Genesis (Written)

Genesis 5:1-32
The Generations of Adam

Introduction: I suppose most of you have heard of the rapture. Has anyone here not heard of it? I would guess that some of you know without even looking that the rapture is described in 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Thessalonians 4, and Revelation 4:1. I bet fewer of you know that the rapture is actually prefigured several times in the Old Testament. One of those times is in Chapter 5 of the book of Genesis, right in a line of names and ages of some of Adam’s descendants.

After the fall and the record of Abel and Cain, the first nine generations of Adam are recorded in Genesis 5 and end with the 10^th generation – that of Noah. The flood of Noah came in the year 1656 Anno Mundi and other than Genesis 1-5, nothing is recorded for that entire period of time.

Believe it or not though, there could have been a billion or more people alive by the time of the flood. That’s actually a pretty sad commentary on how things went. Out of maybe 1 billion or more people we have a record of only 27 people given by name. All the rest were lost in the ever consuming flame of time.

We looked at the line of Cain in Genesis 4, and in Genesis 5 we have the line of Seth, the godly line which will eventually lead to the Messiah. These people were selected by God and for His reasons alone and very little is said about them, but today we’ll look for some hints as to who they were and what they mean in the overall picture of the Bible concerning the coming Christ.

Text Verse: And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”2 Corinthians 6:16

May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. In the Image of God

¹ This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.

The genealogy, or toledot, of Adam. One of the most interesting studies I’ve ever done is on this word toledot or “generations.” The first time the word is used is in Genesis 2:4 where it says “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,…”

The word toledot in Genesis 2:4 is speaking of man while in the Garden of Eden. Its spelling is tav, vav dalet, lamed, vav, tav. In other words, there are 2 vavs in the spelling. The next time the word is used is here in Genesis 5:1, after the fall of man, and its spelled with only one vav. The second vav fell out of the word just as man fell in the garden.

Vav is the sixth letter of the Hebrew aleph-bet and it is pictured by a tent peg and the number 6 in the Bible represents “man” such as man being created on the 6^th day. So you see “fallen man” is what’s being relayed here.

The word toledot is used 39 times throughout the Old Testament at various times when referring to different groups of people, but it is never spelled with two vavs again until the end of the book of Ruth. In every occurrence between Genesis and Ruth one or both of the vavs is missing. So why is it that not until the end of Ruth that it’s spelled with two vavs again?

The reason is that in Ruth, the lineage of King David is given. Up until that time, God was working through various people and had made various covenants with them. These were to Noah, Abraham, and Moses. The final covenant was to David.

At this time, the second vav was reintroduced to the word toledot to indicate that the restoration of fallen man would come through the line of David and this was the final peg in the tent of God’s covenants before the coming Christ.

As I mentioned, there are 39 toledots in the Bible which correlates to the 39 books of the Old Testament.

God never forgets the work of His hands and He will never forget you. If you are born again through Christ, you are no longer fallen, but complete and alive forevermore. The likeness of God that was given at the creation was lost, but that likeness is restored in us when we call on Jesus as our Savior.

That’s what these little hidden things in the Bible are telling us. Paul explains this mystery in 1 Corinthians 15 –

“As was the earthly man (that’s the fallen man, the man without the vav), so are those who are of the earth (there is something missing); and as is the man from heaven (full and complete), so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹ And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man (fallen and earthly), so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven (restored and complete).”

I don’t know if that excites you, but to me it is sweeter than honey to my taste.

² He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.

This verse and the one before are echoes, if you remember, from the creation account and have been repeated here to remind us of our fallen state. We were created in original perfection, but the death and trials which came about at the fall were caused by our own violation of God’s command and didn’t happen accidentally.

Man wasn’t – and then he was. Adam had no earthly parents, but He was created by God on the sixth day and with his woman they were blessed by God. Because they were created in God’s image they had no natural or moral evil. These came about at the fall.

The next verses will give a record of the names, years, and deaths of the sons of Adam, and so before those are given, we’re reminded of the way things originally were in order to show us the justice and sovereignty of God in His dealings with man.

³ And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. ⁴ After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. ⁵ So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.

Seth born 130              Appointed

These three verses tell us lots of things. It begins the record of the age of the earth. Adam was created on the 6^th day which is a literal day. In other words, the world was 6 days old when Adam was created. His son Seth is born at his 130^th year and as we follow the years in the Bible we can determine the age of the world.

During those 130 years, Adam had Cain, Abel, and at least one daughter. We know this because Cain had a wife. It’s likely that they had lots more children by the time Seth came around, but Seth is the focus of the story – no one else bears on the coming Christ.

These verses also tell us that Adam had a son in his own image. In other words, the son born to Adam is a fallen man. We didn’t revert back to a sinless state, but instead we bear the fallen image of Adam. There is no such thing as the inner divine spark which other religions speak of. We are earthly, we are mortal, and we are sold under sin – which means we are obliged to die.

This fallen state then is in each human since Adam. We know this from these three verses. We can also tell that all Adam’s sons are destined to die just as Adam died. He died in the 930^th year of his life and in the 930^th year from creation.

⁶ Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot Enosh. ⁷ After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters. ⁸ So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died.
⁹ Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan. ¹⁰ After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters. ¹¹ So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died.
¹² Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel. ¹³ After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters. ¹⁴ So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.
¹⁵ Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared. ¹⁶ After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters. ¹⁷ So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died.

We just read through 12 verses. This is more combined verses at one time than at any point since we started our tour of Genesis. If we keep up this pace, we can be done with Revelation Chapter 22 verse 21 by the year 2097. Be here each week until then.

Here are a few facts about these four men –

Seth died 1042
Enosh 235/1140                                       Mortal
Cainan 325/1235                                      Possession
Mahalalel 395/1290                                 Praise of God
Jared born 460                                         Going Down

The age old skepticism about the accuracy of the Bible finds no greater place to begin than right in these verses. Who lives to 900 years of age? It’s simply incredible for us to imagine. And yet we can’t insert our current situation into what it might have been like at some other time.

The heaviest reptiles on earth, Komodo Dragons, only get to be about 300 pounds now. The longest – the Australian Saltwater Crocodiles – get to be about 23 feet long. If we used Bible skeptic’s logic about the age of man in the same way as we do about dinosaurs then we’d never believe they existed.

But we have all the assurance of the archaeological record to support dinosaurs that were a little bit bigger than reptiles now. The Bruhathkayosaurus which lived in the area of Tamil Nadu, India grew to 145 feet in length and weighed 220 tons. Yes, that is 440,000 pounds – the weight of a 747. If we had no bones to prove this, it would be far more incomprehensible than a man living to 900 years of age.

The only difference is that age doesn’t leave any archaeological footprint, like dinosaur bones. But man does leave his stories in writing. This chapter of Genesis mentions the book of the genealogy of Adam. The Hebrew term sepher indicates that this written document served as a basis for the writings of Moses.

There really is no problem with the long lives recorded here. If reptiles grew as big as they did, then the world was obviously a completely different ecosystem before the flood. The world was probably smaller in size which led to higher atmospheric pressure.

Plus there was a canopy known as a raquia above the earth which was probably crystalline in nature. This would have kept out any harmful radiation. All things considered and taken in context, there is no reason at all to dismiss the accounts and every reason to believe them. Yes men lived 900 years.

It’s even more certain that the account is true because the ages of men after the flood continued to get progressively shorter as the generations came and went. This occurred right up until the average lifespan of people today which has remained basically the same ever since.

The Jewish historian Josephus says this about the sons of Adam from Seth to Noah at the time of the flood –

“But let no one, upon comparing the lives of the ancients with our lives, and with the few years which we now live, think that what we have said of them is false; or make the shortness of our lives at present an argument, …”

Josephus claims that the astronomical calculations and discoveries used at his time came from men who lived long enough to accurately understand the greater cycles of the universe. If this is true, then the highly advanced star charts, such as the Mayans used can be attributed to the careful work of these pre-flood people.

Whether any of this is true or not is hard to say, but the Bible does bear out right in Genesis 1 that the stars and other heavenly lights are meant for our knowledge in “signs and seasons.”

II. Walking with God

¹⁸ Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. ¹⁹ After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. ²⁰ So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died.

²¹ Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. ²² After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. ²³ So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. ²⁴ And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Jared died 1422
Enoch 622/translated 987    Teaching
Methuselah born 687            His death shall bring (Man of the dart)

Of the ten men mentioned from Adam to Noah, only four have any particular information beyond their birth, years of life, and age at death. These four are Adam, Enoch, Lamech, and Noah. In the case of Enoch, this almost strange verse is all we have, “And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”

If this is all we had about the life of Enoch, we’d certainly be left scratching our heads and wondering what this meant. But fortunately, this particular person named Enoch is mentioned 10 times in the Bible.

He’s mentioned 6 times here in Genesis 5 and he’s mentioned in 1 Chronicles in the historical records of man from Adam all the way through to the Jewish society of the day. He’s also mentioned in Luke 3 in the genealogy of Jesus. And there are two more times he’s mentioned – once in Hebrews and once in Jude.

By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. ⁶ But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:5, 6

Here in Hebrews we learn details about Enoch that were withheld from the Old Testament. Enoch was “taken away.” He was translated from the earthly realm directly to the heavenly realm without seeing death. This makes Enoch one of only two people who never died, the other being Elijah the prophet.

Both of these men are even now serving the Lord and I believe it is they who have appeared many times in Bible history, such as in Daniel chapter 12, Acts chapter 1, and elsewhere. I personally believe they will return again during the tribulation period as the two witnesses mentioned in Revelation 11.

The Bible asks this rhetorical question in the book of Amos – “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” The answer is, “Of course not.” In order to walk with God as Enoch did, God must agree to the walk. In Malachi when speaking of Levi it says –

“My covenant was with him, one of life and peace, And I gave them to him that he might fear Me; So he feared Me And was reverent before My name. ⁶ The law of truth was in his mouth, And injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, And turned many away from iniquity.”

Enoch walked with God because he was truthful, just, and he walked in peace and equity, and above all, he was a man of faith.

Like bookends on the Hebrew Scriptures, the person who walks properly with God is mentioned in the first and last books of the Old Testament. It is such a person that God loves.

If you ever want to do a wonderful study about being right with God, simply do an internet Bible search on the word “walk” and read all 384 times it is mentioned. There you will find vast treasure concerning how to live and move in the presence of God – walking in His way and in His statues.

Something interesting about Enoch walking with God – in the Hebrew it doesn’t just say he “walked with God” but that he “walked with the God” or ha-elohim. This is the first of about 400 times the Bible uses this term.

This statement separates Enoch as a man who walked rightly with the One true God. It implies that others had forsaken the God that they couldn’t see and didn’t want to believe in, but Enoch held fast by faith to the teachings of his ancestors and to his personal convictions about this unseen God.

He was translated because of this. The Bible promises a similar event for faithful believers now when we put our hope in Jesus. Do I really believe there will be a rapture – people just disappearing? Of course I do. Whether one person or millions, God is fully capable of keeping every promise just as His word declares.

The last time Enoch is mentioned is in the book of Jude – “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” Jude 14

Jude added in another important detail about Enoch – he was a prophet. Within a few hundred years after the creation, men of God spoke the word of God to a people who were very quickly going astray in a world run by the devil.

²⁵ Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. ²⁶ After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. ²⁷ So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died.

Methuselah died 1656 (the year of the flood)
Lamech born 874                            Captive

You’ve probably heard the saying about some old codger, “He’s as old as Methuselah.” Well, here’s where the saying comes from. Methuselah lived to be 969 years old – the oldest person ever recorded in the annals of the world.

His name was a prophecy of the coming destruction on the world. “His death shall bring” or another translation of it is “When he is dead, it shall be sent.” However his parents knew, they knew something was coming at the time of his death. The year he died, the waters came and destroyed the world by flood.

There is another saying about an old person, “He’s as old as dirt.” In Methuselah’s case, this would be true as well. Unlike his father Enoch who was translated so that he never saw death, Methuselah died. When he did, he returned to the dust he came from.

Death for Methuselah came slowly, but it still came. Jewish writers say that he died 7 days before the flood of Noah. By just one week he was spared from the wrath which came on the whole world.

Methuselah though is looking forward to the same bright future as the faithful of all the ages – that great day of hope when Jesus Christ translates us to eternal glory.

After Methuselah, the last person to have been born before the death of Adam in this godly line was Lamech. He was born in the year 874 Anno Mundi and was the ninth man from Adam. Imagine sitting on your great-great-great-great-great-great grandpa’s lap (that’s 6 greats, a grandpa, and a dad all sitting in the same room adoring the baby!)

“Grandggggggpa, can you tell me again about the day you were put together? Did God really take out one of your ribs to make “Grandgggggg-ma Eve? Is that scar really the spot where the rib came from? Did you ask for chrome bumpers or fishing pole attachments?”

Questions like this surely brought back to Adam the painful memories of paradise lost. Life under the sun wasn’t like life under the heavens. He was the one who broke the rules. All he could do was live on, waiting to receive the final execution of his sentence given so long ago.

He was promised the dust and he knew it was where he would end. By the time he got there, death was probably a welcome guest.

²⁸ Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. ²⁹ And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.” ³⁰ After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters. ³¹ So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died.

Lamech died 1651
Noah 1056                              Comfort or Rest

Eight times in this chapter the words “and he died” are recorded. Other than Enoch who went straight to glory and Noah who would continue on in the next chapter, all of these men of the godly line of Seth met their end and returned to the soil.

Lamech lived to be 777 years old and he died in the year 1651, or in the 5^th year before the flood came. Other than his grandpa Enoch who was translated, he had the shortest life span in this account. The 777 years of his life though are a testament to the divine grace of being taken home before the coming destruction.

Isaiah has this to say about the death of those who live for God –

The righteous perishes,
And no man takes it to heart;
Merciful men are taken away,
While no one considers
That the righteous is taken away from evil.
² He shall enter into peace;
They shall rest in their beds,
Each one walking in his uprightness.

Sometimes we don’t understand why a child dies, or we lose a close friend at the prime of life, but God does. It’s possible that God looked into the future and saw some evil that otherwise would have happened to them and so He called them home.

As with all things, if we can truly trust in God and accept that He is sovereign, then we can rest easy that His plan is being perfectly executed for the people He has created and called.

In the case of the rapture, many sons will come to glory in the twinkling of an eye. Whether they have gone before us waiting to be wakened from their grave, or whether they will still be walking the highway of life at that moment, when the trumpet sounds, we will be forever in His glorious presence, perfectly content and forever praising the God who rescued us from ourselves.

In this account it tells us why Lamech named his son Noah, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.”

The name Noah means specifically “rest” or “comfort.” Lamech was only 182 years old when he had Noah, but he was already worn out from the toilsome existence of life. The curse which came at the beginning continued on year after long year and generation after generation.

More especially though, it’s likely that the name Noah is an anticipation of what he would be, just like the name of Methuselah was a prophecy. As we saw, Methuselah means “His death will bring.” Because of the timing of Noah’s life in conjunction with Methuselah’s, his parents may have thought he would be the promised Messiah who would give the rest they had waited for.

Man was promised a Deliverer who would destroy the devil and return him to God’s rest and the naming of Noah may have anticipated that hope.

III. God with Man

³² And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Shem – Name / Fame
Ham – Passion / Hot
Japheth – Enlargement / Widely Extending

This is the final verse of chapter 5 and it sets the tone for the coming account. Noah had three sons starting in his 500^th year. Shem is listed first, but he wasn’t the firstborn. It says in Genesis 11 that he was 102 years old after the flood and if Noah had his first son at 500, then the firstborn was Japheth because Ham is called the youngest of the brothers in Genesis 9.

Already we’ve seen one favored second son – Abel who was killed by his brother. He was replaced by Seth who became the head of the line of God’s chosen people. This is the second favored son – Shem, who is put ahead of Japheth his older brother. It is Shem who was an ancestor of Jesus Christ.

This pattern will continue on through the Bible right to the very end and pictures both the work of Jesus and sets the tone for the doctrine known as Divine Election. God sovereignly chooses all things for His purposes and these purposes are often met in the most curious of ways. When you’re reading your Bible …

WHEN YOU’RE READING YOUR BIBLE

… pay attention to these type of patterns and you’ll be able to more clearly see the workings of God in human life.

How certain are we of the doctrine of Divine Election? Let’s read what Paul says in Acts 17 – “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.”

God chooses the exact time and the exact place where each human being will live in order to give them the most perfect opportunity to seek Him out and bring Him glory. And why does he do this, the verse continues, “²⁷ God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.”

This is how God works with His wayward children. He is ever-present and working in the most effective way to reach out to us and bring us to the glorious rest that these ancients so patiently waited for. Let us not fail to respond to His call in our own lives.

The Generations of Adam

When Adam was 130 he had a son named Seth
A son in his own likeness and in his image too
It was another 800 years until he reached his death
But before he died his great-great-great-great-great-great grandson Lamech had come along too

Seth continued on for a spell and then he had Enosh
This was when he was a babe of just one-O-five
At 912 years of age he kicked the can, by gosh
But by then there were seven more generations alive

Enosh whose name means “Mortal” had a son named Cainan
This happened when Enosh was only 90, oh my!
Enosh finally bit the dust in the year 1140
After 905 long years of life passed by

Cainan was just seventy when along came Mahalalel
This special name means Praise of God
In the year 1235 they were ringing Cainan’s funeral bell
While Mahalalel continued on the earth to trod

Mahalalel was younger still when he had Jared his son
He was only 65… some might say “a scandal”
His ticker kept on a ticking till 895 years were done
And then the pall bearer grabbed Mahalalel’s casket handle

His son Jared was a much more patient guy
He didn’t have a son until 162 years passed by

But then Enoch came along, “Teaching” means his name
And Jared taught him well because Enoch walked with God
Even before Jared died, Enoch received great fame
When he was translated to glory, heavenly streets to trod

Before he got raptured up, Enoch had Methuselah
This guy lasted right up to the flooding year
He got to watch Noah build his ark – Hallelujah!
And know that the future of man was still secure

Methuselah waited until the age of one-eighty-seven
Then he had a son, Lamech was his name
At years of 969, Methuselah was bound for heaven
And his record age has brought him eons of fame

Lamech’s name means the “Captive”
Something that resembles us all
It’s a trait that everyone carries
Ever since the fall

And a son came to Lamech, a son to ease the toil
He was 182 when Noah finally came around
A son to help work the stubborn angry soil
A son to help till the clods of the ground

Lamech breathed his last at the age of 777
Five years before the flood would destroy the earth
Someday we’ll meet him on the streets of heaven
If we first receive the promised new birth

God has plan, and it’s written in these names
A plan that tells of the coming of His Son
Even the wildest heart Jesus readily tames
The gospel story tells us that the victory is won

I want to see how many of you have paid attention to this sermon. I’ve given you the 10 names from Adam down to Noah and what their meaning is? I want to see if any of you can give me those ten names, in order? I’ll throw in 10 dollars if you can give me the translation into English that I gave you. I’ll throw in 100 dollars if you will give me the year they were born, and I’ll throw in a thousand if you can tell me the year they died. Anyone?

*Adam                                    Man
Seth                                        Appointed
*Enosh                                   Mortal
Cainan                                    Possession
Mahalalel                               Praise of God
Jared                                       Descent (Going Down)
Enoch                                     Teaching
Methuselah                            His death shall bring
Lamech                                   Captive
Noah                                       Rest

Jesus Christ, the Son of Man was Appointed by God to become a Mortal, a Man who could die so that we would become the recipients of the promised Possession of eternal life to the Praise of God. He Descended from heaven for the purpose of Teaching. His death is what released the Captives and has given them the Rest promised since the fall of Man.

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

The Line of Cain
Genesis 4:17-26

Introduction: Today, we’ll look over the line of Cain which encompasses almost the entire second half of Chapter 4 of Genesis. While we’re here, we should probably answer the age old question “Where did Cain get his wife?” If you ever saw the movie Inherit the Wind with Spencer Tracey, you know this question was brought up there. The movie is a take on the Scopes Monkey Trial. If you’ve never seen it, don’t bother.

It’s a pathetic attempt to make Christians looked stupid, bigoted, and close-minded. From the very first frames of the movie where the people are signing “Give me that old time religion – it’s good enough for me…” all the way through to the end, it’s an all out attack on Christianity.

During the trial, the defense attorney, played by Spencer Tracey, gets the prosecutor – a guy named Brady – on the stand. One commentary on the movie says, “Brady’s confidence in his biblical knowledge is so great that he welcomes this challenge, but he becomes flustered under Drummond’s cross-examination, unable to explain certain apparent contradictions, until Drummond hammers home his point — that Cates, like any other man, demands the right to think for himself.”

The questions that “fluster” Brady include the question, “Where did Cain get his wife.” When he’s asked this, he incompetently gasps and sweats at the immense difficulty of what he’s been presented – as if it’s too deep for the human mind to comprehend. The guy is portrayed as a completely bumbling, arrogant, close-minded, and self-deluded person.

And people ever since then have tried to appear smart by asking a this same question of Bible teachers – as if the movie set a precedent and that no one has been able to answer to since then.

In fact, whether you believe in evolution or creation, you come up with exactly the same problem. The only difference is that evolution can’t properly identify the solution. Any evolutionary answer would lead to devolution, not further evolution.

The biblical answer is found in chapter 5 of Genesis – “And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. ⁴ After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. ⁵ So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.”

We have no idea if Cain was the firstborn child of Adam or not and in fact some scholars believe the terminology at Cain’s birth indicates girls were born first.

Here’s what Albert Barnes says about it –

“If she had daughters before, and saw them growing up to maturity, this would explain her expectation, and at the same time give a new significance and emphasis to her exclamation, “I have gained a man (heretofore only women) from Yahweh.”

So girls could have been born first. No problem there…

And we have no idea if there were girls between Cain and Abel too. One thing we are sure of though is that Adam “had sons and daughters” besides them. In 930 years, he could have had a bunch. If there were twins, triplets, or quadruplets, there could have been a heap of them. Poor Eve!

And each of these children could have lots of children during those 930 years. By the time Adam died, there potentially could have been an immense population on the earth. There is no restriction levied on marrying brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, or anything else until the time of the Law of Moses.

In fact, Abraham, who was only 430 years before the law and about 1950 years after creation, married his own half sister. No negative comment is made on that and it was accepted as normal. The gene pool back then would have been whoppingly strong and intermarrying like this wouldn’t be any problem at all.

The great unanswerable question of “Where did Cain get his wife?” isn’t unanswerable at all. He got her from the daughters of Adam his father. Take that Spencer Tracey.

Text Verse: Blessed be the name of the LORD
From this time forth and forevermore!
From the rising of the sun to its going down
The LORD’s name is to be praised. Psalm 113:2, 3

May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. A Descent into Wickedness

¹⁷And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch. ¹⁸To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.

Although we don’t see it yet, the genealogy we just read will lead to a division between the godly line of Seth and the wicked line of Cain. The godly line remains in the presence of the Lord and his plans and purposes are centered on the Creator, but eventually even this godly line corrupts to the point where only one man and his family would be saved in order to repopulate the world.

The line of wickedness, even from the beginning, is removed from the presence of the Lord – just as Cain was, and it is centered on worldly things and the love of those things. These things aren’t explicitly stated, but they are to be inferred by the structure of the verses and their placement in the overall Genesis account, along with comments made later in the Bible.

In the last sermon we read – “Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.” Believe it or not, this same area of the world, even 6000 years later is where the main opposition to God is and where the forces of evil are lined up against what is right and godly.

After Cain found his supposedly unfindable wife, she “conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son – Enoch.”

The word used for “city” here is the word Ir. This is specifically a city with walls constructed as a defense or a barricade. The walls themselves are the city. Everything inside the walls was secondary to the protection they provided.

Cain had separated himself from anyone who could harm him and he had likewise separated himself from anything that could help him as well. In effect, he had shut himself off from the very presence of the Lord in his effort to secure himself. We can see a parallel in what occurred when the Chinese built their great wall.

The name of Cain’s son Enoch means “dedicated,” but it also can have the meaning of “teaching.” In the context though, it’s probable that Cain was thinking of dedication. His son was born sometime around when he built his fortress city and he named or “dedicated” the city with the same name as his son.

He did this instead of naming it after himself. The cursed name of Cain wouldn’t have been an ideal name for starting out on a new life and so he deferred to the dedication of his son and his home. After Cain and Enoch the Bible records 4 more in this line –

To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.

We should note that 2 of the names of Cain’s descendants are the same names as the descendants of Seth, the son who replaced Abel. These are Enoch and Lamech. But just as there are good people and bad people with the same names now, it was also the case then.

Just as there is a good Judas (or Jude) who wrote the 65^th book of the Bible, there is also a corrupt and wicked Judas who was, as the Bible describes him the “son of perdition” – a term applied only one other time – to the anti-Christ.

When we get to chapter five, we’ll read the genealogy of Adam through Seth and down to Noah. But unlike that genealogy, this one is strikingly short. It lacks any commentary and it lacks any other ancestral information. Yes, these people existed, but their lives are unimportant to the greater plan of redemption. Instead, they are souls remembered without delight.

One thing we should ask about our own selves is, “How will we be remembered?” The Bible is written and there isn’t any room for details concerning us there, but even the Old Testament tells us that our lives won’t go unrecorded. In the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi relates to us what it is to be remembered by God for a faithful life –

“Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, And the LORD listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the LORD And who meditate on His name. ¹⁷“They shall be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts, “On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him.” ¹⁸ Then you shall again discern Between the righteous and the wicked, Between one who serves God And one who does not serve Him.”

While we’re pondering the life of Cain and his generations that were swept away in the flood, we should take to heart that God remembers those who meditate on His name.

The only thing else that I can give you of any substance from the names of Cain’s descendants is that two of them include the suffix “El” – Mehujael and Methushael. There was, even in the line of Cain, a remembrance or knowledge of God and it was denoted in these two names. Mehujael means “smitten by God” and Methushael means “who is of God.”

For whatever its worth, man – even man who lives apart from God – has a sense and a knowledge of Him. Eventually though, even this disappears from thought as we move toward a humanistic or idol-centered approach to life.

In modern society, we’re moving in that same direction as they did, paying lip service to the name of God but denying His character and His sovereign authority.

II. The Worldly Man

The Bible contrasts groups of people in various ways. Often what is commented on as notable, such as Abraham and the patriarchs living in tents is notable for the ideals they held in that context. There is nothing inherently wrong with living in cities.

In other words, here’s what it says about them from Hebrews 11 –

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹ By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; ¹⁰ for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”

These men were told that they would live as strangers in the land and that only later their descendants would inherit that land. In obedience to this, they continued living in tents. If they were never to possess the land and yet they hoped for a city with foundations, then it’s obvious that what they hoped for was something eternal, not to be grasped in this life.

These verses are descriptive in nature. In other words they only describe what a situation was and why it was notable. They don’t prescribe anything for us, such as living in tents.

Instead, they provide a moral lesson that what’s important is not where we live, but how we conduct our lives. So please don’t go selling your houses to buy a tent. Paul himself was a tentmaker, but that doesn’t mean anything beyond the fact that he made tents.

It’s important to know this and so I’m going to divert for just a minute and give a few rules for you to follow when you study your Bible. In fact, I’ll give you five things to remember.

First, “does this merely describe something – is it descriptive.” Second, “does this actually prescribe something – is it prescriptive.” And lastly, “what is the context?”

If you can remember those five things, your understanding of whatever you’re reading will be greatly enhanced. “But Charlie, you only gave us three things to think about. Have you been drinking too much mango juice again?”

The answer is that I gave you five things to think about and you didn’t pay attention.

Is it descriptive, is it prescriptive, and what is the context? See, five things. I just didn’t elaborate on the five points – descriptive, prescriptive and context, context, context. Never take a verse or a passage out of context.

Under these five main points are some great things to ask yourself as you’re reading –

***How does this point to Jesus?
***How does this relate to the overall picture of redemption? And,
***If the passage isn’t prescriptive or descriptive, then what is it telling me? For example, how do I view the following passage –

⁹ Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. ¹⁰ For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. ¹¹ Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone? ¹² Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

This isn’t especially descriptive and this isn’t especially prescriptive. How do I term what I just read? In this passage from Ecclesiastes, it is giving me wisdom. It’s a general guide for living and it has a point for me to think on, and it includes a metaphor.

There are thousands of other things to know, and studying the Bible is a lifelong adventure. In addition to wisdom, some other types of formats used in the Bible are narratives, poetry, legal renderings, historical records, genealogies, prophetic utterances, apocalyptic writings, biographical entries, personal letters, drama, and so on. We have to understand all of these and properly apply them in context or we are going to get off on useless tangents. So pay attention as you read your Bible.

One more thing though – you can’t apply these interpretation methods for reading your Bible unless you… unless you… unless you actually read your Bible.

So let’s go on with the line of Cain and from what read in the next verse, you’ll probably understand why I just gave you the previous lesson in Bible interpretation –

¹⁹ Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. ²⁰

This is the first recorded case of polygamy in the Bible and every Bible commentary that I’ve read denounces it as unnatural and wicked. But the Bible doesn’t make any such commentary, ever, and therefore every thing beyond the account is the personal opinion of the scholar and is left without biblical support.

The only thing we have thus far in the Bible to set the pattern for physical relationships is what it says in chapter 2 verse 24 – “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard people say, the Bible says marriage is between a man and a woman… “one man and one woman.” Do you know it never says that? Never.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul quotes the same verse, “the two shall become one flesh” to say that a man who lies with a prostitute is one with her. If he sleeps with fifty, they would still be “one flesh.”

Again, if we were to take that he shall “be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” as prescriptive, then we would have to say that the Bible mandates marriage for every person. But it doesn’t. In the same way, just because it says “joined to his wife” in no way negates more than one wife.

In the Law of Moses allowances are made for men with multiple wives and how they are to be handled. Throughout the Old Testament men had numerous wives. King Solomon had 700 and 300 concubines. David, the beloved of the Lord had lots of wives and, the Lord gave him many of them. In 2 Samuel 12, it says –

“I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more!”

And in the New Testament, Paul restricts only elders and deacons of a church to a single-wife relationship. In other words, he makes no other commentary on the matter for others which, by default, implicitly allows it.

Don’t get me wrong here, I’m only making a point about how to interpret the Bible, I’m not condoning polygamy, but remember our short lesson on Bible study. Is it prescriptive, is it descriptive, and context, context, context. When taken as a whole, in the context of the Bible, what Lamech has done by taking two wives is not biblically unacceptable.

One more thing we need to do when evaluating the Bible may be the most important rule after evaluating the context, and it very well may be as important – We need to set aside our biases, likes, and dislikes, and our presuppositions. We need to come to the text as a blank slate and determine what the Lord is trying to tell us.

In the case of Lamech, it isn’t telling us at all about the unsoundness of polygamy. In fact, we have no idea who else had more than one wife at that time. The Bible is completely silent on the matter. What it does tell is that his eyes were set on pleasure and worldly things.

Anyone looking to have two wives is looking at physical pleasure more than reasonable living. I have one and that is far, far more than reasonable.

The importance of mentioning the wives is based on their names, not specifically on them both being his wives. How do we know this? Because their names are mentioned – Adah and Zillah.

Throughout the Bible, when a name is mentioned, it’s because it’s relevant to the story. Only one daughter of Israel is mentioned by name and yet Genesis 45 twice mentions his “daughters,” meaning he had more than one. His daughter Dinah is mentioned by name because she is relevant to the story.

The importance of these two women surrounds the meaning of their names as well as who their sons are and what they did. Their sons brought about the beginnings of a stable civilization that became a complete culture, even as we know one today.

And 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 harp and flute. ²² And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.

In the birth of sons to these two women, both wives of Lamech, we have every aspect of a material civilization. We have both the pastoral life for feeding people, we have music and culture, and we have industrialization.

Our modern thinking says the Iron Age occurred after the Bronze Age. The Early Iron Age began, according to archeologists, about 1200BC, but the Bible says that man was working with iron even before the flood. I’d never even considered this until a Bible study when Janice Alley pointed it out to me.

Early man wasn’t the Neolithic Neanderthal that modern science makes them out to be. Instead, they were a highly civilized society which had formed a noteworthy culture.

Adah had a son named Jabal who is the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother was Jubal who was the first of those who play the harp and the flute. The other wife of Lamech was named Zillah and she had a son named Tubal-Cain who was an instructor in bronze and iron. Finally in these verses it says that Tubal-Cain had a sister named Naamah.

Out of the many people who surely came from Cain, these are the only ones given by name – and of them all, the one that may seem most puzzling is Naamah who is mentioned by name, but who isn’t recorded as having done anything else; her name means loveliness.

What we can determine is that the people mentioned in the line of Cain after Enoch –Irad, Mehujael, and Methushael – each of these is intended to lead us to these names in these few verses – Lamech, Adah, Zillah, Jabal, Jubal, Tubal-Cain, and Naamah.

As I said, Mehujael and Methushael maintain the name of God even if it is only the unknown God, El, and not the specific LORD. After them the names go down a different path. Here are the translations: Adah means “pleasure;” Zillah means to “shadow” or “hide;” Lamech means “captive;” Jabal means “stream of water;” Jubal means “river;” Tubal-Cain means “you will be brought of Cain;” and Naamah means “loveliness.”

These names are innocuous by themselves, but taken together, they show a worldly outlook. The name Naamah in particular will only come to full meaning when we get to Genesis 6 and God’s intent to destroy the world by flood.

The Scofield reference notes say: This “…civilization may have been as splendid as that of Greece or Rome, but the divine judgment is according to the moral state, not the material.”

The line of Cain and their names reflect people in love with the world rather than God. This is the lesson that we need to take away from these verses and I can’t think of anything more appropriate for us to consider in the world today.

We have music at our fingertips, every convenience we could ever desire, and our eyes can gaze on the physical attractiveness of the opposite sex in ways that weren’t even imagined just a few short years ago. All of these things follow the pattern of the line of Cain.

The Jewish historian Josephus wrote about the line of Cain and tells us that they were exceedingly wicked, intolerable in war, and vehement in robberies. He says that they acted unjustly and were quick to murder.

We’ll see in Chapter 6 how these things brought the world to judgment and unless things turn around soon, which doesn’t seem likely, we’re going to be heading into the time of tribulation prophesied throughout the Bible. The Day of the Lord is at hand.

III. The Sins of the Father

²³ Then Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, Even a young man for hurting me ²⁴ If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

Cain was a murderer and it’s easy to see that children normally follow the pattern of life they see in their parents. There are always exceptions, but the line of Cain isn’t one of them.

These two verses which make up Lamech’s ode form what is considered perfect Hebrew styled poetry. It is broken up into pairs of lines and each contains parallelism, or the repetition of a thought. Nothing else is recorded like it earlier in the Bible and therefore it is certainly the oldest poem ever recorded.

Now we can add poetry to the magnificent list of achievements of Cain’s descendents. However, unlike much of the poetry recorded elsewhere in the Bible which talk about a relationship with God, internal struggles of sin, and other higher thoughts, this poem shows us the worldly outlook of Lamech.

He addresses his two wives. He demands their attention. He took the life of someone who had only wounded him. He implicitly boasts of his strength because he was older than the person he killed. And he justifies himself by claiming he would be avenged.

True to the Bible’s symmetry, there’s a pattern between this murder and the destruction of Babylon in Revelation 19 – “For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.”

Vengeance is marked out for Cain and Lamech claims the right to it for shedding blood in the 4^th chapter of the Bible. This was in the land east of Eden. And in the 4^th chapter from the end of the Bible, God avenges the blood of the saints shed by Babylon, the land east of God’s land, Israel. What the devil and his seed work in iniquity, God judges and triumphs over in righteousness.

IV. The Name of the LORD

In our text verse today, I read from the psalms –

Blessed be the name of the LORD From this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its going down The LORD’s name is to be praised.

Quoting this seems to have little to do with the line of Cain. However, the last verses of Chapter 4 return to the godly line of Adam through Seth and the notion that there is still hope in the world and that the Lord is still in control of the ages –

²⁵ And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.”

After the diversion into the line of Cain, the Bible returns in this verse to the hope of the woman and for all godly people since her. Some time after the death of Abel, Eve has another son. Instead of boastfully claiming that she had acquired a man with the help of the LORD (or Jehovah), she calmly acknowledges that God (or Elohim) has appointed another son for her.

His name Seth means “appointed” and his selection was necessitated because of the death of Abel. As the Bible notes though, Seth was appointed not by Eve, but by God. God is the one who did the selection and chose the person.

She said, he is “instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” If you see what’s going on, Eve is saying that God – the Creator, has replaced what human wickedness took away. It is a veiled reference to the work of Christ who would overrule the wickedness of the devil.

And she uses the term zera or “seed” for the child. Unlike Cain, she knew that the promised seed of the woman that would crush the serpent’s head would come through Seth.

Even in this early chapter of Genesis, we can see the concept of divine election being hinted at. The work is from God, the work is of God, and the work is at God’s prerogative. Man’s choices and works are left out of the equation. Seth is God’s son by election.

Seth’s selection by God and that fact that he is God’s son by election needs to be remembered because it will clear up some very difficult and misunderstood issues in Chapter 6.

²⁶ And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD.

Here we are at the last verse of chapter 4. A son of the godly line of the Messiah has been born and the line continues on through one of his own sons, Enosh, which means “man” in the mortal sense; someone who can die, or a miserable man. I’m telling you this in hopes that you’ll pay attention to these names as they have an amazing significance in the sermon ahead…You may be surprised.

At the time of Enosh’s birth it says that men “began to call on the name of the LORD.” This then is given in direct contrast to the preceding verses of Cain’s line which was following worldly pursuit – The name of the LORD is never mentioned in that account.

Everything about them is centered on what they did and shows their worldly outlook, but the line of Seth is contrasted. To call on the name of the LORD is to invoke His name in worship, praise, thanksgiving, and prayer.

And who is this veiled Lord, or Jehovah, of the Old Testament? Paul tells us in the book of Philippians –

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Line of Cain

Cain wandered off and built a fortified town
He named it Enoch after his own son
After Enoch, came more men of worldly renown
They knew how to work and also how to have fun

Lamech, the seventh man down that wicked line
Had two wives to keep him happy all the time

For Mr. Lamech they bore three sons and a girl
Who became a settled culture in the eastern land
Jabal had livestock and Jubal gave music a whirl
Tubal-Cain worked in metals and his sister’s looks were grand

Lamech wrote a poem to comfort his two wives
After he killed a young man for merely wounding him
This is the first poem ever written in human’s lives
And it shows the wicked effects of the ungodly’s sin

“If Cain is avenged sevenfold then me even more”
But what about the poor guy lying dead at your door

If this were the way things would always be
Then let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die
But God had something else going on, you see
He had another line of godly men, so don’t you cry

God replaced Abel, whom Cain slew in the field
With another son, by the name of Seth
Through this son the Holy Seed would yield
The One to conquer evil and triumph over death

Again this godly line brought a son named Enosh
And more would follow until would come the King
By His precious blood all men could wash
And be cleansed from sin and every wicked thing

When men called on the name Jehovah the eternal Lord
They were only looking forward to that great King
And now we call on Jesus the bearer of the sword
The fullness of time has come and to His name we do sing

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus – the great and awesome Rock
The One who reveals to us the Father we cannot see
And now we wait as the moments tick and tock
Until He returns for His church and blissful eternity

Until that time of renewal we earnestly wait
Yes until the time we pass through heaven’s pearly gate

When we behold the glory of the King
And to the praise of Jesus we shall ever sing

Hallelujah and Amen…

For next week please read Genesis 5:1-32 (The Generations of Adam)

 

 

Genesis 4:1-16
East of Eden

Introduction: In 1952, John Steinbeck wrote the novel East of Eden. It’s a book which wanders through the subjects of depravity, beneficence, and love. It details the human struggle for acceptance, greatness, and freedom and it also relates man’s capacity for self-destruction.

East of Eden ties these themes together with a heap of references and parallels to the Bible, but especially Genesis Chapter 4. In the book, Steinbeck uses quite a few allusions to Cain and Abel. An interesting one is his use of the first letters of Cain and Abel – C & A – for the names of the main characters – Charles and Adam, Caleb and Aron, Cathy Ames, etc.

Throughout the book, there are all kinds of fun parallels and contrasts to the biblical account, some of which are so well concealed that you really need to pay attention to every detail. For example one of the characters, Charles, gets a dark scar on his forehead while trying to move a boulder from his fields.

In Genesis 4, as we’ll see today, Cain is given a mark by God. If we compare other marks on people in the Bible, it’s a good assumption this mark was on Cain’s forehead as well. In another account in the book, a different “C” character, Caleb, is described as having a more dark and sinister appearance than the character Aron – again, a parallel we’ll see today.

If you pay attention, you can see all kinds of little details that Steinbeck placed carefully in the book for the person who is studious enough to find them.

Despite being considered a great book, East of Eden hasn’t come close to the total number of sales of the Bible, nor has it lasted through thousands of years like the Genesis account has.

In the end, it is the Bible which is the source of understanding human history, human nature, and the only highway we can take to return to that wondrous spot we left so long ago. Everything else is, after all, a knock off of the original and was printed east of Eden, outside the Garden of Delight.

Text Verse: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. ²³ For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. 1 Samuel 15:22, 23

May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Great Expectations and Dashed Hopes – Verses 1 & 2

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.” ² Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

In these two simple verses, we see the hope of a woman looking for her return to paradise and then her dejection when she realizes that she must have misunderstood what God had previously said.

In His curse of the serpent, God said this to him –

And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

Eve was standing right there and heard it all. She had heard that her Seed would be the One to undo the treacherous works of the devil. When she named her first son Cain, or Qayin, she exclaimed, “I have acquired a man with the Lord.”

The word “acquired” is from the Hebrew word qaniti and it’s where Qayin comes from. As we travel through the Bible, you’ll see this pattern occur innumerable times. A sentence will give the name of a person and that name will usually be based on another word within the same sentence.

There’s a quite a bit involved in what Eve said here. She said, “I have acquired a man with the Lord.” The Hebrew word for “with” in this sentence is rather important. It is translated from the word eth. However, another word could have been used – im. The difference between these two words is immense and it signifies what she was thinking.

In saying she had acquired a man “with” the Lord, she was taking credit for what she thought would be the delivery of her Deliverer.

Think of it this way, if I say I’m writing a book with a typewriter, then the typewriter isn’t really doing anything. Instead I am doing the work and the typewriter is a passive participant in the process.

However, if I say I’m writing a book with my brother Ethan, then he is an active participant in the process and deserves more credit than just supplying the ink to the paper. We both put in the effort and we both deserve whatever benefits come from it.

This is exactly what Eve was claiming when she said, eth instead of im. It’s me… “I’ve acquired a man and I did it with the LORD. We are working together to bring in the Deliverer.”

There’s a lesson in this and it carries throughout the rest of the Bible. In the book of Jonah we read this right at the end of Chapter 2 – “Salvation is of the LORD.”

In Ephesians, Paul explains it this way –For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Eve’s idea that she had something, anything at all in fact, to do with her salvation was completely misguided. The Lord is the One who works out our salvation and He did it and does it in His own timing. There will be no boasting when we stand before God and proclaim what He alone has done for us.

As Mary wisely said when she was told she would bear the Savior of the world – “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”

There was no boasting and no claim of participation in the effort. In her song of praise at what would occur, she places all the credit on God alone –

“My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷ And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. ⁴⁸ For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. ⁴⁹ For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.

Mary is mentioned only a few more times in the Bible and no note of attention is drawn to her. After Acts Chapter 1, she is never mentioned again.

Going back to Eve, we see that immediately after naming Cain the very next words are… words of dejection and hopelessness –

“Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel.”

The Bible doesn’t tell us how old Cain was when Abel was born, but he was old enough for Eve to see that he wasn’t the one to restore her to Eden. We can know this simply by the meaning of Abel’s name. Abel, or Hevel, means “breath.” This is the kind of breath that you watch disappear on a cold day – a mere mist.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, this same word, hevel, is translated as “vanity” in the King James Version and “meaningless” in the NIV.

By the time Abel arrived, her outlook on life had gone from being the boastful woman who had a part of her own salvation to the unhappy surrender of a dejected soul that would spend the rest of her days in life under the sun… never returning to the bliss she had known in the Garden of Eden. All was vanity… disappearing vapor in a cold and meaningless world.

To finish out verse 2, we read that Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. In this thought, we can’t find any fault in the choice of profession for either of them. Moses, David, and a host of other noted biblical figures tended flocks like Abel, but numerous others tilled the ground or worked in agriculture.

Boaz, the great and heroic figure of the book of Ruth was a tiller of the ground and the prophet Amos was a both a sheep breeder and a tender of the sycamore fig tree. What is apparent is that they worked with their hands just as Adam’s sentence in the Garden of Eden indicated they would.

Both of these professions, tending flocks and harvesting grain, are used symbolically throughout the Bible to give us insights into the workings of God in general and the work of Jesus in particular. If you follow the agricultural themes closely, you will better understand the Creator’s dealings with man.

II. The Offering of Faith – Verses 3-6 

³ And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. ⁴ Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, ⁵ but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
⁶ So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? ⁷ If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

The opinions on why God respected one offering and didn’t respect the other are varied and are highly argued over. I reviewed some of the most noted commentators in Christian history, and many of them give note to Jewish sources going back to antiquity and there is no happy resolution to be found there.

The only proper way to determine why Abel’s offering was accepted is to let the Bible interpret the Bible and unfortunately, none of the commentaries I read fully do this.

I’ll note the two prevalent views that have been given so you can see how people look at what happened. The first is inferred from the terminology given in the verse – that “Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD” whereas “Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat.”

The terminology of Abel’s offering being the “firstborn of his flock” has lead to the thought that Cain’s offering wasn’t of the firstfruits of the harvest and therefore wasn’t the first and best. Because of this, Abel’s offering was accepted – it was a good offering, and Cain’s wasn’t because it wasn’t a good offering.

This isn’t a bad interpretation, but it must be inferred. It also needs to infer that this was the time of the firstfruit of the harvest, something we can’t know from the account. If it wasn’t, then there’s no way we can assign this particular guilt to Cain.

For all we know, they made the offering in the middle of the harvest season. All that it says is that he “brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD.” Anything else must be inferred.

The second opinion about why one offering was accepted and the other wasn’t is that Abel’s offering was a blood sacrifice – one for atonement of sins and therefore it was accepted by God, but Cain’s wasn’t and therefore it was unacceptable.

To substantiate this view, it’s noted that God killed an animal to clothe Adam and Eve and therefore the precedent was made at that time. Unfortunately, this reads much more into the text than is given, and when the Hebrew is reviewed it becomes a view which cannot be substantiated.

God provided the atonement, or covering, for Adam and Eve, but nothing more is told us in that account. To state that this was to be the precedent for future generations is again, inserting our personal thoughts into the text.

Secondly, in both offerings, the Hebrew word minchah is used. In the Law of Moses, a minchah is only a non-blood sacrifice, but the offering of both Cain and Abel are called minchah.

It would be inappropriate to insert the Law of Moses into a date prior to the Law of Moses. And even if we could, because of the term used, both are to be considered equally acceptable offerings – they are both minchah. Grain offerings are not only acceptable under the Mosaic Law, they are mandated. If God accepted them, and they have the same term applied here, then one being a blood sacrifice and one not being a blood sacrifice is irrelevant.

And finally, each offering came from the livelihood of the individual. There is no other direction given in the account or before it to indicate that they had to cross the lines of their profession in order to make an offering. If this was the case, then something important would have, again, been left out of the story.

But we can know, with one hundred percent certainty why one offering was accepted and the other wasn’t. All we need to do is look elsewhere in the Bible to get the answer.

Of all the commentaries I read, only one came close to the correct reason. It noted that in the other options, something extra has to be read into the text. When we do that, then interpretation is left completely up to us and so the Bible means whatever we decide.

This is an important lesson to remember. Unless something is painfully evident from the text, we need to state opinion as opinion and not jump to conclusions without evidence. This commentary was right, but even it added in thoughts which aren’t supported by the verse.

In the end, the Bible in Hebrews 11 answers why one offering was accepted and the other wasn’t – “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.”

The offering was an offering of faith and it is the faith which made the offering more excellent. If you understand this you will understand the importance of faith in both testaments of the Bible.

It wasn’t faith that made Abel bring a more excellent sacrifice. Instead it was faith that made the sacrifice more excellent. If you can understand this difference, then you’re on the highway to the most complete and friendly walk possible with your Creator.

The rest of the Bible, in both testaments, bears this out. It isn’t the type of offering and it isn’t the amount of offering that God respects. It is the faith behind the offering. Here are two examples and we’ll move on –

(1) With what shall I come before the LORD, And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old? ⁷ Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? ⁸ He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:6-8

The sacrifices mentioned are exactly what the law asked for. In fact, in Isaiah 1, these mandatory sacrifices are said to make the LORD weary. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats. ¹²’When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts?’”

Who required these sacrifices? God did! And yet he rejected them because they lacked faith.

God couldn’t care diddly about the type or amount of offering if the heart of the individual isn’t right with Him.

(2) Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. ⁴² Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. ⁴³ So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; ⁴⁴ for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” Mark 12:41-44

The Lord looks for faith in His faithless creatures, so even a little bit will do.

III. A Faithless Life, verses 8-12

Cain’s offering was lacking faith and the Bible bears out that the rest of his existence was one of lacking faith as well. His faithless deeds testified against him then, and they still testify today – 6000 years later.

⁸ Now 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 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 He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. ¹¹ So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹² When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”

Cain was the first recorded male born in human history and if you want to reflect on how ingrained sin is in each of us, just look to this account and you can tell. This first recorded son of Adam was a murderer and a liar as we’ve seen right here.

Another thing these verses tell us is the confirmation of the premise that all human beings are born into sin, born spiritually dead, and born separated from God. We have inherited Adam’s death in at least three ways – legally, potentially, and seminally. How can we tell? Because the Bible teaches that it is so.

First, the very fact that Cain murdered and lied indicates he inherited Adam’s sin.

Second, Abel died when he was struck by his brother, but the Bible doesn’t record Abel having committed any sin. But the wages of sin is death. Therefore, if Abel died and didn’t resurrect, then he must have inherited Adam’s sin or the Bible has left us without needed information concerning some other sin Abel committed.

Third, both sons – Cain and Abel – presented offerings to the Lord and there is no record of a command for them to have done so. Such offerings can’t be related to either a command or to human invention. These first recorded offerings occurred after the fall and take separation from God as a given. They were design specifically to satisfy the innate desire to restore man’s separation from God.

In other words, the entire account shows us, without any hint of a doubt, that these sons of Adam were born in sin and were separated from God by their spiritually dead state.

After the rejection of his offering, Cain set the terrible pattern of sin which has infected many souls since then – He became defiant in that sin. Adam and Eve were truly scared about what they’d done and tried to cover things up. And eventually they even tried to pass the buck about their deed.

But Cain, when he was confronted showed the hardness of his heart and his defiant attitude by first lying – “I don’t know” he said, and then getting snippy at God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

The question is actually a good one for all of us and should be addressed. Are we our brother’s keeper? The answer by necessity is “yes and no.” So there is a slight taste of truth in Cain’s answer.

He wasn’t responsible for his brother in the ultimate sense. Abel could go wandering off with the flocks and Cain was under no obligation to watch over him at the expense of his own fields and his own harvest.

And we aren’t responsible in any complete sense for anyone else who has right reason and a healthy body. They are their own keepers and their own problem. The things they do are from their own free will. To limit that in another person is to subject them to slavery and to deplete the very thing that allows them to be human.

On the other hand, we are our brother’s keeper. We’re under the obligation to keep from harming others maliciously and even taking care of what we harm unintentionally. We’re also under the obligation to not hinder others from determining their own paths and avenues of happiness.

And finally, we are to take care of those who can’t take care of themselves. Both testaments bear these things out and so yes we are our brother’s keeper and no, we aren’t our brother’s keeper. Everything in context, and everything to the glory of God.

The response Cain gave though is a cunning attempt to hide any culpability at all in the matter of his brother. It is the response of a selfish, brutal, and hate-filled soul. Unless God called him to account, his murderous attitude would truly become the only standard on which he or anyone else could develop.

In essence, this first recorded sin after the fall would become standard operating procedure for all humanity. “God doesn’t see and it’s all up to me.”

But the LORD knew and acted, and the world was diverted, at least for a time, from turning to complete and absolute wickedness. Unfortunately, as we’ll see by Chapter 6, wickedness is an ongoing problem and needs to be dealt with more than once.

After his less than kind response to the LORD, Cain was told that the blood of Abel cried out from the ground. The word “blood” is the Hebrew word dame or “bloods.” Does this mean that the blood itself cried out, or is it as early Jewish writings understand the verse – that his posterity was crying out – a posterity that actually existed or would have existed if they had been born.

This same type of terminology is given in 2 King 9 when speaking of the death of Naboth, who was killed for a field that King Ahab wanted. There it says, “Surely I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says the LORD…”

This actually makes a lot of sense because when Abel sacrificed, it may have been for him and his family; just as we see in the book of Job. This is even more validated in a few verses by what Cain said after his sentence is pronounced – a sentence which he brought on by his own actions.

We finish with, “The LORD said to him, “So now you are cursed from the earth…” and “When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.” This is the sentence of Cain for his actions and his response shows how truly hard his heart was.

IV. East of Eden, verses 13-16

¹³ And Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! ¹⁴ Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.” ¹⁵ And the LORD said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him. ¹⁶ Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.

Cain was worried about his own punishment, which was less than it deserved, when his younger brother, who was better than he, lay dead in the ground. He was left to aimlessly wander the earth as a vagabond and even the ground wouldn’t yield for him. Whatever he sowed would fail.

The Bible makes a contrast between the sowing of unrighteousness with the harvesting of faith. Cain sowed the ground with the blood of his brother because he was jealous of Abel. But as we saw, it was by Abel’s faith that his offering was acceptable to God.

Cain’s lack of faith, instead of being converted through that lesson, led to the murder of his brother and that would result in no harvest at all, even for the duration of his life.

We have exactly this same thing going on in the world today. Christians are killed in huge numbers for their faith by the modern spiritual successors to Cain – the “peaceful” religion of islam. But in the end, those faithful Christians will stand in judgment over those who kill the body but who can’t harm the soul. The way of Cain leads to death and the faith of Abel will last for eternity.

After his sentencing, Cain cried out “I shall be hidden from Your face.” The greatest honor that can be bestowed on a person is to have the face of God shine on them. For this reason, the High Priestly Prayer not only includes it, but it states it twice –

“The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”’

In 1 Peter it says the reciprocal is true for evildoers – “For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.”

And in 1 Corinthians it says that because of Jesus we are receiving the reflection of the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces.

Cain understood this in his limited way and cried out at the loss – a loss which he had brought upon himself. Even to this day, Cain is the biblical example of the wicked son who remains forever out of the favor of the Lord.

A couple minutes ago I said that it’s possible the “blood of Abel crying out from the ground” may actually be referring to his offspring. Cain’s next response may validate that. After noting that he was hidden from the Lord’s face, he says that “it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.”

Obviously anyone alive on earth during Cain’s life would be a rather close relative to Abel, but it’s most likely that one of his own sons would try to repay Cain for what he did. Cain’s remark then very well could be his fear of this.

Despite his murder, we see a great demonstration of the LORD’s mercy. In order to protect him, the Lord said “… whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.”

The mark placed on Cain is different from other marks placed on people later in the Bible. The word for “mark” is owth, which means a “sign.”

This was a visible mark and a sign to anyone who would attempt to kill him. If they did, they would receive vengeance seven-fold, or “completely.” There would be no mercy given for the murderer of this murderer.

Once the sentence was pronounced, we finish off with the verse that says he “went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.” The word Nod means “wandering” and this fulfills the sentence given by the Lord – that he would be a vagabond and a wanderer.

We can look to the Bible for modern parallels too. Cain went “East of Eden” the place where the presence of the Lord is. On the east side of Eden is where the cherubim were placed to guard access to the garden. But in a symbolic parallel, Jerusalem is where the Temple stood; the place where God dwelt.

Babylon, where Iraq is today, is east of Jerusalem and it is the city which is biblically in spiritual opposition to Jerusalem. When the Israelites disobeyed God, they were sent eastward, to Babylon for the duration of their punishment. Today, this same area is a stronghold of the muslim empire, and is the key force against both the restored people of Israel and the people of God in Christ.

On a greater level though, Babylon is the symbol of all false religions and spiritual opposition to the truth of the gospel. There is a spiritual battle – the battle of ungodly Cain and godly Abel – going on even to this day in the unseen world around us.

The sad story we read in Genesis 4 will only be completely behind us when Satan is finally cast into the Lake of Fire. Until then, human wickedness and the forces of the devil will continue to fight against the truth of God and His word, which are received by faith and demonstrated in offerings of faith by the people of God.

Life East of Eden

Eve was elated – a son to undo this mess
Look at the deed that I have done!!!
It was me who did it… and the LORD too I guess
With the Lord I have acquired a son

Life will be great and life will be fun
Back to life under the heavens, no more life under the sun

“Oh no” cried Eve, another boy to feed, life is just a breath
I guess I’m stuck here under the sun
His name is Abel, he’s no conquer of death
It’s all so meaningless… my hopes are undone

I’m Cain and from my tilling I’ll give God a slice
I’m going to buy His favor with my stuff
My name is Abel and I tend the flocks, they are so nice
But even the choicest and the best is not enough

I’m so pleased with your offering of faith young Abel
I will bless you with abundance at your table

But Cain what you’ve given wasn’t from your heart
I think you’d better go and make a brand new start

Cain murdered his brother and was cursed from the earth
And set the example for an unrighteous soul
Instead of eternal hope from a new birth
His life ended under the devil’s control

Cain spent his years as a vagabond in the land
Wandering aimlessly and without a hope
Instead of fruits and grains, he was left with barren sand
All because Cain was a faithless dope

But God had mercy even on that murderous wretch
He gave him a mark to protect his life
As he wandered for a very long stretch
A man cursed from the earth, a man of strife

Will you be like Cain and follow the devil?
Losing your soul, your most valuable part
Or like Abel will you be on the level
And in Jesus Christ, make a brand new start

Come to fountain and drink waters of life
Eat of the manna offered freely to all
Set aside your life of toil and strife
On the name of Jesus it’s time for you to call

Just so you know before I finish, Cain was given a mark to protect his earthly life, but for those who call on Jesus, the last chapter of the Bible says we too will have a mark. This mark will be on our foreheads and it will be the very name of God – an eternal reminder that we have been purchased by the most precious substance in the universe – the blood of Jesus Christ.

And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. ⁴ They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. Revelation 22:3, 4

Next week we’ll look at Genesis 4:17-26 – The line of Cain. Take a couple minutes tonight and read those verses and meditate on them throughout the week.

Genesis 3:16-24
Introducing Donuts, the End of the Garden of God

Introduction: Honey is mentioned 60 times in the Bible and it’s used as the Bible’s prime example of sweetness for comparison to other things. For example, in the book of Proverbs, we’re warned about the sweetness of a seductress –

For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey,
And her mouth is smoother than oil;
But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword. Proverbs 5:3, 4

And in the Song of Songs, King Solomon makes a similar comparison about the beauty of the voice and words of an upright woman, his beloved –

Your lips, O my spouse,
Drip as the honeycomb;
Honey and milk are under your tongue;
And the fragrance of your garments
Is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

Honey comes from the work of bees and bees come from the mind of God. The splendor and complexity of a single bumblebee far outweighs the possibility of evolution, and the work they do fills our lips with delight. Here are some of honey’s amazing benefits –

It’s nature’s energy booster because it’s a great natural source of carbohydrates which provide strength and energy to the body. It’s known for its effectiveness in instantly boosting performance, endurance, and also reducing muscle fatigue.

It has glucose which gives an immediate energy boost, and it has fructose which is absorbed more slowly providing sustained energy.

Honey is an immunity system builder too. It has antioxidants and anti-bacterial properties which can help improve your digestive system and help you stay healthy and fight disease. Eating local honey can actually help a person develop immunities to pollen and hay fever caused by the surrounding spores. The bees produce ready-made inoculants for the pollen sufferer.

Honey can also help with cuts and burns, sore throats, sleeplessness and other things as well.

In contrast to honey, there is the donut. Honey comes from the mind of God through His agents of pollination – the bees. On the other hand, donuts are a product of man’s devising and ingenuity.

Where honey is abundantly beneficial to us, donuts are obviously less so. But their sweet deliciousity can’t be denied and their totally tempting titillating tastiness tries and tests our taste buds at the expense of our overall slim and trim appearance.

So what do donuts have to do with the Genesis account? Very little to a person who speaks only English, but if you understand Hebrew, there may be a moral to the story hidden in the donut.

Here are the ingredients for a simple glazed donut:

* 3/4 cup scalded milk
* 1/3 cup granulated sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 envelope of active dry yeast
* 1/4 cup warm water
* 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
* 1/3 cup butter
* 2 eggs, beaten
* oil for deep frying
* 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
* 6 tablespoons milk

Text Verse: The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward. Psalm 19:9-11

May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Donuts, Woman’s Second Desire

Donuts are pretty tempting to me and I could make a breakfast of them every day. Ladies aren’t exempt from desiring their delightful yumminess either, but there is something else which the Bible says a lady desires –

To the woman He said:
“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
In pain you shall bring forth children;
Your desire shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you.”

There are several parts to the sentencing of the woman and they’re given in the form of couplets. The first two apply to her mothering role and the second two concern her role as a wife. What we see here is that, just as in the curse of the serpent, the women will be the bearer of offspring and that offspring are sure to come.

The woman, having been present at the curse of the serpent, was certainly excited at the prospect of having a child. The serpent was told that her seed would crush his head and the woman would wait in anticipation for that to happen – probably expecting it right away. This isn’t speculation, but something we’ll see in Chapter 4.

Until then, she was sentenced to the multiplication of sorrows in and through her conception and all the way through the birthing process. Unfortunately, the woman finds out that the curse of the serpent and all of its promise of a coming Seed to crush his head will come at a cost to her.

It’s been noted that women suffer more pain in the birthing process than any other creatures of the earth and this is certainly a result of the curse pronounced here. There is no other known reason for it.

During and after having a baby, women have mental troubles, sorrows, pain, nausea, food disorders, dizziness, head pains, teeth pains, some have fainting spells, and so on. And of course there is the constant worry about miscarriages, the health of the baby, will she be able to handle things, and on and on.

And all of this leads right up to the time that the baby is born with the birth pains growing in frequency and strength. Of course, there is a time, a short time, when that is forgotten, Jesus said –

“A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.” John 16:21

After the joy of the moment though, reality comes back and the trials of conception and birth are replaced with the joys, and the trials of raising the child.

In addition to the trials, pains, and numbers of conception, the woman’s sentence includes that her desire will be for her husband and that he would rule over her. If you read commentaries on this, they go all over the place.

Some say it is speaking of the sexual desires a woman has for her husband and others deny this completely. But because the sentence is in the form of a couplet the text itself identifies which is correct.

Since the fall, in almost all less developed cultures, woman has been more a less a slave to her husband. The rule of selfishness prevails there and the weaker inevitably serves the stronger. Going as far as slavery is wholly unintended by God and cultures which follow this avenue divert from His overall original intent.

On the other hand, equality in marital decisions is also unintended by God. Cultures which follow this pattern, or those that reject marriage completely in order to avoid the rule of men, are also divergent from what God intended.

Rather, the rule of man over the woman is to be one who is responsible for the wife and the family. The woman is to defer to her husband’s decisions when they conflict with her own wishes.

In the New Testament, we see the proper order of this relationship carefully noted by the apostles –

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her… Ephesians 5:22-25

Living as husband and wife within the Christian context should restore each to their proper place and put them in line with God’s intention for the husband and wife.

II. If You Want Donuts, You’ll Have to Work for Them

As we noted earlier, honey is a gift of God to man…not of works. Donuts on the other hand require work. We have to get the ingredients, mix them properly, bake the dough, and all that stuff. In the same way, man would go from honey to donuts; from resting in the garden to tilling the soil. The end of the garden of God had come for the man…

¹⁷ Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:

“Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
¹⁸ Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
¹⁹ In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.”
²⁰ And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

After cursing the serpent and sentencing the woman, the Lord God now turns His attention and judgment upon the man. Yes, the end of the garden of God had come. Instead of supply an abundance to fill their every need and to provide them with endless delight, there would be something different.

In the woman’s sentence was the multiplication of conception which is actually considered a blessing in the Bible. In the 127^th Psalm we read this –

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;

More children are a part of the sentence and a part of the grace given by God at the same time. The earth would be less giving and more unforgiving, and so feeding more children would be an added burden. At the same time, if he could sustain the children until they were old enough, they would be a part of the man’s help in fighting his war with the soil and taking care of him in his old age.

And the soil is the key thought not only of the man’s sentencing, but one of the key thoughts throughout the rest of the Bible.

The ground is cursed and will no longer bear fruit from heaven. Instead it will bear fruit from the serpent’s throne, from the spot where he breathes out his commands. And his throne is a hard rule. Man would have to toil, and he still does to this day, to get food to come up from it.

“All the days of your life” implies that it will always be this way for fallen man. Not just during the life of Adam, but all the days of man. Water, instead of coming up from the ground as a mist, flows from aquifers and needs to be channeled, carried, or pumped to where it’s needed.

And not only would the soil bring forth fruit reluctantly, but in contrast it would willingly bring up thorns and thistles. If you don’t actively take care of your garden or lawn, what is the first thing that happens? Up come weeds. Once weeds are established and they take away the water from the weaker plants, then thorns and thistles pop up because they can handle more arid conditions.

The Bible speaks of the blessing of harvests resulting in 30, 60, or a 100 fold crops for edible food like wheat, but this type of productivity takes work and care. On the other hand, there is a species of thistle known as the Acanthum vulgare which produces more than 100 heads and each contains from 3 to 400 seeds – without any tending or care by man.

Supposing they produce a medium of 80 beads and each contains only 300 seeds, then its first crop would equal 24,000. When these are sown, it could potentially be 576 million. A third time would result in almost 14 billion. Another harvest at this rate would be about 332 quadrillion. One more repetition would result in enough to sow every planet in the solar system with nothing else but this one type of thistle. Oh how easy do the curses afflict our labors!

This curse even resulted in the sandspurs which line coastlines around the world, even up to the ocean itself. The sandiest soil, which can’t absorb any water at all, will still support these horrific little monsters.

Verse 18 also says “you shall eat of the herb of the field.” This is a commentary that when the crops fail and the trees don’t have fruit, we will look for food even as the animals do – from the herbs of the field. This is the state of fallen man because of the effects of one sin committed in ignorance.

In His final act of sentencing the man, the Lord says, “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”

In the sweat of your face or more directly “your nose’’ – the Hebrew word beze-et appekha indicates the conditions of labor for the laborer. Our heads sweat a lot and as we work in the field or at other jobs, our heads are most often pointed down.

Because of this the sweat runs around our head, onto our face, and down the nose and right into the place we’re working. In other words, we’re symbolically watering the very ground we’re cultivating. “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.”

And finally in verse 19 we come to the sad words revealed in the loss of access to the Tree of Life –

“For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”

The Lord God formed man out of the dust and it’s what we consist of. When the spark of life which animates us leaves our body, entropy takes over and we inevitably return to the very dust from which we came.

Before we leave the sentencing of the woman and Adam, we need to step back and look at their expected torments from a higher light. A Deliverer was promised in the curse of the serpent – one who would crush the serpent’s head. This same Deliverer is referred to throughout their sentencing as well –

“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception…” Jesus was known as a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering and the one whose soul was in labor – all of this in order to bring about children for God.

“In pain you shall bring forth children…” Jesus suffered at the cross to bring “many sons to glory.” In pain He brought forth God’s children.

“Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you…” The desire of the Bride of Christ is for her Husband and Jesus is the One who will rule over His bride, the church whom He purchased with His own blood.

“Cursed is the ground for your sake…” In Isaiah, Jesus is said to be a root out of dry ground and later in Galatians it says that He became a curse for us. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

“In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.” In Isaiah it says, “He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.” Jesus labored throughout His life in the harvest field of man.

“Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,…” Christ was given a crown of thorns. The very sentence of the man for his disobedience became the crown of the Lord who sentenced him.

“And you shall eat the herb of the field…” The instructions for the Passover say this – “Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.” Jesus not only participated in the Passover each year, He prefigured it, leading a life in bitterness to redeem fallen man.

“In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread…” In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus sweat – as it were – great drops of blood falling to the ground thus earning His bread, that being the Bread of Affliction in order to redeem fallen man.

“Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken;…” The mortal part of the Lord Jesus died on Calvary’s cross and was interred for the sins committed by His own creation. Death came in as a result of sin and sin was dealt with by His obedient death.

The very sentence of man for his rebellion was carried out in the Person of Jesus Christ. The Lord God didn’t cause the man to receive anything that He Himself wasn’t willing to endure. Thus He is both Just and the Justifier of everyone who calls on Him.

There is one exception in the curse between Adam and Jesus “For dust you are,And to dust you shall return.” Jesus, because He prevailed over the devil was resurrected by the power of God. The curse has been removed and now anyone who calls on Him will likewise be freed from the finality of death.

²⁰ And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

The name translated Eve in English is immensely unfortunate and removes all relevance to what is being relayed. Her name Khavah means “life.” First we see in this verse that Adam named her.

This confirms what God told her in her sentencing “…he shall rule over you.” Because Adam named her, he has dominion and authority over her, just as when Adam named the animals.

By choosing the name Khavah, or life, he is demonstrating faith in God’s promise to provide a Redeemer. He knew this Redeemer would restore them to spiritual life and fellowship with God. But he had no idea that it would be 4000 years before this Redeemer would come.

All he knew at that moment was that there would be One who would restore their dead condition. It can even be inferred that he expected the first person born from them to be that One because of his naming her Khavah.

Even though they had come to the end of the Garden of God, they had hope of a better day ahead and they exhibited faith that what the Lord promised would come about.

III. Covered in Something Sweet

Donuts aren’t just delicious bread products. They’re often filled with good stuff and even more common and delightful is what they’re covered in. There are all kinds of sweetness and delights which cover a donut. Here are a couple things to think about.

**Donuts don’t make themselves and they don’t get themselves out of the hot oil.
**Donuts don’t cover themselves in delightfully delicious goodness. Instead, someone else does.
**And donuts have to meet the end of their donut-ness if they are to be enjoyed.

Charlie, what are you talking about?

²¹ Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

Only after naming his wife Khavah, does God clothe them. The symbolism in this verse follows through the whole Bible, even to the last book. What would be the reason for waiting to do this until after Adam named His wife? Well, let’s look at the significance of the verse and then why it happened afterwards.

There are three things involved in the clothing of Adam and Eve and they all point to the work of the coming Redeemer –

First, God initiated the action. If you remember, Adam and the woman made fig leaves to cover themselves, but God rejected this. They chose the material, the fashion, and everything else involved in it. Despite this, they were still ashamed and hid when the Lord came looking for them.

The covering couldn’t conceal their deeds. In the same way, all false religions choose the mode of salvation and they initiate the actions which are expected to please God and bring about restoration. They are man-centered, working back to God. But this has been, is, and always will be rejected by God.

Instead, God alone chooses the course of action and He initiates it. He decides the covering and everything else associated with it.

Secondly, something had to die, an innocent animal – probably a lamb or a ram. God didn’t kill Adam or the woman, but rather chose an innocent animal in their place. In essence, He transferred their guilt to the animal and the animal suffered for their misdeeds.

This symbolizes God’s choice of the only sacrifice which is truly acceptable to Him, the death of Jesus Christ – the Lamb of God. Later in the Bible we see in the book of Hebrews that an animal cannot take away sins, but only temporarily cover them until the final Sacrifice – the Lord Jesus, who died in place of fallen man.

And the third thing about this verse – God completed the action. He personally clothed them. It was His gift and it was unmerited. His animal died, His hands prepared the covering, and His hands clothed them. In the book of Revelation, we read this –

Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. Revelation 3:4, 5

Later we see that the white garments stand for the righteousness of the saints. It is an imputed righteousness, meaning that it was undeserved, but is given to them based on the work of Christ.

The entire mode of restoration to God for fallen man is summed up then in this one verse – “Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.”

And this is the same pattern used time and again by God throughout the Bible. When the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt, He didn’t tell them to get out of the mess themselves. Instead, He led them out, He guided them in the flight, and when they were facing destruction by the Red Sea, He didn’t tell them to work their way out of it, instead He said, “Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today.”

And why was it that He clothed them only after Adam named his wife Khavah, or “life.” It’s because this name was a demonstration of faith. They lost access to the Garden when they lacked faith and it was only by faith that they could ever hope to be restored to it.

And so after demonstrating faith, God provided the clothing. In the same way, Jesus gives us His robes of righteousness only after we demonstrate faith in Him.

The Bible – from Genesis to Revelation notes that salvation of the human soul is based on faith and on faith alone. When God speaks, we are expected to take His word at face value, and only after demonstrating faith in His promise are we granted His covering – the righteousness of Christ.

And this righteousness is so very much sweeter than the glazing of a donut. It is perfect and it is whiter and purer than anything we can yet imagine.

IV. Something Better Than Donuts is on the Other Side

The Hebrew word for “donut” is pronounced “soofganiyah” and is a combination of three words, “end,” “garden,” and “God.”  Donuts are literally, “The end of the garden of God.”  Maybe it’s because they’re so tasty and delicious that someone thought, “We lost paradise, but this is the next best thing!”

²² Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil.

The man became like the Triune God – he now knows good and evil. Not only is he responsible for his actions, but now he knows the difference between them and he bears the greater responsibility because of the knowledge.

But there could even be a touch of sarcasm in what’s said here. As Adam and Eve stood humiliated in their rough garments, the Creator told us to reflect on what happened. “Look at what their knowledge has got them. Let’s hope that in the future they will make right choices and be obedient to the call of the Master.”

And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— ²³ therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴

God knew that if they were to live forever in the fallen state they were in with clothing that only symbolically covered their shame, they would become infinitely bent on wickedness and evil. And so in a demonstration of both mercy and grace, He took away their access to eternal life.

The Lord drove them out of the Garden “to till the ground from which he was taken.” The purpose of being in the Garden wasn’t to tend and keep it, but to worship and serve the Creator. Now they would have to tend and keep the ground in order to survive. Worshiping and serving the Creator would be a voluntary task based on faith and not by sight.

The life of the faithful since then, even to this day is centered on worshipping and serving the Creator, but our deeds are not done to justify us. They are deeds of faith in an unseen God and they are based on promises which lie ahead of us in a world which mocks and ridicules us for our hope. If you don’t believe that, just ask Tim Tebow.

So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Man was driven from the presence of God and the beauty of the Garden. A heavenly guard was placed east of the garden to keep him out so that he couldn’t get to the tree of life. But a guard implies that access is possible. The very fact that this verse is here proves that a return to Eden is not only available, but is expected.

The rest of the Bible, from this point on, details the long adventure of restoring that which was lost. The tabernacle in the wilderness foreshadows access to Eden. The Most Holy Place where God dwelt above the Ark of the Covenant was separated from the outside by a veil on which was sewn cherubim. This veil pointed east, toward the rising sun.

Later, the temple in Jerusalem also faced west with the veil and its cherubim facing east. On a spring morning in the year AD32 a Man died on a cross within sight of that temple. Unlike Adam, who died in his own sin, this man had never sinned. Being sinless, He was destined to live forever, but He voluntarily gave up His precious life to replace what Adam had lost.

The moment He died, the veil to the temple, which was a handbreadth thick, was rent in two from top to bottom by the Creator. His wrath at the sins of Adam and Adam’s seed was satisfied by the death of His own Son, thus fulfilling every type and picture prefigured in the holy and sacred writings.

Access past the cherubim was restored and the Tree of Life was again made available to all those who, by faith and by faith alone, are willing to receive the work of God in Jesus Christ and to bow in submission to Him, calling on Him as Lord.

Donuts may be the end of the garden of God, but they require work and they go bad if they’re not eaten quickly. Oh but God saw our attempt at a sweet and tasty existence and said, “I can do even better. You’ve come to the end of the Garden of God, but I myself will bring you back into it. Listen to the words of Isaiah –

I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness
and praise spring up before all nations. Isaiah 61:10, 11

Fill me with You Lord, I can fill myself with donuts… c.g.

The End of the Garden of God

Your sentence is pronounced
In pain you shall give birth
Your husband will rule over you
And he shall till the unforgiving earth

Your pains in childbirth will be increased
Indeed your labor will be most severe
But when from your womb the child is released
Again the joy in your heart will appear

And Adam, because you listened to your wife
And from the forbidden fruit you did eat
I shall give you a burdensome life
I’ve cursed the ground beneath your feet

For your crops you will till and the soil will resist
From it thorns and thistles will readily grow
But the things on which you need to subsist
Will take careful work with a plow and hoe

Someday you’ll return to that ground
As a seed planted in the soil
And if by faith you live your life
There shall be a reward for your time of toil

Now I will clothe you with garments of skin
And send you out of this garden of delight
Cherubs will faithfully guard the way back in
Until My Son makes all things right

And when He does you can come back in
Not because of anything you have done
But His blood alone will cover your sin
Such is the wondrous work of my Son.

Hallelujah and Amen!

Genesis 3:14, 15
The Promised One

When we look around at the state of the world, the state of our lives, and the troubles which hem us in, it’s often hard to imagine that God has got everything figured out. Imagine what Habakkuk thought when he saw the armies of Babylon coming against his people –

² O LORD, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, Violence!” And You will not save. ³ Why do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises. ⁴ Therefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds. Habakkuk 1:2-4

The horrifying things which have happened in history can really cause us to question God’s goodness and His ability to keep things under control, but that’s the furthest thing from the truth.

Why should God interfere in our free will when He isn’t wanted around most of the time? As humans, we normally only seek Him when things are going poorly, but when all is ok, we figure we can do whatever we want.

I email and post on line a Bible devotional every morning. I started with Romans 1:1 and am now up to Revelation chapter 4… one verse a day with analysis and a prayer. This has taken many years and I’ve noticed a trend…

When I post a verse that is happy and uplifting, people sign on for the devotional, but as soon as I post one that mentions God’s judgment in it, numbers drop and people accuse me of not being like Jesus,,,, when Jesus is the One who wrote the book.

The same thing has happened in my Bible classes and sermons. If I speak on judgment, people get offended and leave. But this is a problem with misunderstanding the nature of evil and the consequences of sin – be it individual, within a church, or on a national level.

If judgment bothers you, take it up with God. He will tell you that it will all work out in the end. First though, the devil needs to be dealt with and sin needs to be dealt with. Judgment begins at the house of God and with God’s people. If you struggle with this, you have to spend more time in your Bible.

Introduction:
The two verses we’re going to look at today begin the long process of dealing with the devil and conquering sin. The first verse details the curse of Satan and the restrictions placed on him and the second details in veiled terms his final defeat.

Genesis 3:15 is known at the Protoevangelium or the “first gospel” because it is the first explicit reference in the Bible to the coming Christ. All things will be made right when the devil is destroyed by the Promised One – who we know to be our Lord and Savior, Jesus.

Text Verse: Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. Zechariah 3:1

May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Defining the Curse

¹⁴ So the LORD God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life.

With this pronouncement and the verse which will follow, defeat of the devil is assured. The LORD God didn’t even bother to interrogate the serpent like He did with Adam and the woman. He knew what He heard was true and simply pronounced judgment.

And the judgment gets progressively worse as the LORD speaks. As He does, there is both a physical and a spiritual element to what He says. The pronouncement is upon the serpent as the physical vehicle which was used by the devil, but it is also a spiritual pronouncement upon the devil himself.

The physical pronouncement of the serpent starts with “You are cursed more than all the cattle.” In other words, “even dumb oxen will be ahead of you. They are unreasoning animals and brute beasts, but you are less than they are.”

The ox is are so stupid that they have to be prodded along with poking rods to wherever they are going, but a serpent can’t even reason that far.

The most they can do is be charmed out of a basket just as the devil charmed the man out of the Garden. And just as the charmer is able to put the serpent back into his basket, the Lord is able to again put the man in the Garden. Baskets are for the wicked, paradise is for the righteous.

In Zechariah 5:6-8 we read this nifty parallel – “So I asked, “What is it?” And he said, “It is a basket that is going forth.” He also said, “This is their resemblance throughout the earth: Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket”; then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth.”

Just as wickedness was shut up in the ephah basket, so will Satan be shut up eternally in the Lake of Fire which was prepared especially for him and the fallen angels.

Next in our verse, the LORD says the serpent is cursed “more than every beast of the field.” This doesn’t mean that the other animals are cursed, but that the curse on the serpent would make them lower than the other animals.

“Not only are you lower than the cattle, every animal is above you. You are the lowest of the low and the vilest of the vile. You are exceeded by platypuses, wombats, badgers, and squirrels. Everything will be ahead of you. Even swine which eat the refuse of the world, my fat little walking garbage cans, will be ahead of you.”

The curse continues with “On your belly you shall go.” This particular phrase really has to be taken literally, or we will rob the very meaning of the Bible. In other words, the serpent was physically altered from what it originally looked like to what it looks like now. And now he is a slithering slimy slippery serpent.

“Just as you slithered into the lives of my humans and brought them to the state where they will return to dust, so you will live your existence in the very dust that you have condemned them to.”

“From the dust they came and to the dust they shall return, but you will be united with the dust from beginning to end. You have your kingdom and you have rule and authority, but it is from the lowest position. Other rulers sit above their dominion, but you reign from below it as you lay on your belly.”

Let’s continue on with the LORD’s curse of this vile serpent – “And you shall eat dust all the days of your life.” The defeat is decided. “Just as the slain warrior’s future is in to lay the dust he walked on, so you, serpent, will be like him. You will eat the dust and it will sustain you.”

In this case, it’s possible that the earthworm is included in the overall picture.

The earthworm really does eat the earth and everything that returns to it. As man dissolves back into the earth, so the earthworm finds its food. The serpent destroyed the man in the garden and he would continue to destroy fallen man outside the garden.

But what may appear as a victory for him in this sense is really a condemnation of the devil’s deeds. The only food he would have is that of the death and corruption of his fallen creatures, not of the wellspring of life.

This curse is by far worse than the death mandated for the other animals because it’s of an eternal nature as we’ll see when we get to the book of Revelation many long years from now…

The theme of the Bible’s curse on the serpent carries through every dispensation as well. In the millennial reign of Christ after the tribulation period and when the devil is bound in chains, Isaiah makes this prophesy –

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
The lion shall eat straw like the ox,
And dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”
Says the LORD. 65:25

When the creation is restored to idyllic conditions for the other animals, the serpent will still be licking the dust.

As I said earlier though, there is a spiritual pronouncement as well. This curse is laid on the devil or Satan who filled the serpent. Satan was an angelic being and even in the book of Job it relates that he could freely enter the Lord’s presence, but in Luke 17 we read this account –

And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but ratherrejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

The curse upon the devil then means that he would never again enjoy the riches of heaven or his angelic position. The food of angel’s is replaced with the souls of fallen men and the degradation of them through impurity and wickedness.

Instead of a marvelous witness to God’s majesty in creation, he would be reduced to being “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.”

Elsewhere in the Bible, unreasoning animals that injure or kill man are put to death for their actions. But unlike them, what the serpent and devil did was of a moral, not a physical nature and so instead of extermination, a curse is the result.

This pattern isn’t unique to the devil either. When we get to Chapter 9 of Genesis, we’ll come across the morally offensive sin of Ham, the son of Noah. There, the result is also a curse –

So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. ²⁵ Then he said:
“Cursed be Canaan;
A servant of servants
He shall be to his brethren.” Vss. 9:24-25

A moral transgression requires a substantial moral curse. This is a lesson we all need to pay heed to.

On your belly you shall go you slithering snake
Your rule will be from the dust of the earth
From corruption and death souls you will take
And to the sons of hell you shall give birth

The world of wickedness is your domain
And every vile thing you shall rule
Your army will be the sons of Cain
The disobedient, the vile, and yes also the fool

But you and your kingdom will have its end
And all the evil that you brought into my creation
To the Lake of Fire all of it I shall send
And there you will receive eternal destruction

Now that we’ve looked at this verse and it’s repercussions for both the serpent and the devil, let’s see how they actually become a veiled picture of the atonement provided by the coming Christ.

Satan went from being the beautiful angel of God’s creation to a serpent – the cunning and loathsome reptile. On the other hand there is an interesting use of the serpent in the book of Numbers –

And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” ⁶ So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.
⁷ Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
⁸ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” ⁹ So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. 21:5-9

In John Chapter 3, we read what this bronze serpent symbolized. Jesus Himself explains it to us –

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 14, 15

One other time this particular bronze serpent is mentioned is in the books of 2 Kings. There we see how it degraded into an idol and also what its name was.

He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan.2 Kings 18:4

One important lesson here is that even God’s mode of saving can become an idol. When we look to the cross, we need to remember that it is only a symbol of the greater Person and work of Jesus and not a talisman that replaces Him. We need to be on guard even in the things we think on and boast about most. As Paul said in Galatians 6:14

But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Yes we boast in the cross, but only because of what it signifies which is the great deliverance of humanity from sin at the expense of the life of the Lord Jesus. We need to be careful not to make the error that we use the cross as a good luck charm.

This bronze snake we’re talking about was called Nehustan in Hebrew. This word sounds like three different words – “snake,” “bronze,” and “unclean thing.” All of which point to the work of Christ.

The snake – Just as the snake was lifted up in the wilderness, so was Christ lifted up on the cross.

The word bronze – Bronze speaks of judgment. The altar of sacrifice was made of bronze and it was the spot in the temple where sin received its judgment. This like Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as our final judgment on sin. And one more aspect of bronze comes from the book of Revelation where Jesus is said to have feet resembling burnished bronze indicating His authority to judge.

And as an unclean thing – 2 Corinthians 5:21 says this, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Jesus Christ became our unclean thing that we could be cleansed and purified in the presence of an infinitely holy Creator. He was crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem just as the unclean bodies of the sacrificial animals were burned outside the camp.

As you can see, everything eventually points to Jesus Christ and what He did for us, even an obscure passage about a bronze snake from the Old Testament and even the curse upon the serpent.

II. Enmity with the Woman

¹⁵ And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,

This first half of verse 15 is directed solely to the relationship between the devil and the woman. The question is, “Who is the woman?” Is it speaking of Eve only, or of all women who come after Eve, or is it speaking of a spiritual woman? I would prefer the third option here.

Throughout the Bible there is a distinction made between the sons of men and the sons of God. The sons of God are the chosen line which leads from Adam, through his son Seth, down to Noah, then Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. This line continues to the coming Christ, who is Jesus, and encompasses the nation of Israel.

On the other hand, there is the line of Cain and all of those outside of the Messianic line who are the seed of the devil. This pattern is unmistakable and carries all the way through the Bible.

In 1 John 3, we read a about those who belong to the devil – “For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, ¹² not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.”

In the same book 2 chapters later, John tells us that the whole world is under the sway of the wicked one. Paul says the same thing in 1 Corinthians 15 when he makes the contrast between those in Adam and those in Christ. If you are in Adam, you are under the devil’s control and headship.

Therefore, the woman is the godly line whom the devil is at enmity with. And this is fully confirmed in the awesome apocalyptic words recorded in the book of Revelation –

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. ² Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. ³ And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. ⁴ His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. ⁵ She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. ⁶ Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. … Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. ¹⁴ But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. ¹⁵ So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. ¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. ¹⁷ And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation 12:12-6 & 13-17

The woman depicted in these astonishing verses is specifically the nation of Israel “who gave birth to the male Child.” And her offspring, as it clearly states, are those “who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

If you’re a Christian and you wonder why life can get so hard, the answer is right here. The devil is out to destroy you and to rob you of your joy.

The devil doesn’t need to spend his time attacking the rest of the world – he already owns them! And so he can spend his time directing his demons to tear at you, fight against you, and make your life miserable. The rest of the world makes their own life miserable because they belong to the author of misery.

Do you wonder why I so constantly nag people to read their Bibles? It’s because this is the only way to know God’s will, to stay in fellowship with Him, and to prevail over the devil’s attacks. Without knowing your Bible, you’re totally exposed to the enmity which came about in Genesis 3:15.

Paul asks you to do the same thing in Ephesians chapter 6… to prepare yourself for the battle which is going on all around us –

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

After saying this, he spends 7 more verses explaining how to win in this battle. Please read your Bible and learn what the devil doesn’t want you to know!

III. The Protoevangelium

And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”

Like I said at the start of our talk today, Protoevangelium means the “First Gospel.”

This particular verse is translated differently in different Bibles. The Latin Vulgate and Douay Rheims Bibles, both of which are Roman Catholic say “she” shall crush your head. The King James Version says “it” shall bruise your head. And others say, “He” shall bruise, or crush your head. The neutral nature of the personal pronoun in Hebrew could render all these possibilities correct.

A. Minto says this, “The second sentence begins with a personal pronoun. The word may refer either to the “woman”, or may refer to the offspring or seed of the woman. Thus the beginning of the second part of Genesis 3:15 is translated primarily in two ways. … In view of the epicene personal pronoun (one form to indicate both male and female sex) as described above, both are correct!

If it is the woman, then it is Eve and her line which leads to the Messiah, and if it is the Seed, then it is specifically referring to the Messiah.

In arguing for “she,” we can note that in Genesis 3:20, Adam calls her “woman” but eventually names her Eve or Khavah which means the “mother of all the living.”

No matter what, the Protoevangelium is prophetic in nature because there is a promise in the future of redemption and that someone will crush the head of the serpent. This judgment on the serpent contains a promise of ultimate victory through the woman by her Offspring, Jesus and so either “He” or “she” is acceptable.

I would still argue for “He” because, the general rule of language is that personal pronouns normally refer to the nearest antecedent, in this case, the nearest antecedent is the word “Seed.” And secondly, the rest of the Bible bears out that it is Christ Jesus who accomplished the work for us.

Paul confirms this in Galatians 3:16 –

Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.

Because the Bible allows both possibilities and because both are confirmed elsewhere in Scripture, both must be considered acceptable translations – He or she. However, only one can be used in a translation and so the preferable one is “He.” Although the Seed, Jesus came through the woman, it was He who did the work on our behalf at the cross. “He,” therefore, is by far the better choice.

This verse then not only points to Jesus as the One who would defeat the devil, but it also is the first hint of His incarnation. Throughout the Bible, it is always the man who is highlighted and the promises are made to men and to their seed. With a few exceptions where women are introduced into biblical narratives, the focus is almost entirely on men and their seed such as in Genesis 22:17, 18 –

…blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. ¹⁸ In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

This one verse, however, never speaks of the seed of man. The most wonderful event to occur in human history, the Christmas Story, is given right here, 4000 years before the coming of Christ.

In Isaiah 7:14, we read this parallel thought –

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

The Seed of the woman is defined and refined here. A virgin shall conceive and bear a Son. This Child has no earthly father, but His Father will be God Himself. Thus His name will be Immanuel – “God with us.” Matthew uses this same verse in His gospel and assures us that Jesus is the One who fulfilled the prophecy.

Elsewhere in Jeremiah we read this most difficult of verses –

How long will you gad about,
O you backsliding daughter?
For the LORD has created a new thing in the earth—
A woman shall encompass a man.”31:22

This verse has been used for the concept of the virgin birth while other scholars deny that. If we’re to take it plainly and in its literal sense, no other explanation seems plausible. Israel was lost in waywardness, not following the Lord or His commandments, but Jeremiah said the LORD would create a new thing. The term for “create” is bara and is used specifically for the creative effort in Genesis 1.

He would again do a miraculous work by bringing about the life of a man without using a man. The Holy Spirit would overshadow Mary. The Child who would come from her would be the Son of God. This coming One then would be the Seed of the woman.

When we arrive at the gospel accounts, the writers like Matthew as we already noted, state this is Jesus. But Jesus Himself uses terminology which certainly supports that He is the Seed of the woman prophesied so long ago.

Before performing His first miracle and while hanging on the cross, we have two separate statements of Jesus that reveal His fulfillment of God’s promise –

1. On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ² Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. ³ And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” John 2:1-4

2. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” ²⁷ Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. John 19:26, 27

In both cases, Jesus refers to Mary as “woman” even though this wasn’t the normal Semitic way of addressing His mother. Because of this, it is certainly His way of identifying Himself as the promised Seed of the woman.

How wonderful to read these verses as spoken from the Lord’s own mouth and to know with all certainty that He is the One to bring us out of the devil’s grasp and to restore us to our Creator, His Almighty Father.

On the cross, the serpent surely “bruised His heel” when the nails were driven into them. The lowly serpent attacked at the heel of the Man, but the Man was like none other. After a short sleep like death, He rose victorious from the grave and crushed the serpent’s head, meaning his authority.

Jesus Christ regained what had been lost many thousands of years earlier and today we can too stand victorious over the work of the devil if we will only, by faith, put our hope and our trust in His glorious work.

Albert Barnes relates his thoughts to us on the matter – “It is singular to find that this simple phrase, coming in naturally and incidentally in a sentence uttered four thousand years, and penned at least fifteen hundred years, before the Christian era, describes exactly and literally Him who was made of woman without the intervention of man, that He might destroy the works of the devil. This clause in the sentence of the tempter is the first dawn of hope for the human family after the fall. We cannot tell whether to admire more the simplicity of its terms, the breadth and comprehensiveness of its meaning, or the minuteness of its application to the far-distant event which it mainly contemplates.”

The most astonishing concept ever penned is that which tells of the work of Jesus Christ as revealed to us in the pages of the Holy Bible – God’s love letter of restoration, grace, and mercy.

From these earliest verses of Genesis, all the way through the book of Revelation, we see the wondrous works of an infinitely wise God telling us about the plan of the ages. In John Chapter 19, we see the highest point of that plan when Jesus died on the cross –

After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” ²⁹ Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. ³⁰ So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. John 19:28-30

“It is finished” – Paid in full. The victory promised in the Protoevangelium was consummated in the death of a Man in a backwater part of the Roman Empire on a Friday afternoon in the year AD32. The glories which came then and are yet to come will reach into eternity and forever we will sing the song of the Lamb.

The Promised One

In the garden the serpent received his curse
On your belly you shall go, licking up the dust
The words were direct and they were terse
But the sentence was completely fair and just

Cursed are you more than the cattle
And more than every beast of the field
Your existence will be as the heat of battle
But in the end it is you who will yield

Of the dust you shall eat
For all the days of your life
Never shall you taste the sweet
But only the fruits of death and strife

I shall put enmity between you and the woman
An on-going battle through lengths of ages
You seed, the unregenerate human
Who against me reviles and rages

But there shall come One, a Promised Seed
Who will crush your head for what you have done
Your days are numbered so take you heed
In my mind the battle is already won

Jesus is coming to make all things new
This word is faithful and it is true

In the cross, a victory you will assume
A victory – yes – but not for you
After His cross and after His tomb
He will arise and make all things new

Man’s redemption will have been wrought
By the Seed of the woman, my own Son
With His blood He will have bought
The right to man’s soul, the victory won.

For eternity my Son’s redeemed will sing
They will walk in the glorious light of life
From the cross of Jesus He will bring
Out of the sea of troubles a radiant wife

All hail the splendid name of Jesus!
Our King sits at the right hand of God on high
Great and wondrous things He has done for us
And we will exalt Him as eternal years pass by

Hallelujah and amen!

 

Salvation call…

 

Next week we will be talking about Genesis 3:16-24. I hope you’ll take time to read those verses, think on them, and get ready for a delightfully delicious sermon entitled “Introducing Donuts – The End of the Garden of God.”