Genesis 4, “Who Are You With?”, Dr. John Carpenter

Genesis chapter 4 be meeting the entire chapter. I hear the Word of the Lord. Now Adam knew his wife Eve and she conceived and bore Cain saying I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord and Again, she bore his brother Abel now Abel was a keeper of sheep and Cain a worker of the ground in the course of time Cain brought to the Lord in offering of the fruit of the ground and And Abel also brought to the firstborn of his flock and Of their fat portions and the Lord had regard for Abel in his offering, but for Cain in his offering He had no regard.

So Cain was very angry and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, why are you angry? And why is your face fallen if you do? Well, will you not be accepted and if you do not do well Sin is crouching at the door.

His desire is for you. But you must rule over it. Cain spoke to his brother and when they were in the field Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain Where is Abel your brother?

He said I do not know am I my brother's keeper and the Lord said What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground and Now you are cursed from the ground which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

When you work the ground it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. Cain said to the Lord my punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today from the ground and from your face.

I shall be hidden. I Shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth and whoever finds me will kill me then the Lord said to him not so if anyone kills Cain vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold and The Lord put a mark on Cain lest any who found him should attack him.

Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod east of Eden. Cain knew his wife and she conceived and bore Enoch when he built a city. He called the name of the city after the name of his son Enoch.

To Enoch was born Erod and Erod father Mahu Jal. Mahu Jal fathered Methuselah and Methuselah fathered Lamech and Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah and the name of the other Zillah and Adah bore Jebal.

He was the the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of those who play the lyre and the harp. Zillah also bore two ball Cain. He was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron.

The sister of two ball Cain was Nama. Lamech said to his wives Adah and Zillah. Hear my voice you wives of Lamech. Listen to what I say. I have killed a man for wounding me a young man for striking me.

If Cain's revenge is sevenfold then Lamech's is 77 fold. And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth. For she said God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel for Cain killed him.

To Seth also a son was born and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call in the name of the Lord. And the Lord had his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word. Well, who are you with?

Now sure do you belong to somebody. Some larger group after all people crave to belong. To belong to a family or a group of friends some some groups. Identified with someone in some countries maybe to a tribe or to a clan.

Chinese have what they call clan associations of distantly related people or a shared. Maybe they come from a shared village back in China or a shared dialect. Nantian. Mike's and Joyce's and Tina's all of the same dialect.

Fukienese, which is similar to Mary's which is hockey in. So they could start a clan association. But they would have to not allow Jesse in because she speaks a different dialect. So there would be division.

That's the way it works. You divide make a group keep some people out based on something people have similar origins or clans. They gather they like to socialize. I got a visit about dozen Chinese churches in North America and I saw that for some that the church acts as a acts like a clan association of Venue a place for Chinese immigrants.

To socialize because they feel so different from the rest of the society. Urban youth. That is youth and cities big cities sometimes drawn into neighborhood gangs was often the only distinction between their gang and someone else's gang is that they aren't the other people's gang and then they'll just fight with the other gangs.

Really for no reason just people have make divisions and then they got to reject somebody. Like college kids might join a sorority or a fraternity just so they can feel like they belong to a group. We can have a circle of friends.

This is my circle. Maybe meet every Saturday at some place and have breakfast or whatever. Some people like to join clubs like country clubs or the ruritans or the Rotary Club. The Masons are a kind of cross between a club and a religious group with a little Pagan touch to it.

Sam's Club Doesn't count. Sorry, that's not a club. It's just a this is a store on larger levels of society. They're even larger groups. They're tribes that divide society in Singapore to the Chinese the Malay the Indians.

What Tamils there maybe in Virginia is it divided between the tech? People in the wahoos University of Virginia. Someone once told me that now that I live in North Carolina have to choose between the Tar Heels or Duke to which I say Go state.

That's innocent enough, I guess but it does show this human tendency to gather groups and draw dividing lines. Some people are in some people are out that you have to be with someone. Race used to be a significant dividing line and that was convenient because almost at first glance people could see Who belonged to one group or the other whether they get to sit in the front of the boss or have to go to the?

But biologists and anthropologists tell us that the differences between the races are so minor that they're biologically Insignificant. We're actually taught to see race and to draw lines. We see that they're in my race or maybe they're not in my race and it's really all based on very minor Differences like complexion.

I believe it's possible. We could get to a day in this country in which race is considered so Minor it's no more important than whether you are a blonde or a brunette. The meaning of Race is in the eye of the beholder.

Now when Mary and I were in Ethiopia, we discovered that our Ethiopian language tutor young lady named mulat Didn't know we were of different races. She couldn't see the difference. So we explained I'm Caucasian.

She's Chinese. We try to point out the differences. Can't you tell and she squinted and looked closely at us for a while and finally she concluded that yeah I guess I can see some differences. I was I'm still not sure whether she was just being polite not want to disagree with us but the same tutor.

Could look at a fellow Ethiopian and see which tribe he came from which region of Ethiopia. He or she came from a part of the country. Those are the differences that mattered to her. Now some imagine that Christian and the Christian and the civilized position is that all such divisions between people.

They should just be eliminated should be ignored. We should just all be one big happy global family. The Unitarians beginning in the late 18th century and the later the 19th and 20th century liberals taught that Christianity stood for the Universal fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man.

All people are brothers and sisters all big one family. They believe that all dividing lines are bad. Genesis chapter 4 teaches a very different story here. We see that there is indeed a Division that runs through the human race now that division has nothing to do with race or ethnicity or citizenship or wealth.

In fact the two tribes of humanity Come from the same parents. What divides humanity is that God approves of one? But none of the other and those whom God does not approve of. Rather than reforming their hearts They seek to destroy those God approves of.

When we when there were just two brothers one was accepted by God the other was rejected and the one who was accepted is Not the one the world Such as it was at this point esteemed. Eve gave her firstborn son the name Cain.

That name is derived from the word to get and Eve even uses a form of that name in verse 1. I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord and so Cain is celebrated and well thought of he's the one has been gotten by.

From the Lord by Eve. The second sign on the other hand is named Abel. Which means vapor or vanity to be about hovel. In Hebrew, it's the word that we were talking about when we were in Ecclesiastes remember not long ago all is vanity hovel Abel.

Well, the names are ironic. It was the son that Eve believes so much in. Who became vain. And it was the one she apparently didn't think much of because he named him vanity. Who please God who still speaks today that brings us to the sacrifices.

What was it about the sacrifices that caused God to accept one and reject the other. A Lot of people think it must be because of Abel's sacrifice that it was done better. Something about it was right.

It's different from Cain's. Abel must have kept some kind of sacrificial law. They came broke. But look carefully at the passage. The passage actually tells us why. The passage merely says that the two brothers is one a shepherd.

Keep a livestock. Ones a shepherd and the others a farmer tend to the field that grows crops. Both offered sacrifices. The Lord then notice what it says at the end of verse 4. At the beginning of verse 5 and the Lord had regard for literally means he looked to.

The Lord looked to and implies in a favorable way. He sees he's liking what he sees. He have regard for looking at Abel and his offering but for Cain and his offering. He had no regard literally. He didn't look at it.

You'd pay it any attention. He didn't care for it. Look at that carefully both for what is there for what's not there as the NIV puts it the Lord looked with favor on Abel. And his offering but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.

The immediate question is why? Why did the Lord accept Abel's offering but not Cain's? Why did he see it as Abel's offering is good? But I see Cain's. Well first it's not because Cain violated some instructions for the Lord on sacrifices that Abel kept.

There weren't any instructions. Someone to say that Cain's offering was rejected because it was not a blood offering. There's a lot of people out there that say that Cain gave just crops and not supposed to do that.

It's just gave grain. God was pleased by Abel's blood offering. But in Leviticus chapters 2 and 6 and numbers chapter 7 and 28 and 29. It describes and it gives instructions for grain offerings. Grain offerings were perfectly acceptable to God.

Just like Cain gives then there's logical that a farmer would bring his crops. And a herder his animals. But if there's no laws about sacrifices that one obeyed and the other didn't and if God could accept grain offerings which again.

Then why was Abel's sacrifices accepted and Cain's rejected why. Look at the passage again. Last part of our verse 4 the beginning of verse 5. The answer is right there in the sentence. We read twice the Lord looked with favor on Abel in verse 4.

It's how God saw Abel. Notice that it doesn't just say that God looked with favor on his sacrifice. In fact even the question I asked earlier, what was it about the sacrifice that caused God that's not that's a poor way of asking.

The question it wasn't that something about the sacrifice caused God to like Abel. That's not the way it's put is it first. The Lord look of favor on Abel. Understand the difference. It's not as though God liked the work and therefore accepted the person.

It's the other way around God liked the person and therefore accepted the work. So God gave grace to Abel. In other words first. It was the person whom God accepted and in the case of Cain rejected and notice that about Cain that it says that the Lord did not look with favor on him and.

Then the action the works are mentioned. Second for when a person pleases the things he does also. Please well all things are displeasing if you dislike the person who does them. And don't we know this?

From the way we accept people and the things they do. You know, how many times have you seen some video maybe on social media some little kid doing something and it's just normal boring and. You wonder who's gonna watch that video.

Who cares about that video. Little kids always toddling around. Who cares? The baby's crawling great. Don't matter me, but of course to the parent or the grandparent who posted the video the child is adorable.

Pleasing every silly little thing. The kid does is pleasing to him and people please us. Because we've accepted them first. They're part of our family. They're part of our group our clan. They're one of us and the closer they are to us the more we are.

Often we are pleased by the things they do. We are pleased by those We have already accepted. Here God was pleased first with Abel with him. God looked with with grace on him. It was able to person the Lord look with favor on and then he looks with favor on his sacrifice.

What was right about the sacrifice? Well, even if we only had Genesis 4 we can confidently state that it was not because of rule keeping that Abel's sacrifice was accepted. There were no rules that had to be kept.

The law hadn't been given yet. But we aren't merely left with Genesis 4. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 4 tells us precisely why Abel's sacrifice was accepted by faith. Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did by faith.

He was committed as a righteous man when God spoke well of his offerings and by faith He still speaks even though he is dead. Likewise Cain sacrifice is rejected first because Cain the man is rejected.

The Lord did not look with favor on Cain. Because he didn't accept the man. He didn't accept his sacrifice as with Abel. There are no rules to keep or to break. He simply didn't have faith and remember from Romans chapter 14 verse 23.

Whatever is done without faith. It's sin. He wished to appease God. Cain did to try to buy him off as if he were discharging a debt paying a debt that he owed by rituals without offering himself as a sacrifice.

If he had brought the shell of a nut as an offering it would have been pleasing to God if it were done in faith. God does not have regard for either the size or the quantity or even for the value of the sacrifice but simply for the faith of the offerer.

Now notice how Cain reacts. His reaction tells us a lot about what kind of person he was and about how the world always treats God's people. Cain is here. He's the world. Right. There's not many people in the world.

He's he's the world now. Sure, he's religious, but that doesn't mean he's part of the church. The church is made up of Abel's of those God looks graciously on whom he regards. From all kinds of people now the world may be immoral.

May be irreligious or the world might be like Cain religious. Cain is religious after all here. He is offering a sacrifice. He's worshiping the Lord sort of outwardly ritualistically. Now if he were with us today, he'd be a churchgoer he'd be in church every Sunday morning.

He'd be offering sacrifices offerings giving money and time and doing stuff. He's just not a believer. Cain sacrifices rejected. Now this could be a great opportunity for him to step back. And ask himself why doesn't the Lord look with favor on me?

What's wrong with me that the Lord is not favoring is not regarding. How he responds to rebuke tells us a lot about what kind of person he is he should submit himself to God. To God's judgment and in faith ask that God create in him a new heart a heart that trust in God.

Instead in the second half of verse 5 he gets angry his face fell. It's a typical Hebrew way of being concrete about you could see him. He was upset could see it on his face. And verse 6 he gets the best pastoral counseling anyone could hope for.

The Lord himself speaks to Cain. The Lord himself is here intervening in Cain's life counseling him and He asked Cain. Why are you angry? And we're usually angry when someone does something to us that we don't deserve somebody bad and we didn't think we deserve that bad thing.

But here Abel doesn't hasn't done anything to Cain. Why is he angry? It's God who was disappointed him by turning down his sacrifices faithless sacrifice. But he can't hurt God, can he? Of course if he could hurt God He would wouldn't he.

We found out later in the Bible exactly what unbelieving people like Cain Will do to God if only they can get their hands on him. But since he can't get his hands on God, he'll have to settle for getting his hands on.

One of God's people God first has Cain in verse 6. Why are you angry? Why are you angry? The Lord is telling Cain that he has no right to be angry. There's no basis for your anger Cain. Doesn't you've been deprived of something you deserve?

It's not your place Cain your place sitter to make God. Give you what you demand. It's your place Cain your place sinner. To conform to God's ways not to seethe and rebel when God does not conform to us.

But Cain reeks of that attitude that is behind the original sin. Remember that attitude that what I want and what I am and what I do is right that I am the standard of rightness. Once again, we see the essence of that original sin the pride.

And the Lord tells Cain in verse 7 that if he does well if he gives a sacrifice by faith literally there verse 7 it's. In the English ESV is he will be approved of. You'll do well. But it literally it's your face will be lifted up.

His face has fallen when he's angry if you do. Well, your face will be lifted up. You'll have a smiling face. You'll have joy. And then the Lord warns him in verse 7 that sin is is crouching at the door.

It's waiting to ambush you like a lion waiting to pounce. The sin craves him To master him. And verse 7 here is very similar. The phrase there God uses Is very similar to what God told Eve in verse in chapter 3.

Verse 16 your desire is for God told Eve remember your desire is for to rule over or contrary to your husband and he shall rule over you. Here sins desire is For you. It's contrary to you to rule over you and you shall or you should rule over it.

It wants to overcome you and then the Lord challenges Cain you must master it. You must rule over it. You must practice self-control and put the sinful impulse down. You must say no To your anger to your self-righteousness.

Humble yourself and admit that the Lord's judgment is right. The Lord has brought something into his life that he hates. But he needs to admit it's right. That the Lord can have mercy on whomever he wants.

But Cain is devoured by sin. He's a slave of sin and this story shows that even the with the best counseling Sinners cannot master the sin to which they've sold themselves into slavery. Sin is the master.

If we are consistently mastered by sin, it is our master and Our first need is it to try to muster up more willpower to try harder next time make a better choice next time. Our first need Is to get a new master.

Sin is crouching at the door. God has been warning here. Cainus had the best Pastoral counselor. One could hope for God himself and yet Cain lures his brother away. Notice verse 8. Cain Deceitfully hypocritically spoke to Abel who knows what exactly said, but something nice.

Let's go out and see see my crops. The crop is doing great. Putting up a pretense of niceness as religious hypocrites usually do all to murder his brother in verse 8. He rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

He was challenged to do right, but instead he chose to do wrong. To the one who was right. Sinners do not want to change. They want to be accepted as they are and if they don't get that They'll destroy the one.

Who is accepted? They want God's favor to be available how they think best. They want to be the one who is free and God Dependent on them on what they do as before rather than seeking God for forgiveness.

The sinner tries to avoid God just like his parents right remember Evading God. He would even deceive God if that were at all possible in verse 9 the Lord to ask him. Where is Abel your brother? He's not asking to elicit information.

He's asking to elicit a confession. Cain shrugs off God's question for dinner. He doesn't know. Lying to God how he's figured out that God knows everything. I don't know but he doesn't know it. He's lying to God that he doesn't know says he.

I don't know where he is. When he knows perfectly well where his brother is and then sarcastically asked God am I my brother's keeper? No. You're your brother's murderer and the Lord asked what have you done?

God knows because Abel's blood is calling out from the ground for justice. Abel's blood is speaking. Listen Cain can't you hear has your conscious become so hardened already that you don't hear Abel's blood.

Crying out for justice, of course. Yes, his conscious is that hardened already. Abel's blood is calling out. But Cain is deaf to it. So God punishes him by expelling him from his presence in verse 11 expelled from the land.

That drank his brother's blood and his farming is cursed. So he'll be a wanderer a nomad in verse 12 a hunter-gatherer. Something like that. Cain complains in verse 13 that this is too much. He's thrown out of the pleasant land.

They were already expelled from the garden. In chapter 3 now, he's expelled from Eden. Eden was the region where the garden was and now he's out of there. Eden meant pleasant place remember. So he's out of the pleasant place and He'll be an easy target for someone who's seeking revenge for Abel and then God is exceedingly kind to Cain.

He does not immediately wipe him out. He could have in chapter 9 here right in Genesis God will explain that murderers should be executed. But here God protects Cain stating that if anyone kills him that murderer of Cain Will get vengeance sevenfold.

Seven times the punishment in verse 15 and then God puts a mark on Cain of some kind. I don't know what and so everyone knows that he's not to be touched. God here is showing us an important principle about the two peoples on earth the two tribes the two humanities and How we as a church are to treat the lost humanity that other tribe that persecutes us.

When they get a chance Cain was not killed because until God restores all things. We always have the wicked in this world. The Lord Jesus makes this clear in the parable of the weeds. Remember that one the children of the devil are mixed in among it's like a farmer and the enemy comes in and Sows weed seeds and with his crop and he's saying this is what the world is like.

The children of the devil are mixed in among God's people in this world. We shouldn't even try removing them from the world. We can't do it. We'll do it wrong if we try we shouldn't try. That's the meaning of the parable.

They should be separated from the church from God's people, but we will be mixed in with them in the world. Even when they persecute us scornful men see the church soar oppressed. They oppress us and still God will even protect the wicked for a time and he shows them.

Theologians call common grace. Sending his rain and the sunshine even on the wicked for now just as here God protects Cain's life, even though he deserved death. He showed common grace God did to him and he does that to the world even now.

Giving life and other blessings to wicked unbelieving people. Now the world misuses and misinterprets God's grace. Sometimes interprets it as approval for their sin. Use it to build a city even though he had been told, you know.

Go wander the earth again. He disobeys God and founds a city without God the city of man. Named after his son in verse 17 Lamech. Several descendants later went out with even further starting verse 19.

He was the first man not to be content with one wife as a helper. He was greedy for two. Sin distorts marriage. He apparently murders a man and then takes it upon himself to use God's protection of Cain as Something to boast about to claim for himself in verses 23 and 24 says if Cain's revenge is sevenfold Then Lamech's is seventy sevenfold.

Well says who you know? Only this time is Lamech the things he could declare that himself on his own authority as if he is a law unto himself. Lamech uses the grace of God as a license to sin. That's how the world misuses God's grace.

Who are you with a? Dividing line. Separates all humanity. You were there in one camp or the other you have to choose who? You are with you with the world. The civilization or with the church with God.

But what makes it confusing is That some of those who appear to be in the church who look religious are in reality Part of the world. The Lord Jesus said as much in his fiery sermon in Matthew 23 He tells the Pharisees says you're guilty of the blood of Abel as if you had murdered Abel.

That blood from Abel cries out for the ground for justice justice against you. Why. Because like Cain they did religious works without faith. When they did things for God they did it to appease God to buy him off as if it could be bought off with rituals and sacrifices without any intention of Dedicating their willful hearts to God giving their lives as an acceptable sacrifice in the meantime.

Though there is Seth in verse 25 one group with Seth and another with Cain. Cain is going his own way. Building a city bearing sons who live in tents become ranchers. Invent music. Playing the lyre and the pipe in verse 21.

They learned to forge metals. Civilization is developing first from the descendants of Cain and These things are bad. The things they listed here coming from Cain's descendants. They're not bad. We need them gonna live in this world.

We should and as long as we did we should try to transform them transform civilization. Transform the arts and particularly music to glorify God. We're even commanded in Psalm 33 to use the liar invented by Cain's descendant Jubal.

To praise the Lord. Use it use civilization. Civilization can offer us some temporarily good things. Good music good literature good art good jobs good houses. But civilization doesn't bring Salvation.

Being a cultured person who can play the piano has all the best manners. Right calligraphy. Respectful is polite just polished. Quote the right the best quotations articulate Able to earn lots of money.

All of that is some benefit in this world. It's worthwhile spending some time and energy getting it, but it won't make you one of God's people. It won't quiet the blood of Abel. Crying out for justice.

Salvation does not come through civilization. Civilization starts with Cain and his descendants. Salvation comes through Seth. Seth's name is related to Hebrew word for appointed. Seth is appointed by God.

To carry on that promise in the previous chapter from chapter 3. Carry on the promise of the seed of the woman. Eve speaks for the last time in verse 25. Lamenting that her choice of death, you know eating of the tree that gave death.

What's that resulted in? It didn't take very long is now killed her own son but also believing the promise has been appointed. God hasn't she says God has appointed for me another offspring literally seed.

God's promise that the seed of the woman will crush the serpent's head is appointed to be fulfilled through Seth. Another seed through Seth comes. Christ comes to the church with Seth's son Enos whose name means weakness.

They call on the Lord. Interesting they name him weakness. Cain and his people are building civilization. They're so proud of themselves. Look at these things. We're making the music the Swords the medals we can make but grace humbles God's people.

They know that they are weak. That they need to call on the Lord. They know that their sins cry out for justice for punishment. So they cry out For mercy. In verse 26 they begin to call on the name of the Lord.

Who are you with? Two humanities two cities two tribes two clans two kinds of people. When city is built by Cain a Murderer who is expelled from God's presence who is supposed to wander like a vagabond but rebelliously built a city.

Named after his own son without calling on the Lord. That's the city of man the secular society. It might tolerate a little religion. But it hates table. It hates those God has called those who have real faith in the Lord.

The other city Is the city of God and it's not here on earth Completely yet. It's coming but not here completely. It's coming in his fullness. Later. It is the city founded on Christ the seed of the woman the New Jerusalem.

Descended out of heaven to earth. It's the church. Who are you with. The dividing line is stark. There's the world that hates God and the church that is called by God. There is no middle ground. Who are you with the world with his tantalizing civilization.

Cannot give you salvation to have salvation. You must follow the way of Abel. Even if it means being hated and having your blood spilt like his to be with the Lord with all the Abel's. We must trust in the blood that speaks a better word Than Abel's blood.

Hebrews chapter 12 verse 24 says Jesus's blood speaks a better word than Abel's. The world hated the Lord Jesus too and spilled his blood and his blood. Jesus's blood like Abel's it still speaks. Abel's blood cries out still for justice.

The blood of Jesus Provides justice. Justice for our sins. The blood of Abel told God that Cain must be punished. Still cries out that sins must be punished. The blood of Jesus tells God that sins have been punished that the penalty has been paid and that's a better word.

If you don't believe that. You're not accepted no matter how religious you are. If you believe that Trusting and what he did for you that seed of the woman. You are then seen with favor by God like Abel you are accepted a New creation and you give your life as an acceptable sacrifice.

So who are you with?