The change of designation springs from distinct truths, not from different fabulists and a sorry compiler who could not even assimilate them. For it is a day when all things are in question, even the surest. good men through the growing corruptions of the age, gave this It is no longer the test of creation, as God made it, and this accordingly is marked here. God speaks with the peculiar appropriateness which suits the new occasion, in contradistinction from what we have seen elsewhere. Then the earth is described as void and waste, and (not as succeeding, but accompanying it) darkness upon the face of the deep, contemporaneously with which the Spirit of God broods upon the face of the waters. 2. Rather than just saying those three hardest words to utter in the English language. Most appropriately it is to Jehovah now. And she bare a son. There was the whole matter. (o) "Consuevit, assuevit, et familiaris evasit", Golius, col. 169. They do not seem to have yet reached idolatry and adultery. is mentioned as a further proof and instance of God's goodness to If the electromagnetic field has been decreasing at a constant rate since the time of Adam, the electromagnetic field would have caused the temperature of the earth, the mean temperature of the whole earth, to be much warmer than it is now.In fact, if the decrease of the electromagnetic field, as has been measured for the last hundred and thirty six, seven years, if that is true, a constant factor, and has been for six thousand years, it would have made a vast difference in the shielding of the earth from cosmic radiation because much of the cosmic radiation is reflected or bounces off of the electromagnetic field. 5 will describe, descended Noah, the survivor of the flood, and it was in Enoshs day that the public worship of God was reintroduced." But nothing softened the roused and irritated spirit of Cain. On the contrary, we have all read these chapters in the Bible, and we may have read them as believers too, without seeing their immense scope and profound accuracy all at once. In the examination that preceded the sentence passed upon the transgressors, we hear Adam and Eve replying to the questions of God, but not venturing to open a conversation with the Most High. For this is the will of God, that we magnify and honour whomsoever he magnifieth and honoureth; even as a king would have them honoured that stand before him, and this is the honour of the king himself. There is no real courage with a bad conscience, and guile will soon be apparent where God brings His own light and makes guilt manifest. Genesis 4 I. It may be well to glance at it just to show the importance of heeding the word of God, and all His word. And Jehovah speaks to him thus "Why art thou wroth? It is God providing not for the perpetuation of the creature merely, but with marked completeness for sacrifice. Could any person have conceived such wisdom beforehand? It is the drawing of the divine mercy and love let into the penitent soul, by which it has come to itself, and taken courage to return to the merciful Yahweh, and speak to him the language of penitence, of confession, of gratitude. It is, as we have seen, highly significant. This was the one line of descent through which people maintained a belief in the one true God (cf. Cain prospered even though he rebelled against God. Certainly this is not mere creation in view, but special dealings of a moral sort. Probably they had no exact doctrinal views about His person and nature; it was the office of prophecy by divers portions to give these (Hebrews 1:1). Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him ( Genesis 4:7 ). So it is here. Prior to the flood, man's life expectancy was much greater. Not at all. By none whatever. Some have found a difficulty (which I simply touch on in passing) from the conjunction with which verse 2 commences. How true of the energetic Japhetic race that pushed westward, and not content with the east, pushes round again to the west anywhere and everywhere. No.What does it prove? Christ shall still see his seed; God can out of stones raise up children for him, and make the blood of the martyrs the seed of the church, whose lands, we are sure, shall never be lost for want of heirs. These facts were well known to the antediluvian world, and formed the rule by which it was to be guided in approaching to God, presenting to him an acceptable offering, calling upon his name, and so walking with him in peace and love. I. But there is more than this, though this be of exceeding interest; because we see with equal certainty and clearness why Jehovah-Elohim is introduced not before but here, and why man's becoming a living soul by the inbreathing of God was said here and not in the first chapter. Here we perceive that the holy race has passed beyond its infancy. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos; and then men began to call upon the name of Jehovah [or Yahweh] ( Genesis 4:26 ). The Spirit of God has acted quite otherwise. And the wise men that were among them, as the priests and such like, thought there was no God save the stars and spheres, for whose sake and in whose likeness they had made these images but as for the Rock everlasting, there was no man that acknowledged him or knew him save a few persons in the world, as Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Sham, and Heber. Men, the wisest those of whom the world has most boasted, never had even the least adequate thought of such a state of things; yet enough of tradition remained even among heathens to witness to the truth. Only in the last two verses introducing the descendants of Seth do we have glimmers of hope, for from him, as chap. Here it would not have served His purpose to say, "Jehovah remembered every living thing," because every living thing was not in moral relationship with God. And they began after this manner to make images in temples, and under trees, and on tops of mountains and hills, and assembled together and worshipped them, c. And this thing was spread through all the world, to serve images with services different one from another, and to sacrifice unto and worship them. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought . This accordingly is the ground taken, to which I refer as an instance of the perfectness of scripture, but at the same time of the profound and practical power of the truth of God. And in the manner in which creation is here presented what unspeakable grandeur! different name; for so the words may be rendered: "then began men The sun, moon, and stars, would certainly have been first introduced, had man simply pursued the workings of his own mind, or those of observation and experience. Now began the distinction between professors and profane, which has been kept up ever since, and will be while the world stands. There was also a wonderful type of deliverance through Christ in the ark happily so familiar to most. Over-estimate of children may be traced somet. But Adam now becomes a father, not innocent, but fallen before he became the head of the race. These facts were well known to the antediluvian world, and formed the rule by which it was to be guided in approaching to God, presenting to him an acceptable offering, calling upon his name, and so walking with him in peace and love. Scripture does not say more, and we must hold to scripture. When this thing was come up into their hearts they began to build temples unto the stars, and to offer sacrifice unto them, and to laud and glorify them with words, and to worship before them, that they might in their evil opinion obtain favour of the Creator; and this was the root of idolatry, c. And in process of time there stood up false prophets among the sons of Adam, which said that God had commanded and said unto them, Worship such a star, or all the stars, and do sacrifice unto them thus and thus and build a temple for it, and make an image of it, that all the people, women, and children may worship it. It was the exact counterpart and representation by a well-devised symbol of the nature of the offerer's faith. the words, "then began men to call in the name of the Lord" And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? They have conceived that, coupling the second verse with the first, it suggests the notion that when God created the earth it was in the state described in the second verse. V. The family and posterity of Cain . There was no longer trial in Paradise, because man was turned out. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell ( Genesis 4:2-5 ). And so Lamech told his wives a young man was trying to hurt me, he was seeking to wound me, I killed him and if Cain is going to be avenged seven times, I ought to be avenged seventy times seven. Cain, as it is said, went out from His presence, and dwelt in the land of Nod; a son is born in due time who builds a city called after his name. Death followed if he disobeyed God in eating of this tree (verse 17); but, walking in obedience, he was free to eat of the tree of life. Not to speak of the destroyed cities of the plain, they had in Joshua's day sunk into the most shameless of sinners that ever disgraced God and defiled the earth. He remained in the Palestine region on the south coast of Canaan, believing that God would provide for him and his household in the land God promised him. It is impossible thus to connect Eden with the fountainhead or sources of these rivers. When Peter said to the Lord "how often shall I forgive a brother's trespass, till seven times?" Genesis 26 In this chapter we have, I. Isaac in adversity, by reason of a famine in the land, which, 1. Creation and redemption bear witness to His glory, instead of communicating aught of His own dignity. No entry exists in Forerunner Commentary for . Cain brought what might have sufficed in an unfallen world what might have suited an innocent worshipper of One who was simply known as Elohim. I have no hesitation in saying that it is a mistaken interpretation, however prevalent. It is the Creator originating what is around us; consequently it is God, Elohim, who alone could be spoken of as such in ch. Such mute acquiescence in the divine will for two hundred and forty years was well-befitting the humble penitents of that infantile age, standing in solemn awe under a sense of their own demerit and of the infinite holiness of the Majesty on high. Almost every word gives evidence of it. But let us endeavor to divest ourselves of these limitations, and rise to the primeval simplicity of mans thoughts in regard to God. So Noah wasn't that far removed from Adam. I do not think that the expression means a sin-offering, as is sometimes supposed; for it does not appear that there is ground for inferring that the truth of a sin-offering was understood in the slightest degree till long afterwards. It is the present result. Never was there a moment when man was verging more evidently towards apostacy from the truth, and that not merely as to redemption, but even as to creation, as to himself, and above all as to his relationship with God. And it says. Lamech not only murdered a boy who had done no more than slightly injure him, but wrote a song to celebrate his crime. It includes the third in one of its forms, as in praise we proclaim the name of our God. What dispensation could there be? It is not the fact that Genesis 2:7; Genesis 2:19, represents man as created first of all living creatures before the birds and beasts; any more than that man created in God's image (Genesis 1:27) contradicts the statement ofGenesis 2:7; Genesis 2:7, that he was formed of the dust of the ground. And I shouldn't have been trying to carve it that way. God the Creator would preserve such of the creatures as required the shelter of the ark. I. Still would this be so in that infantile state of man when one thought would take full possession of the soul, until another was plainly and directly brought before the attention. For if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.But man seems to have a difficult time confessing his sin, his guilt. No doubt afterwards God did as the Jehovah of Israel impose the remembrance of the Sabbath every seventh day of the week on His people. F15, to be sociable and familiar; man The spirit of adoption has prompted the confiding and endearing terms, "Abba, Father," and now the winged words ascend to heaven, conveying the adorations and aspirations of the assembled saints. Obliges him to change his quarters, ver 1. Let this suffice: I do not wish to speculate about the matter. [Note: Ross, Creation and . Why is your countenance fallen? It has nothing to do with moral relationships. Where all was bright and good around man in innocency the scope for labour would not have its place. An innocent man could not have had the knowledge of good and evil; it pertains necessarily to a fallen one. And it leads to the second, as those who call on the name of the Lord are themselves called the children of God. It is not "Jehovah" now but "God." Now not only is it not too strong to deny that there is the least ground for such an inference, but one may go farther and affirm that the simplest and surest means of guarding against it, according to the style of the writer, and indeed propriety of language, was afforded by here inserting the word "and." It wasn't really until about the time of Solomon that they really began to smelt copper and come into a use of metals. This point will suffice to indicate their chief guilt in thus traversing the boundaries which God had appointed for His creatures. The worshippers of God began to stir up themselves to do more in religion than they had done; perhaps not more than had been done at first, but more than had been done of late, since the defection of Cain. It is however possible that God may have allowed a certain change as to the distribution of these waters around the garden. But it is interesting that later on when God established the sacrifices in the book of Leviticus, they did have what was called in your King James, "meat offering", but it is really the meal offering and they did offer the grain, the meal pressed into flour little cakes. Isaac and Abimelech (26:1-33) When a famine created hardship in Canaan, Isaac proved his faith and obedience by refusing to leave the land. And so when God is questioning, it's not for God's information purposes, but it's to give man that opportunity to confess, in order that God might have the opportunity to grant the forgiveness. Adversaries may no doubt try to embarrass you: if they will, let them do so. 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. "By faith Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him" ( Hebrews 11:5 ). And here the effort of the enemy was first to breathe suspicion on the goodness of God as well as on His truth, in short, on God Himself. In Hebrews, we are told that by faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, so the problem with Cain was that his was not of faith, whereas Abel's sacrifice was one of faith. If men, and men too of ability and learning, have tortured the signs of its very perfection into proofs of defective and clashing documents, ridiculously combined by a man who did not perceive that he was editing not fables only but inconsistent fables, what can believers do but wonder at human blindness, and adore divine grace ' For themselves, with glowing gratitude they receive it as the precious word of God, where His love and goodness and truth shine in a way beyond all comparison, and yet meeting the mind and heart in the least, no less than in the most serious, wants that each day brings here below. What joy and delight in the Scriptures! It is a foolish figment, that God then began to be called by other names; since Moses does not here censure depraved superstitions, but commends the piety of one family which worshipped God in purity and holiness, when religions among other people, was polluted or extinct. On this however we need not say more than that He "drove out the man," lest he should perpetuate the condition of ruin into which he had passed. So far is the book of Genesis, therefore, from indicating a mere clumsy compiler, who strung together documents which had neither cohesion nor distinctive propriety, instead of there being merely two or three sets of traditions edited by another party, there is really the perfect statement of the truth of God, the expression of one mind, as is found in no writings outside the Bible. 2. This, it is observable, is kept up strikingly here, for Adam has these creatures brought before him by Jehovah- Elohim, and gives names to them all, showing clearly not alone his title as lord, but the power of appropriate language imparted by God from the first. (q) "Ad invocandum in nomine Domini", Montanus, "vel vocare in nomine Domini", Cartwright. "And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth." The reason is evident. He could have easily married a sister, there's really no problem with Cain finding a wife and marrying her.Now for a moment we're going to follow Cain's descendents, but there is no sense of carrying them out very far because his descendents were all destroyed in the flood. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. In short, Christ has intervened, and this most weighty consequence is connected with it that, although everything manifests evil and ruin increasingly, God has triumphed in grace and in faith after the fall and before "the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." "This is the book of the generations of Adam. Man, the race, became simply outcasts morally nothing else from that day till after the flood. If she possesses all along with Him, it is because of her union with Him, not intrinsically. He has said enough; but any one who will take the trouble to refer to Jude in connection with this chapter will gather more than appears on the surface. Will it be so always? in Mishn, and Ainsworth in loco. Man is fallen, and the creature made subject to vanity. I grant that in an unfallen condition there was another state of things. God is pleased when you put your trust and you commit yourself to Him.And so through Chapter five you can work things out if you like, but now here is an interesting thing you see. The gist of the sentence, however, does not lie in the name Yahweh. The most prominent thing connected with Cain and Abel was their religion. Sin needed more. Gen 4:1-2. In this simple, unsophisticated state of the penitent, we can conceive him to resign himself passively to the merciful will of that Maker whom he has grievously offended, without venturing to breathe a wish or even to lift up a note of thanksgiving. Man's present experience would have suggested neither; yet his heart and conscience, unless rebellious, feel how right and becoming all is in such a state of things none other so good. Yet none did or could anticipate it. And there is no doubt, that Adam and Eve, with a few other of their children were themselves true worshippers of God; but closes means, that so great was then the deluge of impiety in the world that religion was rapidly hastening to destruction; because it remained only with a few men, and did not flourish in any one race. Some of the families are followed for a little while just to give you sort of a brief historic background to show you areas of the world that were populated by certain people, descendents of certain people. Yes, Jehovah is in question. You're not nearly as healthy as was Cain and Abel and their brothers and sisters. But here we have that which was a relief to our first parents in their affliction. It proves the common origin of man. His servants also dug a well there. And God here too beautifully marks His feeling. And the name of his sister was Naamah. There is the provision of God, not merely for the need of man, but for His own glory; and this in the smallest things as in the greatest. Genesis 3:20; Genesis 3:20). In any case it was mercy to confine the curse certainly earned by Ham within the narrowest limits, instead of extending it to all his posterity. And from Seth of course, we will follow down to Abraham. And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son ( Genesis 4:25 ). The history is in Genesis 1:2-3 from verse 4 to the end ofGenesis 2:1-25; Genesis 2:1-25 is not so much a history of creation as a statement of the relations of creation, and especially of man, its centre and head. Had it been merely said that Elohim shut him in, it would have simply suggested the Creator's care of every creature; but Jehovah's shutting him in points to special relationship, and the interest taken in that righteous man. This was decided not by some grave and mighty matter, of which man could reason and see the consequences, but simply by doing or not doing the will of God. We have first the great announcement that in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 101.]. Now that Cain and those that had deserted religion had built a city, and begun to declare for impiety and irreligion, and called themselves the sons of men, those that adhered to God began to declare for him and his worship, and called themselves the sons of God. When he was an hundred and five years old, Genesis 5:6 and this is mentioned as a further proof and instance of God's goodness to Adam's family in this line, that there was a succession in it, where the true worship of God was kept, and from whence the Messiah was to arise, and as a pledge and confirmation of it: and he called his name Enos; which is generally interpreted a weak, feeble, frail, mortal, miserable man; which Seth being sensible of, and observing the sorrows of human life, and especially an increase of them among good men through the growing corruptions of the age, gave this name to his son; though it may be observed, that the derivation of this name may be from the Arabic word "anas" o, to be sociable and familiar; man being a sociable creature, not only in civil but in religious things, and so a reason of the name may be taken from what follows; then began men to call upon the name of the Lord; not but that Adam and Abel, and all good men, had called upon the name of the Lord, and prayed to him, or worshipped him before this time personally, and in their families; but now the families of good men being larger, and more numerous, they joined together in social and public worship: or since it may be thought there were public assemblies for religious worship before this time, though it may be they had been neglected, and now were revived with more zeal and vigour; seeing the Cainites incorporating themselves, and joining families together, and building cities, and carrying on their civil and religious affairs among themselves, they also formed themselves into distinct bodies; and not only separated from them, but called themselves by a different name; for so the words may be rendered: "then began men to call themselves", or "to be called by the name of the Lord" p; the sons of God, as distinct from the sons of men; which distinction may be observed in Genesis 6:2 and has been retained more or less ever since: some choose to translate the words, "then began men to call in the name of the Lord" q; that is, to call upon God in the name of the Messiah, the Mediator between God and man; having now, since the birth of Seth, and especially of Enos, clearer notions of the promised seed, and of the use of him, and his name, in their addresses to God; see John 14:13. and why is thy countenance fallen? He wanted an acknowledgment from Cain of what he had done.Because if we acknowledge our sins, if we confess our sins, than we give God a basis to forgive our sin. of good men being larger, and more numerous, they joined together "I was wrong." Trying to cast the blame onto something else, but God is always zeroing in, wanting that confession, because until I confess my sin, God really can't righteously forgive me my sin. sorrows of human life, and especially an increase of them among "For thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. There have been a variety of interpretations of this difficult phrase. Genesis 4:26New King James Version. Genesis 2:1-3; Genesis 2:1-3, taking the Sabbath as the necessary complement of the week, and therefore going on with the preceding six days, not with what follows. 4. Accepting the whole as an inspired writing, I maintain that the same writer must have used this distinctive way of speaking of God in Genesis 1:1-31; Genesis 2:1-25, and that the notion of there being two or three writers is merely a want of real intelligence in scripture. But does it disprove the Bible because the Indians have an account of the flood and the Inca Indians have an account of the flood and the Babylonians have an account of the flood and the Egyptians have an account of the flood? 2. In truth only God is competent to pronounce; and this He has done. [Note: Wenham, p. "Let us make man in our image." The bringing of an offering to God was a step in advance of this penitent, humble, submissive, self-accusing faith. He was like Adam fallen, not his representative only. I must be permitted here to say a word on a subject which, if it has called out enormous discussion, betrays in its course, I am sorry to say, no small amount of evident infidelity. But religion is here properly designated by that which forms its principal part. It's easy and interesting to conjecture what a great moisture blanket around the earth would do, as far as the earth's temperatures, in an equalizing of the earth's temperatures, as well as the way that the earth would be watered, with its great moisture blanket and also the protection that it would afford to cosmic radiation. And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. "And if thou doest not well," it is said, "sin lieth at the door." In the beginning matter did not co-exist with God. So we find what shows the folly of this yet more in what follows: "And they that went in went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him; and Jehovah shut him in." And so the Lord speaks of the sin at the door of Cain. Here we have all the needful germs of a gospel for the infantile race. Here we perceive that the holy race has passed beyond its infancy. "Genesis 4 concludes the story of mankind that was cut off in the flood, a tale that opened with Genesis 2:4, This is the history. However the phrase "call on the name of the Lord" usually refers to proclamation rather than prayer in the Pentateuch. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. 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. And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear ( Genesis 4:12-13 ). Enosh, the child of sorrow, was born to him. which is generally interpreted a weak, feeble, frail, mortal, miserable man; which seth being sensible of, and observing the sorrows of human life, and especially an increase of them among good men through the growing corruptions of the age, gave this name to his son; though it may be observed, that the derivation of this name may be Some change is here intimated in the mode of approaching God in worship. of this name may be from the Arabic word
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