“Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
“Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Genesis 4: 2-8
“ Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute. Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of [g] bronze and iron.” Genesis 4: 17 19- 22
Abel’s Worship
Westminster Larger Catechism: States, “What is the chief and highest end of man? It answers the question in this manner. Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever!
The above scriptures tell us the very familiar story of Cain’s murder of his brother Able. Abel was a worshiper. “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” Hebrews 11:4. There are a couple of distinctions between Able and Cain’s offering that I want to point out. Abel brought the fat portions and the first born of his flock. Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil. Some have taught that Cain’s offering was not acceptable because it was not a blood sacrifice but many grain offerings have been found acceptable throughout the scriptures. (Number 5:15 and Ezekiel 45:15) are but two examples among many.
The Murder of Redemptive Generations
Let’s explore this thought from the vantage point of the scriptures I have listed and from the subjects of worship and creativity. If the Lord rejected Cain’s grain offering it would not be in keeping with the honoring of Cain’s Redemptive gift. “Cain worked the soil”. Genesis 4:2, What made Cain’s offering unacceptable is that is was given from a heart of compulsion and not a heart of Love. He gave some. Matthew 6:21 says, “for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Cain’s heart was not directed to God. He let shame cover him instead of the grace of God, he grew angry and killed his righteous brother. We will never know what the line of Abel would have produced. What worshipers, what creators. In the Koran, Sura 5:32 it has this quote.
“Because of this, we decreed for the Children of Israel that anyone who murders any person who had not committed murder or horrendous crimes, it shall be as if he murdered all the people. And anyone who spares a life, it shall be as f he spared the lives of all the people.”
I quote this passage because it captures the thought well. If you murder a man you murder a nation. This has great significance to our topic as I discuss lost opportunities to see God’s redemptive purposed accomplished through various people groups.
Cain’s Worship
What is more interesting to me about the quoted Biblical passages above is what became of Cain and his family. They became the first city builders, the first metal workers, and the first musicians. When you see men growing in creativity they are growing in a God given attribute. Can that gift be used for perversion? Clearly, but that was not their purpose, and that is the point. God gave long life and creativity to the early generations of humanity in the scriptures so that they could, “reach out and find him, though he was not far from anyone of them.” Acts 17:27 They could have found him in every aspect of their creativity. Their long lives would have allowed them to perfect each craft that they started to a level that are incomprehensible to our generation. How many things and to what degree can you perfect a task in an 800 year life. The fact that they used that time to grow in violence toward each other makes the sin greater and hence the punishment more severe. They misused their redemptive gifts within their generation, their geography and their respective genealogies.
This is conjecture but could Able and his seed been the stabilizing influence on the Earth through those generations that would have stayed the judgment of God? Abraham and Mosses are both examples of men who interceded for wicked kingdoms and generations. We will never know.
A Lost Generation
“Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, "God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him." Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD.”Genesis 4:25-26
Genesis chapter four provides us an important genealogy in this regard. The fact that pre flood men are listed says God values them. He mentions those who took life, including Cain and Lamech and contrastingly those who called upon His name in particular. This theme of taking life it is important within the Genesis context.
“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” Genesis 6:11-12.
Opportunity Provided By Long Life
The per-flood Earth was distinctive. The lack of fear in the animal kingdom has was present. The length of men’s lives is another distinction. It is safe to infer that animal’s lives would have been long as well. The natural order communicated the goodness of God in an even more profound manner than it does today. These issues are important to our topic because the purpose that God had for men during that time was to fill the Earth. There was a communal aspect that should have been reflected in the conscience of men. There was a creative aspect that was reflected in the natural order. The Earth probably had one working language and most likely tribal languages. Commentators are divided on this issue. Matthew Henry allows for language development prior to the flood in his commentary on the whole bible.
If there were any different languages before the flood, yet Noah's only, which it is likely was the same with Adam's, was preserved through the flood, and continued after it.
We certainly see language development in the post flood period in Genesis 10: 4, 20, 31 the development of tribal languages. Chapter 11, begins with, “Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.” Genesis11:1. This point is vitally important to our understanding of God’s purposes for man even prior to the flood. God initiated both diversity and uniformity, as men abused uniformity they were left with diversity. The reason for this is that God values diversity more than uniformity.
Cain and Able were very different men, with differing ways of making a living. They had no social influences other than their parents. Each of their ways of being was to be celebrated. Cain’s jealously led to murder because he refused to believe in a God who said. If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? Many are downcast today; depressed is our modern word for this, because they have not done right. They have not exercised the freedom to be themselves. In Cain’s case a farmer, and they have not valued diversity, Able was a shepherd. If we will value our distinctions we can mutually worship God. The sins of the church historically have been the murder of those who worship differently. Thankfully we no longer murder each other over differing forms of worship within the Christian church. Let us move beyond tolerance to celebration of diversity and creativity. If Cain and his family can move from sin to creativity certainly this generation of believers can as well.
http://www.reformed.org/documents/index.html?mainframe=http://www.reformed.org/documents/larger1.htmlhttp:/
http://wingless.aoriginality.com/?p=16
http://mhcw.biblecommenter.com/genesis/11.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment