Sermon Tone Analysis

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

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:

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.”

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:

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.