So Genesis chapter 4 and we'll be reading the whole chapter.
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 contrary to you, but you must rule over it.
Cain spoke to Abel, his brother.
And when they were in the field, Cain rose up 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 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 and a wanderer on the earth.
Cain said to the Lord, my punishment is greater than I can bear.
Behold, you have driven me today away 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 anyone 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 Erad fathered Mahujael, and Mahujael fathered Methusael, and Methusael fathered Lamech.
And Lamech took two wives.
The name of the one was Adar, and the name of the other was Zillah.
Adar bore Jabal.
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 those who play the lyre and pipe.
Zillah also bore Jubal Cain.
He was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron.
The sister of Jubal Cain was Neymar.
Lamech said to his wives,
Adar 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.
Well, will you pray with me as we come to God's word?
Let's pray.
Father, I pray that you would help us sit under your word again,
and I pray that you would help us have a more clearer awareness of the presence and power of sin in our lives,
so that we might look away from ourselves to your wonderful salvation,
that we might cherish the cross of Jesus all the more.
So I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Well, do you know what sin looks like when you see it?
This sounds like a tautology kind of question, but do you know what sin looks like?
Do you recognise it when you see it?
We're headed this term in Genesis.
I want to give some bearings.
We're getting into chapters 4 to 11, and we're going to finish in chapter 15.
But 4 to 11, its scope is on the whole world.
So it's got the whole world in its lens, and it describes the effects of the fall into sin.
It builds our awareness of how desperate our situation is.
So if we don't grasp chapters 4 to 11, by the time chapter 12 comes and we zoom right in on one man, Abraham, and his one family,
we need to be aware of the effects of the fall so that we're just looking for what God's going to do to restore all things.
So can I encourage you, if you weren't here last week, if you've missed chapters 1 to 3,
can I encourage you to go to our website and catch up on that?
If you want to learn about the storyline of the Bible, here's a basic storyline in four words.
I think it's four words.
Creation, fall, redemption, new creation.
I'll halfenate that.
But my point is, chapters 1 to 3 cover the first two of those, and so it's really crucial we get a grasp of those chapters.
Very briefly, to jog our memory, we saw that all things are created by God alone, by his word.
It's his house, his rules.
And we saw that the goal of building all things is to live with us in his house, to be present with us.
The best thing about Eden was that God was there.
He was present.
Then Adam ruined the human family, rebelled against God's rule, rejected his love,
not believing his word, but believing the lie.
And so we're now in exile.
We're under curse.
We're not home.
We daily feel the effects of that curse in our marriages, in raising children, with our mortality hanging over us.
It all reminds us we need to be brought home.
So coming into chapter 4, what spreads into the next generation of the human race?
What do we see in Cain and Abel?
Now you might be scrolling your notifications already.
Now maybe that's my fault.
Or maybe you're wondering, what does Cain murdering Abel have to do with you?
Like you're not a murderer, I presume.
It's an interesting story.
It's graphic.
It's violent, kind of entertaining.
But we might be thinking, who cares?
In this story, we have the word sin in the Bible.
I think we might see and recognise curse around us.
We feel it.
We're living there.
I think we recognise curse and the struggle of life.
But do we see sin?
Do we recognise it when we see it?
I think this story helps us see sin, its presence and its power.
Okay, so the story starts on a really joyful note.
It is a hopeful note.
Like it is Eve holding her newborn and she completes her joy by giving praise to the Lord.
I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.
What should have spread to the next generation in the human race was the image of God, his character.
The setting of the story is worship.
Which should just raise our antenna that any presupposition that we have that religion is automatically good,
we've got to put a question mark over that.
Both brothers, Abel and Cain, they both bring an offering.
This is worship.
Abel's accepted, Cain isn't.
How do they know that they're not accepted?
I've heard so many speculations this week.
We're not told.
We don't know.
It's obviously not Moses' point in writing it for us.
We don't need to know.
What we're told is God rejected Cain and his offering.
God accepted Abel and his offering and Cain knew.
He knew.
Now, you can imagine how Cain felt, can't you?
I remember HSC when I was finishing year 12.
I did a design and tech project.
It was this coffee table thing.
Anyway, there was this award that went out for good projects.
And my classmate, my teacher said, got this award.
And I remember the feeling I had.
I was inside.
I was smiling on the outside.
On the inside, I was livid.
Like, I thought my project was so much better.
I tried hard.
I thought it was unfair that I was overlooked.
Like, I didn't have to think about that.
That was just a gut reaction.
I think we can sympathise with Cain here.
What's the difference between the brothers' offerings?
The Mosaic Law later on prescribes both crops and animals.
I don't think it's in the actual form of the worship itself.
They each brought what they could, what they had access to bring.
The only difference, the only hint of a difference we get is the very positive description of Abel's offering.
One commentator translated it like this.
I don't know Hebrew well.
Martin's not here today.
Some others who know Hebrew.
Here's one translation.
He brought the fattest of the firstlings of his flock.
He offered the Lord his best.
You know when a man's heart has been captured by a woman, don't you?
He showers more.
He's wearing better.
He's paying money for better clothes.
He'll drive long distances to see her after work and on the weekends.
He'll stay up late talking and texting.
Sleep is, who cares about sleep?
He'll spare any waking moment.
Like his thoughts just revert back to her.
Like he's saving up money to buy a ring.
His career decisions are all orientated to her now.
He seeks to please her.
He's giving the best of himself.
Now does all that sacrifice feel like duty to that man?
Does it feel like he's losing something?
No way.
He's giving the best and it completes his joy.
It's like a man giving a pledge, the very best.
He's saved up so much money for that ring.
And on that day, he's giving that, saying,
with all that I am and all that I have, I honour you.
I think that's what's going on here.
Abel's giving his best and it's a pledge of his full devotion.
Hebrews 11.4 says that it was by faith Abel offered a more acceptable sacrifice.
So maybe he was giving his best in response to God's promise to restore all things.
So maybe he knew the promise of chapter 3, verse 15,
that there would be a serpent crusher who would restore all things.
Maybe.
Maybe he knew that promise and he was so grateful
and he just knew that day was coming and so he gave his best.
Whereas Cain's, we suppose, wasn't done in faith.
Now, a slight maybe over those comments.
Something, something was wrong with Cain's motivation.
Otherwise, the Lord wouldn't have rejected his offering.
Now, what's Cain's response to this situation?
Conviction?
Is it, unlike me with that Year 12 project,
acknowledgement and pleasure that Abel did well
and delighting in that fact?
He deserved God's favour?
Is it self-examination?
No, he felt entitled to be angry and sad.
He's very angry.
It's not just angry.
He's livid.
He believes he's been hard done by.
He's entitled to blessing.
Maybe because he's the firstborn.
Maybe because he tried, he feels like a victim.
Maybe a victim of Abel.
Like, just because he went above and beyond,
he makes his fairly good efforts look bad.
It's just his fault for going above and beyond.
Maybe he feels a victim of the Lord.
He's unfair.
Like, can't you see I tried?
I tried.
And the Lord speaks to Cain.
And notice the picture of who God is here.
He's not a God.
He sits up in heaven with his, like a policeman,
with a radar sin gun just going,
let's see what he does here.
I'm trying to catch him out.
He's coming in and he's speaking early,
trying to intervene.
He's like a counsellor.
He's like a parent.
He wants to give Cain every opportunity
to turn this around.
And that's what scripture is.
He doesn't start with a command,
like a ruthless boss that just says,
get your act together.
He doesn't start like that.
He urges Cain to examine himself.
Why are you so angry?
Why are you angry?
Why are you sad?
Look, Cain.
Look in.
Why?
Do you examine yourself
when those self-pitying thoughts come?
Or do you blame your circumstances?
You blame others.
Do you love it
when a friend or family member
sits down with you
and they want to help you
examine your motivations?
Do you love that?
Or do you just want them to say,
no, I just want you to be angry with me?
Is it your husband or wife's fault
that you're angry?
A poor trip,
a pastor,
makes an outrageous claim
in marriage counselling
that your spouse
is never the cause
of your behaviour.
It's an outrageous claim
if you believe it.
Is it the person's fault
for cutting in on your lane
that you're angry?
Or is it a heart issue?
Look in, Cain.
Look in.
He's not taking responsibility.
He's like his mum and dad,
shifting the blame
outside himself.
And the Lord shows him
the path to go.
It's not a competition, Cain.
It's not like it's the top 5%
who are accepted.
If you do well,
won't you be accepted?
It's not a comparison game.
If you do well.
He's an involved father
who's lovingly counselling, Cain.
And then he gives a warning.
In The Lion King,
Uncle Scar,
why is he so powerful and evil?
Part of it
is they underestimated him.
Mufasa knows
he's the stronger older brother.
Little Simba just thinks
he's a funny old Uncle Scar,
like he's a bit strange
and toys around with him.
They underestimate him.
That's part of his power.
His lies and plots,
he wants to rule,
he wants to kill.
They underestimate him.
That's what the Lord's saying here to Cain.
Sin is crouching at the door.
That word is like a predator.
It's like a tiger
crouching in the ground.
It looks like nothing.
Oh, your sin,
it's just this little grudge.
It's not that big.
Don't underestimate
sin's power.
If you think there's a predator
waiting for you,
you've got half a chance.
If you don't think
there's a predator
waiting for you,
you're dead.
You're gone.
Don't underestimate
sin's power
and its presence.
Its desire is contrary to you.
His self-pity
and anger
blaming others,
it felt for him.
It was stroking his,
I don't know,
pride.
It feels for him.
The Lord's warning,
no, it's not.
It is contrary to you.
He wants to devour you
and your life
and those around you.
Don't underestimate it.
Like, have you ever been
in despair
that you can't talk
a loved one
out of a destructive path?
I find this chilling
that the Lord himself
can't talk Cain
out of it.
Whew.
And then,
verse 8,
Cain uses his
God-like ability
to speak.
He spoke
to Abel.
Now, speaking,
it's an act
of relationship.
It's an act
of connection.
But he obviously
uses words
to deceive.
They hide,
his words
hide his
real intentions.
He doesn't want
to master sin.
And he becomes
a predator
against his own
brother.
The word brother
here in this passage
appears again
and again
and again.
Even his brother.
Abel,
righteous,
innocent,
accepted by God,
he is the first
human death
in history.
Like,
the first death
wasn't
sickness.
It wasn't
accident.
humanity
didn't just
slowly become
corrupt over
a bunch of
generations.
The very
first generation
which began
with such joy
that our
origin story,
it begins
with first
degree murder.
That doesn't
bode well
for us.
Evil
is using
words to
deceive.
Evil
is destroying
God's
good creation.
Cain's
attack on
Abel was
even an
attack against
God.
He was
attacking
God's
image.
He was
attacking
God's
approval
of Abel.
What we
see here is
Cain doesn't
spread the
image of
God,
he spreads
the image
of the
serpent.
The Lord,
verse 9,
is incredibly
patient and
gracious.
Where is
Abel your
brother?
Now,
he knew.
We later
find out his
cries are going
out to him.
He knew.
What's he
doing?
He's giving
Cain an
opportunity to
confess.
He's giving
an opportunity
to confess.
Show some
awareness of
the shame
and guilt.
But he
denies any
knowledge of
it.
How common
is that?
I remember
as a
kid lying
to David
Corderwood
back in
town.
we'd
been
lighting
fires
and I
smelled
like smoke
and I
walked into
his house.
He's like,
have you
been lighting
fires?
No.
How
natural is
it?
I don't
know.
And then
worse.
Am I
my brother's
keeper?
This is
cold.
Am I
responsible
for the
well-being
of my
brother?
Look
around you.
Am I
responsible?
Are you
responsible?
Don't you
find it so
easy to
stop feeling
responsible for
someone you're
angry at?
I'm not
responsible to
care for
that person.
It is so
quick to
stop thinking
even amongst
the church
family to
suddenly stop
thinking of
someone as
brother.
The
voice of
your brother's
blood is
crying to
me from
the ground.
The Lord
sees.
I don't
know how
many cold
cases the
police haven't
solved but
the Lord
sees.
There might
be sins
against you
no one
else knows
about.
The Lord
sees.
Vengeance
is mine
says the
Lord.
But again
the Lord
is so
gracious.
His
punishment
isn't full
yet.
God
is
coming.
But it's
so mixed
with mercy.
He is
exiled
further from
Eden,
further from
the land,
further from
his family.
He's going to
be a fugitive,
a wandering
fugitive,
never at
home,
always
restless.
ruthless.
But then
his character
is shown
again.
He's not
convicted by
his guilt.
He just
cares about
his punishment.
That's not
fair.
That's too
harsh.
That's too
harsh.
Now just a
side note in
case you're
just struggling
to get past
this.
Like who's
he afraid
will kill
him?
I don't
know.
It's a short
answer.
But he's
assuming here
that anyone
he meets
will know
him and
what he's
done.
Which suggests
the earth
isn't just
fully populated
yet.
It suggests
probably
family.
He may
even be
thinking
future
generations.
Family
members who
will get
blood
revenge.
But the
Lord is
gracious.
A
commentator
at Derek
Kigner says
God's
concern for
justice for
the innocent
is matched
only by one
other thing.
His care
for the
sinner.
Protection.
mercy is
the most
that mercy
can do
for the
unrepentant.
It's the
most he
can do.
A term
we use in
theology is
common
grace.
He doesn't
deserve
this.
It's
mine to
avenge,
says the
Lord.
It's not
your tribes
to avenge.
It's not
your families
to avenge.
It's not
yours to
avenge.
It's the
Lord's to
avenge.
And he
protects
Cain.
Now
Cain's
pride,
it continues
I think
in the
act of
building a
city.
He's
meant to
be
restless
wanderer,
a fugitive,
but
now I'm
going to
settle.
I'm going
to settle
and build
a city
with my
son's
name.
Not in
honour of
the Lord,
but my
own name.
Now what
became of
this
rebellious
Cain?
What
happened to
him and
his family?
They
prospered.
Isn't
that,
it's really
surprising,
the description,
they prosper.
We've got a
list of his
descendants,
and then
to Lamech,
and his
children
advance in
civilisation.
We've got
tents,
housing,
we've got
music and
culture,
we've got
technology,
we've got
the weapons
and implements,
civilisation
under Lamech's
family,
which should
just warn
us a bit
that all
of creation
is good.
It's to be
received with
thanksgiving,
but as we
come to
the character
of Lamech
in a moment,
it should
raise
questions,
about if
all this
goodness is
linked back
to Lamech.
Yes,
all things
are good,
but we
need to
be so
thoughtful
about
everything
now,
about the
music,
about all
the good
gifts we've
got.
I think
these advances
in society,
they're actually
trying to
fight the
curse.
rather than
looking to
God for
rest and
hope,
it's we
can work
together to
create the
good life,
to undo
the curse.
And so
Cain's
society advances,
but as it
advances,
it is
declining,
it is
eroding
from within
its values.
And we
see that
in the
character
of Lamech.
Out of
his self-gratification,
in love with
his own name,
he takes
two wives.
He's
rejecting
God's
institution
of marriage,
of between
a man
and a
woman
becoming
one flesh.
like it's
been in
Australia's
news at
the moment,
the domestic
violence,
men using
their power
to intimidate
and control
rather than
to serve
and protect
women,
that goes
back as
far as
Lamech.
It is as
old as
that.
That
marriage
is
eroded
and
he
boasts,
he's just
got a
disdain for
the value
of human
life.
He's not
ashamed,
he kills
a youth.
Excessive
revenge.
He injures,
I'm going
to kill
him.
It's
excessive,
it was
a youth
and he's
boasting
about it.
Where's
the value
of human
life in
the image
of God?
And he
threatens
vengeance,
70 times
7.
Marriage
and the
value of
human
life is
eroded
in Cain's
society.
They can
control their
surroundings
to try and
prosper,
but they
can't control
their lives.
They can't
keep their
lives
together.
Okay,
I want to
take a
breath and
take stock
of what
we've seen.
Like in
light of the
patience and
mercy of
God,
like he
gave every
opportunity
speaking to
Cain to
do well.
He wants
him to do
well.
He warns
him,
take sin
seriously.
It looks
hidden, but
it is
present and
powerful.
He gives
opportunity to
confess, and
then he even
protects.
In light of
all that
grace, what
does sin
look like?
God's
love.
Well, it
started with
half-hearted
devotion to
God, and
yet feeling
entitled to
blessing.
It looks
like envy
of another's
favour.
It looks
like self-pitying
emotions.
It doesn't
want to
change.
It wants
to blame.
It doesn't
take responsibility
to seek to
do well in
God's eyes.
It doesn't
heed the
warning that
sin is
powerful and
destructive.
It doesn't
believe that
sin's desire
is against
him when it
feels and
fuels that
self-pitying
anger.
Sin looks
like deceiving
with words,
deceiving his
brother,
destructive
deeds,
destroying
creation against
a brother.
sin rejects
God's
prompting to
confess.
It denies
knowledge of
doing wrong.
It repudiates
responsibility for
my brother's
well-being.
I'm not
responsible for
my brother's
well-being.
It doesn't
care about the
crime, just
focuses on the
punishments.
And his
society rallies
together to
try and control
their surroundings
to give the
good life,
all the
while proud,
self-gratifying,
taking vengeance
in their own
hands, eroded
from within.
I don't know
about you, but
I found this
story really
dark this
week.
I found it
really dark,
and I think I
found it dark
because I can't
relate to Cain
with the murder
itself.
I haven't
quite crossed
that line,
but at every
other point I
can relate to
him.
I see myself
in him.
I feel
myself drawn
to his kind
of society
that wants
to seek
comfort,
controlling your
environment,
not caring
about the
values of
loving God
and neighbour.
I think
this story
shows us
that sin
feels small,
it feels
hidden,
but it's
present and
it's deadly.
well,
we've got two
more verses,
and they
give us
hope.
Otherwise,
we'd be in
complete despair,
I think.
They give us
hope.
God's
promise in
chapter 3,
verse 15,
that an
offspring of
Eve will
crush the
lies of
Satan,
the destructive
lies of
Satan.
That hope
looked dead
because Cain
looks more
like the
serpent
than God.
Abel,
who's
righteous,
is killed,
is gone.
And so,
we've got in
verse 25 and
26,
a replacement
God provides
in the place
of Abel,
Seth.
Eve again
praises God's
grace.
And while we
don't know
everything about
Seth's family,
they might have
developed
civilisations
similar.
They might have,
we're not told.
There's something
very different
that characterises
Seth's family.
Abel's
line.
Calling upon
the name
of the
Lord.
This family
pioneers
worship.
This family
proclaims who
God is,
the name,
all his
character,
his words.
They're looking
to who
God is,
his words,
as their
life and
their hope.
So,
the promise
of God
restoring all
things,
God goes
through
Seth.
It continues,
it lives
on.
So,
if you see,
if this
passage has
shown your
sin more
clearly,
then the
hope given
to us today
is a promise
of God that
is much clearer
than the promise
they had then.
the prophet
of the
temple.
I
speak to you
before.
I
don't know.
Here's the promise.
Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Who'd have thought that the Lord himself would become our brother?
Who'd have thought that the first murder points to our salvation?
Who could have imagined it?
Hebrews 12.24 says,
Jesus' sprinkled blood speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Abel's blood cries out for justice.
Jesus' blood cries out for justice,
but in a very different way.
Abel's accusers deserve punishment.
Jesus' blood, forgiveness.
However righteous Abel was, Jesus is the true and better Abel.
He's truly innocent who shed his blood.
And what society does his blood create?
His society forgives one another,
not just seven times,
but 70 times seven.
That Jesus would refer back to this layman.
That's the kind of society his blood creates.
I think the hope for our society,
the hope for our marriages and our families,
the hope for brothers and sisters dwelling in peace in this church,
the hope for God to rescue me from me,
isn't that we go on blaming things outside of ourselves
and our environment.
It's to look within and understand
and not underestimate the power of sin lurking in each one of us
and then call on the name of the Lord,
the Lord Jesus,
whose better blood
forgives and recreates the society.
Will you pray with me?
Let's pray.
Oh Lord, there's a sense in which we're just
wanting to get on with the story
because this section is quite dark
and we don't like what it shows about ourselves
and about human race.
I pray that you would help us trust
that all your word is given to us for our good.
Lord, I pray that you would help us look within,
help us to pause
and not blame others and you
help us to listen to your word
that you are like a parent,
a counsellor who wants us
to be accepted and forgiven.
Lord, most of all,
we thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ.
We thank you that
he willingly came and became our brother,
that he knew he would be rejected
and killed
and he did it all for our sake.
We thank you for his blood.
Lord, I pray for each one of us
that we would just look to him
for that renewal and that peace
that we're all craving
and I pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.