Month: July 2022

Chapter 4: Genesis 4: 1-26, the first murder

After the fall of Adam and Eve, sin and death entered the human race. In this chapter we have the first death, and the first murder. Cain killed his brother Abel in cold blood due to jealousy and anger.

Verses 1-5, 1 The man knew Eve his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Cain, and said, “I have gotten a man with Yahweh’s help.” 2 Again she gave birth, to Cain’s brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 As time passed, Cain brought an offering to Yahweh from the fruit of the ground. 4 Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of its fat. Yahweh respected Abel and his offering, 5 but he didn’t respect Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and the expression on his face fell.

Eve gave birth to a son and called him Cain. She gave birth to another son and called him Abel. Abel was a sheep rearer while Cain was a farmer. Yahveh rejected Cain’s offering of fruits, but He accepted Abel’s offering of an animal. Cain was angry with God for rejecting his offerings. Cain’s attitude in his offering was not pleasing to God. He did not offer with faith and he did not offer his best crops to God. Abel’s attitude in the offering was pleasing to God. He offered with faith and sacrificed an animal without any blemish or defect. Cain’s offering of his crops did not involve the shedding of blood. Abel’s animal offering involved killing and shedding its blood. The author of Hebrews says that there is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood, Hebrews 9:22.

Hebrews 9:22, “According to the law, nearly everything is cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.”

Verses 6-8, 6 Yahweh said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen? 7 If you do well, won’t it be lifted up? If you don’t do well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire is for you, but you are to rule over it.” 8 Cain said to Abel, his brother, “Let’s go into the field.” While they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him.

The LORD asked Cain why he was angry, told him to re-examine himself, and repent of his sin. God would not reject his offering if he offered his best and with the correct attitude. God warned Cain that harbouring anger in his heart would result in undesirable consequences. Cain called Abel to the field and murdered him in cold blood. This was the first murder.

Verses 9-12, 9 Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel, your brother?” He said, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 Yahweh said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground. 11 Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 From now on, when you till the ground, it won’t yield its strength to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth.”

The LORD asked Cain for Abel’s whereabouts but he lied and said he did not know. This was the first lie. The LORD told Cain that Abel’s innocent blood was crying out for vengeance from the ground. The LORD cursed Cain and made him a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth.

Verses 13-15, 13 Cain said to Yahweh, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, you have driven me out today from the surface of the ground. I will be hidden from your face, and I will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth. Whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Yahweh said to him, “Therefore whoever slays Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” Yahweh appointed a sign for Cain so that anyone finding him would not strike him.

Cain did not repent of his sin but pleaded for mercy. Now that Cain was a fugitive, the avenger of blood would come and kill him. The LORD gave grace and mercy to Cain. He issued a decree forbidding anyone from killing Cain. The LORD put a mark on Cain to protect him from the avenger of blood. Even though Cain committed a capital crime, God gave him mercy and grace and spared his life.

Verses 16-19, 16 Cain left Yahweh’s presence, and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. 17 Cain knew his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Enoch. He built a city, and named the city after the name of his son, Enoch. 18 Irad was born to Enoch. Irad became the father of Mehujael. Mehujael became the father of Methushael. Methushael became the father of Lamech. 19 Lamech took two wives: the name of the first one was Adah, and the name of the second one was Zillah.

The LORD banished Cain to the land of Nod, on the east side of the garden of Eden. Cain married a wife and had a son whom he named Enoch. Enoch’s descendants was Irad, Mehulael, Methushael, and Lamech. Lamech married two wives, Adam and Zilah.

Verses 20-24, 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal, who was the father of all who handle the harp and pipe. 22 Zillah also gave birth to Tubal Cain, the forger of every cutting instrument of bronze and iron. Tubal Cain’s sister was Naamah. 23 Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice. You wives of Lamech, listen to my speech, for I have slain a man for wounding me, a young man for bruising me. 24 If Cain will be avenged seven times, truly Lamech seventy-seven times.”

The sons of Lamech were Jabal and Tubal Cain. Lamech was an evil, violent, ruthless, and wicked man. He killed a man for injuring him and a young man for bruising him. He boasted that he was more wicked than his great-great grandfather Cain.

Verses 25-26, 25 Adam knew his wife again. She gave birth to another son, and called him Seth, saying, “for God has given me another child instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” 26 A son was also born to Seth, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on Yahweh’s name.

Eve conceived again and gave birth to a third son and called him Seth. Seth in Hebrews means appointed or substitute. Seth was a substitute for Abel and would be an ancestor of Jesus Christ. Seth had a son called Enosh. At that time, men started to worship the LORD.

Application:

Cain offered a sacrifice that displeased God. Abel offered a sacrifice that pleased God. When we offer to the LORD, we must offer an acceptable sacrifice. God loves a cheerful giver. We must offer our bodies as living sacrifices for God by surrendering our lives to Him and making Him the centre of our lives. We must not allow the world to squeeze us into its old but allow God to transform and renew us in conformation to his good, perfect and pleasing will, Romans 12:1-2.

Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, help us to present our bodies to You as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing in Your sight. Help us not to conform to the pattern of his world. Transform and renew our hearts and minds. Help us to discern Your good, perfect and pleasing will. Help us surrender our lives to You, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Chapter 2: Genesis 2: 1-25, the sixth day of creation

Whereas Genesis chapter 1 is the overall account of the first one week of creation, Genesis chapter 2 zoomed in specifically on the sixth day of creation.

Verses 1-3, 1 The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished. 2 On the seventh day God finished his work which he had done; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. 3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because he rested in it from all his work of creation which he had done.

Hebrews for God is Elohim, a plural noun. On the seventh day, God took a rest from His work. He blessed the seventh day and made it holy. Hebrews for holy is qadesh, which means sanctified, set apart, or separated because this is a special day of the Lord.

Verses 4-6, 4 This is the history of the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made the earth and the heavens. 5 No plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for Yahweh God had not caused it to rain on the earth. There was not a man to till the ground, 6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.

The phrase, “history of the generations” is used for the first time and will be repeated many times in Genesis. Hebrews for Yahveh God is Yahveh Elohim or the LORD God. There were no plants and herbs. The LORD God had not sent in the rain. Instead, He sent a mist from the ground to water the earth. God had not created man. Genesis chapter 2 retold the creation of human beings in greater detail than Genesis 1.

Verses 7-8, 7 Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 8 Yahweh God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

The Lord God created Adam from the dust of the earth, breathe life into his nostrils, and gave him life. The LORD God planted the garden of Eden and placed Adam there to cultivate it.

Verses 9-14, 9 Out of the ground Yahweh God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it was parted, and became the source of four rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon: it flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 and the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and onyx stone are also there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon. It is the same river that flows through the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel. This is the one which flows in front of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

The LORD God created all the trees, including the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in the middle of the garden. A river flowed out from the garden of Eden. This river branched into four tributaries called Pishon, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates. Just as a river flowed out from the garden of Eden, a river also flowed out from the New Jerusalem, Revelation 22:1-2.

Revelation 22:1-2, “He showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

Verses 15-16, 15 Yahweh God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. 16 Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”

The LORD God placed Adam, into the garden of Eden and commanded him to cultivate it. God only gave Adam one prohibition. He can eat from all the trees in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The result of breaking this commandment is death. God gave Adam the free choice to obey or disobey Him. The wages of sin is death, Romans 6: 23 a.

Romans 3:23 a, “the wages of sin is death”.

Verses 18-20, 18 Yahweh God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature became its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field, but for man, there was not found a helper comparable to him.

Seeing that Adam was alone, LORD God created Eve to help him and be his companion. God created all the animals of the earth and the birds of the air and allowed Adam to name them one by one. Adam gave names to all the animals and birds but he had no helper to assist him.

Verses 21-25, 21 Yahweh God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Yahweh God made a woman from the rib which he had taken from the man and brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh. 25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.

The LORD God put Adam into a deep sleep, took one of his ribs, and closed up the skin. LORD God created Eve from Adam’s ribs and brought her to him. Adam named Eve woman because she was taken out of man. The LORD God solemnised the first marriage of Adam and Eve. A man should leave his father and mother and be united to his wife in marriage. Adam and Eve were both naked but they were not ashamed. There are many first in Genesis. Here is the first marriage. When you study Genesis make a note of all the first.

Application:

The first verse of the Bible declared that in the beginning, God created heavens and the earth. The universe including human beings are created by God. Evolution is a lie. It takes more faith to believe in evolution than in creation. How can everything come to life through random chance? How can man evolve from monkeys? If you can believe that In the beginning, God created heavens and earth, you will have no difficulty believing all the miracles recorded in the bible.

God instituted the seventh day of the week as the day Sabbath. Since God rested on the Sabbath, we should also rest on the Sabbath. The Sabbath day is holy and separated for God. The principle here is to take a rest one day out of every seven days. This is a principle to apply, not a legalistic duty to enforce. God created the Sabbath for men but the Pharisees became so legalistic over the law of Sabbath-keeping to the extent of causing a burden to the people.

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ, Romans 6:23 and 5:17.

Romans 6:23,  “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 5:17, “For if by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; so much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ”.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, You are the God of creation, the God of salvation, the God of redemption, and the God of reconciliation. You are wonderful, counsellor, Prince of peace, and everlasting Father, and mighty God. Thank You that Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the author and perfecter of our faith, in Jesus’ name, Amen.