Sermon Tone Analysis

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*THE WAY OF SIN*

*BY*

*FELIX AMPARO*

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*SCRIPTURE READING:  GENESIS 4:1-7*

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*INTRODUCTION:*

 

In Genesis chapter 4 we read the story of Cain and Abel, two brothers; Cain, the elder brother, a jealous persecutor who killed his brother and Abel whom sacrifice was accepted before God.

But, the most important thing is that we also see a God of love who gave Cain an open door to escape from the wrath that was about to come upon him because of the murder of his brother Abel.

The sentence God gave Adam was carried out in the person of his son Abel, at that time a mystery to himself, but a fulfilled reality, “thou shall surely die”.

God’s love was shown to Cain, but he rejected it.

The Lord gave him an open door: yet he closed it.

Many scholars have misrepresented Gen. 4: 7, and as a result, they have misrepresented the character of a loving God, who is always calling us to reason with Him.

God is looking for worshiper that would be ready to worship Him in spirit and true and follow His Holy character of love.

We do not worship Him according to our desires but according to His will and purpose for our life.

Cain misrepresented the Holy character of God, and many in our days are doing the same in the way they worship Him, to those as well as to Cain the word of God is, If thought doe well though would have receive praise from Him.

We come empty to the church and we leave empty because our offerings are not accepted before Him, nor can they ever be unless we worship Him according to His will and purpose in Christ Jesus.

If we come to Him without a willing spirit and the required offering from our hands our sacrifice will not be accepted from God, and we will leave as empty as we can and our joy will not abide.

The purpose of this paper is to expose the excuses given for Cain’s murder of his brother Abel.

It is to clarify the misunderstood conception of God’s character.

God is not waiting for us to sin to punish us or push us off the border when we are almost falling.

The main point I’m trying to establish is found on Genesis 4:7 the periscope start on Genesis 4:1 and end on Genesis 4:16, but I will only focus on Genesis 4:1-7 the last verse had been my main discussion.



 

Genesis 4:1 “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.”

We can see that Eve was hoping that the prophecy of Genesis 3:15 was soon to take place in the person of her first born son.

This is clearly seen in the name that she gave her second son Abel, whose name means “Breath” or “Vanity” in the original Hebrew.

The hope of Eve rested on her first born son Cain.

She named her other son Abel; which means the vanity of this life without an expression of hope without the Messiah.

“Eve said, I have gotten a man from the Lord —that is, “by the help of the Lord”—an expression of pious gratitude—and she called him Cain, that is, “a possession,” as if valued above everything else…”[1]

Other commentaries would call Cain’s name “spear” it has a double meaning.

Cain was to Eve “value” above anything else.

She had lost paradise, but on the promise given in Gen. 3:15, by faith she looked up to the coming Messiah.

In the person of her first son Cain, she wrongly perceived that the prophecy had been fulfilled.

“Cain” means “acquired”—the baby boy was looked upon as a gift from God.”[2] Cain was to be looked upon by his parents as a gift from God, or the “acquired.”

He became the disappointment of them both.

Cain’s life fell very short of the modeled life by Jesus.

As he grow up it became clear to Adam and Eve that their first born son was not the anticipated Messiah.

Cain (/ Qayin/ ).

The word Cain is usually associated with the Hebrew word /qānâ/ , “to acquire” or “to get.”

The derivation is based on the resemblance of sound, rather than on basic etymology.

It might be called a play on words.

The actual meaning of the word possibly came through the Arabic (“a lance” or “a smith”).

Eve was overjoyed at the birth of her son.

She exclaimed, “I have gotten a man.”[3]

Eve’s joyfulness was soon to be turned into bitterness.

The one whom was raised with pride and devotion, was about to become the world’s first murderer.

Genesis 4:2 “And she again bares his brother Abel.

 b And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.”

“Abel (/ Hebel/ ).

The name given to the second son indicates “a fleeting breath” or “a vapor.”[4]

In the name given to the second son Abel, we can see that Eve’s hope of the soon coming of the Messiah was followed by a disappointed hope that was soon to end by a catastrophic flood, which was to wipe away all human flesh with the exception of Noah and his family.

But Abel’s duty was a simple duty, since God’s original purpose was for men to have dominion over life on earth; this was to be accomplished under God’s command by following his divined authority.

The literal translation here is that he was “a feeder of a flock” including both sheep and goats.

“Abel was a keeper of sheep —literally, ‘a feeder of a flock,’ which, in Oriental countries, always includes goats as well as sheep.”[5]

We also see a clear division that took place very early in their youth.

“From the very beginning, we see a division of work: as Cain is identified with the ground, Abel with the flock.

God had already cursed the ground (3:17), so Cain is identified with that curse.”[6]

Abel was being identified with the flock or the seed of the woman as given in Gen. 3:15, Rev. 12:17 he was identifying himself with the church of God, which is to have one flock and one shepherd Jesus Christ.

We will see that Abel put his trust and faith in this mean of salvation by offering a sacrifice to the Lord.

Cain was identifying himself with that which is the work of men.

Later on we will see that the things that we do, if not of faith in the Lamb of God can not be accepted by God.

Genesis 4:3.

“And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.”

 Once both of their works were made evident, and their characters and the intentions of their hearts were identified “in process of time” when they were mature enough in their attitude toward the Creator, they each brought an offering to the Lord.

Harris outlines three of the primary meanings that can be given to the Hebrew word for fruit.

“(/ pĕrı//̂/ ) /fruit./

Three primary meanings are covered by Hebrew /pĕrı//̂/ : (1) the fruit of a tree ( Gen 1:12 ); a vine ( Zech 8:12 ): or a fig tree ( Prov 27:18 ); (2) the fruit of the womb, i.e. children ( Gen 30:2 ; Deut 28:4 , 11 ; Ps 21:10 [H 11]; 127:3 ); (3) fruit as consequences resulting from an action, e.g.

“reward” ( Ps 58:11 [H 12 ]): Prov 11:30.”[7]

Even though the fruit that Cain offered was literal fruits we can not understand the symbolic spiritual lesson that was hidden behind it.

When Cain offered his gift to God, his heart was not right with Him.

There is always more to it, than just a simple offering to the Lord.

Our attitude toward the receiver is to be made right with him.

Man was to rule over the earth under the command of God.

This is clearly spoken of in the meaning of the name of Adam which was created out of the ground to till the ground.

See Harris’s comment below…

The /ădāmâ/ was God’s possession and under his care (Gen 2:6).

Thus, the first /ādām/ (the man, Adam) and his family were to act as God’s servants by obeying him in maintaining the divinely created and intended relationships vertically and

horizontally.

As long as this condition was sustained God caused the /ădāmâ/ to give its fruitfulness (blessing) to /ādām/ .[8]

The translation of the Hebrew word “/minha/” does not specifically describe a meat offering, it can also be a “cereal-offering”.

Bringing gifts is defined many times in the Bible as recognizing someone else’s supremacy or kingship.

Cain recognized that God is supreme and we ought to give Him or return to Him a portion of the blessing He has bestowed upon us.

“/min//ḥâ/ …The word is used in secular contexts of gifts to superior persons, particularly kings, to convey the attitude of homage and submission to that person.”[9]

Cain submission to God was not a sincere one, it didn’t come from the heart, and his heart was not with God but with the things of the world.

The place where the sacrifices were offered to the Lord was most assuredly at the door of Paradise.

It is also noted that Adam knew how to approach a Holy God; he probably received instruction from God Himself in how to worship him, or how to offer sacrifice to Him.

This is noted as we read (Wiersbe’s commentary on Gen. 4:1-5)

This earliest family must have known a definite place for worship, for both sons brought offerings to the Lord.

It may be that the glory of God tabernacle at the tree of life, with the way guarded by the cherubim (3:24…God probably “answered by fire” (Lev.

9:24) and burned up Abel’s offering, but Cain’s offering lay there on the altar.[10]

Cain is mentioned first as bringing a sacrifice to the Lord and then Abel; it is possible that as Cain left the altar of sacrifice that Abel came in with his offering.

This could have made Cain more furious with God and his brother, even to the point that his face bore physical evidence of his wrath and disappointments.

Genesis 4:4 “and Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock  d  and of the fat thereof.

And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5.

But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.

And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.”

 While they both brought an offering (/minha/) to the Lord, it is not mention that Cain brought his best; yet Abel brought the best of his herd.

[Both Cain and Abel offered a /min//ḥâ/ to the Lord (Gen 4:4–3).

But whereas it is said of Abel that he offered the choicest portions of the animals to the Lord, an act reflecting his heartfelt commitment to him, it is merely said of Cain that he offered a /min//ḥâ/ from the fruit of the ground.[11]

The offering didn’t necessarily need to be an animal sacrifice; yet if Cain’s heart was not right with God and his brother, the only sacrifice that was acceptable for reconciliation with God and man was an animal sacrifice.

He had sinned against God and men and the only mean of forgiveness available to Cain was to put faith in God’s expiatory sacrifice which at that time was a lamb.

The words, “had respect to,” signify in /Hebrew,/ —“to look at any thing with a keen earnest glance,” which has been translated, “kindle into a fire,” so that the divine approval of Abel’s offering was shown in its being consumed by fire (see Ge 15:17 ; Jdg 13:20 ).[12]

There was a need for an outward appearance that showed how God accepted Abel’s sacrificed or rejected Cain’s.