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"THE FIRST RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS"(1/4) |
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Gen. 4:1-11 (2/2) |
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A BAD CASE OF FALLEN FACE |
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Josh. 1:5-9 (5/5) |
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THE PROMISE OF HIS PRESENCE |
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A BAD CASE OF FALLEN FACE/Genesis 4:1-11
#1 A BAD CASE OF FALLEN FACE/Genesis 4:1-5 (1/2)
#2 A BAD CASE OF FALLEN FACE/Genesis 4:5-11 (2/2)
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#1 A BAD CASE OF FALLEN FACE/Genesis 4:1-5 (1/2)
SCRIPTURE LESSON
Gen 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
Gen 4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Gen 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.
Gen 4:4 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:
Gen 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
THE WAYS OF CAIN AND ABEL
This passage gives us an insight into the life of Cain. Eve had been looking for a Man-Child who would deliver the human family from the penalty, power and pollution of sin which was brought about by Adam's disobedience (vs.1). Her hope was that Cain would be that Man-Child. God had promised that the Seed of the woman would crush the head of the enemy though He would have His heel crushed by the enemy (Ge.3:15). This foreshadows the shedding of blood by the Seed, Jesus. God also killed an animal in order to make clothes for Adam and Eve to hide their nakedness after they sinned. God had "regard" for Abel's offering but not for Cain's. The Scripture goes on to say that Noah knew about making sacrifices to God. It is apparent that God had taught Adam to make blood sacrifices and Adam passed the information to his descendents. This involved the death of an animal as a substitute for the life of the offending human. Nothing less than blood would satisfy Divine justice. But in God's mercy, He was willing to allow the substitution of an animal for the man's life. Any animal sacrifice would be temporary and anticipatory. Ultimately, the Man-Child (Jesus) would give His life as a payment for Adam's sin and for the sins of the whole world.
Abel was a keeper of sheep and he brought a sacrifice to God. This was a firstling of the flock (vss.2&4). It is obvious that Abel must have had his heart right with God because God accepted his sacrifice (vs.4). We are told in Hebrews 11:4 that righteous Abel's sacrifice was acceptable to God because it was offered by faith.
Cain, being a tiller of the ground, brought a sacrifice to God (vss.2-3). It was of the fruit of the ground, the product of his labor, time, effort, talent and abilities but it was not a blood sacrifice. Apparently Cain thought that he could offer his best and God would be satisfied. We know that God was not pleased with Cain's sacrifice because Genesis 4:5 says that God had no regard or respect for Cain's sacrifice. Sometimes people follow in the way of Cain and try to appease God's judgment with their own works of righteousness. But God has declared ..."all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags..." (Is.64:6). The best we can offer, even our blood, sweat and tears cannot pay for our offenses.
Cain found no satisfaction in his feeble attempt at saving himself and became angry and depressed (vs.5). Isn't it strange how a person becomes angry with someone else when the problem is actually within themselves? With whom was Cain angry? I wouldn't be surprised if he was angry with God. People do that, you know? They disobey God and then get angry with Him. However, we do know that Cain was angry with his brother Abel, because his own works were wicked and his brother's were righteous (IJn.3:12).
Think about it: Abel's faith in God's grace made him righteous. Though it cost him his life in this world, he had eternal life through faith in the shed blood of Jesus. Cain trusted in his own works and he found no peace. His lack of faith in God brought him anger and depression.
We will either go the way of Abel or Cain.
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#2 A BAD CASE OF FALLEN FACE/Genesis 4:5-11 (2/2)
SCRIPTURE LESSON
Gen 4:6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Gen 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
Gen 4:9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
Gen 4:10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
Gen 4:11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
OBEDIENCE BRINGS JOY
God spoke to Cain about his rebellion and "self suffieciency" (vss.6-7). He asked Cain why he was angry and depressed (6). God wants us to know why we are "out of sorts" so we can correct the problem. Otherwise, if He delivers us and we don't know what the problem was to begin with, we will go right back to the thing that caused the problem. What a loving and gracious God. He tells us what to do and then when we disobey, He is still willing to forgive us and start over again. He has been offended yet He is the One reaching out in mercy to restore a broken relationship. Not only did God ask Cain why he was angry and depressed, He tells Cain the way out of his spiritual night. God said, "If you do the right thing, won't you be accepted?" (vs.7). The weight of Cain's sin did not keep God from reaching out to him in love. Though Cain despised the goodness and kindness of God and though he treated with contempt the provision God had made to rescue him from his sins, God still extended His saving grace to this hater of God.
And then He warned Cain about going deeper and further into sin,. "If you do not do the right thing, sin is waiting to pounce and take control." (7) Cain could have made things right all along the way. He could have had a right relationship with God, he could have brought a blood sacrifice, he could have repented of his rebellion, he could have accepted God's counsel, but he didn't. He could have called on God's grace, but he didn't. He moved from down to further down. Cain's anger and jealousy continued to build with Abel until one day he killed his brother (vs.8.) Depression leads to depression. Sin leads to sin. Darkness leads to darkness.
If Cain had no reason to be sad before, he had reason now. He continued to resist God and he became more depressed. He killed his brother and he basically became hopeless. When he was found out by God, he tried to squirm out of it (9). God judges Cain for his sin (10-12) and then we see Cain's hoplessness (13-14.) Even in his guilt and shame, God extended His mercy to Cain.
Most, if not all of our depression comes about because of bad actions and a bad relationship with God. God says, "Do right and I will lift up your fallen face.." If you are depressed, do the right thing, if you are discouraged, do the right thing, if you have done wrong, do the right thing. Call on Jesus, He will forgive, cleanse, renew and lift up your fallen face. A strange thing happens when people are out of step with God. They often become depressed. Sometimes depression is triggered by some physical malady, but usually it is because of spiritual bankruptcy. Cain was not willing to accept the judgment of God against sin and he was not willing to accept God's provision for deliverance from sin. He did it his way. But, rather than finding satisfaction in his fleshly ways, he was angry and sad (5-6.) We live in a day of "mental illness", "emotional disorders" and "depression." It is obvious that there are people who suffer with problems which are classified as "mental", "emotional" and "depression" but what is the real cause of the problems. Sometimes the cause is brought about by brain damage. Sometimes bought about by physical aiments such as hormonal or chemical imbalance. Sometimes brought about because of other physical problems. Sometimes the cause is brought about by spiritual oppression instigated by fallen angels (demons), manifesting itself in either demonic oppression or possession. HOWEVER, there is a greater possibility that these maladies are brought about by the individual's own disobedience and rebellion against God.
As Bible believers, we must accept what God says rather than what the world has to say about depression. If a person has a physical ailment that needs medical treatment, they should get it. But if there is rebellion in a person's life, they need to repent.
Pastor David
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