(Genesis 4:16-26)
�16. And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. 17. And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. 18. And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech. 19. And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20. And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. 21. And his brother�s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. 22. And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. 23. And Lamech said unto his wives Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. 24. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. 25. 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 Able, whom Cain slew. 26. 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.�
In these above verses we find some of the earliest records about the path upon which mankind embarked at he left the Garden of Eden. Rest assured, these are records. Far too often we look at Biblical accounts and fail to consider that the stories contained therein are not simply �stories� made up by ancient persons to seek to understand their life and place in the universe.
The Biblical stories are actual historical events, recorded through the inspiration of God, Himself, and likewise preserved by Him for our benefit and understanding in this day. They are, indeed, stories to help us to understand our life and place in the universe. But they are incidents, records from real lives of real people, which God uses to give us that information.
We will look at the first half of the above text, verses 16 through 22, and look at the hunting of man.
Man was created with an ingrained need to worship and have fellowship with the God of the Universe. Since the fall of Adam, this has not been possible. There is, therefore, something missing from our makeup. That restlessness which resides within man is a search to find meaning. But, the meaning which is lacking is tied in with this lost ability to worship and fellowship with God.
It is a restlessness which cannot be assuaged without a return to God. Instead of this, we look at verse sixteen and see the picture of man stepping away from the presence of God.
�And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod; on the east of Eden.�
Eden was a real location. It was in existence at the time of the creation of man. The Garden was not �symbolic of the presence of God in the minds of the ancients who sought to examine their places in the cosmos.�
But, that Garden was symbolic of the presence of God in the minds of this first family. Adam and Eve had walked with God in the cool of the evening in this Garden. They had told their children stories of the glories of this personal, one on one relationship which was had with God while they were in this Garden. To them the physical Garden would always be associated with the Spiritual Lord of the Universe.
When Cain walked away from this Garden, he was walking from the presence of God. I understand that he was fleeing from his family which would seek to punish him for his murder of Able.
In verses seventeen and eighteen we see the story of those who descended from Cain.
It is a natural thing for mankind to procreate.
Mankind was created in the image of God. This does not mean that we look like God! After all, God is Spirit and - although the spiritual is a part of our makeup, we are primarily physical beings in our time upon this earth. Part of our beings, as in the image of God, is that we will tend to procreate. We will produce offspring in the image of ourselves.
This is not, of course, a �creation� on our part. We are extending onward that life force which God originally breathed into humanity. It is not natural, in the sense of the original creation, for a mother to willingly allow her baby to be killed while it is still in her womb. It is an abomination to that nobility which God entrusted to humanity for such to happen.
It is also indicative of the fact of the greatness of the fall of man that, and of the present spiritual condition of humanity, that such a thing could be declared �legal� and a �choice.� May we understand that the �choice� to pervert the creation of God is called �sin.�
This also brings up the matter of the �homosexual lifestyle.� If it is, indeed, a natural thing in the light of the creation for humanity to procreate, then the homosexual lifestyle is an unnatural thing. It is a perversion of God�s purpose in creation. It is an act that views the gift of sex as merely an exercise in carnality at the expense of spirituality.
It is a sin.
But some may argue that this is part and parcel of who they are. They would argue that this is the way God made them. Ain�t true! God would never work at cross-purposes with Himself. To accuse Him of such is to accuse Him of human frailty of reasoning.
If there is a �gene,� as some have supposed, which causes one to become homosexual, that �gene� is the result of the Fall of Man which allowed sin, which is the antithesis of everything Godly, to enter into creation.
Note that in verse seventeen that mankind began to build cities so that he could congregate with others. This is not wrong. The sedentary, relatively so, lifestyle of farming - we must recall that Cain was a farmer - demands the existence of cities.
A �hunting and gathering� society must be nomadic as they follow the trail of their game. A farming community must be sedentary so that the fields may be cultivated and harvested.
This is not a spiritual problem.
However, when we consider the saga of Cain we must remember from where he came. The great sin of Cain came about because he sought to offer only the fruit of his hands rather than the total blood sacrifice as God had required.
Is it possible that the very building of the city, in the case of Cain, was a picture of a heart which was still not attuned to the possibility of following the Lord?
In verses eighteen through twenty-two we find the occupation of musician introduced. Again, this is not something sinful. But, it certainly could be considered as a means to sooth the soul which has forgotten God.
In verses twenty-three and twenty-four we see the fact that sin leads to a further hurting of humanity.
Notice the further breakdown of society in this area. Another murder is committed, possibly in self-defense and the perpetrator points back to Cain and says, �If he got away with it I should be able to do the same!�
The horrid results of the progression of sin! It is a progression further and further from any understanding of the purpose of the creation of God. Man without God escalates his own walk into violence and warfare.
Notice, also, that man without God will use other men as a comparison to himself. �I�m no worse than Joe over there!� Part of the curse of sin is that it dulls our spiritual vision.
I took an eye test for my Driver�s License last year. I was told to read back line three from the viewing machine. I couldn�t find any �line three.� I had a cataract on my right eye. That cataract obscured my line of vision so I could not see the reality of what was before my face. Since then I have had this cataract removed. I can see fine, now.
That is what mankind needs! We need to remove the cataract of sin from our Spiritual eyes so we can see reality! Our character is not measured against another person, who is himself a sinner. Our standard is the Holiness of God. If we are short of that standard (And we are. See Romans 3:23.), then we are unclean.
This man who had killed another looked to God to �protect� him from retribution. God does not protect us from the penalty of breaking His moral code. God condemns us for these acts.
This meant that the people of this city were lost and without hope as they had alienated themselves from the righteousness of God.
They were without excuse.
They were sinners.
Now, as we look at verses twenty-five and twenty-six, we see the harvesting of God. Sin may often look as though it has gained an upper hand. Lawlessness may abound to such an extent that we wonder how the righteousness of God will ever hold any sway among humankind.
There is a way!
My title for this sermon was �God At Work In The Affairs Of Man.� A fair question would be as to why I used that particular title. After all, you may notice that all I�ve talked about is how mankind has left the presence of God. I have talked about how man has lived as though there were no God for which allegiance was owed. I have pointed out how man has perverted the ways which God had given him to find peace and fulfillment in this life.
So, how do I title this sermon as I did?
In verse twenty-five we see that Adam and Eve had another child. While one branch of mankind was running completely counter to the known will of God, God was preparing a Godly line to reach out to those who were lost far from the presence of the Loving God.
We notice, in verse twenty-six that Seth had a child by the name of Enos. The Scriptural record tells us that, ��then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.�
Seth was brought up with the stories, from his parent�s lips, of the glories of God and the sentence of sin. Seth continued this training toward his own son and the results were that a Godly line was out in the world speaking, and living, the message of sin and salvation.
Proverbs 22:6 says, �Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.�
God gave this promise in a, I believe, twofold manner. The one is that righteous training will result in righteous children. Now, He does say, ��when he is old�� A child may sow his �wild oats;� but God has promised that the child trained in a Godly life will return to the God of his parents.
I�ve seen this happen over and over. I�ll see men in the winter of their life accept Christ as their Savior. I�ll ask what it was I said, while preaching, that caused them to react to the Gospel message. Almost inevitably they will say, �It wasn�t you, preacher. I was remembering the prayers of my mother, my father, my aunt� Sometimes these prayers were made sixty years before.
But, God answered those prayers.
Also, I have seen that very often God will use this same person to reach out to another who did not have that righteous upbringing. God is in the business of loving humanity so much that He calls even those who have spurned Him.
What about you? Have you drifted far from God? Isn�t it time to come home?
Jesus does love you. He died in time so that you might live in eternity. Accept Him today as your Savior.