Genesis 4
19 June, 2018, PSC Cafe Connecting Group
Now humanity starts a new journey - "Post Fall". A "dreaded"* journey without God**, but NOT without God's help. Yes, after "the Fall", God did not abandon or give up on mankind.
(* Death entered the scene - Romans 5:12, and along with it great suffering, great pain, great evil - all of which will be experienced along the way - and all started because of just ONE sin each from Adam & Eve - Genesis 3:6!)
(** God is everywhere. So, what is meant here is that humans no longer had a direct intimate relationship with God)
This is the first recorded incident in Bible which shows - yes, God allows suffering and evil on "righteous".
- Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Why does God allow evil?
- Here we see evil Cain, murders righteous Cain, and God allows it! It was not that God was not paying attention and Cain sneaked in a blow on Abel - nope - God allowed it under His full control of situation. Why?
A recommended read on the topic of suffering:- http://devos20xx.blogspot.com/2017/01/on-suffering.html
- What does Genesis 4:3-4 translate to today? I.e., (1) What are we to "offer" to God?, (2) When does God "look with favor" on an offering, and when He does not? (What are the distinguishing factors?) #Application
We are to offer our whole lives to God. Not just 1% or 10%, but 100%. For instance, some today still believe in tithing from the Old Testament era - giving 10% of one's income to God. They must know that under the new covenant, we are also to give rest of 90% to God and His Kingdom works (That includes paying one's own rent for some and feeding oneself, as that helps with staying alive & executing God's callings well!).
Matthew 16:24: "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves ... '". Matthew 10:39: "Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. ". 1 Corinthians 6:20 : "You were bought at a price ... ". Luke 14:26 : "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even their own life--such a person cannot be my disciple. "
When we are serving God or executing our callings "half-heartedly", that is we also serve other "idols/gods" as well, that is when God may not look at our "offerings" with favor, like he did with Abel.
Psalm 16:4: "The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. ". Matthew 6:24: "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other". Luke 10:27: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; ..."
That is, when we are not executing God's callings in our life with all we have, God may not look at our "offerings" with favor, like he did with Abel.
Many passages (i.e., Isaiah 1, Proverbs 1:28-29, Isaiah 59:2, Psalm 66:18 , etc) convey how unrepentant sin can cause God to not look at our "offerings" with favor. Isaiah 58 shows how, specifically, the sin of injustice can cause God to not look at our "offerings" with favor. James 4:3 illustrates how God is turned off when we go to Him with wrong motives.
- Instead of depending and trusting God, Abel was deeply jealous of Cain. How much of this to do you see in the community today? How much of a problem is it? Have you felt jealous or insecure at other's successes?
In our struggles with jealousy or insecurities, we should remember the following verses:-
Genesis 4:6-7: "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 rule over it.”
James : 4:2-3: "You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."
Matthew 7:11: "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! "
- You must be very encouraged to see that an all powerful God, who is in control of all things, is watching over the earth. Evil cannot escape the eyes of God and is being held fully accountable. Then why do so many people complain that life is grossly unfair and evil-doers are largely at loose? BTW, how does God judge and hold accountable evil-doers today? Is it the same was as we see here?
- We see God directly speaks to Abel, advising him and expressing His concerns about him. How does God convey His message to an individual today?
A recommended read on the topic of "hearing from God":- http://devos20xx.blogspot.com/2018/06/on-how-to-hear-from-god.html
In the case of Abel, because God is fair & just, He had to let Abel know about the wrong he did and the judgement that was allocated to him. I believe, God let's everyone know (via one way or another) what they need to know, for the sake of fairness to everyone. Truth will get to a person, but the person may not realize it is from God! Romans 1:18-25 says :-"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."