Fall Study: Genesis 1 Through Genesis 11:
Most Recently: Mankind Receives Grace In Judgment.
Today: Antagonistic Unbelief.
Some Of The Topics In The Next Few Weeks:
Man's Ways Or God's Ways.
Reign Of Death. And More.
Summary Of Genesis: Establishes Fundamental Truths About God.
Among These Are:
His Role As The Creator,
His Holiness,
His Hatred Of Sin,
His Love For Mankind,
His Willingness To Provide For Our Redemption.
We Learn:
Where Mankind Has Come From.
Why The World Is In Its Present Form.
We Are Presented:
The General History Of The Universe.
The Establishment Of Israel, God's Chosen People.
The Basic Principles That Appear Throughout Scripture.
We Learn:
The Creation And Loss Of Paradise.
Adam And Eve Are Separated From God:
Their Relationship With Him Does Not End.
THIS CHAPTER BRIDGES THE STORY OF GENESIS.
FROM OUR ULTIMATE ORIGINS.
TO THE STORY OF NOAH.
INTRODUCED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.
I. INTRODUCTION.
A. The Impact Of One Sin Upon The Human Race.
Hatred And Murder Introduced Into The World:
Eve Held Her Dead Son Abel.
Eve Knew Her Other Son Cain Was The Murderer.
Eve Now Had A Glimpse Of The Exceeding Sinfulness Of Sin.
B. Cain's Terrible Murderous Act Is A Picture Of World History.
History Is The Story Of The Wars, Battles And Bloodshed Of Mankind.
The First War Began In Genesis 4.
THESE VERSES, 4 THRU 16, COVER ABOUT 100 YEARS OF TIME:
OUTLINE
I. THE FIRST FAMILY (4:1-2).
II. SACRIFICE AND SIN (4:3-10).
III. CURSE AND MERCY FOR CAIN (4:11-16).
1. THE FIRST FAMILY.
THE BIRTH OF CAIN AND ABEL: Verses 1 Thru 2:
A. Adam Laid With His Wife Eve.
She Became Pregnant And Gave Birth To A Son.
She Named Him Cain.
Eve Said, With The Lord’s Help, I Have Made A Man!
B. Eve Gave Birth Again: Cain’s Brother Abel.
Abel Became A Shepherd.
Cain Became A Farmer.
II. SACRIFICE AND SIN (4:3-10).
A. SACRIFICE.
B. SIN THROUGH MURDER.
THE FIRST MURDER.
Note: Cain And Abel Were Undoubtedly In Their Twenties Or Thirties When This Murder Took Place.
SACRIFICE AT HARVEST TIME:
This Was A Prescribed Period For Sacrifice.
Sacrifice Was Practiced By Adam And Eve.
Sacrifice Was Taught To Their Children.
This Is The First Sacrifice Recorded In Scripture.
This May Not Be Their First Sacrifice Offered.
Note.
Adam And Eve Trained Their Children To Worship God.
Mankind Began To Worship The One True God.
Because Of Sin Worship Deteriorated Into Idolatry.
Man Has Not Progressed From Many Gods To One God.
Man Has Crumbled From One God To Many Gods Because Of Sin.
BOTH BROUGHT AN OFFERING TO THE LORD:
Cain Brought Of The First Fruit Of The Ground.
Abel Brought Of The First Born Of His Flock.
The Lord Had Respect Unto Abel And To His Offering:
The Lord Had NO RESPECT Unto Cain And To His Offering:
Why Was Cain's Sacrifice Rejected?
They Clearly Understood That Approach To God Was Through A Sacrifice Of An Animal (Gen. 3:21).
Cain's Vegetables Were Not Acceptable To God.
For God Was Teaching Them That Without The Shedding Of Blood There Is No Remission Of Sins.
Note.
Christ Who Would Be Slain For The Sins Of Men (John 1:29).
Sacrifice Teaches Us That The Problem Of Sin Is Very Serious.
It Cannot Be Handled By Good Resolution Or An Earnest Resolve.
It Is Not Settled By A Temporary Attitude Change.
Sin Is Something That Is Embedded In The Human Race.
It Can Only Be Solved By Death.
Cain Did Not Offer His Offering In Faith: Heb. 11:4.
By Faith Abel Brought God A Better Offering Than Cain.
By Faith Abel Was Commended As Righteous.
By Faith Abel Still Speaks Even Though He Is Dead.
AND CAIN WAS VERY UPSET AND HIS COUNTENANCE FELL.
The Rejection Of The Offering Caused Cain:
-To Get Angry.
-To Be Resentful.
-To Become Jealous.
-To Be So Upset His Whole Countenance Changed.
-To Hate God's Choice.
-To Direct His Hate Toward His Brother Abel.
-To Outwardly Reflect What Was In His Heart.
Note:
Anger, Hatred And Jealousy Can Grip The Human Heart.
These Attitudes Can Change The Personality Of The Individual.
These Attitudes Can Be Reflected In An Outward Appearance.
A Hard And Bitter Countenance Can Be Seen By Others.
THE PATIENCE OF GOD WITH CAIN: Verses 6 Thru 7.
The Lord Asked Cain: Why Are You Angry And Look Sad?
God Patiently Asks Cain This Question To Bring Him To Repentance.
Anger Can Produce Devastating Results If Not Addressed.
B. You Know That: If You Do What Is Right: I Will Accept You.
But If You Don’t: Sin Is Ready To Attack You And Control You.
The Lord Is Not Talking About Trying Harder.
The Lord Is Bringing A Proper Sacrifice Offering To The Lord.
It Was Not Too Late For Cain.
He Would Be Accepted Just Like Abel.
THE MURDER OF ABEL BY CAIN: Verse 8.
Cain Said To His Brother Abel, Let’s Go Out To The Field.
So They Went To The Field.
Then Cain Attacked His Brother Abel And Killed Him.
Cain Hid This Murderous Act Away From Adam And Eve.
Cain Could Not Hide Anything From God !!
B. Cain Rose Up Against Abel His Brother And Kill Him.
Cain Refused To Repent.
He Nursed His Hatred And Anger Toward God.
Cain Plotted To Murder His Brother.
Cain Thought This Would Be A Way To Get Even.
Note.
This Murder Began With Hatred.
Every Outward Act Of Sin Is First Lodged In The Human Heart.
All War Is The Result Of Hatred, Jealousy, Envy And Strife.
All War Starts In Mankind's Heart.
Only Christ Can Calm And Control The War In Mankind's Heart.
C. Cain Fathered The Ungodly Line Opposed To The Messiah.
Gen. 3:15: There Would Be These Two Lines.
Abel Represents The Godly Line.
Cain Was Of The Devil For His Act Of Murder (1 John 3:11-12).
THE CONTINUED PATIENCE OF GOD WITH CAIN: Verse 9.
A. Later, The Lord Said To Cain, Where Is Your Brother Abel?
God Was Encouraging Cain To Confess His Guilt Before God.
God Still Wants To Bring Him To Repentance.
Cain Answered, I Don’t Know. Is It My Job To Watch Over My Brother?
Cain Knows He Is Guilty.
Cain Refuses To Accept Responsibility For His Brother.
Cain Denied His Guilt And Was Totally Responsible For His Brother.
Note.
Guilty Men Run From Acknowledging The Truth.
Men Cannot Run From God Who Knows All Things.
III. CURSE AND MERCY FOR CAIN (4:10-16).
A. CURSE AND REGRET (4:10-14).
B. MERCY AND PROTECTION (4:15-16).
THE JUDGMENT OF CAIN: Verses 10 Thru 15.
Then The Lord Said, What Have You Done?
You Killed Your Brother.
The Ground Opened Up To Take His Blood From Your Hands.
Now His Blood Is Shouting To Me From The Ground.
So You Will Be Cursed From This Ground.
The Ground Shrieked:
For Vengeance,
For Justice,
For This Wrong To Be Made Right.
This Is Vengeance From God, Not From Man.
B. Now When You Work The Soil, The Ground Will Not Help Your Plants Grow.
You Will Not Have A Home In This Land.
You Will Wander From Place To Place.
Cain Was A Farmer Of Great Pride And Success.
Now He Will Not Be Able To Get Any Ground To Produce.
There Will Be Nothing But Frustration, Sweat, Tears And Toil For Him.
He Will Be Lonely Empty And Restless The Rest Of His Life.
C. Cain Said To The Lord: This Punishment Is More Than I Can Bear!
Cain Was Cursed To A Meaningless Existence.
Cain Was To Live A Life Far Worse Than Death.
He Was Hardened To Sin But Concerned Only About His Punishment.
There Was No Repentance.
He Did NOT Care About God.
He Did Care About Himself In A Selfish Way.
You Are Forcing Me To Leave The Land.
I Will Not Be Able To Be Near You Or Have A Home!
Now I Must Wander From Place To Place,
Anyone I Meet Could Kill Me.
Cain Is Obsessed And Haunted By His Guilt.
He Will Be Marked And Hunted And Haunted.
hen The Lord Said To Cain That If Anyone Kills You That Person Would Be Punished Much Much More.
The Lord Put A Mark On Cain To Show That No One Should Kill Him.
God Makes A Promise To Protect Cain From Society.
What Does The Mark Mean? It Is Not Exactly Known.
WHAT HAPPENED TO CAIN’S FAMILY: VERSE 16.
Cain Went Away From The Lord And Lived In The Land Of Nod.
No comments:
Post a Comment