Year 1, Day 4: Genesis 4

With the Help of the Lord

Genesis 4 gives us a great perspective on the results of the fall.  But before we get to the first murder, let’s talk about the first few verses.  First, notice that Eve’s response at giving birth is “With the help of the Lord…”  Even after the fall, Adam and Eve are still involved with God.  They could have taken their rejection and casting out of the Garden of Eden personally.  But Eve didn’t do that.  She accepted the consequences and continued to celebrate God’s presence in her life.  When she gave birth, she acknowledged that only through God was the birth possible.  Thus, she gave birth to Cain.

Then she gave birth to Abel.  Abel is a Hebrew word that means “breath,” “temporary,” or “meaningless.”  Isn’t it ironic that Abel is given a name that is symbolic for the amount of time that he would spend living?

Offerings to God

Okay, now let’s get to the main event.   I remember as a young kid being taught that Cain’s offering was bad and Abel’s offering was good.  I’ve always wondered about that teaching.  What’s wrong with giving to God out of the fruits of our life?  Some have told me that God only accepts meat offerings.  I believed that one for a while, too.  Well, that is until I read Leviticus 6.  Then I found out that God accepts all kinds of offerings based upon the rationale for the offering being made.  So if God can accept a grain offering as well as a meat offering – so long as the rationale is proper for each sacrifice, what’s so wrong with Cain’s offering?

To answer this, let’s look at the story.  Cain brings some fruit of his grain.  Abel brings some of the fat of some of the firstborn.  There is a sense of intentionality in Abel’s gift.  Abel seeks out the firstborn and returns some back to God.  Cain, on the other hand, just brings some offering from some of his fruits.  You see, the difference is not in the offerings themselves but in the motivation behind the gift! 

Cain brought some sort of gift out of some portion of his labor.  Abel brought a good portion out of the first fruit of his labor.  Cain’s gift is an afterthought; Abel’s gift is a true tithe back to God.  No wonder God doesn’t find Cain’s gift pleasing and He does find Abel’s gift a pleasant aroma.  The question I struggle with at this point is simple: what about my offerings?  Sure, I give to the Lord.  But do I give out of the first fruits because I want God to have the first and the best?  Or do I give out of whatever I have already reaped knowing that I have plenty to spare after I’ve given to God?

Murder

So Cain plans Abel’s murder, invites him out into the scene, and kills him.  Unlike his parents, who accepted their punishment and found a way to live with God even outside the Garden, Cain cannot accept it.  Cain kills Abel and begins his fall.  Let’s trace his fall through the scripture.  Cain is guilty of:

• impiety (v. 3), 
• anger (v. 5), 
• deception (v. 8), 
• murder (v. 8), 
• falsehood (v. 9), 
• self-seeking (v. 13), and 
• self-alienation 

All of this is against God Himself (v. 16).  The sin in Cain’s life spins him out of control.  At any point he could have easily repented and drawn back to God.  But he does not.  With each step he turns further away from God and gets further and further from God’s ways.  Unrepentant sin has a horrible way of corrupting our whole life.

In fact, look at how unrepentant sin corrupts whole generations – not just individual lives!  Lamech – notice that Lamech is the seventh generation listed from Adam and remember that the number seven signifies completeness – marries two women and brings polygamy into the picture in spite of God’s ordination of monogamous marriage in the creation accounts.  He kills a person for simply wounding him and thus demonstrates his desire to take judgment out of God’s hand and keep it in his own.  He considered himself to be the master of his own destiny.  Unchecked sin gets taught throughout the generations until it spirals out of control to the point that people no longer feel a need God.  That is the danger of unchecked and unrepentant sin.

Seth

My last little pondering has to do with the last notation in this chapter.  So much room in this chapter is spent on the aspect of sin while such little room is spent on the aspect of true faith.  I think that’s justified.  Sin can have such dramatic sweeping consequences and suck a grand amount of life and energy out of us.  But life with God can be so easy.  A little repentance, a little desire to follow God, and a little faith is really all that it takes. 

Adam and Eve continued to exist with God even after their fall, unlike Cain.  A third son is born to them and God’s name continues to be praised.  In fact, not only do Adam and Eve continue to walk with God, but others around them learn to do so.  Through Adam and Eve and their willingness to let people look into their life, others learn to call upon the name of the Lord.

Call upon the name of the Lord and see the difference it makes.