Genesis 4 - The First Murder

Previously in Genesis, we discussed the consequences of man’s sin, and how this sin nature would be passed down to each subsequent generation. Not only is man affected by the curse, all of creation groans and travails until the present (Rom 8:22) We also saw how the Lord made provision for that sin. The Lord made coats of skins for Adam and Eve, and had to shed the blood of animals in order to do so. In this we see a picture of the Gospel in that God sent His Only Begotten Son to shed His blood, dying on the cross for us, and by faith we get to receive His righteousness. One day, creation will be delivered from the bondage of decay into the glorious liberty of the children of God (Rom 8:21). We also see a marvelous prophecy as Satan’s head was bruised and he was defeated once and for all at the cross. In this study, we will look at Genesis 4, and get our first glimpse of how ugly sin can get.

It states that Adam knew his wife, and she conceived and bear Cain. The word “knew” or “to know” is a polite way of saying they had sexual relations, and is the first time it is mentioned in the Bible. Today, most words and phrases used to describe sex are crude and demeaning, but the Bible describes it as a way of getting to know one another in an intimate and personal way. It is also mentioned in connection with marriage (i.e. it is between husband and wife). As we discussed in Ephesians, sex outside of marriage is what the Bible calls fornication, and is not to be named among us. I heard a saying the other day, “No woo-hoo until you say I do.”

The name Cain means possession, and it is possible Eve thought she had given birth to the promised deliverer. After this Eve also bore Abel his brother. Now Cain was a tiller of the ground, and Abel was a shepherd. Contrary to what is normally taught, early mankind were not primitive cave-dwellers, but practiced agriculture and animal husbandry.

Eventually the time came that both of them brought an offering to the Lord. Cain’s offering was from the fruit of the ground, but Abel’s offering was of the firstlings of his flock. This begs the question, why did God accept Abel’s offering but not Cain’s? Both grain offerings and animal sacrifices were accepted by the Lord in the Old Testament. The author of Hebrews gives us some insight. He writes, “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.” From a human standpoint, an offering of produce makes more sense, since it is cleaner and all they had to do is bring it to the Lord. It takes faith, however, to believe that by shedding the blood of an animal the Lord will forgive their sins.

God accepted Abel’s offering, but Cain’s He did not. Man’s works, apart from faith, can never please God, for no matter the good works he has done, it can never erase his bad works. Even man’s “good works” are often tainted by sin and impure motives. Man has always had to approach the Lord by faith in both the Old and New Testaments. The author of Hebrews again writes, “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.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Well, this displeased Cain as it usually does those who are works oriented. If you talk to those who really pride themselves in their works such as Jehovah’s Witnesses (or any other religious group for that matter), the idea that we are saved by grace through faith alone is offensive to them. So rather than humbling himself, Cain became very angry with the Lord and his brother. He was envious that his brother’s sacrifice was accepted when his was not. As a result, the Scriptures state that his countenance fell, or another way of saying this is that he became depressed. Cain wanted to come to the Lord on his own terms, rather than the way the Lord had prescribed. Nothing will bum us out more than walking in rebellion to the Lord through carnality and sin. This undealt with anger and envy turned into hatred and bitterness toward his brother.

The Lord spoke to Cain saying, “…Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 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.” If you remember from Genesis 3, the Lord uses a similar phrase in talking with Eve. Again, the idea here is that sin was desiring to rule over Cain, but the Lord was saying he needed to rule over it. This of course would be through faith rather than by his own strength or efforts; for as we discussed in Romans, apart from faith in the Lord, there can be no mastery over sin. Unfortunately, Cain did not listen to the Lord’s words, but proceeded further in his anger and hatred toward Abel. He talked Abel into going out to the field, and once they were there, he rose up and killed him. Unchecked hatred and bitterness never get better over time, but always grows worse. This is why the Bible states that if we have hated our brother, we are a murderer at heart (Matthew 5:21-22 and 1 John 3:15). Murder always starts in the heart, for we have written them off and deemed them unworthy of love and forgiveness. In our hearts it is as if they are dead, and in the case of Cain it led to the literal act of murder. 

The Lord then asks Cain “Where is your brother?” Cain then responds by saying, “I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?” Notice there’s no admission of wrong-doing or sign of contrition, but an attempt to cover himself by lying and making excuses. You see people who are works oriented are too proud to admit they are wrong, and will go to great lengths to cover up and make excuses for their sin. The problem is this does not work with the Lord. The Lord already knew what happened to Abel, but again He wanted Cain to confess his sin. The Lord said to Cain, “…What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.” The Bible states that the life of the flesh is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11), and Abel’s blood had been needlessly shed. The Lord then cursed Cain from the earth, and told him that it would no longer produce food for him. The thing he took so much pride in would now be a futile task. He would be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth. Again, we see Cain’s refusal to humble himself and confess his sin, but proceeds with the all too familiar victim mentality. He stated his punishment was too great for him to bear, and as a result the Lord in His mercy placed a mark on Cain so that no one would kill him in vengeance. There has been a lot of speculation over the years as to what this mark was, even going as far as to say it was black skin. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young both taught that the mark that God placed on Cain was black skin. Brigham Young stated, “What is the mark? You will see it on the countenance of every African you ever did see...." And, "the Lord put a mark upon [Cain], which is the flat nose and black skin.” However, the Scriptures simply do not tell us what the mark was. Besides, all the descendants of Cain were destroyed by the flood, so to attribute this curse to people with black skin is plainly wrong and unscriptural.

The Scriptures then state that Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in Nod. What a tragic end to an already sad story: Cain could have admitted his sin and asked for the Lord’s mercy, but instead he was content to continue in his pride, stubbornness, and excuse making. ultimately, he was willing to be separated from the Lord’s presence. I wonder how the story would have turned out differently if Cain would have humbled himself and repented from his sin. I think that, although there would have still been consequences, the Lord would have restored Cain to fellowship with Himself, because that is the Lord’s nature. Remember, the Lord does not point out our sin to condemn us, but in order that He can forgive and restore us. Unfortunately, Cain’s actions would begin a string of violence that would only grow perpetually worse until the days of Noah which I hope to cover in a couple weeks.

Notwithstanding, we still see some good things come out of the line of Cain. Among his descendants was a guy named Lamech. Lamech had two wives who bore him children. These children were the inventors of cattle ranching, musical instruments and the music arts, and the first craftsman in brass and iron. Again, early man was not primitive and unintelligent, but even after the fall as we can see, man was capable of great achievements. Within the first 100+ years or so from creation, they were already using iron and brass, something that didn’t show up after the flood in ancient Israel until the time of Solomon.

At a certain point, Lamech told his two wives that he had killed a man for wounding him, and that if God was going to avenge Cain seven-fold if someone came after him, then God should avenge him seventy-seven-fold. There is no evidence Lamech believed himself to be in danger of losing his own life, so using lethal force appears to have been an overreaction. This is an indicator of the state of Cain’s descendants in a relatively short time.

Next the Scriptures tell us that Adam and Eve had another son, and they called him Seth: “For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.” The name Seth means appointed. It is possible that they had thought that Abel would have been of the promised seed referred to in chapter 3, and now the Lord had given them Seth in his place. With each son, they were on the look-out for this seed that God had promised, and this is what we should do with the Lord’s promises as well. As we will see, this will prove to be correct: It is through the line of Seth that the Gospel of Luke traces the genealogy down all the way to Jesus Christ.

In the days of Seth’s son, Enos, the Genesis account states that men began to call on the name of the Lord. In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament used by the early Church, it states it as, “This one (Enosh) hoped to call upon the name of the Lord God.” This would mean that Enos called on the name of the Lord, and would pass his faith onto his descendants. Ultimately, what we see in Genesis going forward is that Seth’s direct line would remain godly, while the rest of the world would descend into hostility toward God, sexual immorality, and violence.

In what ways are we like Cain? Do we know what the Lord’s word says, but insist on doing things our own way? This will result in our work not being pleasing in His sight, and we will not be blessed. Remember, we must first approach Him by faith: this is faith in the person of Jesus Christ for salvation, and faith in what His word says is true. This naturally translates into living in obedience to that truth.

Second, how do we respond when we are corrected for something wrong we have done? Do we lie and seek to cover up what we have done? Do we play the victim in an attempt to make others feel sorry for us? Are we so intent on our own way that we would sacrifice our fellowship with the Lord to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season? The correct response, of course, is to admit our faults, confess our sin to the appointed man, Jesus Christ, for, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Sin wants to rule over us, but we must rule over it through our faith in the Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, are we struggling with depression? While certainly not all depression is linked to sinful behavior, I do believe it is significant that the first time it is mentioned in the Bible it is connected with sin. We need to ask the Lord to search our hearts as David did. It may not be open rebellion, but simply an area we are not aware of that we need to change our thinking. In the following chapter, we will see the genealogy of Adam all the way to Noah, and some interesting insights along the way.

 

Genesis 3 - The Fall

Last time in Genesis, we talked about the close-up view of day six of creation when the Lord God created mankind. The Lord created man and woman in a state of innocence, and there was complete fellowship and unity with the Lord and each other. They were given freewill. They had to be given a choice. There was only one rule, to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Unfortunately, this state of innocence was not going to last, and it would affect every other man and woman throughout the rest of history. So, let’s go ahead and jump into chapter 3.

The Bible states that the serpent was more subtle (crafty) than any other beast of the field that the Lord had made. Contextually this is referring to an actual serpent because it is being compared with the other beasts of the field. This is further solidified when the Lord would later curse the serpent by causing it to crawl on its belly and eat dust (V 14). This is not all there is to the story however. Apparently this serpent somehow gave itself over to the devil to inhabit it, and this would be the method by which the devil would tempt the woman and her husband. It is for this reason the devil is referred to as the great serpent (see Revelation 12:9). We see throughout the Scriptures that the devil and his demons at times do inhabit animals and people.  When Jesus came into the land of the Gadarenes, he cast demons out of a man and permitted them to enter into a herd of swine (Luke 8:26-33). At the Last Supper, Satan entered into Judas in order that he should betray Jesus (John 13:27). So, Satan, possessing the serpent, shows up on the scene in the Garden of Eden, and begins speaking with the woman. As we pay attention, we will learn some things about the devil’s nature and how he operates in attempting to draw us into sin.

He stated, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Notice he does not start off by directly challenging God’s Word, but by simply questioning it. If he had directly challenged God’s Word, Eve may have not taken the bait, but he plants a seed of doubt in her mind by saying, “Has God indeed said?” Satan is a liar, and often he is subtle about it, even using some truth mixed in to make it sound good. However, as we will see, it is always out of context with the intent to deceive. Jesus said of the devil: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44) Jesus also stated the devil is a murderer. He knew they were going to die if they ate the forbidden fruit, so his intent was to murder them and the entire human race.

Eve’s first mistake is that she carried on a conversation with the devil. We are never told to have a discussion with the devil, or foolish people for that matter. Proverbs says, “Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.” (Pro 14:7) Carrying on a conversation with someone who has made up their mind to give themselves over to sin is not only a waste of time, but it runs the risk of drawing us into compromise and sin ourselves. It’s kind of like that hunter who was taking careful aim at a large bear. When he was about to pull the trigger, the bear spoke in a soft soothing voice, “Isn’t it better to talk than to shoot? What do you want? Let’s negotiate the matter.” Lowering his rifle, the hunter replied, “I want a fur coat.” “Good,” said the bear, “that is a negotiable question. I only want a full stomach, so let us negotiate a compromise.” They sat down to negotiate and after a time the bear walked away alone. The negotiations had been successful. The bear had a full stomach, and the hunter had his fur coat!  Carrying on a discussion with the devil will often result in being eaten for lunch. With the devil, we are only told to rebuke him, (Acts 16:18 and Jude:9).

Eve responded by saying that the Lord told them they were not to eat of the tree in the midst of the garden, nor to touch it. Interestingly, the Lord did tell Adam not to eat of the tree, but He did not tell him they couldn’t touch it. Eve added to the Lord’s words, and the devil perceiving she was already deceived in this area, then proceeded to directly challenge God’s Word. Adding to what God has said presents a few problems: it adds to our frustration when we cannot live up to those rules, it gives us a false sense of security when we break the rule and nothing happens, and it adds fuel to the lie that God is withholding something good from us. In the case of Eve, the devil will capitalize on the last one.

Next, the serpent directly challenged God’s word. Whenever we see the tendency in others or in ourselves to question or challenge the word of God, you can bet the devil is behind it. He stated, “…Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” He also questions God’s character by stating that God is withholding something good from them. This no doubt made the fruit more appealing to her as she was told she would be as a god knowing good and evil. This is the same lie that has been repackaged throughout history, and is present even today. Cults such as Mormonism teach that if you are a good Mormon, you can become a god and procreate to populate your own planet. The New Age movement also teaches a person can achieve godhood by participating in various rituals and practices.

In her desire to be more spiritual, Eve was deceived into eating from the forbidden tree. Adam, her husband, also partook of the fruit, but the Scriptures state he was not deceived (1 Timothy 2:14). This meant he did it willingly, and he thus had the greater sin. Adam knew that he would die if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but he, rather than seeking the Lord for the answer, chose to sin with his wife. In his desire not to be separated from her, he plunged the whole human race and all creation into sin. In this Adam is a figure of Him that was to come: Rather than losing his wife for eternity, he in a sense became sin for her (Romans 5:14). Don’t misunderstand, Adam is still responsible for his sin, but the Lord still uses this to point us to Jesus Christ.

After this, the Genesis account says that their eyes were opened and they knew they were naked. Before the fall, they were unaware of their nakedness because they did not know any different, and there was no reason to know. Their sin however suddenly made them aware of it, and of the subsequent guilt and shame that always goes along with sin. This would not only speak to their immediate sin of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but of the sin nature they would now have and would pass on to their children. Paul wrote in Romans, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” (Rom 5:12) That state of innocence was permanently lost, and now mankind would be slaves to sin unless they turned to the Lord.

They tried to cover this nakedness by sowing fig leaves together into aprons. Fig leaves are known for being itchy and scratchy, and would no doubt have been uncomfortable to wear.  This is a picture of man’s attempt to be righteous on his own. Trying to earn our own righteousness still leaves us uncomfortable, and it does not alleviate our guilt and shame because our sin is not truly dealt with. The Scriptures state that Adam and his wife then heard the voice of the Lord calling to Adam in the garden, and they hid themselves from His presence. Notice they were clothed, but they were still ashamed. This is what sin will always do:  It severs our relationship with the Lord and drives us away from Him. In our guilt and shame, we shrink away from Him, and over time our hearts become hard towards Him. However, as we will see, it is the Lord who will initiate the restoration of that relationship.

Then the Lord called unto Adam and asked him, “Where are you? Obviously the Lord knew where Adam was, but he was looking for something else. As we continue to read, we can see that the Lord was wanting Adam to confess what he had done. The first step for us in taking care of sin is confession. Notice the Lord did not ask Adam why he ate from the tree; He just asked him if he had done it. It is our human nature to try to justify ourselves, but the why never justifies the behavior. Our job is just to humble ourselves before the Lord and confess our sin. The apostle John wrote, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Right away with the first man and woman, we see the excuses. Adam blames his sin on his wife. Not only that, he blames the Lord who gave her to him. Lastly, Eve blames the serpent. I guess not much has changed, huh?

Next the Lord tells each of them the consequences of their sin. The Lord addresses the literal serpent first by telling him he will crawl on his belly and eat dust all the days of his life. Interestingly enough, fossil evidence reveals that at least some snakes used to have legs. He states there will be enmity between it and the woman and her offspring, and they will bruise its head and it would bruise their heel. In verse 15 we see a dual meaning: this is true of the literal serpent, but also of Satan. It is through the seed of the woman that God would bring the Messiah into the world. When we look at the Gospel of Luke, the Gospel writer who highlights Jesus’ humanity, we see that the genealogy is traced back through Mary’s line rather than Joseph’s, since Jesus did not have an earthly father. So, it is through the seed of the woman that Jesus came into the world, and it is upon the cross where He bruised the head of the serpent who is the devil, defeating him once and for all! So, it is here in connection with the fall of mankind, that we see a marvelous prophecy of God’s provision for sin through the cross. It is what theologians call the protoevangelium. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul contrasted the first man (Adam) with the last Adam (Jesus Christ). “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22) “And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” (V 45) Jesus Christ is God’s provision for sin.

Next, the Lord addresses the woman. He first tells her that because of her sin he will greatly multiply her sorrow and conception, and in sorrow she shall bear children. The word sorrow appears twice in this verse: The first one can refer to both emotional and physical pain, while the second primarily refers to physical pain. She will have increased emotional and physical pain along with conception, most likely referring to all the ailments that go along with conception and pregnancy. The second is obvious: she will have pain in childbirth that was not there previously. As part of the curse the Lord also tells her that her desire will be toward her husband, and he will rule over her. The idea here is that the Lord is saying that as a result of the curse, the woman in her sin will try to usurp her husband’s God-given authority for her own personal interests. Likewise, the husband in his sin will neglect his God-given responsibility to love his wife, and instead seek to subdue her and rule over her for his own personal interests. Thus, it is not a model of a marriage in which both spouses are submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, but of one that is ruled by sin and self-interest. As we covered in Ephesians, God’s original intent for marriage is that the husband should be the spiritual and moral leader for his family by serving and sacrificially loving his wife, and the wife reverences and submits to her husband (Ephesians 5:22-33).

Lastly, The Lord turns His attention to the Man, and tells him that because he listened to his wife and ate from the forbidden tree, the ground would be cursed for his sake. The days of enjoying his work in the garden would be gone forever. The ground that was once easy to keep would now produce thorns and thistles, and he now would have to work for his food by the sweat of his face.

He would have to work until he dies and returns to the same dust from which he was created. The chief consequence of sin is death, and this death would come to Adam, Eve, and everyone who would follow them. Returning again to Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”

After this, the Scriptures state that the Lord made coats of skins for Adam and Eve, and clothed them. They got to take off the itchy fig leaves and put on clothing provided to them by the Lord Himself. Implicit in this is that there would have been bloodshed: An animal(s) had to have been killed in order for the Lord to make the coats of Skins. It is highly likely that it is here where the sacrificial system began, for by the time we get to chapter 4, Abel brings an offering to the Lord from the flock, and the Lord accepts it. From the beginning the Lord was teaching them that in order for sin to be forgiven, there must be bloodshed (Leviticus 17:11 and Hebrews 9:22).  In this we see another picture of the Gospel: By faith we get to take off the itchy fig leaves of our own righteousness, and God gives to us in its place the Righteousness of Jesus Christ who shed His blood for you and me.

Apparently, if Adam and Eve had eaten of the tree of life they would have lived forever, but God could not permit that in their fallen state. Man in a relatively short lifetime can do enough damage as we will see going through Genesis, much less live forever on the earth. So, the Lord drove them from the garden, and placed two angels and a flaming sword to keep man from coming back to the tree of life.

I think it is interesting that God allows the curse to touch the woman and the man in the areas that He designed them to function in. The Lord’s intention for women is that they should marry, bear and raise children, and guide the house (1 Timothy 5:14 and Titus 2:3-5), and men, in addition to being the spiritual leaders of their homes, are to be the providers (1 Timothy 5:8). In those areas where each find the most fulfillment, the Lord added toil, pain, and sorrow. If mankind did not have trial and tribulation because of their sin, they would grow comfortable in that sin, and eventually destroy themselves. The Lord in his infinite wisdom allows the trials of the curse to keep us humble, dependent upon Him, and to build character in our lives. However, even in this the Lord provides hope for godly women and men. Paul writes, “Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.” (1 Timothy 2:15) This is saying that the Lord will mitigate the effects of the curse in relation to pregnancy and childbirth for those who by faith in Jesus Christ are living godly lives. For the man, the Lord states that He will reward his hard work: “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.” (Ephesians 6:5-8)

In closing, we have seen how the devil operates in attempting to draw us into sin, and this is important because we should not be ignorant of his devices. He is a liar by nature with the intent to kill. Jesus is our answer to the sin problem. We have all given into temptation, and, as a result, have broken our relationship with the Lord and become spiritually dead. This is a plight for which it is impossible for us to fix. But just as God sought out Adam and Eve, He has sought out us to restore this relationship. It is only up to us to receive it by faith in the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. We get to take off the itchy fig leaves of our own righteousness, and put on the righteousness of Christ.

Second, I have heard it said that when we are tempted to eat from the forbidden tree, we need to turn to another tree, that is the tree of Calvary. If we remember from Romans 6, we are dead to sin, our old man is crucified with Jesus, and our sin nature has been rendered powerless. We are to reckon or count ourselves dead to sin, and remember that it has no control over us, for we are under grace. We appropriate these truths to our lives through our faith in the LORD who bruised the head of the Serpent, defeating his power over us.

Third, as believers, when we are tempted by the serpent to sin, we should be like Jesus who used the Scriptures to counteract his lies. The devil wants us to doubt the word of God because he knows it is our offensive weapon against him. He is a liar, but Jesus and His words are the truth.

Lastly, Jesus has beaten death, and that means we beat it too! “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So, when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Co 15:51-57)

We turn to Jesus, and turn to His word, for that is our victory! In the following chapter, we will get our first glimpse at the ugliness of sin.