

The beauty of the church is that it was designed by Christ so that we would build up each other in the faith thru the exercise of your spiritual gifts. Encourage one another and come alongside each other, helping each one to live life with the Lord. That’s the righteous response that began with Abel and Seth, and continues in all who call upon the name of the Lord today.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 NASB95

11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.