Genesis Inspirational Bible Study Guide - Online Lessons
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Genesis 4 Inductive Bible Study
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- vv.1-16. The First Case of Murder by Cain
- vv.17-26. The First Case of Bigamy and Manslaughter by Lamech
vv.1-16. The First Case of Murder by Cain
Verse-by-Verse Exegesis
v.1. “Now Adam knew Eve his wife…”
Reflection: On Knowing
The word “knew” certainly deserves further elaboration. When Scripture speaks of one person knowing another person, it refers not as knowing as an acquaintance, but as a euphemism for sexual intercourse. In v.17, Cain knew his wife, and again, a son was born to him. Another example is found in Gen. 19:5, when the Sodomites were trying to rape the angels, they said to Lot, “Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” (Also, v.8, in Lot’s response, “Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man.”)
The fact that we are created as sexual beings points all the way back to the Creator. It is, as any other thing or feature ever created, for us to glorify Him and enjoy Him. Piper makes two simple but weighty points in Sex and the Supremacy of Christ: (1) sexuality is designed by God as a way to know God in Christ more fully and (2) knowing God in Christ more fully is designed as a way of guarding and guiding our sexuality. Or put them in a negative way, (1) all misuses of our sexuality distort the true knowledge of Christ, and (2) all misuses of our sexuality derive from not having the true knowledge of Christ.
The second point that Piper made is conspicuous and beyond doubt. All misuses of our sexuality, or to take a step further, of any other blessing that God has created for our enjoyment, stems from a misunderstanding of the truth of God. For the unregenerate, without the knowledge of Christ, it is of their nature to, borrowing the language of Eph. 2:3, “live in the passions of [their] flesh”. But for the redeemed, such misuses may come from a not-yet fully renewed mind or from the strong pull of old habits. In either case, God’s grace is sufficient to transform that. However, let’s focus on the first point for now.
“And this is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (Jn. 17:3)
As mentioned before, knowing another person in the Bible is a splendid euphemism of having sex with this person. Therefore, knowing God, who is undoubtedly a Person, is no exception. As marriage being the ultimate reflection of Christ and the Church, and as sexuality being the defining bond of marriage, sexuality is therefore the ultimate reflection (though not the only one) of our spiritual worship of Him. Sexuality itself is an intimate relationship that includes passion, harmony, and oneness. Hence, our relationship with God should likewise reflect these traits. Our worship of God should be in spirit (passion) and in truth (harmony) (Jn. 4:24). It ought to bring us to abide in Him (oneness) (Jn. 15:4-6), while not abiding in Him means not having such intimacy (1 Jn. 2:3-6).
Dawson Troutman, in his signature sermon Born to Reproduce, preached the following words, “Only a few things will ever keep human beings from multiplying themselves in the physical realm. One is that they never marry. If they are not united, they will not reproduce. This is a truth which Christians need to grasp with reference to spiritual reproduction. When a person becomes a child of God, he should realize that he is to live in union with Jesus Christ if he is going to win others to the Savior. …” When Troutman said “they never marry” and “they are not united”, evidently it was also a euphemism. What he actually meant was “they never really had an intimate relationship”, which is sex, for it goes without saying that a couple that never has sex will never have children. The implication is, in the spiritual realm, a person who never has an intimate relationship with Christ will never bring people to Christ. This also shows that our relationship with God is, if you may not consider me blasphemous, a “sexual” one in the spiritual sense.
As Piper wrote, “God made us powerfully sexual so that He would be more deeply knowable. We were given the power to know each other sexually so that we might have some hint of what it will be like to know Christ supremely”, knowing God in Christ carries with it a subtle yet unequivocal sexual connotation; it is, spiritually speaking, to have a deep, intimate relationship with Him and Him alone.
“I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.”
Reflection: As Acts 17:25 says, “He himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything”, God is the ultimate source and sovereign giver of life, both physically and spiritually. Jesus also says, I AM the Resurrection and the Life. Is it not a futile exercise to forsake the true life-giver in order to seek life elsewhere? For as it is written, he that seeks to save his life shall lose it; he that loses life for His sake shall save it.
v.2a. “And again, she bore his brother Abel…”
Observation: Exactly what was the length of time that had eclipsed between the birth of Cain and the birth of Abel is a “myth”, since no conclusion can be drawn from the verse. Some commentators even speculated that they were twins.
v.2b-5. “Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.”
Reflection: In light of their respective sacrifices induced different responses from God in the passage, could we infer that “keeper of the sheep” is somehow more favorable in God’s eyes than “worker of the ground”? Apparently not. That is not the issue. MacArthur Study Bible note says, “Both occupations were respectable; in fact, most people subsisted through a combination of both. God’s focus was not on their vocation, but on the nature of their respective offerings.”
vv.3-4. “Cain brought… an offering of the fruit of the ground; Abel… the first born of his flock and of their fat portion.”
Observation: Even from the wording of the verses one can easily identify the different attitudes from the two. The “fruit of the ground” that Cain offered, was probably just casual and inadvertent. He didn’t seem to pay much attention to what he had to offer to God. Yet he did offer something, indicating that he must have some knowledge that offering to God is the right thing to do, or perhaps doing so comes with blessings. However, for Abel, “the first born of his flock”, presumably more costly and delicate, was offered. And it was as if that wasn’t clear enough, the verse added “of their fat portions”, making Abel’s heart of willing devotion all the more explicit.
vv.4-5. “And the Lord had regard for Abel… but for Cain… He had no regard.”
Reflection: Here any Bible student may reasonably ask why God favors one over another. It must be pointed out that the episode does not teach us that the work of a herdsman is elevated over that of farmers, as discussed before. Nor did it imply that animal sacrifices are preferable to plant offerings. In fact, both were required in the Levitical system: firstfruits of ground as a thanksgiving offering is prescribed in Deut. 26:2, and animal sacrifice as a peace offering is prescribed in Deut. 15:19-23.
Still, the question remains. Why does God favor Abel over Cain? To answer it, one must see that the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. Abel’s offering of the firstborn of his flock and the fat portions of it signifies his heart of dedication. He was willing to give God the best of what he had. In contrast, Cain failed to do so: he probably offered random fruits, not the firstfruits of his produce, as commanded in Deut. 26:2. His heart was not right, and thus his deeds became improper. However, it must be pointed out, it is also possible that one may fulfill every prescription of the law in terms of offering, yet still have a wrong heart, as the apostate Israel in the OT (Isa. 1:11-17) and the Pharisees in the NT (Matt. 23:23) did. Offering is measured not by the price of the sacrifice, nor by the observance of the rituals, but by the willingness to obey the Will of God (1 Sam. 15:22).
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.”
v.5b. “So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.”
Reflection: Cain’s bad attitude was further manifested in his resentment towards his brother, as well as his uncooperative and harsh answer to God in v.9.
**v.6b-7. “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted
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