Genesis 4:1-24

Compiled notes from my BSF group

ABEL GAVE IN FAITH; CAIN GAVE RELIGIOUSLY (Genesis 4:1-5)

John 14:6
Hebrews 10:14; 11:4
1 John 3:12
Abel’s offering was given by FAITH (Hebrews 11:14). He gave because his heart was with God, and he always gave God his first fruits (the best of what he had) (Genesis 4:4).

In contrast, Cain gave selfishly, giving only the "leftover" portions of his harvest (Genesis 4:3).

Similarly, whatever we do, including what we give, God looks at our heart. God is not poor. God is not a beggar. He doesn’t need anything from us.

Why are we taught to give to God then?

We give, because whatever we give, we give toward helping God’s people, to help move God’s work forward. We give, because whatever we have, we have because God gave it to us first (James 1:17). We give, because God gave us. When we make a sacrificial giving, we can start to understand God’s heart when He sacrificially gave us His Son (John 3:16)!

LIKE HIS PARENTS, CAIN NEVER ADMITTED SIN -- INSTEAD, HE HID FROM GOD (Genesis 4:5-7)

Cain was selfish. He kept the best for himself. He cared only about himself. He sinned, and instead of seeking guidance from God, he turned away from God and hid, even when God tried to guide him (Genesis 4:5-7)!

Cain was a sinner and did not care to admit it. He was jealous of Abel, who had favor in God’s eyes. Instead of learning from Abel, reflecting what he could be doing wrong,  and changing his heart, he held on to his sin and killed Abel instead (Genesis 4:8).

"And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous." (1 John 3:12)

The root of Cain’s problem was not that Abel was better. The roof of Cain’s problem was that his heart was not in the right place. Instead of righting his heart and follow God earnestly, he chose to kill off anyone and anything that reminded him of his sin – And therefore, he killed Abel.

Genesis 4:9
2 Samuel 12:13
Psalm 51
Cain, like Adam and Eve, never admitted sin. David, on the other hand, understood the severity of sin and came clean before God.


WE CANNOT SERVE TWO MASTERS (Matthew 6:24)

Hebrews 13:15-16
1. Keep our lives free from the love of money
2. Be content with what we have

1 Timothy 6:10
"The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil."

Matthew 6:24
"We cannot serve two masters."

The act of giving teaches us a lot about the heart of God, and we learn many lessons about it throughout the Scripture. To sum up those lessons, I would conclude the following:

Worshiping anyone/anything else but God is idolatry
What do we put above God? Money? Status? Power? Ourselves? When we love anything/anyone more than we love God, we will inevitably deviate from the Word of God. Why? Conflict of interest. This is why we cannot serve two masters. When one master tells us to do one thing and the other master tells us to do the exact opposite, what will we do? We will go with whoever has our heart. And if we put ourselves above God, we will go with our selfish wants and needs as opposed to following God's Word -- We will be like Cain.

Our reluctance to give exposes our idolatry, our sin
Money itself is not evil. The LOVE of money is the root of all evil. This is talking about the heart condition. When we love something, we don't let go easily. Therefore, when we cannot let go of money (or anything else) to further the work of God, we need to stop and check our heart. Why is it so hard for us to let it go? What about it ties us to it instead of allowing us to follow God freely?

As God's people, we will one day be kings and priests, living in New Jerusalem, where the streets will be paved with gold (Revelation 21). There is nothing in this world that is worth us forsaking God and losing sight of our future with God. God made this ENTIRE world. Who do we want to worship? The Creator or the Created (man, man-made objects -- which includes money, power, status, etc.)?

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights (James 1:17)
Money is just a tool. Power is just a tool. Status is just a tool. These are all tools that we receive from God. Instead of hoarding it to ourselves, we should use what we have been given to help further God's work. As mentioned above, stay focused on the REAL value, hold fast to the ONLY one who is eternal: God.


"DO WHAT IS RIGHT AND YOU WILL BE ACCEPTED" (Genesis 4:6-8)

God knew that Cain was angry about his situation (Genesis 4:6), and instead of admonishing Cain harshly for his sin, God lovingly guided him about what he needed to do to be seen as righteous.


God told Cain that if he did what was right, he will be accepted. However, if he continued to sin, he will be mastered by sin and continue to have an unrighteous heart (Genesis 4:6-7).

Doing right is not doing right in our eyes. Doing right is doing right in GOD’S EYES. When we devote ourselves to God as Abel did, when our HEART truly desires to be with God and truly appreciates the greatness and glory of God, we will do what is right in God’s eyes. This is salvation by faith.

However, if we do the same things but our heart does not belong to God, if we were only doing those things because we think that by doing these things, God will like us better, then this is salvation by works. The concept behind salvation by works is that we don’t do things out of love for God. We do things in hopes of gaining God’s favor. The motive is sinful, and therefore our works would be sinful and never righteous!

This was the root of the problem for Cain and the reason why his sacrifices were not favorable in God's eyes.

“Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” (1 John 3:10-16)

We see here again that it’s about our heart. When we are filled with the love of God, we will do what is righteous in God’s eyes. When we are not filled with the love of God, we will be overtaken by Satan and evil, and fall into sin. John tells us that anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer because our hatred brings death, because our hatred shows no heart of God. And if we do not have the heart of God, we sin and we continue to die in sin.

How do we know what love is? Look at Christ. Jesus laid down his life for us – Not just the "good" people but also the "bad" people; in fact, all people. 

"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:32)

Jesus did not die for the righteous. He died for the sinners, the same sinners who tortured and murdered him! This is the heart of God – That He wants ALL to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4)! Can we begin to appreciate God’s love? How many parents out there can imagine sacrificing their child for others? Not just that, but sacrificing their child for murderers and criminals? God did that for us. God did that so that we may all be saved.

GOD JUDGES, NOT US (Genesis 4:9-16)

It is not up to man to judge or to carry out judgment. Every one of us is responsible for our own actions, and each one of us will stand in front of God. Other people may have done us wrong, but we are not to seek justice with our own hands. We forgive and love because WE ARE ALL SINNERS in the eyes of God (Romans 3:23). WE ALL MURDERED JESUS ON THE CROSS, so who are we to judge? Thus, when we are wronged, we forgive and love, because we make mistakes, too and hope we would receive the same kindness. And if we seek forgiveness from God, whose Son we murdered, how could we not forgive others?

It’s important to know that just because we forgive does not mean that person is "off the hook." We are all on God’s hook. When we forgive, we simply give them over to God, who is the only righteous judge.


WHERE DID CAIN GET HIS WIFE? (Genesis 4:17)

The Scripture tells us that Cain got himself a wife (Genesis 4:17), but it does not elaborate on where his wife came from. The question of where Can got his wife is derived from the assumption that God made only Adam and Eve. And if that is the case, then Cain must have married his sister. However, there is also the possibility that God did not just make Adam and Eve. God could have made other humans as well, and Cain's wife may have come from those humans.

The bottom line is, the Scripture does not elaborate, and we do not know. This is one of the mysteries that we will have to ask God when we see him.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF CAIN AND HIS DESCENDANTS (Genesis 4:17-24)

- Cain built a city (Genesis 4:17)
- Cain’s descendent, Lamech, who was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock (Genesis 4:20)
- Jubal, Lamech’s brother, was the father of all who play the harp and flute (Genesis 4:21).
- Cain’s descendent, Tubal-Cain, forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron (Genesis 4:22).

CAIN AND HIS DESCENDENTS DEFIED GOD (Genesis 4:17-24)
- Lamech also killed a man (Genesis 4:23)
- Lamech married two women (Genesis 4:19) and killed a man (Genesis 4:23).


WE ARE LIKE CAIN IN MANY WAYS

Our heart is far away from God. We show no love of God. We do not behave as if we have the love of God within us. Instead, we seek justice with our own hands when we are wronged, and we do not admit our wrong when we sin against other people. We do not care about other people nearly as much as we care about ourselves. We are selfish, and we seek to glorify ourselves.

What can we do about it?


WALK IN THE LIGHT (1 John 1:5-10)

If we walk in the light with Jesus, our sin will be purified by Jesus. In order to walk in the light, however, we must admit our sin. If we say we have no sin, then the truth is not in us, and we will continue to walk in the dark. However, if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:5-10).


AFTERTHOUGHTS

Approach God with a sincere heart. God SEES us. God KNOWS us. Even if we tried to approach God with a selfish heart and think we can hide it with our acts, God sees through it all. There is no point hiding. Come clean and walk with God in the light.