Spread of sin

So Genesis chapter 4 and we'll be reading the whole chapter.

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.

So Cain was very angry and his face fell.

The Lord said to Cain, why are you angry and why has your face fallen?

If you do well, will you not be accepted?

And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door.

Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.

Cain spoke to Abel, his brother.

And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

Then the Lord said to Cain, where is Abel your brother?

He said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?

And the Lord said, what have you done?

The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.

And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength.

You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.

Cain said to the Lord, my punishment is greater than I can bear.

Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden.

I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.

Then the Lord said to him, not so.

If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.

And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest anyone who found him should attack him.

Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch.

When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.

To Enoch was born Erad, and Erad fathered Mahujael, and Mahujael fathered Methusael, and Methusael fathered Lamech.

And Lamech took two wives.

The name of the one was Adar, and the name of the other was Zillah.

Adar bore Jabal.

He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.

His brother's name was Jubal.

He was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.

Zillah also bore Jubal Cain.

He was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron.

The sister of Jubal Cain was Neymar.

Lamech said to his wives,

Adar and Zillah, hear my voice.

You wives of Lamech, listen to what I say.

I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.

If Cain's revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech's is seventy-sevenfold.

And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth.

For she said, God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.

To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh.

At that time, people began to call upon the name of the Lord.

Well, will you pray with me as we come to God's word?

Let's pray.

Father, I pray that you would help us sit under your word again,

and I pray that you would help us have a more clearer awareness of the presence and power of sin in our lives,

so that we might look away from ourselves to your wonderful salvation,

that we might cherish the cross of Jesus all the more.

So I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, do you know what sin looks like when you see it?

This sounds like a tautology kind of question, but do you know what sin looks like?

Do you recognise it when you see it?

We're headed this term in Genesis.

I want to give some bearings.

We're getting into chapters 4 to 11, and we're going to finish in chapter 15.

But 4 to 11, its scope is on the whole world.

So it's got the whole world in its lens, and it describes the effects of the fall into sin.

It builds our awareness of how desperate our situation is.

So if we don't grasp chapters 4 to 11, by the time chapter 12 comes and we zoom right in on one man, Abraham, and his one family,

we need to be aware of the effects of the fall so that we're just looking for what God's going to do to restore all things.

So can I encourage you, if you weren't here last week, if you've missed chapters 1 to 3,

can I encourage you to go to our website and catch up on that?

If you want to learn about the storyline of the Bible, here's a basic storyline in four words.

I think it's four words.

Creation, fall, redemption, new creation.

I'll halfenate that.

But my point is, chapters 1 to 3 cover the first two of those, and so it's really crucial we get a grasp of those chapters.

Isaiah 1 · chapter mention

Very briefly, to jog our memory, we saw that all things are created by God alone, by his word.

It's his house, his rules.

And we saw that the goal of building all things is to live with us in his house, to be present with us.

The best thing about Eden was that God was there.

He was present.

Then Adam ruined the human family, rebelled against God's rule, rejected his love,

not believing his word, but believing the lie.

And so we're now in exile.

We're under curse.

We're not home.

We daily feel the effects of that curse in our marriages, in raising children, with our mortality hanging over us.

It all reminds us we need to be brought home.

So coming into chapter 4, what spreads into the next generation of the human race?

What do we see in Cain and Abel?

Now you might be scrolling your notifications already.

Now maybe that's my fault.

Or maybe you're wondering, what does Cain murdering Abel have to do with you?

Like you're not a murderer, I presume.

It's an interesting story.

It's graphic.

It's violent, kind of entertaining.

But we might be thinking, who cares?

In this story, we have the word sin in the Bible.

I think we might see and recognise curse around us.

We feel it.

We're living there.

I think we recognise curse and the struggle of life.

But do we see sin?

Do we recognise it when we see it?

I think this story helps us see sin, its presence and its power.

Okay, so the story starts on a really joyful note.

It is a hopeful note.

Like it is Eve holding her newborn and she completes her joy by giving praise to the Lord.

I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.

What should have spread to the next generation in the human race was the image of God, his character.

The setting of the story is worship.

Which should just raise our antenna that any presupposition that we have that religion is automatically good,

we've got to put a question mark over that.

Both brothers, Abel and Cain, they both bring an offering.

This is worship.

Abel's accepted, Cain isn't.

How do they know that they're not accepted?

I've heard so many speculations this week.

We're not told.

We don't know.

It's obviously not Moses' point in writing it for us.

We don't need to know.

What we're told is God rejected Cain and his offering.

God accepted Abel and his offering and Cain knew.

He knew.

Now, you can imagine how Cain felt, can't you?

I remember HSC when I was finishing year 12.

I did a design and tech project.

It was this coffee table thing.

Anyway, there was this award that went out for good projects.

And my classmate, my teacher said, got this award.

And I remember the feeling I had.

I was inside.

I was smiling on the outside.

On the inside, I was livid.

Like, I thought my project was so much better.

I tried hard.

I thought it was unfair that I was overlooked.

Like, I didn't have to think about that.

That was just a gut reaction.

I think we can sympathise with Cain here.

What's the difference between the brothers' offerings?

The Mosaic Law later on prescribes both crops and animals.

I don't think it's in the actual form of the worship itself.

They each brought what they could, what they had access to bring.

The only difference, the only hint of a difference we get is the very positive description of Abel's offering.

One commentator translated it like this.

I don't know Hebrew well.

Martin's not here today.

Some others who know Hebrew.

Here's one translation.

He brought the fattest of the firstlings of his flock.

He offered the Lord his best.

You know when a man's heart has been captured by a woman, don't you?

He showers more.

He's wearing better.

He's paying money for better clothes.

He'll drive long distances to see her after work and on the weekends.

He'll stay up late talking and texting.

Sleep is, who cares about sleep?

He'll spare any waking moment.

Like his thoughts just revert back to her.

Like he's saving up money to buy a ring.

His career decisions are all orientated to her now.

He seeks to please her.

He's giving the best of himself.

Now does all that sacrifice feel like duty to that man?

Does it feel like he's losing something?

No way.

He's giving the best and it completes his joy.

It's like a man giving a pledge, the very best.

He's saved up so much money for that ring.

And on that day, he's giving that, saying,

with all that I am and all that I have, I honour you.

I think that's what's going on here.

Abel's giving his best and it's a pledge of his full devotion.

Hebrews 11.4 says that it was by faith Abel offered a more acceptable sacrifice.

So maybe he was giving his best in response to God's promise to restore all things.

So maybe he knew the promise of chapter 3, verse 15,

that there would be a serpent crusher who would restore all things.

Maybe.

Maybe he knew that promise and he was so grateful

and he just knew that day was coming and so he gave his best.

Whereas Cain's, we suppose, wasn't done in faith.

Now, a slight maybe over those comments.

Something, something was wrong with Cain's motivation.

Otherwise, the Lord wouldn't have rejected his offering.

Now, what's Cain's response to this situation?

Conviction?

Is it, unlike me with that Year 12 project,

acknowledgement and pleasure that Abel did well

and delighting in that fact?

He deserved God's favour?

Is it self-examination?

No, he felt entitled to be angry and sad.

He's very angry.

It's not just angry.

He's livid.

He believes he's been hard done by.

He's entitled to blessing.

Maybe because he's the firstborn.

Maybe because he tried, he feels like a victim.

Maybe a victim of Abel.

Like, just because he went above and beyond,

he makes his fairly good efforts look bad.

It's just his fault for going above and beyond.

Maybe he feels a victim of the Lord.

He's unfair.

Like, can't you see I tried?

I tried.

And the Lord speaks to Cain.

And notice the picture of who God is here.

He's not a God.

He sits up in heaven with his, like a policeman,

with a radar sin gun just going,

let's see what he does here.

I'm trying to catch him out.

He's coming in and he's speaking early,

trying to intervene.

He's like a counsellor.

He's like a parent.

He wants to give Cain every opportunity

to turn this around.

And that's what scripture is.

He doesn't start with a command,

like a ruthless boss that just says,

get your act together.

He doesn't start like that.

He urges Cain to examine himself.

Why are you so angry?

Why are you angry?

Why are you sad?

Look, Cain.

Look in.

Why?

Do you examine yourself

when those self-pitying thoughts come?

Or do you blame your circumstances?

You blame others.

Do you love it

when a friend or family member

sits down with you

and they want to help you

examine your motivations?

Do you love that?

Or do you just want them to say,

no, I just want you to be angry with me?

Is it your husband or wife's fault

that you're angry?

A poor trip,

a pastor,

makes an outrageous claim

in marriage counselling

that your spouse

is never the cause

of your behaviour.

It's an outrageous claim

if you believe it.

Is it the person's fault

for cutting in on your lane

that you're angry?

Or is it a heart issue?

Look in, Cain.

Look in.

He's not taking responsibility.

He's like his mum and dad,

shifting the blame

outside himself.

And the Lord shows him

the path to go.

It's not a competition, Cain.

It's not like it's the top 5%

who are accepted.

If you do well,

won't you be accepted?

It's not a comparison game.

If you do well.

He's an involved father

who's lovingly counselling, Cain.

And then he gives a warning.

In The Lion King,

Uncle Scar,

why is he so powerful and evil?

Part of it

is they underestimated him.

Mufasa knows

he's the stronger older brother.

Little Simba just thinks

he's a funny old Uncle Scar,

like he's a bit strange

and toys around with him.

They underestimate him.

That's part of his power.

His lies and plots,

he wants to rule,

he wants to kill.

They underestimate him.

That's what the Lord's saying here to Cain.

Sin is crouching at the door.

That word is like a predator.

It's like a tiger

crouching in the ground.

It looks like nothing.

Oh, your sin,

it's just this little grudge.

It's not that big.

Don't underestimate

sin's power.

If you think there's a predator

waiting for you,

you've got half a chance.

If you don't think

there's a predator

waiting for you,

you're dead.

You're gone.

Don't underestimate

sin's power

and its presence.

Its desire is contrary to you.

His self-pity

and anger

blaming others,

it felt for him.

It was stroking his,

I don't know,

pride.

It feels for him.

The Lord's warning,

no, it's not.

It is contrary to you.

He wants to devour you

and your life

and those around you.

Don't underestimate it.

Like, have you ever been

in despair

that you can't talk

a loved one

out of a destructive path?

I find this chilling

that the Lord himself

can't talk Cain

out of it.

Whew.

And then,

verse 8,

Cain uses his

God-like ability

to speak.

He spoke

to Abel.

Now, speaking,

it's an act

of relationship.

It's an act

of connection.

But he obviously

uses words

to deceive.

They hide,

his words

hide his

real intentions.

He doesn't want

to master sin.

And he becomes

a predator

against his own

brother.

The word brother

here in this passage

appears again

and again

and again.

Even his brother.

Abel,

righteous,

innocent,

accepted by God,

he is the first

human death

in history.

Like,

the first death

wasn't

sickness.

It wasn't

accident.

humanity

didn't just

slowly become

corrupt over

a bunch of

generations.

The very

first generation

which began

with such joy

that our

origin story,

it begins

with first

degree murder.

That doesn't

bode well

for us.

Evil

is using

words to

deceive.

Evil

is destroying

God's

good creation.

Cain's

attack on

Abel was

even an

attack against

God.

He was

attacking

God's

image.

He was

attacking

God's

approval

of Abel.

What we

see here is

Cain doesn't

spread the

image of

God,

he spreads

the image

of the

serpent.

The Lord,

verse 9,

is incredibly

patient and

gracious.

Where is

Abel your

brother?

Now,

he knew.

We later

find out his

cries are going

out to him.

He knew.

What's he

doing?

He's giving

Cain an

opportunity to

confess.

confess.

He's giving

an opportunity

to confess.

Show some

awareness of

the shame

and guilt.

But he

denies any

knowledge of

it.

How common

is that?

I remember

as a

kid lying

to David

Corderwood

back in

town.

we'd

been

lighting

fires

and I

smelled

like smoke

and I

walked into

his house.

He's like,

have you

been lighting

fires?

No.

How

natural is

it?

I don't

know.

And then

worse.

Am I

my brother's

keeper?

This is

cold.

Am I

responsible

for the

well-being

of my

brother?

Look

around you.

Am I

responsible?

Are you

responsible?

Don't you

find it so

easy to

stop feeling

responsible for

someone you're

angry at?

I'm not

responsible to

care for

that person.

It is so

quick to

stop thinking

even amongst

the church

family to

suddenly stop

thinking of

someone as

brother.

The

voice of

your brother's

blood is

crying to

me from

the ground.

The Lord

sees.

I don't

know how

many cold

cases the

police haven't

solved but

the Lord

sees.

There might

be sins

against you

no one

else knows

about.

The Lord

sees.

Vengeance

is mine

says the

Lord.

But again

the Lord

is so

gracious.

His

punishment

isn't full

yet.

God

is

coming.

But it's

so mixed

with mercy.

He is

exiled

further from

Eden,

further from

the land,

further from

his family.

He's going to

be a fugitive,

a wandering

fugitive,

never at

home,

always

restless.

ruthless.

But then

his character

is shown

again.

He's not

convicted by

his guilt.

He just

cares about

his punishment.

That's not

fair.

That's too

harsh.

That's too

harsh.

Now just a

side note in

case you're

just struggling

to get past

this.

Like who's

he afraid

will kill

him?

I don't

know.

It's a short

answer.

But he's

assuming here

that anyone

he meets

will know

him and

what he's

done.

Which suggests

the earth

isn't just

fully populated

yet.

It suggests

probably

family.

He may

even be

thinking

future

generations.

Family

members who

will get

blood

revenge.

But the

Lord is

gracious.

A

commentator

at Derek

Kigner says

God's

concern for

justice for

the innocent

is matched

only by one

other thing.

His care

for the

sinner.

Protection.

mercy is

the most

that mercy

can do

for the

unrepentant.

It's the

most he

can do.

A term

we use in

theology is

common

grace.

He doesn't

deserve

this.

It's

mine to

avenge,

says the

Lord.

It's not

your tribes

to avenge.

It's not

your families

to avenge.

It's not

yours to

avenge.

It's the

Lord's to

avenge.

And he

protects

Cain.

Now

Cain's

pride,

it continues

I think

in the

act of

building a

city.

He's

meant to

be

restless

wanderer,

a fugitive,

but

now I'm

going to

settle.

I'm going

to settle

and build

a city

with my

son's

name.

Not in

honour of

the Lord,

but my

own name.

Now what

became of

this

rebellious

Cain?

What

happened to

him and

his family?

They

prospered.

Isn't

that,

it's really

surprising,

the description,

they prosper.

We've got a

list of his

descendants,

and then

to Lamech,

and his

children

advance in

civilisation.

We've got

tents,

housing,

we've got

music and

culture,

we've got

technology,

we've got

the weapons

and implements,

civilisation

under Lamech's

family,

which should

just warn

us a bit

that all

of creation

is good.

It's to be

received with

thanksgiving,

but as we

come to

the character

of Lamech

in a moment,

it should

raise

questions,

about if

all this

goodness is

linked back

to Lamech.

Yes,

all things

are good,

but we

need to

be so

thoughtful

about

everything

now,

about the

music,

about all

the good

gifts we've

got.

I think

these advances

in society,

they're actually

trying to

fight the

curse.

rather than

looking to

God for

rest and

hope,

it's we

can work

together to

create the

good life,

to undo

the curse.

And so

Cain's

society advances,

but as it

advances,

it is

declining,

it is

eroding

from within

its values.

And we

see that

in the

character

of Lamech.

Out of

his self-gratification,

in love with

his own name,

he takes

two wives.

He's

rejecting

God's

institution

of marriage,

of between

a man

and a

woman

becoming

one flesh.

like it's

been in

Australia's

news at

the moment,

the domestic

violence,

men using

their power

to intimidate

and control

rather than

to serve

and protect

women,

that goes

back as

far as

Lamech.

It is as

old as

that.

That

marriage

is

eroded

and

he

boasts,

he's just

got a

disdain for

the value

of human

life.

He's not

ashamed,

he kills

a youth.

Excessive

revenge.

He injures,

I'm going

to kill

him.

It's

excessive,

it was

a youth

and he's

boasting

about it.

Where's

the value

of human

life in

the image

of God?

And he

threatens

vengeance,

70 times

7.

Marriage

and the

value of

human

life is

eroded

in Cain's

society.

They can

control their

surroundings

to try and

prosper,

but they

can't control

their lives.

They can't

keep their

lives

together.

Okay,

I want to

take a

breath and

take stock

of what

we've seen.

Like in

light of the

patience and

mercy of

God,

like he

gave every

opportunity

speaking to

Cain to

do well.

He wants

him to do

well.

He warns

him,

take sin

seriously.

It looks

hidden, but

it is

present and

powerful.

He gives

opportunity to

confess, and

then he even

protects.

In light of

all that

grace, what

does sin

look like?

God's

love.

Well, it

started with

half-hearted

devotion to

God, and

yet feeling

entitled to

blessing.

It looks

like envy

of another's

favour.

It looks

like self-pitying

emotions.

It doesn't

want to

change.

It wants

to blame.

It doesn't

take responsibility

to seek to

do well in

God's eyes.

It doesn't

heed the

warning that

sin is

powerful and

destructive.

It doesn't

believe that

sin's desire

is against

him when it

feels and

fuels that

self-pitying

anger.

Sin looks

like deceiving

with words,

deceiving his

brother,

destructive

deeds,

destroying

creation against

a brother.

sin rejects

God's

prompting to

confess.

It denies

knowledge of

doing wrong.

It repudiates

responsibility for

my brother's

well-being.

I'm not

responsible for

my brother's

well-being.

It doesn't

care about the

crime, just

focuses on the

punishments.

And his

society rallies

together to

try and control

their surroundings

to give the

good life,

all the

while proud,

self-gratifying,

taking vengeance

in their own

hands, eroded

from within.

I don't know

about you, but

I found this

story really

dark this

week.

I found it

really dark,

and I think I

found it dark

because I can't

relate to Cain

with the murder

itself.

I haven't

quite crossed

that line,

but at every

other point I

can relate to

him.

I see myself

in him.

I feel

myself drawn

to his kind

of society

that wants

to seek

comfort,

controlling your

environment,

not caring

about the

values of

loving God

and neighbour.

I think

this story

shows us

that sin

feels small,

it feels

hidden,

but it's

present and

it's deadly.

well,

we've got two

more verses,

and they

give us

hope.

Otherwise,

we'd be in

complete despair,

I think.

They give us

hope.

God's

promise in

chapter 3,

verse 15,

that an

offspring of

Eve will

crush the

lies of

Satan,

the destructive

lies of

Satan.

That hope

looked dead

because Cain

looks more

like the

serpent

than God.

Abel,

who's

righteous,

is killed,

is gone.

And so,

we've got in

verse 25 and

26,

a replacement

God provides

in the place

of Abel,

Seth.

Eve again

praises God's

grace.

And while we

don't know

everything about

Seth's family,

they might have

developed

civilisations

similar.

They might have,

we're not told.

There's something

very different

that characterises

Seth's family.

Abel's

line.

Calling upon

the name

of the

Lord.

This family

pioneers

worship.

This family

proclaims who

God is,

the name,

all his

character,

his words.

They're looking

to who

God is,

his words,

as their

life and

their hope.

So,

the promise

of God

restoring all

things,

God goes

through

Seth.

It continues,

it lives

on.

So,

if you see,

if this

passage has

shown your

sin more

clearly,

then the

hope given

to us today

is a promise

of God that

is much clearer

than the promise

they had then.

the prophet

of the

temple.

I

speak to you

before.

I

don't know.

Here's the promise.

Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Who'd have thought that the Lord himself would become our brother?

Who'd have thought that the first murder points to our salvation?

Who could have imagined it?

Hebrews 12.24 says,

Jesus' sprinkled blood speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Abel's blood cries out for justice.

Jesus' blood cries out for justice,

but in a very different way.

Abel's accusers deserve punishment.

Jesus' blood, forgiveness.

However righteous Abel was, Jesus is the true and better Abel.

He's truly innocent who shed his blood.

And what society does his blood create?

His society forgives one another,

not just seven times,

but 70 times seven.

That Jesus would refer back to this layman.

That's the kind of society his blood creates.

I think the hope for our society,

the hope for our marriages and our families,

the hope for brothers and sisters dwelling in peace in this church,

the hope for God to rescue me from me,

isn't that we go on blaming things outside of ourselves

and our environment.

It's to look within and understand

and not underestimate the power of sin lurking in each one of us

and then call on the name of the Lord,

the Lord Jesus,

whose better blood

forgives and recreates the society.

Will you pray with me?

Let's pray.

Oh Lord, there's a sense in which we're just

wanting to get on with the story

because this section is quite dark

and we don't like what it shows about ourselves

and about human race.

I pray that you would help us trust

that all your word is given to us for our good.

Lord, I pray that you would help us look within,

help us to pause

and not blame others and you

help us to listen to your word

that you are like a parent,

a counsellor who wants us

to be accepted and forgiven.

Lord, most of all,

we thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ.

We thank you that

he willingly came and became our brother,

that he knew he would be rejected

and killed

and he did it all for our sake.

We thank you for his blood.

Lord, I pray for each one of us

that we would just look to him

for that renewal and that peace

that we're all craving

and I pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.