SHOW FRESH RESPECT
 |
Really love Encourage Speak only postive words Pray Effectively listen Care To accept |
| RECOGNIZE LIFE IS A GIFT Genesis 4:1-2 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. |
REVIEW As all mankind were represented in Adam, so that great distinction of mankind into saints and sinners was here represented in Cain and Abel, and an early instance is given of the enmity which was later put between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. Cain signifies possession; for Eve, when she bore him, said with joy, and thankfulness, and great expectation, I have gotten a man from the Lord. Children are God’s gifts, and he must be acknowledged in the building up of our families. Abel signifies vanity. It is the will of God that we should every one of us have something to do in this world. Abel chose that employment which most befriended contemplation and devotion, for to these a pastoral life has been looked upon as being peculiarly favorable. |
| BEWARE OF SELF-CENTEREDNESS
Genesis 4:3-8 And in the process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. 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: but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen? 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. 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. |
REVIEW
In the process of time Cain and Abel brought to Adam, as the priest of the family, each of them an offering to the Lord. It is a good thing for children to be well taught when they are young, and trained in religious services, that when they come to be capable of acting for themselves they may, of their own accord, bring an offering to God. We should every one of us honor God with what we have, according as he has prospered us. Cain’s offering is mentioned first, as if he were the more forward of the two. That which is to be aimed at in all acts of religion is God’s acceptance: we speed well if we attain this, but in vain do we worship if we miss it. God had respect to Abel and to his offering, and showed his acceptance of it, probably by fire from heaven; but to Cain and his offering he had not respect. There was a difference in the offerings they brought. Abel’s was a more excellent sacrifice than Cain’s: either (1) In the nature of it, or, (2) In the qualities of the offering. Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, any thing that came next to hand, what he had not occasion for himself. But Abel was curious in the choice of his offering: not the lame, nor the lean, nor the refuse, but the firstlings of the flock—the best he had, and the fat thereof—the best of those best.
Cain was very wroth. This anger speaks of his enmity to God. He should have been angry at himself for his own infidelity and hypocrisy, by which he had forfeited God’s acceptance. Note, it is a certain sign of an unhumbled heart to quarrel with those rebukes which we have, by our own sin, brought upon ourselves. God takes notice of all our sinful passions and discontents. God sets before Cain life and a blessing. He sets before him death and a curse. Sin lies at the door. Further sin. “Now that anger is in thy heart, murder is at the door.” So near akin are sin and punishment that the same word in Hebrew signifies both. |
| TURN TO THE LORD Genesis 4:13-16, 25-26 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that everyone that findeth me shall slay me. And the Lord said unto him, therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: for God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son: and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord. | REVIEW Here is Cain’s complaint of the sentence passed upon him, as hard and severe. Cain made nothing of his sin, but now he is in the other extreme: he cries out of wrong when he has more reason to wonder that he is out of hell. There were not any alive but his near relations; yet even of them he is justly afraid. The Lord set a mark upon Cain, to distinguish him from the rest of mankind and to notify that he was the man that murdered his brother. He went out from the presence of the Lord, that is, he willingly renounced God and religion, and was content to forego its privileges, so that he might not be under its precepts. Note, those that depart from God cannot find rest anywhere else. He went and dwelt on the east of Eden. His attempt to settle was in vain; for the land he dwelt in was to him the land of Nod (that is, of shaking or trembling). This is the first we hear about Adam in this chapter. They had another son and by a prophetic spirit, they called Seth (that is set, settled, or placed), because, in his seed, mankind should continue to the end of time, and from him the Messiah should descend. God gave them to see the reviving of religion in their family: Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord, v. 26.It is a small comfort to a good man to see his children’s children. Now men began to worship |