Gen4

Genesis 4

(ASV)


1 And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have [1] gotten a man with the help of Jehovah. 2 And again she bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.


There are two are two major thought lines here among the Christian Community and a third favored by the Lost Man and disavowed by the Word of God. The World's heretical opinion is that if Genesis is correct in it's account, Cain married a wife from the people that were here before God created Adam and Eve. We must be careful and brave here because the World will call us fools believing the scriptures without reservation. But when a man, woman or a child is saved, if they do not “completely” sell out to God, they will not be in the Bride of Christ. (Read Matt. 22:14 to see there are guests at the wedding.)


So here we see the births and occupations of Abel and his older brother Cain. (Gen. 1:28) I feel that it is important to note the “command” to “replenish the Earth” was given ?long? Before Cain and Abel are born and I, having been a young man, can find no reason to believe that Adam and Eve did not obey this command from Father God. I feel, as do many others, that a case is made in the first three chapters of the Bible for these lads to have sisters, aunts, uncles and possibly nieces and nephews at the time of this chapter.


3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Jehovah. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.


Now, I find it important to remember that Moses did not write this book with chapters! So it is that I will teach folks not to divide the Word in this fashion but to remember, the Bible, from “In the beginning... through the very last “Amen,” is one story, of one context. With this in mind, remember that Adam and Eve, after eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and of Evil, covered or clothed themselves, in primitive but in much the same as we do today, with clothing made from plants. God, on the other hand, sacrificed animals for their covering, He set the example for forgiveness through the blood. Cain, being the older brother should have known this.


6 And Jehovah said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door; and unto thee shall be its desire; but do thou rule over it.


Often missed and I admit, missed by me until recently is the statement in the last five words of this paragraph, “do thou rule over it? Couple this with the truth, of Romans 3:10 & 23 and we have a dynamic the average Christian seldom makes. We are to “rule” over the sins in our lives, do we? Cain missed the mark but he had not sinned the unforgivable sin, he just neede to repent and do this sin no longer.


8 And Cain told Abel his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.


Why, in the world, did Cain tell his brother what God had rebuked him for? Did Cain feel the need for a form of godly fellowship? In this single sentence paragraph, we find an inverse example of it! Unfortunately, today, the Body of Christ, the Church, is still using their Colt 45s to kill the fallen brother instead of lifting him back to0 his or her feet. We are not told here but did Abel make the mistake of “drawing down” on his Elder Brother? I'm still chewing on this one, myself.



9 And Jehovah said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: am I my brother’s keeper? 10 And He said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. 11 And now cursed art thou from the ground, which hath opened its mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; 12 when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee its strength; a fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be in the earth.


Today, it is popular to toss the Old Testament, the Bible Jesus and the Twelve taught from into the trash and I teach you, never, never even consider this action and remember the main focus of this paragraph, God knows and there is “always” penalty for sin!


13 And Cain said unto Jehovah, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the ground; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth; and it will come to pass, that whosoever findeth me will slay me. 15 And Jehovah said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And Jehovah appointed a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should smite him.


Cain is upset but for all the wrong reasons! He is upset because of his penalty and not because he has sinned against his brother and against God. We must learn that we never walk anywhere without God! When we sin, God is there and we will pay a penalty, either here or in Eternity! We must also stop following Adam and to begin to follow God. (Read John 1:1-3, the God of creation is Jesus!)


16 And Cain went out from the presence of Jehovah, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. 17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. 18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael; and Mehujael begat Methushael; and Methushael begat Lamech.

19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents and have cattle. 21 And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and pipe. 22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, [1] the forger of every cutting instrument of [2] brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23 And Lamech said unto his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: For I have slain a man for wounding me, And a young man for bruising me: 24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.


We begin to see, here, that Genealogy is important to the ancient peoples of the world but we must never forget that these genealogies are not all inclusive. Remember, Cain was married and it is impossible for him to have married except that there were unrecorded females born to Adam and Eve. And then we see that sin seems to begat sin. And at the end of these two paragraphs, verse 24, we find pride, man's first or second, in importance, sin. Lamech finds himself to be 10 times more important to the world than Cain.


25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For, said she , God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel; for Cain slew him. 26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh. Then began men to call upon the name of Jehovah.


Here, if we study carefully, we see that even from the beginning, man has the tendency to fall away from God. This is a matter for a good deal of prayerful meditation. Remember, when a follower of Yahweh meditates he or she does not fold their hands and hum! Pray and meditate, expecting God to answer... He will!
 
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