Now that text again is Genesis
4 for those on the CD and the videos and the website. Chapter
4 and verse 1 through 15. Watch the reading of God's Word. And Adam knew his wife Eve, and
she conceived and bare a son, and said, I have gotten a man
from the Lord. And she again bare his brother
Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep,
but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of
time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground
an offering unto the Lord, and Abel he also brought of the firstlings
of his flock and of the fat thereof." And listen to this. And the Lord
had respect unto Abel and to his offering, but unto Cain and
to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth. And the Lord came and said unto
him, Why art thou wroth, and why is thy countenance fallen? Verse 7, If thou doest well,
shalt thou not be accepted. If thou doest not well, sin lieth
at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire,
and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his
brother, and it came to pass, when they were in the field,
that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain,
Where is Abel, thy brother? And he said, I know not. Am I my brother's keeper? And
he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood
cries unto me from the ground. And now thou art cursed from
the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's
blood from thy hand. When thou tellest the ground,
it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength. A fugitive
and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. Cain said unto
the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou
hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth, and from
thy face shall I be hid. I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond
in the earth, and it shall come to pass that everyone that finds
me shall slay me. And the Lord said unto him, Therefore
whosoever slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon
Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. Let me be this way
with our introduction. And that is that there are some
very interesting lessons and some very interesting contrasts
that can be gleaned from some of the sets of brothers that
we meet with in the Scripture. Not only Cain and Abel, but Jacob
and Esau, and the prodigal, and his elder brother. Or the two
brothers in the Lord's parable, in Matthew chapter 21. Each set
of these siblings found in the scripture present a contrast
for us and provide us some very rich spiritual lessons for our
prophet. We might also mention in that
vein the sisters Mary and Martha, and the difference in their personality,
and the lessons that might be learned. But this morning we
focus upon this first pair of brothers in Genesis chapter 4. The record of the brothers Cain
and Abel. Now, they are representative
of two classes of people that were to develop and to propagate
upon the face of the earth. And there came animosity between
them on the account of religion. Here begins the great warfare. It began early in the history
of humankind, continues now, and will do so as long as the
world is standing. Also here begins the propagation
of the race of humans. In accordance with that injunction,
in Genesis chapter 1 and verse 28, replenish, be fruitful and
replenish the earth, multiply and subdue it. Which as Calvin
wrote, was not abolished. at the fall, the propagation
of the race. It was renewed again to Noah
in Genesis chapter 9 and verse 1. In Genesis chapter 3 is an
account not only of the sin and the fall of Adam, but of their
ejection out of the garden of Eden. God not only drove them
out of the garden because they sinned and they fell, But we
notice in the end of that chapter that God also blocked all access
to the garden and to the tree of life, to Adam and to Eve and
unto all. But in chapter 3 and verse 24
there we read, God placed at the east of the garden cherubim. and a flaming sword, which turned
every way or oscillated, that it might keep the way of the
tree of life." The express purpose of this is mentioned, forbidding
the eating of the tree of life. Genesis 3 and verse 22. For now man is a sinner and with
that sinning he has lost his fellowship with God and is driven
out of the garden. And now, God must be propitiated
in another way. An approach in another way is
required. That God be propitiated by a
proper sacrifice before men can enter into His presence or into
his fellowship, that man as a sinner is not able to approach God in
his own righteousness or in his own person, that sin requires
a proper sacrifice for God and man to be reconciled again. We'll say more about that later. But coming now to the birth of
the brothers Cain and Abel, you have it in verse 1 and in verse
2 of the text that we read. Adam knew his wife in a conjugal
way, and she conceived, for God would not consign them to barrenness,
even though they had sinned and had fallen. The firstborn, she
named Cain. And the word or the name means
gotten or acquired or possession. Something of that nature. Verse
1, she bared Cain and she said, I have gotten a man from the
Lord. Now that's a very interesting
statement on the part of her. And what can she mean? In the
second verse, again, she bare his brother Abel. Margin has
it Hebel, which some say means vanity, or as some say, interpreted
to signify nothingness or a swiftly disappearing breath of life,
seems to be the name that she gave unto Abel. Now, a few expositors
have offered their opinion that Cain and Abel might have been
twins born of one and the same conception, based upon the fact
we read of one conception and of two births. However, there
is nothing in Scripture to absolutely confirm this. It could be that
the Lord caused multiple births early in the history in order
that the world might be populated. twins and triplets and such like. I hasten to call them litters.
But several births at one and the same time. But it is interesting
here to note the reaction of Eve to the birth of her firstborn
son, Cain, as reflected in the name that she or that they gave
him. Cain. She said, I have gotten
a man from the Lord. in your margin. Either meaning,
I have gotten a man with the help and with the blessing of
the Lord? Or could she possibly think or
imagine that Cain was that one promise that would bruise the
head of the serpent? If so, she was sadly, badly mistaken. For the firstborn of the human
family was a reprobate, from the things of God, an apostate
from the true worship of God, an evil man guilty of fratricide
as we see in the New Testament. But in the last part of the second
verse is an account of their vocations which they had taken
up. Abel was a shepherd. He had herds and flocks, a keeper
a flocks, a feeder, a tender of sheep on the hillside. In this way, he was a type of
Christ who is our Great Shepherd. Cain, on the other hand, was
a tiller of the ground. He was in agriculture. He was
a farmer. He worked the land. And Adam
was to do so also in Genesis 3, verse 17 through verse 19. Now we note something, and that
is that the difference is not in their vocation, in the character
of the son. Both vocations were honorable
and were necessary. Both of them served the need
of the race. so that we need not conclude
that Cain's occupation was chosen by him because he was an evil
man, nor did being a farmer make him an evil man in the sight
of God. Then in verse 3 and following,
we read of their offerings and of the manifestation toward their
offerings and them by God. And this is the crux of our study
this morning. First of all, we consider these
are the first sacrifices on record in the scripture. This is the
first time that you read in the scripture that one made a sacrifice,
a sacrifice unto God. Verse 3, in the process of time,
each one, Cain and Abel, brought an offering. Now, what is intended
by the words there that we read? In the process of time. You might notice in the margin
that the margin has it at the end of days, at a certain interval
or period after the passing of days. Now, Sabbatarians take
this as proof of a creational Sabbath observance that was built
in and commanded by God, called a hypothesis. Not sufficiently
established, however, is how we reply under that. So was it
at the end of a year? Was it at the end of the harvest? We take it to be some set time
and they brought their offerings, but then upon what premise did
they bring their offerings before God? Was it from a direct command? Was it by perennial example and
by teaching? Was it by a revelation from God
that they brought their offering? It would seem there was not only
an appointed time, but also there was an appointed place for the
sacrifice to be offered. And they seemed to be at the
same place at one and the same time. So see the words there. Abel brought, in verse 4, and in verse 3, Cain brought
an offering of the fruit of the gram. Now, their offerings were
not made at their dwellings, nor were they made out yonder
in the wilderness, or the pasture, or in the field, or in the byway. And the question is, where exactly
did they bring their offerings to present them before the Lord? We do not read of an altar, or
of them erecting an altar, The tabernacle or the temple was
not yet raised up. But I think there is a good hint
when we read later that Cain went out from the presence of
the Lord down in verse 16. or whatever credit my opinion
might carry, I do agree with those who think that it is likely
that the first sacrifices were offered near the entrance of
the garden, in the vicinity of the sword and of the flaming
cherubim, where was there a continual manifestation of God's glory,
but also there there were emblems of His holiness as well as a
reminder of God's displeasure with the sin of Adam and Eve. Where the flaming sword and the
oscillating cherubim there were representative of the need of
divine justice for a sinner to be in fellowship with God. Sinful
Adam is driven out of the garden and barred from ever returning
again. We remember that sinners do not
and cannot approach or worship God apart from a proper propitiation
made for their sin in their behalf by Jesus Christ unto the Heavenly
Father. Here is what Robert Candlish
had to say in his commentary on the book of Genesis, quote,
that it was near the seat of original innocence, unquote. The brothers Cain and Abel brought
their offering to this place to make an offering at the proper
time before their God. Next we come to note their offering. What did each of the men bring
as an offering? Cain, in keeping with his being
a tiller of the ground, brought of the fruit of the ground an
offering to present there before the Lord. Abel, being a keeper
of sheep, brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. No doubt they lay them out before
the Lord, whether on an altar, who can say? But let us remember
that both sorts of these offerings, those of the fruits of the earth
and those of blood, Both of them were used under the Mosaic Law. Both of them were used as sacrifices
unto the Lord. And the blood was the most prominent
and the most frequent. and was associated with an atonement
for sin. And also, the blood offerings
best typified the offering of Christ, who shed His blood as
a sacrifice for sin. Let's come to consider the response
of God to the brothers Cain and Abel and their respective offering. You have it in verse 4, the last
part, and in verse 5, the first part. had respect unto Abel and
his offering." Now don't miss that. He had respect unto Abel
and his offering. But unto Cain and his offering
he had not respect. And the thing to notice first
is the connection there is between the person's and their offering
or sacrifice. Abel and his offering, Cain and
his offering. Now, they and their offerings
were viewed together. Their offerings and themselves
viewed together. Then we ask the question, were
their respective offerings reflective of the characters of the men
that are offering? Or did their character determine
what offering they might bring unto the Lord? Now, for what
it is worth, we see that in both cases, Abel and Cain, their person
is mentioned first. In both of those cases, their
names or persons are mentioned first. Respect unto Abel, no
respect unto Cain. Some versions render this, instead
of respect, in regard or have regard unto Abel and his offering
or Cain and his. God is said to have respect unto
their offering and Calvin said on this passage, God is said
to have respect unto the man or the person to whom he grants
his favor, or whom he gives his grace. and the favor toward Abel,
the acceptance of his person was prior to him bringing his
offering there before God. So Moses, in writing this, begins
with the person of the offerers Abel and his, Cain and his. Now let us see that the text
here leads us to believe that in some way that is not defined
either here or in the New Testament, God did make manifest His disregard
for Cain and his offering and his regard for Abel and his offering. We read here in verse 5, But
unto Cain and his offering he had not respect. And Cain was
very wroth, that is, angry. He was mad. And there was some
evidence given in the view of the brothers concerning their
offering." Now here's a hep in Hebrews 11 and verse 4. We're hepped much by this. There
we read Hebrews 11 and 4 concerning the sacrifice of Abel that by
his sacrifice Abel obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying
of his gifts. Oh, thankful for that passage
in the chapter upon faith. Abel obtained witness that he
was righteous, in some way visible, and visible to the two boys,
God did make a manifestation. Coming back to Genesis chapter
4, what might be the manner in which God showed these things
so that there was no mistaking God's approving one and rejecting
of the other? I think the most probable thought
is it might have been in some way that God later did accept
the offerings of the prophets and such like, that was by sending
fire down from heaven to lick up the sacrifices that the prophets
had made unto them. Such as in Leviticus chapter
9, when Aaron and his sons, having been consecrated into the priesthood,
began to offer their sacrifices And we read there in verse 24,
and there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed
upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat, and here's the important
part, and the people saw that they shouted and fell down on
their faces. Also, add Judges chapter 6, when
Gideon was raised up and the sign that was given in verse
21 of that chapter, an angel of the Lord gives him and the
people a sign bringing fire out of the rock. to consume the sacrifice
that was put there before it. One more instance, if you please,
that would be in 1 Kings chapter 18, when the prophet Elijah mocked
the prophets of Baal and had a test to prove the real and
the true God. He put wood about the altar. Then Elijah said to them, Pour
water upon the wood. He said again, Pour more water
upon the wood. And even until a third time,
until the wood about the altar was soaked with water. Then he cut up the willow, lay
him there upon the altar and the wood, verse 30 through verse
35. Then Elijah prayed, calling upon
God, verse 36 and 7. Then in verse 38 of that chapter, Then the fire of the Lord fell,
and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones,
and the dust, and licked up the water out of the trench." I heard
someone say one time that Elijah was the only man he heard about
that could start a fire with wet firewood. God did not send
fire upon every sacrifice made in the Old Testament, but as
we look upon special occasion, the first by Cain and Abel, the
first by Aaron and his, and this one to show the true and the
living God, to confirm a thing, to sanctify that unto the people,
to convince them. Such may have been what the Lord
did when the brothers Cain and Abel brought their sacrifices,
the first recorded one in Scripture right there in the very first
family of man. God began to make not only a
demonstration, but a distinction between persons and their character
in the brothers Cain and Abel. Now before we move along, there
are some questions that might be raised. They might come up
in our mind in regard to these matters that are here in this
passage. Number one, for example, why
is there no account of any acts or exercise of faith on Adam's
part? Why does the Scripture leap over
Adam? And he's not in Genesis, rather
in Hebrews 11 and well. Why does Moses pass over Adam? Why is it, as Manton wrote, after
the fall, Scripture speaks nothing notable of Adam? nor is he in
Hebrews 11, as I said. But another skeptic or a scoffer
at Christianity might count it to be a contradiction that we
have read in this passage of Scripture when it is said that
God had respect unto Abel, and unto His offering. Yet Scripture
declares over and again that God is no respecter of persons. Acts 10.34, Romans 2 and 11,
Ephesians 6, In verse 9, Colossians 3, verse
25, God is no respecter of person. In checking the concordance,
I found that the Hebrew word, which is translated here by our
English word respect, that is, in the King James Version, only
three times in the Old Testament, twice here in Genesis, 4, 4,
and 5, and we find it again in Psalms 119 and verse 117. The same Hebrew word, hold me
up and I shall be safe, and I will have respect unto thy statues
continually. There's that word. that we have
in Genesis 4. It's from a root word meaning
to gaze at, or to look upon, or to look forward, to regard,
even to inspect, or to consider. I will regard. I will look to,
I will have respect unto thy statute, the psalmist has written. Thus he had respect unto Abel
and his offering, he looked toward Abel and his offering, with favor
and with regard. However, in the New Testament
it is that rounds out the account of the brothers Cain and Abel,
as both of them are written up in the New Testament multiple
times. Abel as a good and righteous
man before God came as a wicked, truth-hating, God-hating apostate
and murderer. And they're even mentioned together
in reference to Genesis chapter 4. First, what the New Testament
says to us about the brother Abel. The New Testament gives
us the character of this man. The first time we meet with it
is from the Lord Himself in Matthew chapter 23, 35, also recorded
in Luke 11 and verse 51. The Lord Jesus there refers to
Abel as a righteous man. In fact, he refers to the blood
of righteous Abel when he's talking about how that generation shall
pay, and all the righteous blood from righteous Abel own shall
be required of that generation." And of course, Abel is the first
one mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11. The examples of how faith
is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen. Also how without faith it is
impossible to please God. We find that early in Hebrews. Then Abel is mentioned again
in Hebrews 12. and verse 24, as that the blood
of Christ speaks better things than the blood of Abel. Finally,
he's mentioned in the 1 John epistle, 1 John 3 and verse 12,
mentioned as Cain's brother, not by name, but by relation,
his brother. Cain is also mentioned in the
New Testament In Hebrews 11 and 4 he's named, better sacrifice
than his. In 1 John 3 and 12. Then in Jude
verse 11, numbered among the apostates where we read, of the
way of Cain, We'll look at that in the second service today from
Jude. But let's understand using Hebrews
11 and verse 4, by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent,
a choicier, a better sacrifice than Cain. That Abel neither
attained faith, nor became righteous when he offered his sacrifice,
that the acceptance of his person must precede the acceptance of
the service and of his worship. It was manifested when he offered,
but it was so before. On the other hand, Cain was also
what he was before bringing his offering. The rejection of it
did not change his character, it only manifested his character. Now, Cain was no atheist. He
was not a heathen. He brought his offering to the
same God and the same place as his brother Abel. He acknowledged
God in his offering, but it does seem that Cain more offered to
thank God for being creator and preserver rather than having
a concern to having his sins forgiven in the sight of God
and being reckoned righteous before the Holy God. That while
Abel was moved in all that he did, include bringing his sacrifice,
he was moved by true saving or justifying faith to bring that
good, bloody offering before God. Cain, on the other hand,
offered in a more formal way, just as a formality, giving what
the Puritan John Owen called, quote, a naked, bare assent. unquote, to the existence of
God. Now, in this, Cain is a type
of many who think that they are acceptable to God exactly as
they stand in their own person, exactly as they are. They think that they are rendering
Him service. seeing not themselves as sinners,
needing an atonement. Going to church they do, if nothing
comes up, desiring to be considered a good person and a religious
person. Cain seemed very civil. until the incident occurred in
Genesis chapter 4. And then at verse 5, there came
a major 90 degree turning point in the attitude of Cain. When he saw that God did not
look upon his offering with favor, he was exceedingly angry, his
countenance fell, it showed in his face and his countenance,
and Gil described it like this, he looked churlish, morose, sullen,
ill-natured." He was rebuked by the Lord in verse 6 and verse
7, but was not smitten with guilt, or with repentance or conviction. He found no place of repentance
at all and soon thereafter he rose up against his brother Abel
and he murdered him and then went out from the presence of
the Lord. Now consider verse 8, Genesis
chapter 4. Cain conversed with Abel in the
field, and there he slew him, he murdered him, he killed him.
The first murder was the result of a religious difference. The first murder in history was
as the result of a religious difference. Perhaps they discussed
the recent events when they argued. The Jews have a long list of
them talking one to another. but it is not confirmed by the
sacred and holy Scripture. Perhaps they discussed what had
happened. Cain became angrier and angrier. Abel stood for what he believed
in, and the Scripture said, all of a sudden, Cain rushed upon
Abel, and he slew him and killed him there in the field. We have
an explanation for this in 1 John 3, And verse 12, it reads like
this, Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his
brother. And why did he slay him? Because his own works were evil,
and his brother's righteous. Now what could be clearer than
that? Verse John 3 and verse 12. Now
here, their characters are clearly defined. Cain was of that wicked
one, see John 8 in verse 44, and he killed his own brother
because Cain's works were evil and Abel's were righteous. Cain
hated his brother and he killed him. But his real animosity was
against God. His first and foremost animosity
was against God, but vented against Abel because he could not drag
God off of his throne and murder him. He resented bloody reconciliation. He turned to trust in natural
strength and worldly greatness, as that which was good in his
eyes. Cain, I say, is the founder of
the liberal wing of the worship of Almighty God, which is yet
alive in this world. denying total depravity as it
is taught in the scripture, hating divine sovereignty, rejecting
the need for God to be propitiated on account of men's sin, preaching
a social gospel and an undeified Savior, and a salvation based
upon man's goodness or works. In short, they are apostates
from the true worship of God. Now consider something that is
said concerning Cain in Jude verse 11. This is my text for
the second service looking at Jude. But some have called Jude
the axe, of the apostates, the acts of the apostate. The part that I'm interested
in is verse 11. They have gone in the way of
King. Now, the way of Cain, what is
it? Well, it is a way of defection
from God and of apostasy. Thomas Manton wrote on this text,
quote, Cain's example is produced because he was the first and
the chief of them that departed from the true worship and service
of God." Tertullian, a long time ago in the second century, called
Cain the devil's patriarch, the first carnal root of the serpent
seed in the world, in which persecution against the worship of God began. One said, and I agree, Cain's
club stained with the blood of Abel, his brother, is still carried
about in the world today. Today by the society of those
who follow in the way of Cain, who are angry to be told that
God will not accept them. apart from Jesus Christ and his
death and sacrifice upon the cross, that God will not accept
their personal self-righteousness as standing them good in his
way. The way of Cain, therefore, is
a way of hypocrisy. of hating the right way and venting
and visiting that hate upon the righteous one. But if they could,
they would drag God off of His throne and murder Him as well. They hold in contempt the sovereign
grace of our God, that it is all of grace and nothing of merit
is an offense to modern men. that one religion is as good
as another, we hear a hundred times on any Sunday. Did you
know recently that some supposed Christian churches have had a
dialogue with Muslims, letting them use their buildings and
such like as that? These apostate Christian churches
in America are doing that. Finally, according to Hebrews
11, And verse 4, Abel offered by faith, which means that he
had a revelation of the grace of God unto him. He, in faith,
offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Something else about
Abel, the scripture said, he being dead, yet is speaking. The blood of Abel cried from
the ground unto God, crying out for vengeance. The first martyr
we have read about this morning, the first to shed the blood of
martyrdom. And from Matthew 23, 35, that
all righteous blood from the blood of Abel will be avenged. upon that generation that slew
our Lord Jesus Christ. Now this shows us something in
closing. It shows us that from the very first phase have been
effectual to save sinners. That from the very first it has
been by faith that God has saved sinners. By faith Abel offered
unto God a more excellent sacrifice. that God laid the way of salvation
early. And here comes a man by faith
to bring a sacrifice to God. And God had respect under that
man. He was righteous. And under his
service, his worship, and his offering, because that man was
righteous in the sight of God. Here are the two classes of religious
people that have flown through the Old Testament, that are flying
through the New Testament, those ables and those canes, those
who believe in God, who by faith cleave through Jesus Christ to
Him, and those who would come by works or self-righteousness
or in their own goodness. And there is a warfare of grace
between these two ideologies, it rages even till now.