Genesis 4 - Multiplication Leads To Division
The division we continue to experience today is nothing new; it's the consequence of sin.
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Genesis 4 (ESV)
1 Now Adam
knew Eve his wife,
and she
conceived and bore Cain,
saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.”
2 And again, she bore his brother Abel.
Now
Abel was a keeper of sheep,
and Cain a worker of the ground.
3 In the course of time
Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4
and Abel also brought
of the firstborn of his flock
and of their fat portions.
And the Lord
had regard for Abel and his offering,
5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.
So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
6 The Lord said to Cain,
“Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?
7 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.”
8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother.
And when they were in the field, Cain
rose up against his brother Abel
and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain,
“Where is Abel your brother?”
He said,
“I do not know;
am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 And the Lord said, “What have you done?
The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.
11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
12 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.”
13 Cain said to the Lord,
“My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14 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.”
15 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.
16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord
and settled
in the land of Nod,
east of Eden.
17 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.
18 To Enoch was born Irad,
and Irad fathered Mehujael,
and Mehujael fathered Methushael,
and Methushael fathered Lamech.
19 And Lamech took two wives.
The name of the one was Adah,
and the name of the other Zillah.
20 Adah bore Jabal;
he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.
21 His brother’s name was Jubal;
he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.
22 Zillah also bore Tubal-cain;
he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron.
The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
23 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.
24 If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.”
25 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.”
26 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.
Watch / Listen to the DIG DEEPER video:
Genesis 4 Summary
v1-2 - Life goes on for Adam & Eve after their eviction, and they begin to have children.
v3-15 - Both brothers bring an offering to the Lord, but only Abel's is accepted.
God's love for Cain remains evident, as He counsels Cain against succumbing to the welling anger inside of him.
Cain kills Abel, and then famously denies knowing where Abel's at.
Even in His punishment for Cain, God provides mercy.
v16-24 - Cain's family line grows, and along with it civilization:
v17 - cities are formed
v21 - music is developed
v22 - they begin forging metal
v23 - but these advances in technology continue to be marred by sin & death.
v25-26 - Adam's shattered family begins to be rebuilt.
Dig Deeper
Immediately, division and differences creep into the human race after the fall, in which man was divided away from God's presence. Note how these divisions grow in magnitude, quickly leading to ongoing hatred and murder:
v2 - Abel kept sheep, Cain worked the ground
v3-5 - Different offerings are brought by both.
The text gives no indication that what Abel brought was inherently better, but the division is evident:
The Lord was pleased with Abel's offering, but not Cain's.
v5-7 - Although God reaches out to Cain, Cain distances himself from God and nurses his bitterness and temptation.
v8-9 - The division has quickly degenerated to murder, the result of Cain "rising against" Abel.
v15 - Cain is divided away from the rest of humanity, being marked as different.
v16 - Cain is further divided away from God: "Cain went away from the presence of the Lord..."
v23 - Division & murder remain in Cain's descendants.
v26: The biggest division of all: Adam's descendants "began to call upon the name of the Lord."
You're invited to our Evening Service this Sunday (1/9/22) where we will focus on this passage
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father God, who provides for all and calls sinners back to Him;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask for the strength to resist the "sin crouching at your door," which seeks to amplify divisions and hatred.
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
