Blog Archives - Created through Him

Created Through Him

The holy line

9/10/2013

25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. 26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:25-26).

As mentioned previously God has always had a faithful remnant. Seth would be the beginning of the holy line and notice too that this line began to call on the name of the Lord. So, although there was lots of violence in the early history of humans there was also a return to the true worship of God by some. And so as has always been true, all that call upon the Name of Lord shall be saved.

Vocation and Violence

9/9/2013

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 of such as have cattle. 21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. 22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain 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 to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. 24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold (Genesis 4:19-24).

We have here the beginnings of several phenomenon. One is the distinction of vocations and the other is the continued rise of violence. As the population increased the need for people to have a distinct vocation to provide for the needs of groups increased and the chances of these groups and individuals being in conflict also increased. All loyalty was to ones’ people and ones’ own interests. What is clearly absent from these verses is the worship of and service to God.

Formation of cities

9/8/2013

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 Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech (Genesis 4:17-18).

As man began to populate the earth, the formation of cities soon followed. People were better off being in a group than being alone. These early groups were largely made up of related people. That is there was a connection between identity and lineage. This connection remains to this day. People often are identified as being associated with their parents, brother, sister and so forth. The early genealogies ultimately tells us a lot about our ancestors and will at times be very important in theological discussions since God has always had a people for Himself.

To wander

9/7/2013

11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. 13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. 15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. 16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden (Genesis 4:11-16).

The consequences to Cain of the murder of Abel were painful. Although God did allow Cain to live, Cain’s life, by Cain’s own choice, would be apart from the presence of God. Being apart from the presence of God would result in the further degradation of life. Life would be hard, and would seem to center around mere survival. Additionally, to dwell in the Land of Nod is to wander (Nod in Hebrew means wander). But this is the choice that was made by Cain through disobedience towards God. Disobedience towards God is the walking away from the presence of God and therefore leads to wandering in this world.

Brother's keeper

9/6/2013

9 And the Lord 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 (Genesis 4:9-10).

Cain was obviously not thinking clearly. To speak to God in this manner is amazingly arrogant. God knows all, is all-powerful, is holy and cannot be placated. And yet, Cain not only speaks to God abruptly, he lies to God. But before we think, “ How foolish of Cain”, let us remember that left to our own accord, we too sometimes effectively speak to God in similar manner, or at least we act as if God is not around. And while we don’t go around murdering people, it is imperative in God's eyes that we think beyond ourselves and in fact be our brother’s keeper.

The misalignment

9/5/2013

8 And Cain talked with 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 (Genesis 4:8).

Cain’s response to God was to kill Abel. Cain killed Abel out of pure jealousy. This was not a well thought out plan. There weren’t many people on the planet, so it is not like Cain could blame Abel’s death on others. The fact is Cain didn’t care about consequences he just wanted revenge. Since the first murder, the world has always struggled with violence. The history of the world is a history of violent struggle. The struggle is a sign of a grievous misalignment of purposes: purposes that should be focused on pleasing God rather than focused on pleasing ourselves.

Actions are important

9/4/2013

6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him (Genesis 4:6-7).

Yesterday we talked about the fact that Cain’s offering to God was not acceptable. We begin to see in these verses Cain’s response to God and God’s attempt to correct Cain’s thinking. God’s point is that it is Cain that controls what Cain does, and that what Cain chooses to do is a result of what rules over him. It is ultimately Cain’s actions that are important to God. If pleasing God were the goal then actions would be directed towards God that revealed a humble and contrite heart in Cain.

Pleasing God

9/3/2013

3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord 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 (Genesis 4:3-5).

While we don’t know exactly what about Cain’s offering was not pleasing to God. We do know that Cain missed the mark. It could have been that he didn’t provide his best offering to God, or it could have been that his motives were not good, but regardless his actions were not pleasing to God. It doesn’t matter whether Cain agreed with God’s assessment. What ultimately matters was Cain’s response to God. It is God’s desire for people to respond to His correction in humility and with a humble heart. This unfortunately as we will learn was not Cain’s response.

Abel was a keeper of sheep and Cain a tiller of ground

9/2/2013

1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. 2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground (Genesis 4:1-2).

As our ancestors began to populate the planet, it is clear from the onset of several important points. One is that all humanity is descended from Adam and Eve. Another is that individuals develop different skills, inclinations and perform different occupations many times as a results of these skills and inclinations. In short, we are born as individuals with certain common traits but also with certain unique qualities and skills. In and of themselves this qualities and skills are not hierarchal in nature, that is one is not better than the other. Rather it is what is done with the individual skills that matters most.

Difficult and costly to overcome

9/1/2013

22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life (Genesis 3:22-24).

One of the additional consequences of disobeying God was the loss of the ability to dwell in Eden with God. Eden was the place where God and Man were together, a place where life was to be lived in communion with the creation and heaven. To be driven from Eden by God was both a literally reality and symbolic representation of the barrier that now existed between God and Man. This barrier represented by the Cherubims and flaming sword would be difficult and costly to overcome. Ultimately it would require God Himself to intervene again in human history in the person, work, life, death and resurrection of Christ.

Created Through Him