As
Paul waited in Athens for Timothy and Silas to arrive, "his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw
the city wholly given to idolatry."
He
had been preaching in the synagogue and in the marketplace, and had caught the
attention, not of the Jews, but of the philosophers and stoics of that city.
You
see, "all the Athenians and
strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to
tell, or to hear some new thing."
And
even though that seems like a vain pursuit in itself, some new things do have
value.
In
fact, God's Word is full of new things.
For
instance, those who have accepted God's Son as their Saviour,
have become new creations in Christ Jesus, "old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new."
And
they have access to God by a new and
living way.
Also,
the book of Revelation speaks of a "new
name," a "new song,” a
"new Jerusalem," "a new heaven and a new earth.”
And
the last book of the Bible certainly hasn't outdone the first book of the Bible
when it comes to new things.
For
instance, just last week in Genesis Chapter 3, we discovered that God is love.
In
spite of the fact that Adam and Eve had rebelled against Him, He sought them
out, and reasoned with them in order to lead them to repentance.
However,
they refused to face their sin.
Adam
blamed Eve, and even blamed God, but he definitely didn't blame himself.
"The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did
eat."
Eve
was much the same---"The serpent
beguiled me, and I did eat."
Oh,
it could have been so different if they had only confessed their sins and
sought God’s forgiveness, for God is love.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
However,
the case of the serpent was very different.
For
him, there was no room for repentance, only righteous judgment.
Genesis
3:14-15 "And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this,
thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy
belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy
seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
Although
Satan was the major player in this conspiracy, he was greatly assisted by the
serpent.
And
it is quite instructive to note that those who aligned themselves with the
great deceiver will share in his condemnation.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Originally,
the serpent must have had legs, just like any other animal.
After
all, if he had always crawled along the ground, God's words "upon thy belly shalt thou go," would have had no significance.
So
what did he look like in the beginning?
The
only indication we have of his original condition is the fact that he "--was more subtle than any beast of the field --," which only describes his mental capacity, not his
physical appearance.
However,
the very fact that Satan chose him in the first place would seem to indicate that
he was quite appealing to look at.
So
was he like a graceful deer? or maybe a brightly
colored tiger? or was he simply a lizard, which is
kind of like a serpent on legs?
We
don't really know.
But
he certainly would have been much superior to the fallen creature we have with
us today.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
However,
there is much more involved here than the judgment of an animal.
Yes,
there's no doubt in my mind that God was also judging Satan.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I'm
sure the Devil had big plans for the human race when he first approached Eve.
Handled
properly, they could become valuable allies in his war against God.
And
indeed, down through the ages, millions have marched to the beat of his drum.
However,
his campaign to solicit man's help has been much hindered by the natural
aversion that mankind has for Satan.
Yes,
the words "And I will put enmity
between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed--" goes
much further then the repulsion we feel for slithering serpents.
In
fact, if we could see Satan as he really is, we would flee from him.
Consequently,
he hides his true identity in order to accomplish his purposes, even appearing
as "an angel of light.”
Nevertheless,
he is a defeated foe, and his ultimate doom was foretold, way back in Eden.
V
15 “And I will put enmity between thee
and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and
thou shalt bruise his heel.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And
did you notice that it wasn't the seed of the man that was mentioned in this
verse, but rather it was "her
seed" that would bruise his head.
Actually,
this is the first mention of the virgin birth of Christ, way back in the book
of Genesis.
Satan
would bruise "his heel" at
Calvary, but praise God, Christ would bruise his head.
In
the very place where he thought he would gain his greatest victory, he
experienced his greatest defeat.
As
Christ’s blood was shed, a vast multitude of Satan's subjects were delivered
from the power of darkness.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And
did you notice the reference that was made to Satan's "seed"?
There
has always been an "enmity" between those who follow Satan and God's people.
Yes,
the church will be persecuted as long as there's a godly man on this side of
heaven and a wicked man on this side of hell.
The
apostle Paul was quite clear on this point when he said, "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you." 1 John 3:13.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
But
there's another aspect to the serpent's punishment that is quite instructive.
Abraham
once said, "Shall not the Judge of
all the earth do right?" And
certainly the answer is yes.
So
in God’s judgment of the serpent, we have a landmark decision concerning
relative guilt.
You
see, the serpent didn't actually disobey God's commandment.
He
didn't eat the forbidden fruit, and, for that matter, he had never been
prohibited from doing so, but he was punished quite severely.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Today
we have a distorted philosophy concerning the matter of guilt.
I
call it the "label" theory.
MAY BE INJURIOUS TO YOUR HEALTH--on a
package of cigarettes--is supposed to render the supplier of this known harmful
drug completely guiltless.
VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED--gives you
the right to show evil things on TV, because now it's the viewer’s
responsibility.
According
to this theory, it would be quite all right to dig a big hole in the middle of
a well travelled path, as long as you put up a sign (in small letters) "Watch
your step.” If you fall into sin, or any other kind of pit, it’s not our fault.
However,
when God is the judge, and ultimately He always is, the tempter will not go
unpunished.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I
suppose we can expect that kind of attitude in this present evil world, but
what about the body of Christ?
What
should a Christian's attitude be?
Actually,
the apostle Paul was very circumspect concerning this subject.
He
said "---if meat
make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend."
Yes,
we are our brother’s keeper, and we must be careful lest we put a stumbling
block in his way.
For
instance, if a Christian lady is not modest in her apparel, she can stumble a Christian brother.
If
we present a bad testimony before our unsaved neighbours and turn them away from Christ, God will hold us responsible.
Yes,
we must--"Give none offence,
neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And
then in Genesis 3:16, God turned to unrepentant Eve. "--- I will greatly
multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule
over thee."
We
all know what this multiplication of sorrow involved.
And
if the men are not clear on that point, just ask your wives.
But
what did God mean when He said, -- "I will greatly multiply"---"thy conception"?
Back
in Genesis 1:28, God had said, "Be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.”
Things
were much different when He said that.
Yes,
when God gave them that commandment, their bodies were incorruptible.
They
could multiply and replenish the earth without the problem of death subtracting
from their multiplication.
But
under these new circumstances, the birth rate would need to be much higher in
order to accomplish the same purpose.
Not
only would they need to "replenish
the earth," but they must satisfy the grim reaper as well.
Therefore
God said, "I will greatly multiply
thy sorrow and thy conception".
It
was a necessary evil.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
However,
that wasn't the only answer to the mortality problem.
Although
mankind had ceased to be incorruptible, God allowed him to enjoy a long life
span.
For
instance, even though Adam was under the curse, he lived to be 930 years old.
And
he wasn't the exception.
Just
scan over Chapter 5, and you will discover that
longevity was the norm.
Nevertheless,
even with this longer period for child bearing, man was still corruptible, and
one of Eve’s necessary judgments would need to be, "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Also,
because of Eve’s faulty leadership, she would now be under the authority of her
husband--"and thy desire shall be
to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
But
Adam was also guilty, and just as unrepentant.
He
had followed Eve rather than God, and he must reap the harvest of his sin.
V 17-19 "And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy
wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in
sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18: Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat
bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
--- "cursed
is the ground for thy sake.”
This
curse was to play out in two ways, the most immediate being the change in the
vegetation---"Thorns also and
thistles shall it bring forth to thee--.”
Yes,
it would yield its abundance grudgingly.
Mixed
with its increase would be thorns and thistles to sting the hands that looked
for good.
Pain
mixed with blessing. It’s the pattern of
a fallen world.
V
18 ---“and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.”
Yes,
man was still a vegetarian, and as such, he must gain his only sustenance ---"in the sweat of" his face.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
However,
the second part of the curse was even more devastating.
Someday
Adam's body would return to the dust.
Corruption,
and finally death, had entered his world, and it would envelope both himself and
his dominion.
Yes,
he had been given dominion "over
every living thing that moveth upon the earth," and
for his sake they would be "subject
to vanity.”
Death
would come slowly, but it would come surely, and it would envelope them all.
V
19 "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for
out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and
unto dust shalt thou return."
God
had warned them, "--in the day that
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," but they had eaten anyhow.
So
now Adam’s wonderful body would "return
unto the ground.”
The
time-clock of aging had started to tick, and someday it would run down.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
On
that fateful day when Adam and Eve had disobeyed God, they died in two ways.
First
of all, they died spiritually, being separated from God.
But
also, they had begun their long journey to the grave.
It
seemed like such a hopeless situation.
But
God is love, and even in the curse, hope was to be found.
One
glorious day in the future, the very thorns of Adam's curse would be worn as a
crown.
And
even though "The sting of death is
sin," Christ would rise victorious over sin and death.
"For since by man came death,
by man came also the resurrection of the dead." -- I Corinthians 15:21
Yes,
Christ has redeemed our spirits and our bodies from Adam's curse.
Because
of Christ, we have fellowship with the Father, and even if our bodies go back
to the dust, they will be "raised
incorruptible" someday.
Or
maybe they won't go back to the dust at all!
We
might meet the Upper Taker before we meet
the undertaker.
1
Corinthians 15:51-57 "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not
all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52: In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall
be changed.
53: For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must
put on immortality.
54: So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this
mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be
brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55: O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56: The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57: But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Oh
yes, for those in Christ, Adam’s curse has been removed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
V
20 "And Adam called his wife's name
Eve; because she was the mother of all living."
This
doesn't sound like the same man that had blamed everyone else but himself.
No,
it appears that God's judgment had sobered his thinking.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
At
one time, it seemed so long ago, he had named all the animals in God's creation.
Now
he was being allowed to name his wife.
And
he made a good choice.
He
called her Eve, "the mother of all living," rather than the mother of all dying.
It
showed his faith in God.
And
by the way, that name also precludes the false idea that humans originated in
several parts of the earth.
She
was "the mother of all living."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Yes,
Adam and Eve had changed.
As
their fig leaves began to wilt, so did their defensive attitude, and now they were
open to God's provision.
V
21 "Unto Adam also and to his wife
did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them."
They
were open to God's provision all right, but it didn't come without cost.
Remember
Genesis 2:17--"in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
That
was according to God’s Word, and it could not be changed---"For the wages of sin is death."
Under
normal circumstances, they would have been separated from God for eternity.
But
there was another way.
They
could die by substitution.
Yes,
God the Creator, the giver of life, could become the taker of life.
So
in that wonderful vegetarian world where death had always been a stranger, a
cry of pain was heard, and one of God’s creatures lay kicking in the dust.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Were
Adam and Eve present when that sacrifice was made?
From
our knowledge of the Levitical sacrifices, it seems
quite possible that they were.
In
our day, sin is viewed so lightly, but the fact of the matter is, "the wages of sin is death.”
And
for Adam and Eve, the death of their substitute would drive home the
seriousness of their sin, and the tremendous cost of their reconciliation.
Oh,
they would still grow old, but now their sins would be covered, and their
fellowship with God would be restored.
And
God, Who cannot look on sin, would be able to look upon His children, and find
that they were not naked.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
So
right on the heels of the doctrine of substitution, we see the doctrine of
atonement.
Atonement
is the English word that we use to express the Hebrew thought, "to cover."
Yes,
their substitute had provided a covering.
From
that point on, God wouldn’t see the man and woman who had betrayed His trust. He would see their substitute.
And
all through Old Testament times, the sacrifices provided that necessary atonement,
or covering.
But
sin couldn't be covered forever.
The
debt must be paid, and the books must be balanced some day.
God’s
righteousness requires it.
And
even in the day when God covered Adam and Eve with skins, He knew that some day,
atonement must give way to redemption, for "--it is not possible that the blood of bulls
and of goats should take away sins." Hebrews 10:4.
However,
because they foreshadowed the ultimate Sacrifice that would come at Calvary, they
would suffice for now.
Yes,
they would forestall God's righteous judgment until"--the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of
the world" would come.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
However,
in Adam's case, there was another problem.
V
22-24 "And the LORD God said,
Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he
put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for
ever:
23: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to
till the ground from whence he was taken.
24: So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of
Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned
every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."
Adam
had disobeyed the Lord once, so he certainly couldn't be trusted in the matter
of "the tree of life.”
No,
he must be removed from the garden.
But
this removal wasn't another judgment.
In
fact, it was a mercy.
You
see, Adam and Eve had a fallen nature, and would perpetuate their sins.
However,
after their death, they would live on in heaven, free from sin, and in a state
that would even surpass Eden.
But
what if they took of the "tree of
life" and lived on forever in their fallen condition?
This
could not be permitted.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Of
course, the prospects of working for his bread by the sweat of his face, rather
than freely eating of the fruit of the garden, would not be too appealing.
No,
Adam wouldn't be inclined to leave voluntarily.
So
God "--- drove out the man" against his will.
Sometimes
we don't understand God’s ways, but even His tough love is always best.
No,
it wasn't an act of judgment, but rather an act of mercy, and a time of sorrow
both for God and man.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And
so we begin Chapter 4 outside of Eden.
V
1 "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and
she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the
LORD."
Adam
had been created from the dust of the earth, and certainly that was a wonderful
work of God.
And
then Eve, in an equally wonderful way, had been created from Adam’s body.
Now
for the very first time, a man had been created from Eve’s body.
And
by the way, she still had all her ribs intact!
Yes,
it was a miracle to equal their own creation, and Eve
was filled with wonder! --"I have
gotten a man from the LORD."
And
yet this very first birth was no more of a miracle, no more of a creation of
God, than any birth today!
How
callous we have become.
We
plan our families as if it was all up to us.
And
with our prevailing belief in evolution, we don't even consider the possibility
that life is a gift of God.
And
if God is not taken into account in the birth of our children, then pro-choice
is normal, and abortion is acceptable.
But
Eve had it right: --- "I have
gotten a man from the LORD."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
V
2 "And she again bare his brother
Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the
ground."
Cain,
a tiller of the ground, is a picture of the earthly man.
Abel,
as we will soon see, was a man of faith.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In
Genesis 3:21, God had covered Adam and Eve’s nakedness with coats of skins.
Blood
had been shed, and life had been taken, so God was now able to forebear His
condemnation.
But what about their sons?
There’s
no record in scripture of them being covered with skins.
And
it is a mistake to assume that the children of godly parents are automatically
covered by the blood.
No,
salvation is not inherited. It is a
personal choice.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As
we have already seen, Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Along
with his father, he provided food for their vegetarian family.
It
was a valuable contribution, but what about Abel?
What
was the good of keeping sheep when the family didn’t eat meat?
Of
course they would provide milk, but would milk be acceptable in their diet of
herbs and fruit specified in the Genesis 1:29?
So
the only answer I can think of is Abel’s sheep must have provided wool for
clothing.
Like
their parents, Cain and Abel would feel the need of clothing, even if the
climate was temperate.
So
I'm guessing--and it’s only a thought-- that the wool would have been used for
clothing.
However,
that type of clothing did not require the shedding of blood.
No
substitute had been provided for an atonement.
Yes,
as far as an atonement was concerned, their clothing
was no better than fig leaves.
But
did they really need an atonement?
After all, neither one of them had eaten of the
forbidden fruit.
Well,
actually, they did need an atonement.
Romans
5:19 says, "For as by one man's
disobedience many were made sinners," and they were the sons of their
father; part of a fallen race.
Also,
because of their sin nature, by this time they would have been sinners by
choice.
Yes,
they needed a substitute, and as yet they didn't have one.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
V
3 begins with the phrase, "And in
process of time---.”
Over
the years, God would have stirred up their hearts concerning their lost
condition.
I
remember the time when I was a young man of about 17.
I
attended the United Church, the church I had been brought up in.
I
sang in the choir, held an office in the young people’s group, and thought I
was a Christian.
But
then God stirred up my heart, and I realized there was something wrong.
And,
apparently, God had been stirring up Cain and Abel’s heart concerning their
lost condition.
V
3-5 "And in process of time it came
to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the
LORD.
4: And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock 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."
Their
offerings were quite different because their hearts were quite different.
And
as it turned out, God’s response was quite different.
I
hope you can be with us for next week’s lesson when we find out just exactly what
that difference was.
