THROUGH THE BIBLE: Genesis 4..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord. And again she bore his brother Abel.

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time, Cain brought the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.

The Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 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 for you. You must rule over it.

Cain spoke to Abel, his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, where is Abel, your brother? He said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?

And the Lord said, what have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened up its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive, a wanderer on the earth."

Cain said to the Lord, my punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today 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.' 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. Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. To Enoch was born Erad, and to Erad, Mehugel.

And to Mehugel, he fathered Methuselah, Methushael, I'm sorry, and Methushael fathered Lamech. And Lamech took two wives, the name of one, Adah, and the name of the other, Zelah. Adda bore Jabil. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother's name was Jubal.

He was the father of all who play the lyre and the pipe. Zila also bore Tubal-Kain. He was a forger of instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-Kain was Nama. Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, hear my voice.

You wives of Lamech, listen to what I say. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain's revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech's is seventy-sevenfold. 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.

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. Amen. This is the word of the Lord. Well, we've been working our way through the first chapters of the Bible systematically, and now we find ourselves in Genesis chapter four.

So far, we've seen our eternal God create all things by the word of his power. From nothing, he spoke everything into existence, and he did that in six literal days of creation. He then rested on the seventh. Chapter two zooms in on the creation of man and woman who God created in his own image, in his own likeness. They were created to have communion with God.

The infinite creator God will dwell with the finite creatures. Adam was to tend the land and have dominion over all the earth as the vice regent of God. and as the federal head of all humanity. He and Eve were to be fruitful and to multiply, bringing all things to submission to God who provides for their every need. Lovingly and obediently, Adam was to serve God in the garden as though a priest would serve God in the temple.

And he was to protect all that God has placed in his care, and he was to protect them from harm. Chapter 3 is one of the saddest chapters in the history of the world. You see here, Adam sinned against God. He and his wife experienced spiritual death that day, no longer able on their own to desire what is pleasing to God, but as the federal head of humanity, Adam's disobedience plunged all humankind from that time forward into sin. Every man, every woman, every child from that point on would be born with a sinful nature, a disposition to rebel against God.

The very good world that God created is now or has now become cursed because of sin. But God is a gracious God. He exiled Adam and Eve from the garden, yes, but he spared their lives and he demonstrated this, his continued provision by clothing them with the skin of an animal that he, God, had sacrificed. Now exiled and removed from the manifested presence of God in Eden, life has become difficult for mankind. And they would always look back and long for the rest they had in Eden.

Now we find ourselves in chapter four, where things go from bad to worse. In this account, we see the devastating consequences of Adam's sin that have been passed to his children. Many children were born to Adam and Eve, we know this because the Bible tells us, but Cain and Abel were the first two. Abel, we're told, was a keeper of the sheep, so he brought the firstborn of his flock and the fat portions as an offering to God. Cain was a farmer of the ground, and so what he brought was an offering of The text tells us that God accepted Abel's offering but had no regard for the offering of Cain.

This made Cain very angry and downcast. No doubt, no doubt, both Cain and Abel had been taught by either God or their parents what is and what is not acceptable as an offering to God. See, in verse 7, God tells Cain, if he does well, that is, if he does what is right, he will be accepted by God. This was not the case of ignorance on the behalf of Cain, but rather arrogance and disobedience, and he knew better. Many commentators have suggested that Cain's offering was not accepted because it was the product of his own efforts, and he was trying to please God with the things that he does, in a way like he was coming before the Lord bragging and showing God what he has done, and bringing his efforts to God.

Maybe, but I don't see evidence of this in the text. Others have suggested because the earth was cursed in the fall, the offering of fruit was from the earth and not fitting as an offering to God. Again, maybe, but I don't see any explicit evidence for this either in the text. Others have suggested that Cain's offering was not a bloody sacrifice, which was required. Without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness of sin.

Hebrews 9 testifies to this truth. And it's very possible that this is the reason God does not accept Cain's sacrifice. After all, God sacrificed the first animal to clothe both his parents, Adam and Eve, maybe by way of example. Very likely, yes, but what's in the text? What does Genesis 4 tell us?

Well, whatever the reason, the text is clear of one thing. Cain offers something that is unacceptable to God. He was fully aware of what is and what is not acceptable. God instructs him gently in verse 7, but Cain does not heed the instruction of the Lord. He ought to have listened to God by faith offered, and by faith offered what is right and pleasing to him, as his brother did.

See, Abel had faith. We know this because Hebrews 11 tells us. But instead, Cain stored up anger in his heart, typical of what is written or spoken of in the book of Proverbs 21, 27. It reads like this. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination How much more when he brings it with evil intent?

You see, it is God who dictates what offering or sacrifice is acceptable to him. It's his terms, not ours. His people, ordered by faith and obedience, offer only what is pleasing to God. That's the whole idea of an offering. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Which is a reminder for us here and now, in the fullness of time, beloved, there is one sacrifice and only one sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sins. It's only the blood of Jesus Christ. Nothing else is acceptable. Hear this, Jesus has already been offered as a pleasing sacrifice on behalf of his people. It's already done, and God is pleased with this sacrifice.

By faith, we ought to embrace Jesus, the only acceptable and pleasing sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. Coming to God with any other offering or any other sacrifice is wickedness and indicative of an evil heart. In his jealousy, Cain takes his brother to a field and commits the first murder in human history. Cold-blooded murder. This is the fruit of Adam's sin.

When God asks Cain the whereabouts of his brother, Cain, in arrogance and unrepentance, tells God he does not know. God knows the answer, but Cain, Cain tells a blatant lie. If you're counting how many sins Cain has committed, you're gonna run out of fingers. You see, sin gives birth to more sin. The unregenerated heart is a breeding place for sin.

God says, the voice of your brother or your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. An evil act has been committed and Abel's blood calls for justice. Justice will be served. You all know the rest of the story. God curses Cain, casting him out as a wanderer, as a nomad for the rest of his life, as a farmer.

The ground he cultivates from now on will not produce the fruit it once produced. Cain is cursed. Is there real repentance in Cain? We need to ask ourselves this question. Well, he does seem upset to be cast out of the presence of God.

He tells us this, but he's more concerned with self-preservation than seeking true forgiveness. You see, Cain never, not once, acknowledges he's worthy of his punishment. He just wants protection from those who seek to avenge Abel's blood. So Cain departs to the east of Eden, and with his wife, probably his sister, they have offspring and they build a city. They begin to populate the world, but before long, in their future generations of Cain, we see more sin and more evil.

Lamech, a double murderer is an example of this. Adam's sin has corrupted everyone, in every generation. Things go from bad to worse. Now back to Adam and Eve. They have another boy, Seth.

And from that time forward, people began to call upon the name of the Lord. This is the last verse in chapter four. You see, the people started to realize the destructive tendencies of the sinful nature and the lack of any righteousness on their own behalf. They begin to seek God by faith for his mercy and grace. Their only hope for mankind now is the seed promised by God back in Genesis chapter 3.

From the generations of Seth would come that seed of redemption. from Seth's lineage in about 4,000 years time in a manger in Bethlehem will be born a saviour who will crush the head of the enemy and will indeed save his people from their sins. Jesus Christ is that saviour. Jesus Christ is the only saviour. May his name be blessed.

Amen.