Father in heaven, we come to you this morning asking that you would prepare us, our hearts and our minds, to receive your word, to be encouraged by it, to be chastened by it, convicted by it, and to ultimately see how your word in all its places points to your son, whom you've given to us as our only hope of salvation. Lord, we pray these things in your name, in your son's name, amen. This morning I'm going to begin a two-week study, Genesis 4 and 5, and the theme of the study is the faithfulness of God in a fallen world, faithfulness of God in a fallen world. As we look at the various passages, the various narratives in this brief section of scripture, there are two broad themes that I want us to keep in mind that we're going to come back to that I hope we'll see from the text and be encouraged by. And the first is that though the circumstances of our fallen world may cause us to doubt the certainty of God's promises, Nevertheless, God is faithful and he fulfills his promises in his own time and in his own way. And to expound that idea a little bit more, oftentimes as we survey the world, as we consider the sinfulness that we see both in the world and in ourselves, in our churches, in our families, in our own lives, It can cause us to wonder about God's faithfulness. It can cause us to doubt His faithfulness. Sometimes that doubting is intellectual, as a theodicy, if you will. How could a good God allow bad things to happen? How could He allow sin? And sometimes, more often, I suppose, it's not so much intellectual, but wondering why am I the way I am and why is the world the way it is? And how is that consistent with a God who is good and gracious and loving? And I think that Genesis 4 and 5 give us a helpful example of how God continues to work out all things for the good of his people, how God continues to demonstrate his faithfulness, though his people are unfaithful, though they rebel against him. So that first broad theme is one that we'll come back to and that will kind of serve as an overarching theme for these two Sundays. The second is that because of Adam's sin and our own, we've been separated from God. But the solution is not found in the isolation or in fleeing or hiding as Adam and Eve did in the garden. But the solution is found in God's call for us to come to Him by faith. That God calls us to enter into a relationship with Him by faith. in his son Jesus Christ who gave himself for us and who reconciles us to God. And so in these narratives we'll see in the person of Cain particularly an example of one who is driven away and departs from God and never comes to him in repentance, seeking that kind of relationship that is offered. And then we'll see other examples of people who do Strangely, in the wake of what happened in Genesis 3, enjoy that kind of relationship with God and leave us to wonder, how is it that they entered into that relationship with God? And the answer will be, of course, through faith, as the New Testament authors help us to understand. So Genesis 4 and 5 present these two truths, sometimes subtly, but certainly. And that's what we're going to be looking at. As we study these passages, one of the things I also hope to do is to apply some of the interpretive principles that we learned earlier in the year. If you were here, Pastor Ryan led us through a study in hermeneutics, a study in how to interpret the Bible. And I want to demonstrate how we might apply those principles as we approach these particular texts. And so, for example, some that we'll focus on is the importance of being attentive to the genre and the context of the passages we're reading. And we'll look at that, especially focusing on how Genesis 4 and 5 fit into the context of the larger narrative. And then also the truth, the principle that we confess that Scripture interprets Scripture. were helped a great deal in these passages because we'll see that in several places the New Testament comments on what happened in Genesis 4 and to some extent Genesis 5 and helps us to understand how we might interpret in a way that's consistent with the scripture in a way that's consistent with God's inspired word and his apostles, how they understood these passages. So I want you to think about that, keep that in the back of your mind. If you can take some of these examples away with you and then apply them in your own study, I think it will be a fruitful two weeks. So without any further ado then, let me read Genesis chapter four. If you've found your place, you can follow along with me. Now Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord. And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, why are you angry and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it. Cain spoke to Abel his brother, and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? He said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper? The Lord said, what have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground, and now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. Cain said to the Lord, my punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me. Then the Lord said to him, not so. If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. To Enoch was born Arad, and Arad fathered Mahugel, and Mahugel fathered Methuselah, and Methuselah fathered Lamech. And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Ada and the name of the other Zillah. Ada bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. Zillah also bore Tubal-Cain. He was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-Cain was Nema. Lamech said to his wives, Ada and Zillah, hear my voice, you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain's revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech's is 77-fold. And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth. For she said, God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel. Poor Cain killed him. To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time, people began to call upon the name of the Lord. Father in heaven, we ask that you would help us to understand your word, and I pray that you'd help me to be clear this morning. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, what we'll look at this morning is obviously this passage here with Cain and Abel, but we'll notice that it's not just the story of Cain killing Abel, I think a narrative that we're familiar with, but there's more to it. And at first blush, some of these passages may strike us as strange, enigmatic. We wonder, Why are those there? And what do I, what kind of benefit will I derive from them? How might I be encouraged by those passages? So there's more to it than Cain and Abel, and we'll see that as we proceed through the text. I mentioned at the beginning that we'll talk about how context is important and how genre is important, and so just to state it outright, we're reading a narrative portion of scripture, a portion of scripture that's historical. We want to affirm that, that this is, these are historical claims that we should affirm as accurate, that we should affirm as true. Though the world may tell us we should take them as myth, We should affirm these as true. They're historical claims. Nevertheless, they're presented in a narrative framework. And so when we look at this narrative, we need to understand these passages according to some of those conventions. That one of the things that I just, I find when I read narrative portions of scripture, whether the Gospels or whether we're reading Old Testament narrative, is that the author does not always state things straight up for us. He doesn't always deliver things to us so that it's plain as day. Sometimes we have to stop and we have to think and ponder why is the narrative presented this way. Sometimes we're left with questions that will only be answered later on. And to help us there, one of the principles you'll remember from earlier this year when we went through the course on hermeneutics was that passages scripture like the epistles helps us to interpret narrative portions of scripture where things are stated quite clearly. We won't be able to, we won't have time to go into all those things, but I think that the passages that Pastor Ryan is preaching through in Romans will be a helpful complement to what we're going to talk about this morning as he preaches through Romans 6 and Romans 7 and 8 and the power of sin in our lives. And he talks about how God breaks that power, how the Spirit enables us to live lives that glorify God, how sanctification is brought about through the Spirit's work, how Christ delivers us from the power of sin. All of these truths stated very explicitly in Romans, particularly in 6, 7, and 8, we see in a different way presented as we look at Cain and we look at Abel and we look at their story and the men and women who followed them. So that's a helpful thing, and I hope that you might think about that as we listen to the sermon this morning and in the weeks to come and in past weeks. How does one type of narrative or one genre of scripture help us to understand another? But as we're looking at narrative, things are not always going to be straightforward for us, and so we have to think about how the author presents them in the story and how things lead to a climax. Also the context, a minute or two ago I mentioned how, just call them unbelieving interpreters of scripture often will say that, well these texts are mythological and somebody along the way took different texts and just kind of meshed them together. which I, of course, reject. But one of the reasons why that's, you know, for maybe an apologetic purpose, one of the reasons why we can reject that is because when we look in Chapter 4, we see very clear links back to Chapters 2 and 3. And it would take our entire time to look at all of those. There are essays and commentaries that go through some of those things. But just a few things, for example, you remember in the text how God is asking, where is your brother? Just as in Genesis 3, he says to Adam and Eve, where are you? Not as though God doesn't know. In Genesis 3, he clearly knew where they were. They were hiding. And so too, he knows where Abel is as well. You see the way that Cain acts mirrors the action of Adam in some ways. How Adam sought to hide his sin and shirk responsibility, putting it on someone else. And here Cain takes it a step further, just outright denying the things that he's done. I don't know where Abel is. Clearly a lie. You see the connection right in the very first verse. Now Adam knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain. And she says, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord. It's helpful to realize that Adam and man, same word. I've gotten another Adam, in a sense. These links between Cain and Adam are clear. He's a worker of the ground. So was his father. the response to his sin is that God curses the ground for Cain in a way that goes beyond even the way that he cursed it for Adam. And so there's a progression, an increase in the sin, an increase in the judgment, and yet there are links where Cain is very reflective of Adam. There's a parallel between the two. And so there are many other ways in which the narrative clearly is linked and flows together and that the author wants us to see one following from the other. We don't have time, as I said, to see them all, but we should see that this is a narrative flow. But there are a couple themes that I do want to focus on where the context is important. The first has to do with the importance of childbearing. The importance of childbearing in Genesis. If you think back to the creation in Genesis 1, when God makes man in his own image and says he made him male and female, and then that idea is linked to the blessing. He blessed them and said, be fruitful and multiply. There's a goodness in childbearing that's rooted in creation and rooted in a blessing. And we'll see later on, if you continue to read in Genesis 8, that that is affirmed to Noah. So the fall has not done away with that blessing. There's still a goodness in childbearing, there's still an importance in that blessing, and there's still the need to produce progeny as obedience to God's command. And that's an important idea, but there's something added in Genesis 3, something that adds new significance to having children, particularly for the woman. In Genesis 3.15, God says to the serpent, because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field. On your belly you shall go and dust you shall eat all the days of your life, in verse 14. And then in verse 15 he says, I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. And so, though that passage is a little enigmatic, maybe at first look it's a little difficult to see what's going on there, there's clearly a promise conveyed that's attached to having children. That's at least clear. And then later on, after God pronounces his judgment, then Adam names his wife Eve. It's the first time we read that her name was Eve because she was mother of all the living. So you see there's this new significance attached to childbearing in Genesis 3. And it carries itself on into Genesis 4 then because we see where the first record of Eve having a child. So that's the first thing that I want to show thematically that connects it, you know, the context of the previous passage to the next one. And the second one is the extent and consequence of sin in the world, that Adam's sin resulted in a curse that was universal in nature. It extended to the ground, extended to all living things, that now death would reign in the world. Now, sin spreads to all of Adam's offspring, as we read later on in Romans, and we see depicted clearly in Genesis 4. So, the results of the sin and the curse that's brought upon all of creation as a result of it. And what we're going to see then is Genesis 4 carries it through a kind of multiplication, but the sin increases. And we see that in Cain, but we also then see it in Cain's line in the genealogy that we read. So those are the themes that I want us to keep in mind as far as the context, how the context informs our study of Genesis 4. So if we look at the passage then, Genesis 4 beginning in the first seven verses, we see the births of Cain and Abel. And interesting enough, Eve says something about Cain and she says nothing about Abel. Very matter of fact, Abel was born essentially. But with Cain, she says, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord. And different commentators have different points about what is she saying there. Some say that it's a statement made in faith that recalls Genesis 3.15, that perhaps sees Cain as the fulfillment of that promise, that he would be the offspring that would bruise the head of the serpent. That's the expectation, perhaps. We can't say that with certainty, but that's one proposal. A separate proposal that's somewhat different focuses on that Eve presents herself as the subject. I have gotten a man. I have gotten an Adam, if you will, with the help of the Lord. In any case, it's a difficult verse to translate, and so we don't, I don't think we have to resolve those questions. We just, we can say, at least, she sees significance in the birth of Cain. And it makes sense, then, to see that she sees that significance relating to the promise of Genesis 3, 15, and also to the blessing that was given at creation. But Abel's born, and it's a pretty matter of fact, she bore his brother Abel. What we see then, Abel's a keeper of sheep, he's a shepherd, which is new, we haven't seen a shepherd to this point. We will see many shepherds later on in scripture, men like Jacob and Joseph and David. It's interesting just to consider that many of the people that God chooses and uses for his purposes to bring about the fulfillment of his promises, they happen to be shepherds. I don't know if that is, the author intends us to see that significance, but Abel, at least, is a shepherd, which is different than the vocation of Adam, whereas Cain has that same vocation. He's a worker of the ground. So in the course of time, then we see that they both bring an offering to the Lord. First Cain, and then Abel. Cain brings the fruit of the ground, we're told, and then Abel brings the firstlings, or the first fruit of his flock, the best, the fat portions, if you will. So we're left with this question, why is Abel's sacrifice accepted, his offering accepted, and Cain's is rejected? And we can look at the passage and wonder, is it something about the offering itself? Might say, well, Abel brought an animal. And we see later on in scripture that animals are sacrificed as picturing Christ's death for us. But we can also see later on in scripture that God commands his people to bring grain offerings and other kinds of offerings from the ground as well. So maybe it's not really the offerings, the issue, the nature of the offering itself. What Scripture is going to affirm in the New Testament is that really it has to do with the attitude of the heart. We can't see that in the narrative. From our vantage point, there's really no substantial difference. We're left to kind of wonder, what really, what's going on here? Is this an arbitrary choice of accepting one or the other? But then we remember that God looks at the heart. God knows the attitude of the heart. And we're reminded that, for example, in Proverbs 21, 27, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination. How much more when he brings it with evil intent? One commentator, Victor Hamilton, writes this, perhaps the silence is the message itself. As outside viewers, we are unable to detect any difference between the two brothers and their offerings. Perhaps the fault is an internal one, an attitude that is known only to God. We will see later that this is precisely the New Testament's interpretation of this event. So let's look at that passage in Hebrews chapter 11. And we'll see what I mean, you know, applying this principle that scripture interprets scripture. The author of Hebrews helps us to understand what was going on when the two men brought their offerings. And then we'll see how the narrative demonstrates that to be the case. Hebrews 11, we begin in verse 4. By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. We keep reading, by faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death and he was not found because God had taken him. Now before he was taken, he was commended as having pleased God. And then here in verse 6, this is important as far as the logic that the author of Hebrews is applying. And without faith it is impossible to please him. Why? For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. There's a deduction there, if you will, that you think about Abel's situation. What that we've seen in Genesis would tell him in the wake of the fall, there's a way to approach God and there's a way to return to him and there's a way to be reconciled to him. We don't see it. Maybe it's revealed elsewhere, but the passage doesn't present anything to us. And so the author of Hebrews is looking at that and saying, for him to do that, to draw near to God with his offering, he's got to do two things. He's got to believe that God exists, that God rewards those who seek him. He has to believe that. And he has to come to him in that light. There's faith there, if you will. There's an attitude that then gives rise to an action. So the author of Hebrews is saying, look, It's not explicit, if you will, but Abel brought his offering in faith. The attitude was one of faith and trust in God to reward the one who seeks him. Whereas Cain lacked that attitude, which we see in the ensuing narrative. Because what happens when God shows no regard for his offering? So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. Like, I don't deserve this treatment. You should have, you owe it to me, almost. You owe it to me to accept my offering. So it's an, I would suggest that it's an attitude of the heart. Just as Proverbs affirms that God does not accept the sacrifice of the wicked. He doesn't accept the sacrifice brought in evil intent. It's interesting, John Calvin, in his commentary on the passage, says very similar things. I have it written, but for the sake of time, I won't read the quote. But if you have a mind, you can find them online, Calvin's commentaries, for free. And read his comment on Genesis chapter 4, particularly these verses. I think it's very helpful and encouraging. In any case, we'll keep moving on for the sake of time. I have promised my wife I will finish it. at 15 after, and she's with a bunch of five-year-olds, so. God did not regard Cain in his offering, but he shows merciful concern for his heart, and that's seen in his response to Cain. Why? Why are you angry? Why has your face fallen? This is verse six. If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it. I think there's a very important application for us if we can think how we might identify with Cain in this. God is showing Cain that his sin is unreasonable. Why are you angry? There's an easy solution to this. Repentance and faith, to put it in the language of the New Testament. Repentance and faith. Turn from this wicked way and approach God in a right way. And will you not be accepted? Will your offering not be accepted? And I think if we apply it to ourselves, have you ever felt like you're in a competition within your church? Who can be the best Christian? You know, I remember back in college, I had a number of friends, and we went to a school where people were, you know, very academically, very competitive academically. People had gotten all As through high school, and they felt like they should always be the number one, the top of the class, and it became more competitive, and a few of my friends became believers, and we brought that same attitude with us. Now I'm a Christian. I'm gonna be the best Christian. I'm gonna be the straight A Christian and everyone will recognize it. And then do we not then become jealous? This person's serving. Why is that person looked upon well by other members of the church? Why is that person receiving good things? You see how easy it is for jealousy to creep into our worship? I think we just reflect on our own lives and we see that kind of attitude very frequently, and yet it's not a competition. God's favor is not limited as if, well, that person's doing well, so clearly I'm gonna be the loser in this situation. What does God say to Cain? If you do well, will you not be accepted? It's not as if my grace is limited, it's not as if my acceptance of offerings is only one of you can have an offering accepted, not at all. So there's a very, it's very unreasonable, if you will, the way that Cain is thinking about this, and yet that's the nature of sin, is it not? Sin in our heart is unreasonable, that we're just, we have these responses, these attitudes of anger and hatred and jealousy. We think of the Tenth Commandment, how You shall not covet. All these other commandments are about various actions. Don't murder. Okay, check. Don't commit adultery. Check. Don't have an attitude in your heart where you want something that someone else has. How much harder is it to check that box? You see, and then, you know, as we heard in the sermon last week, the Apostle Paul in Romans 7 points to that very commandment. And I think for good reason, because a Paul, a good Pharisee, could probably like the rich young ruler say, all these things I've done for my youth. But then if you sit down and you contemplate, do not covet. Don't have an attitude of jealousy in your heart. Can anyone say their attitude has been wholly right before God? And so I think we look at Cain and we see maybe ourselves in a mirror. And we have to consider It's because we're thinking completely wrongly about the way that God receives his people. That we need to approach him in faith knowing that he rewards those who seek him, all who seek him. It's not a limited offer of grace. So, in any case, we'll move on then to verse eight through 16 and what we see then is the consequences of Cain's sin and also the mercy of God. Cain then, He can't be dissuaded from, he can't be dissuaded from his sin, which God perceives in his heart. And I love the way that Derek Kidner put it in his commentary. Many details emphasize the depth of Cain's crime and therefore the fall. The context is worship, the victim a brother, and while Eve had been talked into her sin, Cain will not have even God talk him out of it, nor will he confess to it, nor yet accept his punishment. Doesn't that statement really say it all? Is there anything left to be said about these eight verses? That here you have, if you think back to Eve, that she's being tempted by the devil, and Cain's simply led astray by his own sinfulness. Think of what James says about the kind of a spiral of sin in James chapter one, and how we're led astray by our own wicked lusts, and when those things conceive, they give birth to sin, and so on and so forth. He can't even be talked out of his sin by God. And you see the tragic results of the fall. You see what comes to Adam's offspring because of his sin. How sin is multiplied, if you will. It's worsened. It's more overt, more deliberate. So Cain rises up and kills his brother. The Lord says to him, where is Abel, your brother? How should I know? A lie, straight lie to God's face. So we see those similarities to Adam. Cain and Adam were both workers of the ground, both then the result will be exiled from Eden. Both are cursed, both sin in grievous ways and yet Cain is in some ways, in many ways, far worse than his father. And we'll see then Lamech later on is even worse than Cain. Nevertheless, God is merciful. You see, King can't even accept the consequences of sin as Kidner said. You know, my punishment is too great to bear. You'd think you just killed your brother. Shouldn't I just kill you? Wouldn't that be fair? You know, but there's a sense in which there's four things. He lists four things and says if I did one thing and you're doing four things to me is kind of his plea. My punishment is greater than I can bear in verse 13. You've driven me today away from the ground. From your face I shall be hidden. I'll be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. Whoever finds me will kill me." And so he's concerned, he's worried that now as he wanders, as he, as the ground doesn't yield its produce to him, someone will ultimately find him. One of his, ironically, one of his brothers. Because everyone's a son of Adam and Eve at this point. And perhaps out of vengeance, who knows why he's worried that they would kill him. It's just that that's the assumption, that that would happen. In his mercy, God says to Cain, not so. If anyone kills Cain, his vengeance will be sevenfold. And he puts a mark on him, not told anything about what the mark is or what it looks like or anything like that, just that somehow this mark clearly communicated Cain's off limits, don't kill him. And again, we're reminded, the Lord says, vengeance is mine, I will repay. So we see the consequences of sin. If I were to distill them into a few ideas of punishment from God and separation from God, there's a repetition in this passage of the concept of separation from God where Cain says, I'll be driven away from your face. And then later in verse 16, then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, which refers to wanderings, the land of wanderings, east of Eden. And so there's that idea that Cain is separated from God. He's sent away from his presence. Even though just as Adam and Eve were sent out of the garden, excuse me, away from the presence of the Lord, nevertheless, God is there. God is present in all places. He's obviously conversing with Cain and receiving the offerings of Cain, not of Cain, but of Abel. So at the same time, there's a sense of being sent away from God's presence with respect to blessing, of communion with God, and of an opportunity to engage with God in a relationship of faith, of sonship. Interesting, I think, just that Adam sent away and all his progeny are separated from God, and yet there's almost an intensification, a furtherance of that separation. At the same time, there's an offer suggested of a way to be reconciled to God, a way to be brought back into relationship with him, which we saw in Abel, to come to God in faith, to come to God in faith. So, as we go through the passage, verse 17 then picks up, and what it describes is a life apart from God. We look at the genealogies of scripture sometimes and yawn, what is this about? But this one is very much like a narrative, more so than the one we'll see in chapter five. It almost, we can see that it's telling a story, and some will say, well, look at this story and what it's telling us is this is how tent making started, and this is how metallurgy started, and this is how these things started. I think that that's missing the point. And the reason why I think that's missing the point is it's a question that one of my professors asked me in an Old Testament background class. We were talking about the flood and what life might have been like before the flood, and he said, I'll pose it to you, if some cataclysmic event happened and all the people left in the world were in this building, Which of you knows how to make bronze? I don't think anyone, right? So you would lose a lot of things in the wake of the flood when you go down to one family. So how could this be describing, this is how metallurgy started. You're just not going to have it when there's just no one in his family left. I think what it's describing, rather, is people building a life for themselves apart from God. Look at what Cain does. He has a son, Enoch, and he builds a city and he names the city after his son. I think Pride suggested in that action. There's a later connotation we'll see in Genesis 11 with the building of a city, Babel. It's not a good one. There's kind of an element of human pride, again, seen there. But also, what did God say? You'll be a wanderer in the earth. And there's almost a kind of defiance in this. I'm done being a wanderer. I'm building a city. I'm providing for my own security. I'm not trusting that God has provided for my security in this life. Well, that's perhaps too subtle, and if you say I'm not sure I see that, that's fine. I was encouraged again reading Calvin. He was talking about why he thought Cain and Abel were twins, and he said if you have a different mind on that matter, have your own opinion. There are some things that don't, that aren't first or second or even third order things, and we can disagree on those points. But I do detect there's a sense of, boastfulness, a sense of pride and a sense of seeking to establish a life apart from God that's rooted in the fact that Cain is sent away from the presence of the Lord. And so you see his progeny, they're known for making metal things, musical instruments, livestock, and then we come to Lamech, and there's this further intensification of the sinfulness of man. What is, well, first off, we'll note Lamech, it's the first instance where we see polygamy in scripture, right? Founded in creation is the idea that God created man and woman to be a complement, that they should enter into a union of one man and one woman, marriage relationship, that's a glorifying thing for God, and that it's a blessing to us. And then here we see in Lamech the first instance where a person takes two wives. There's the first instance of polygamy, the first instance of, I'm going to make my own rules, if you will. I'm going to do it my way. And then, where Cain, out of anger, struck his brother and killed him, here Lamech says to his wives, Ada and Zilli, hear my voice, you wives of Lamech. Listen to what I say. Kind of a, you know, the authoritative, you know, come, listen to me. I'm, you know, I'm the man, if you will. I'm a big guy. Here's what I did. I killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain's revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech's is 77-fold. So it's not only, look, I did this horrible thing, which clearly he doesn't regard as that terrible, but there's a, he's boasting in it. He's boasting in his sin. And so we see kind of this progress in Cain's line from Adam who, He and Eve sinned when deceived, and when Adam was just passive in the matter, to Cain who sins out of anger, to Lamech who sins and boasts about it. It's a sad situation, and we can see how it compares so much to our world. We look out in the world and we see all kinds of sin, proliferation of sin, if you will, We see it in our lives, we see it in other people, and we say, where is God? How can a good God allow a world like this? Well, I think what we then come to, what we'll see is that God continues to pursue his promises and continues to fulfill them, and continues to be faithful to his promises, and Eve recognizes it. So in verse 25, Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth. For she said, here now, she's not the subject at the birth of this son, God is. God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him. And it clearly recalls the promise of Genesis 3.15 that I'll put enmity between your offspring and her offspring. We think about that, the idea of two offsprings, that you have the offspring of the serpent and the offspring of the woman. We don't have time to flesh out how this all works out, but I'll just put to you this, that the New Testament shows us that character matters more than biology in determining who's the offspring of who. And 1 John 3 tells us that Cain was the offspring of the devil, the offspring of the evil one. John chapter eight, Jesus tells the Pharisees that you're not sons of Abraham because you don't act like him. You're sons of your father, the devil, because he was a liar and a murderer from the beginning and you do the same things. Compare that with what John says about being children of God. We're children of God so we have to love like God. We have to be like him. So what Cain proved was that he was the offspring of the serpent. Whatever hope Eve might have had in Cain, were dashed the moment he killed Abel. And they were dashed for Abel, too. And what's strange is that in the promise, God says that the woman's offspring, he will bruise your head. And yet it looks like the reverse has happened here. Abel's the one who's killed, not Cain. But here God then carries on his promises, and Eve notes it. He has appointed an offspring in the place of Abel, for Cain killed him. Here Seth is going to carry on that line. God is fulfilling his promises, but he's doing it in his own time, in his own way. We read to Seth, also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh, and at that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord. We see the beginning of a faithful line that will ultimately culminate in the Christ. the one to whom the promise comes, the offspring who, I love the way Pastor Ryan puts it again and again, the seed crushing, the skull crushing seed of the woman, the offspring to whom the promise will come, whose heels bruised by the serpent and yet he shall bruise his head. And so Eve turns back to God's promise in faithfulness, in trust, that he is fulfilling his promise in spite of the sinfulness of her son Cain, in spite of the thing that he's done, the wickedness in killing his brother Abel. So in a closing minute, I'll just say a few other words to kind of sum it all up. And we'll pick up next week where we left off, moving into Genesis Chapter 5, to see how does faith characterize this line of Sathan? What are the benefits that accord to those who trust or the promises by which they're encouraged? But I mentioned 1 John 3, 1 through 24, and I'll say this as an application. Cain's example warns us against living a life like him, a life of anger, a life of murderous thoughts, because he is of the evil one. And this is what John expounds in the third chapter of his epistle. Instead, we ought to be encouraged to be children of God, as John says again and again. Children of God, we ought to. We ought to live in a way that is consistent with our status as children. Live in the light. Live righteous lives. Live lives of love. But also, and perhaps most importantly, John will bring us back to faith. Live lives where we trust in Christ, who is the one who mediates for us, the one who reconciles us to God, the one who delivers us from our sin. And so in Hebrews 12, 24, the author of Hebrews says that the blood of Christ speaks a better word to us than the blood of Abel. Again, interpreting this passage, saying, look at what word the blood of Abel spoke. It was a word of calling for judgment, for justice, if you will. God says, your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground, that justice is demanded. But Jesus' blood speaks a better word for cries out for mercy. Cries out for mercy for us. And so there's a sense in which Abel's a type of the one to come. There's a similarity as Matthew 23, 35 and Luke 11, 51 show us of one, a righteous person who is killed by unrighteous people. But there's a difference. in that Christ's blood is actually going to atone for our sin. It's actually going to solve our deepest problem of sin and bring us back into relationship with God. And so, we'll close with that. Would you pray with me? Father in heaven, as we think about your word in Genesis 4, we're reminded that You are the God who fulfills all your promises in your time according to your pleasure for the good of those who love you. And you are the God of steadfast love and faithfulness who keeps covenant with your people forever and ever and ever. And sometimes in this world it's hard to see that because of sin in our own lives and in the lives of others and in our world and our community. and yet we're assured by your word that you are still working out your promises and that you will ultimately bring them to an end where you put death, sin, and death forever. So Lord, we ask that you would help us to live by faith, to help us to trust you in light of these truths that are proclaimed by your word. Help us to live like Abel, live like Seth, not like Cain. live lives of love toward others, not anger and hatred and covetous hearts. Pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.