Genesis 4 continued

The fruits of rebellion

One difference between true religion and a false one is clearly seen. True religion works for others first and only incidentally thinks of the reward. False religion is focused on self and the rewards its practitioners can expect to get, including the right to live in heaven.

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Genesis 4:

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Before their rebellion our first parents had kept the Sabbath, which was instituted in Eden; and after they left Paradise they continued its observance. They had tasted the bitter fruits of disobedience, and had learned what every one that tramples upon God's commandments will sooner or later learn – that the divine precepts are sacred and immutable, and that the penalty of transgression will surely be received.

All the children of Adam that remained loyal to God honoured the Sabbath, but Cain and his descendants did not respect the day upon which the Son of God had rested. They chose their own time for labour and for rest, regardless of LORD's express command.

Upon receiving what he considered as a curse and punishment from God, Cain and his supporters withdrew from his father's household. (The "mark" was actually a sign to God’s people NOT to hurt this man for even then some had the idea of "cleansing the church"!) Cain had first chosen his occupation as a tiller of the soil, and he now founded a city to protect his followers, calling it after the name of his eldest son. He had married one of his sisters, as did all of that generation. (Intermarriage was not the problem then as it later became when men became degenerate, and all the sons of Adam did this. By the time of Cain’s departure there were enough families following his "way" to make a city worthwhile.)

He went out from the presence of the LORD, cast away the promise of the restored Eden in the new world, and sought his possessions and enjoyment in the earth under the curse of sin, thus standing at the head of that great class of men and women who worship the god of this world by doing their own thing.

The Son of God had bestowed upon these antediluvians many and rich gifts; but now they used His bounties to glorify themselves, and turned them into a curse by fixing their affections upon the gifts instead of the Giver. They employed the gold and silver, the precious stones and the choice wood, in the construction of habitations for themselves, and endeavoured to excel one another in beautifying their dwellings with the most skilful workmanship. They sought only to gratify the desires of their own proud hearts, and revelled in scenes of pleasure and wickedness. Not desiring to retain God in their knowledge, they soon came to deny His existence and adored nature in place of the God of nature. They glorified human genius, worshiped the works of their own hands, and taught their children to bow down to graven images as representations of their gods.

It is written of them:

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Romans 1:

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We can know what it was like before the Flood from what we know of false religions since that time.

In the green fields and under the shadow of the goodly trees they set up the altars of their idols. Extensive groves, that retained their foliage throughout the year, were dedicated to the worship of false gods. With these groves were connected beautiful gardens, their long, winding avenues overhung with fruit-bearing trees of all descriptions, adorned with statues, and furnished with all that could delight the senses or minister to the voluptuous desires of the people, and thus allure them to participate in the idolatrous worship. Many centuries later, the Hanging Gardens at Babylon would become one of the wonders of the world of the time. Satan’s religions appeal to the senses.

Men put God out of their knowledge and worshiped the creatures of their own imagination; and as the result, they became more and more debased. The psalmist describes the effect produced upon the worshiper by the adoration of idols. He says, "They that make them are like to them; so is every one that trusts in them." Psalm 115:8. It is a law of the human mind that by beholding we become changed. Men and women will rise no higher than their conceptions of truth, purity, and holiness. If the mind is never exalted above the level of humanity, if it is not uplifted by faith to contemplate infinite wisdom and love, it will be constantly sinking lower and lower. This is one of the "mysteries of iniquity." 2 Thessalonians 2:7.

This is how the Spirit puts it:

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Isaiah 44:

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Genesis 4:

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Polygamy was early introduced, contrary to the divine arrangement at the beginning. The LORD gave to Adam one wife, showing His order in that respect. But after the departure from Eden, many men chose to follow their own sinful desires; and as the result, crime and wretchedness rapidly increased. Neither the marriage relation nor the rights of property were respected. Whoever coveted the wives or the possessions of his neighbour, took them by force, and men exulted in their deeds of violence. They delighted in destroying the life of animals; and the use of flesh for food rendered them still more cruel and bloodthirsty, until they came to regard human life with astonishing indifference. And it is still the same today.

In the beginning God gave to Adam one wife, thus showing his order. He never designed that man should have a plurality of wives. Lamech had two wives, which created discord in his family and the envy and jealousy of both made him unhappy. Yet we are told that when men began to multiply upon the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, "they took them wives of all which they chose." Genesis 6:2.

The LORD said of Noah and his family, who were saved in the ark, "For you have I seen righteous before Me in this generation." Genesis 7:1. Noah had only one wife, and their united family discipline was blessed of God. Because Noah's sons were righteous in this matter they were preserved in the ark with their righteous father. God has not sanctioned polygamy in a single instance. It is contrary to His will, for He knows that the happiness of man will be destroyed by it.

The custom of polygamy was revived after the flood, and became so common that even righteous men fell into the practice, and had a plurality of wives. (Abraham's peace was greatly marred by his unhappy marriage with Hagar.) Yet it was no less sin because they became corrupted, and departed from God's order in this, thinking that the way of the world was OK.

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Genesis 4:

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A heavy, double curse, first in consequence of Adam's transgression, and second, because of the murder committed by Cain, was resting upon the earth; yet the mountains and hills were still lovely. Some of the hills were covered with trees of beauty, and vines climbing the stately trees were loaded with grapes, while beautiful flowers filled the air with their fragrance. But notwithstanding the richness and beauty of the earth, yet when compared with its state before the curse of sin came upon it, there was apparent evidence of sure and certain decay.

The Son of God did not abandon those who turned against Him. As their bodies and the world around them deteriorated, He was continually showing them new things; how to move on to new pastures when the old needed restoration; how to make and enjoy music; and how to make metal tools to make their work easier. (The stone age came after the Flood when it took a while for that knowledge to be regained.)

When a woman’s name is mentioned in the Bible it is usually because of something she has done, whether good or bad. Sometimes the record is that she has brought her child(ren) up in the way of God (e.g. Jehoshaphat in 1 Kings 22:42), but most often for the opposite reason as in Leviticus 24:11. We are not told why Naamah is mentioned here but her name means "pleasant" in Hebrew.

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Genesis 4:

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In that which pertains to mere earthly and material progress, Cain’s descendants became distinguished. But they were regardless of God, and in opposition to His purposes for man. To the crime of polygamy, Lamech, the sixth in descent, added murder (in which Cain had led the way), and, boastfully defiant, he acknowledged God, only to draw from the protection of Cain an assurance of his own safety.

Meanwhile, in God’s family:

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Genesis 4:

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Seth was more noble than Cain or Abel, and resembled Adam more closely than did his other sons. He was a worthy character, following in the steps of Abel. Yet he inherited no more natural goodness than did Cain. Concerning the creation of Adam it is said, "In the likeness of God made He him;" but man, after Adam’s sin, "begat a son in his own likeness, after his image." Genesis 5:3. While Adam was created sinless, in the likeness of God, Seth, like Cain, inherited the fallen nature of his parents. But he received also the knowledge of the Redeemer and instruction in righteousness. By divine grace he served and honoured God; and he laboured, as Abel would have done, had he lived, to turn the minds of sinful men to revere and obey their Creator.

The faithful had worshiped God from the beginning; but as men increased, the distinction between the two classes became more marked. There was an open profession of loyalty to God on the part of one, as there was of contempt and disobedience on the part of the other. Abel had led a pastoral life, dwelling in tents or booths, and the descendants of Seth followed the same course, counting themselves "strangers and pilgrims on the earth," seeking "a better country, that is, an heavenly." Hebrews 11:13, 16. But, as we have read, many of Cain’s descendants chose to live in towns and cities as a means of defence, and this close confinement did not help their mental state.

From the opening of the great controversy it has been Satan's purpose to misrepresent God's character and to excite rebellion against His law, and this work appears to be crowned with success. The multitudes give ear to Satan's deceptions and set themselves against the "ways" of God. But amid the working of evil, God's purposes move steadily forward to their accomplishment; to all the created intelligences of the universe He is making manifest His justice and benevolence. Through Satan's temptations the whole human race have become transgressors of God's law, but by the sacrifice of His Son a way is opened whereby they may return to God. Through the grace of Christ they may be enabled to render obedience to the Father's law.

Thus in every age, from the midst of apostasy and rebellion, God gathers out a people that are true to Him – a people "in whose heart is His law." Isaiah 51:7. Praise Him.

Bye for now, Ron