Sermon Tone Analysis

In honor of Father’s Day, I thought it would be appropriate to look at fathers in the Bible.

In Genesis alone the word “father” appears 254 times.

Many of these are genealogical.

·       Adam, was the father of Seth,

·       Seth was the father of Enosh,

·       Enosh was the father of Kenan,

·       Kenan was the father of Mahalalel…

Occasionally a description was attached to the name as in the case of Jabal who was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock or his brother Jubal who was the father of all who play the harp and flute (4:20-21).

Neither of those descriptions tell us about their parenting skills.

This morning I want to look at the 2 men who are described as the fathers of mankind.

Looking at the first we have Adam.

4 1 Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.

She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.”

Why did she say that?

We need to remember that Adam and Eve didn’t have anyone to help them.

There were no midwives or nurses standing by.

There were no books on parenting.

They didn’t have internet access.

They had been kicked out of the Garden.

Eve needed God’s help to give birth.

And don’t forget Gen 3:16 

16 To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your

pains in childbearing;

 

Back to Gen 4:

2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.

Does that sound like an after thought to you?

I have heard parents who have more than one child say they have tons of pictures of their first born, less pictures of their second born, and even fewer pictures of the third and following.

2b Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.

Please don’t miss the significance of those words.



Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.

Which of those 2 jobs do you think was easier?

Consider this, Go back up to Genesis 3: 17

17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground,

Day in and day out Adam & Cain are laboring in the fields together.

They didn’t have servants.

And the only other person who could have helped them, little brother was tending the flocks.

You know what happens next.

Both boys bring an offering to God.

Abel’s offering is accepted and Cain’s is rejected.

Back to Gen 4:

 5b So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry?

Why is your face downcast?

7 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.”

Cain was angry.

Where did Cain learn anger from?

Do you think maybe his father had modeled anger and resentment to his son toiling by the sweat of his brow to eek out food for the family?

Just a thought…

 

8 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.

Whoa, where did that come from?

How did resentment turn to murder so fast?



9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied.

“Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Where did Cain learn how to lie? Didn’t his father hide from God after eating the forbidden fruit?

And then blame the whole thing on Eve?

In the same way Adam & Eve are banished from the garden, Cain must bear the consequences of his sin.

13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear.

14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over.”

Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.

16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

17 Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch.

18 To Enoch was born Irad,

Irad was the father of Mehujael,

Mehujael was the father of Methushael,

Methushael was the father of Lamech.



23 Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words.

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

In other words Lamech had killed someone in self-defense.

He told his wives that they need not fear any harm coming to them for the killing because if anyone tried to retaliate, he would retaliate and kill them.

There’s that Cain heritage of murder 6 generations later.

But wait that’s not enough,

24 If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.”

Lamech thought that if God promised 7-fold vengeance on anyone killing Cain, He would have to give 77-fold vengeance on anyone attacking Lamech, since the murder was justified.

What about Adam’s other children?

25 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.”

Let’s recap, Abel has been murdered, Cain has been banished from his family, and Eve gives birth to Seth.

How would you expect Adam to parent this child?

26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.

Gen 5:

6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh.



9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan.



12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel.



15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared.

18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch.



21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah.

22 And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.

After the birth of his son, Enoch walked with God.

Why? Do you think Adam may have had an influence on his great4 grandson?

I did the math Adam would have been 687 years old when Enoch began his walk with God.

 

23 Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years.

24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

Only one other person in history did not taste death and that was?

Elijah.

Methuselah was Enoch’s son.

Enoch walked with God and was no more.