1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:04,240 It is Father's Day if you, in case you forgot, it is Father's 2 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:07,560 Day. And as on Mother's Day, I, I 3 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:09,880 will say then what I say today, what I said then. 4 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:12,520 This may not look like a Father's Day message, but it is 5 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:16,480 a Father's Day message and just be patient and we'll, we'll get 6 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:17,200 there. We'll get there. 7 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,920 But it's not a message, of course, just for fathers, but 8 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:24,480 for anyone and for everyone. But we are talking continuing 9 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:27,120 this story as we're working our way through the Bible and and 10 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:32,280 still in the early parts of Genesis and looking at Genesis 11 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,400 chapter 4 today, which is the 1st chapter in the first place 12 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:37,680 in the Bible where the word sin is mentioned. 13 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:42,120 And although we often talk about, and rightly so, the fall 14 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:44,720 of Adam and Eve where they eat of the tree of the knowledge of 15 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:49,080 good and evil, which God commanded them not to eat as the 16 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:53,200 original sin. Sin is first mentioned in 17 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:56,400 chapter 4 in connection with Cain, their son. 18 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:58,320 And we're going to take a look at that today. 19 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:01,120 Shame, sin, and the mercy of God. 20 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:06,840 I want to just walk through the story again, though, before we 21 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:09,840 really kind of jump into any details, because again, this is 22 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:13,640 one of those stories in which if we've heard it a lot, we can 23 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:16,040 miss some of the details and some of the nuance. 24 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:19,880 And because of the cultural differences, it's also easy to 25 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:23,720 miss some of the very important shades of meaning that are here 26 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:28,080 in the story. So again we see Adam and Eve 27 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:31,680 coming together, having two children, first Cain and then 28 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,120 Abel. And then we hear how their 29 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:38,360 occupations differ and, and Cain is a tiller of the soil. 30 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:42,080 He grows crops, he grows grains, he grows wheat, barley, whatever 31 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:44,160 else they might have been growing in that time and in that 32 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:47,280 place. And, and Abel 10s flocks. 33 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:50,960 He's a shepherd caring for goats and sheep most likely. 34 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:53,960 And they bring their offerings to God. 35 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:58,760 Now God looks with favor on Abel's offering and he doesn't 36 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:00,880 look favorite with favor upon Cain's offering. 37 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:04,080 And this makes Cain angry and ashamed. 38 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:07,280 And we know he's ashamed. We know he's angry because the 39 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:10,639 Bible says he was angry. We know he's ashamed because the 40 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:12,880 Bible says his face was downcast. 41 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:17,680 And in contemporary American culture, a downcast face is a 42 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:20,720 way of talking about sadness, maybe a way of talking about 43 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:24,800 anger or resentment. But in ancient Middle Eastern 44 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:29,520 culture, almost everything having to do with face had to do 45 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:35,160 with honor and with shame. So when God looked with favor on 46 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:39,480 Abel's offering and did not look with favor, did not turn his 47 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:44,120 face toward Cain's offering, God, by turning his face toward 48 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:48,840 Abel's offering, was honoring Abel and his offering, and he 49 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:52,320 was dishonouring. He was shaming Cain and his 50 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:55,600 offering. And now Cain's face is downcast. 51 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:59,600 His face is turned down. And this is a symbol and a sign 52 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:05,000 in that culture of deep shame, of being deeply dishonored. 53 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,080 And so this is the context. This is the context of what's 54 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:11,120 happening now. One of the questions that so 55 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:14,080 often comes up in my mind and the minds of others when they 56 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:18,800 look at This is why, Why did God honor Abel and his offering, 57 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:22,840 look with favor upon them, but dishonor and reject Cain and his 58 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,800 offering? And we're not sure to be 59 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:28,320 perfectly honest. There are a lot of different 60 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:31,520 theories. I think the most plausible is 61 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,720 this. If you go back and and look at 62 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:37,120 that text, it's about the offerings. 63 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:41,640 It says in the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits 64 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:44,280 of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 65 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:51,800 In the course of time it just so happened eventually Cain brought 66 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,840 some of the stuff that he had grown as an offering to the 67 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:58,400 Lord. But it says of Abel's offering, 68 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:02,960 Abel also brought an offering, the fat portions from some of 69 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:07,280 the first born of his flock. We get the sense here there is 70 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:12,320 at least a hint that that Cain's offering is 1/2 hearted offering 71 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:16,079 of whatever he had, kind of whenever he thought to bring it. 72 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:21,279 There was no sense of urgency. There was no sense of priority. 73 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:25,320 We know that eventually, when God gave His law to the 74 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:29,000 Israelites through Moses, offerings given to God were 75 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,560 always of the first fruits. You bring the 1st. 76 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:36,600 And not only do you bring the first, you bring the best, the 77 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:41,040 fat portions and the first born. Now the law hadn't been given 78 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:48,000 yet, but Abel brought the best that he could bring in his 79 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:52,040 offering to God, Some of the first born of his flocks and the 80 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:55,600 fat portions of those. Whereas it seems that Cain, 81 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:59,960 whether he was acting out of duty or simply a lackadaisical 82 00:04:59,960 --> 00:05:03,360 who really cares kind of attitude, seems to have just 83 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,200 brought something of what he had grown. 84 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:09,960 The fact that one was an animal offering and one was a grain 85 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:14,120 offering doesn't really matter. God later on, again through the 86 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,800 law of Moses reveal he he called for both animal offerings and 87 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:21,480 grain offerings, but it was always first fruits, it was 88 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:23,880 always the best. The animals that you brought, 89 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:26,040 you were to bring the fat portions and you were to bring 90 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:32,360 unblemished animals. So what is possibly going on 91 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:36,840 here is that God accepted Abel's offering because Abel gave the 92 00:05:36,840 --> 00:05:40,720 best of what he had. It was a sense of urgency and 93 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:45,560 priority and what he was giving to God, whereas Cain seemed to 94 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:50,040 either not care, not be interested, be indifferent about 95 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:52,480 it. Of all of the theories that are 96 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:54,320 out there, I think that's the most likely. 97 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:57,880 But the there's another theory that's out there that I think is 98 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:01,360 worth considering is that God intentionally doesn't tell us 99 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,000 the reason why God rejected. Is it made known to us? 100 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:07,840 Because we don't really need to know it. 101 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:14,240 Because God is God and and what matters is not why God accepted 102 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:19,080 1 and rejected the other, but simply that God accepted 1 and 103 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:22,320 rejected the other. That Cain was mad because God 104 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:25,080 didn't do what God what he wanted God to do. 105 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:29,080 God didn't give him the honor that he wanted, instead he 106 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:31,120 honored his younger brother and shamed him. 107 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:34,680 And why God did it, we don't know. 108 00:06:34,840 --> 00:06:37,320 And Cain doesn't even seem to ask. 109 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:43,760 God makes it clear, Look, if you do what is right, things will go 110 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:46,840 well for you too. But if you don't do what is 111 00:06:46,840 --> 00:06:49,720 right, and we don't see Cain going God what is right, There's 112 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:54,120 no he's not seeking God. He's not looking for 113 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:55,840 clarification. He's not looking for 114 00:06:55,840 --> 00:06:58,360 understanding. He's not looking for wisdom. 115 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:01,960 What we ultimately see that Cain is looking for is Cain is 116 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:07,960 looking for revenge and a means by which he can regain his own 117 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:13,760 honor. The murdering of Abel, The 118 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:21,480 killing of Abel seems to be a a an attempt by Cain to establish 119 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:24,880 and gain his own honor and his own respect. 120 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:28,640 That might seem an odd thing, but you don't think of it this 121 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:31,560 way. If you're in a sports team and 122 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:34,040 you're out practicing and scrimmaging and doing what you 123 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:38,000 do, and you, you, you keep getting beaten by the person 124 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:39,680 opposite you. It's on the same team, but 125 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:41,960 they're playing the other side. Whether it's basketball, 126 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:44,960 volleyball, you know, football, whatever, they keep you. 127 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:46,520 They keep getting the best of you. 128 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:48,760 You're going to get angry, you're going to get frustrated. 129 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:50,840 You're going to be shamed. How do you gain honor? 130 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:53,080 How do you regain respect on the team? 131 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:57,360 By defeating your opponent, By getting the best of them the 132 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:01,120 next time, by standing up and showing them who's better. 133 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:07,440 That mindset is not, you know, Cain's mindset here is not 134 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:11,160 alien, and most of us would not go so far as to kill our 135 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:13,120 opponent in order to regain our honor. 136 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:18,560 But on the other hand, you remember Tonya Harding, remember 137 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:24,280 Nancy Kerrigan, right? For those of you who you know, I 138 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:27,720 was, you know, someone told me today that my shirt looked like 139 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:30,680 laugh in. I said I've never seen laugh in 140 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:34,240 and they were shaking their heads because they're all I 141 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:35,480 know. There's a lot of folks here that 142 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:37,679 don't know who Tonya Harding is and don't know who Nancy 143 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:39,559 Kerrigan is. Back in, I think it was in the 144 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:44,480 90s and they were both American figure Figure skaters. 145 00:08:44,680 --> 00:08:47,320 They were both very good. They both had Olympic 146 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:52,000 aspirations and and Nancy Kerrigan seemed to be doing a 147 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:55,320 little better than Tonya Harding, Tonya Harding's 148 00:08:55,320 --> 00:09:00,840 ex-husband and Tonya Harding's trainer hired essentially a hit 149 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:06,160 man to ambush Nancy Kerrigan after practice one day and whack 150 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:09,720 her in the leg with a baton whack and and injure her enough. 151 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:13,520 It was done right before the American Championships as a way 152 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:16,480 of keeping her out. Nancy, out of the championships 153 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:17,760 and therefore out of the Olympics. 154 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:22,400 Removing a competitor from Tonya Harding's path to Olympic glory. 155 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:29,600 Gaining honor by doing violence against your opponent. 156 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:36,240 We do this as human beings. Seek respect, seek honor, seek 157 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:40,320 glory by stomping on and climbing over and standing on 158 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:44,160 the backs of those who are weaker or more vulnerable in 159 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:47,560 some way or another. And that's what Cain did. 160 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:52,840 That's what Cain did. He killed his brother Abel. 161 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:55,320 And then we'll get to the rest of the story in a minute. 162 00:09:55,560 --> 00:10:01,840 But I want to talk about Cain's way here, Cain's way of 163 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:06,240 regaining honor, Cain's way of dealing with God's rejection of 164 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:09,160 him and his offering. Cain's way of dealing with his 165 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:15,400 shame was to lift himself up by standing on the back of someone 166 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:18,440 who was weaker than him, someone who was less than him. 167 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:22,520 We don't know much about Cain. We know even less about Abel. 168 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:26,080 We do know that Abel's name means nothing. 169 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:30,240 Now, let me be clear. His name means something, but 170 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:32,840 what it means is nothing. All right, that's kind of fun, 171 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:33,440 isn't it? Yeah. 172 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:36,400 There you go. You remember in in Ecclesiastes 173 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:38,480 where the the writer of Ecclesiastes begins. 174 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:40,960 Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. 175 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:44,320 And that word vanity there means it's, it's something similar to 176 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:46,360 soap bubble. It's something, there's no 177 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:48,880 substance to it. There's nothing to it. 178 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:53,040 That's vanity. That's Abel's name, the same 179 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:55,200 word. Why his parents gave him that 180 00:10:55,200 --> 00:11:00,880 name, we have no idea. Cain was hailed and celebrated 181 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:03,640 by Eve. I have made with God's help, I 182 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:06,880 have made a human, I have made a man. 183 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:11,200 And they were proud of Cain, that Abel, Abel was nothing to 184 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:15,080 them. Cain had all of the honor from 185 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:18,960 the beginning. As the eldest child, he had all 186 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:21,000 of the glory. He had all of position. 187 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:26,440 And when he was pushed off that pedestal, he saw the way to get 188 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:34,240 back on that pedestal was to attack his rival, attack another 189 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:37,880 human being. I'll gain my own honor, I'll 190 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:41,400 gain my own respect. I'll gain my own glory by 191 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:45,600 besting my rival, by being the best and showing that I'm the 192 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:51,280 best, I'm the strongest. I'm the most able to achieve in 193 00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:55,880 this world. That was Kane's way, and Cain's 194 00:11:55,880 --> 00:12:02,560 way is the way of death. That way of gaining honor, that 195 00:12:02,560 --> 00:12:06,760 way of gaining respect doesn't lead to life, it leads to death. 196 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:10,320 And what did we see in the previous chapter? 197 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:14,680 In the Garden of Eden there were two trees that were named by 198 00:12:14,680 --> 00:12:19,480 name, the Tree of Life, the Tree of Life and the Tree of the 199 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:22,320 Knowledge of Good and Evil. And God had told Adam and Eve, 200 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:25,000 don't eat for fruit from the tree of the Knowledge of Good 201 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:30,400 and evil or you will surely die. They ate of that and they 202 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:34,720 brought death into the world. And so God cast them out of the 203 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:36,960 garden and cut them off from life. 204 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:43,320 And now they have passed this legacy of death onto their 205 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:48,720 children. Cain once again choosing the way 206 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:52,520 of death once again instead of turning to God and saying to 207 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:55,760 God, God, what can I do to regain your favor? 208 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:59,400 What can I do to regain the honor that I can only get from 209 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:01,720 you? He said, how can I get my own 210 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:03,920 honor? How can I get my own glory? 211 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:08,400 Not content with the glory of God, not desiring to seek God's 212 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:12,360 glory in his life and to share in God's glory in his life, He 213 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:15,520 was determined to get glory and honor on his own. 214 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:18,720 And when we do of that as human beings, when we make that our 215 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:21,800 goal, when we make that our mission to give glory and honor 216 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:25,520 to ourselves and achieve that on our own, that is the way of 217 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:30,360 death in one way or another. It always leads to death, 218 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:35,120 whether it's sibling rivalry or ice skater rivalry or the 219 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:39,280 rivalry in schools or at work or in politics. 220 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:47,040 When the goal is to achieve for ourselves honor and glory, we 221 00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:49,280 end up standing on the backs of others to get it. 222 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:55,040 And we're simply living out that legacy of the Garden of Eden 223 00:13:55,280 --> 00:14:01,640 that we know ourselves the best way to get honor and glory and 224 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:05,200 position and status and respect for ourselves. 225 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:10,800 Cain's way is the way of death. Cain's way is the way of death. 226 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:14,680 What is God's way? What is God's way? 227 00:14:14,680 --> 00:14:18,440 He said to Cain, If you do what is right, let me just read it 228 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:20,600 again. The Lord said to Cain, Why are 229 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:23,120 you angry? Why is your face downcast? 230 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:26,640 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? 231 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:30,000 But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your 232 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:32,520 door. It desires to have you, but you 233 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:37,320 must rule over it. Do what is right, God says. 234 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:40,480 And this is simply more than just doing the right thing. 235 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:44,360 It's it's, it's more than just follow the rules. 236 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:48,240 God is not saying to Cain, if you just follow the rules, there 237 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:52,680 was no rules at this point. God had only given one rule that 238 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:54,880 we know of to this point, which was don't eat from the fruit of 239 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,120 the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that had already 240 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:00,160 been done. The law hadn't been given. 241 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:03,800 There were no commandments that have been given about offerings 242 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:05,000 to give to God. No commands. 243 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:09,800 It's even to bring offerings to God, but God says to Cain do 244 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:12,520 what is right. That word there in in older 245 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:17,200 translations is is sometimes translated as righteous do 246 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:21,800 righteousness and righteousness is much more than just following 247 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:25,080 a moral code or ethical rules or religious rules. 248 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:28,800 Righteousness has to do with living and right relationship. 249 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:34,040 In the Old Testament it was a covenant of with God and 250 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:38,040 covenant relationship with God and with other people that was 251 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:41,240 based on the justice and the peace of God. 252 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:46,560 Treat each other rightly, honor me rightly and I will give you 253 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:48,760 and all that are around you peace. 254 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:52,680 You will share in my honor and my glory. 255 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:55,080 God says I will give you all the honor. 256 00:15:55,320 --> 00:15:59,640 I will give you all the glory as my people that anyone could ever 257 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:03,320 want or need. You will share in my honor and 258 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:07,360 My glory if you live in right relationship with Me and right 259 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:11,920 relationship with each other. That's what righteousness was. 260 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:16,320 That's what doing what right doing right meant to God. 261 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:23,920 Humble yourself before me. Seek my honor and My glory as 262 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:29,520 your Creator and your Sustainer and your Redeemer, and you will 263 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:33,520 share in my glory. If you try to get it on your 264 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:36,560 own, you're only going to create more death. 265 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:42,160 And so when God asked Cain where is your brother, he wasn't 266 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:44,680 looking for information. God knows everything. 267 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:46,920 He wasn't looking for information. 268 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:52,240 He was, He was helping, still trying to help Cain see the 269 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:55,480 importance of relationship. Cain was having none of it. 270 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:58,720 His answer am I? My brother's keeper? 271 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:03,880 Gets to the heart of what's wrong in Cain's life is that he 272 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:08,280 sees himself as the top. He sees himself as the standard, 273 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:11,920 and he has no responsibility whatsoever for his brother. 274 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:15,680 Why should I care about my brother? 275 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:19,480 Why should I care about him? He's nothing to me. 276 00:17:20,839 --> 00:17:24,640 And that was the problem. That was the problem. 277 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:33,120 Jesus clarified the ancient notion of righteousness when he 278 00:17:33,120 --> 00:17:36,240 says things like this. The law and the prophets are 279 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:38,520 summed up in this. Love God. 280 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:42,640 Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love 281 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:48,520 your neighbor as yourself. You have a responsibility to 282 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:51,240 love your neighbor, to love your and, and he didn't. 283 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:54,720 He didn't water it down, he expanded it and made it even 284 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:57,320 more profound. Because it isn't just love your 285 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:01,520 brother as yourself. It's not just your family, it's 286 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:03,680 your neighbor. It's anyone you encounter. 287 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:07,360 Love them as you are supposed to be loving your brother and your 288 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:10,680 sister. Love them as your own family, 289 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:15,480 and you'll fulfill all the law and all the prophets. 290 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:17,560 A new commandment, a new covenant. 291 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:20,800 Jesus said I give to you the night before he died, a new 292 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:24,320 covenant. Love one another as I have loved 293 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:29,520 you. We have a responsibility toward 294 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:33,480 our sisters and our brothers, our family and our neighbors to 295 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:38,240 love them, not to use them, to gain glory and honor and respect 296 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:43,160 for ourselves. Cain's way, Cain's way, the way 297 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:45,760 of death is far too prevalent in our world. 298 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:52,600 In all corners of our world. We say people see people living 299 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:55,160 by the rule. My dad used to tell us when we 300 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:57,840 were at a family reunion and there was food out or at a 301 00:18:57,840 --> 00:18:59,360 church gathering, it was food out. 302 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:02,960 It was like, you'll get it. Root hog or die was his was his 303 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:05,480 phrase. Our root hog was fun. 304 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:08,160 He didn't expect us to actually kill anyone to get the food. 305 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:10,880 Just a fun saying. But we got way too many people 306 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:13,120 living like that's the rule in the law of the land. 307 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:18,640 Rude hog or die. Get all you can living by some 308 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:23,240 sort of bizarre notion of Darwinian social theory that 309 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:26,880 that that the fit the survival of the fittest. 310 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:31,160 Fight for what you get and it's better for everyone if we stomp 311 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:34,480 on the weak to strengthen the strong because that will make 312 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:39,880 the species stronger. Funny how it's always the people 313 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:42,240 on the top that seem to be living by that creed. 314 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:48,840 God said that's not my way, that's the way of death. 315 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:54,360 God's way is the way of life. Love each other is I have loved 316 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:56,000 you. Love your neighbor is I? 317 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:58,120 Who's your neighbor? You remember that story? 318 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:00,120 Jesus told that story because they asked him. 319 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:03,640 I said, well, who's my neighbor? I'm supposed to follow this 320 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:04,800 rule. Who's my neighbor? 321 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:08,600 Jesus told about the man traveling from Jericho to 322 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:10,320 Jerusalem. He was attacked by bandits. 323 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:12,800 He was robbed, beaten, and left for dead on the side of the 324 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:14,920 road. And the priest and the rabbi 325 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:17,120 went by, and they did nothing to help. 326 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:21,600 And then the Samaritan came. The hated Samaritan, the 327 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:25,280 ethnically, culturally, religiously, politically 328 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:30,720 different Samaritan came by and he got down from his animal and 329 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:34,640 he tended the man's wounds and he poured wine on them to 330 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:38,520 disinfect medicine of the day. And he put him on his own animal 331 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:41,720 and he took him to an end and he paid for his care. 332 00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:44,680 And he told the innkeeper, do whatever it takes to take care 333 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:46,240 of this man. When I come back, I'll pay 334 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:51,800 whatever else is owed. And Jesus said, who was the 335 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:53,800 neighbor to that man? And they got that. 336 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:56,160 That other guy, the guy that asked him, he couldn't bring 337 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:58,160 himself to say the word Samaritan. 338 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:03,320 He despised the Samaritans and all he could say was the one who 339 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:06,680 showed mercy. And Jesus said you do the same. 340 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:12,160 That's how to live. Not asking who is my neighbor 341 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:19,680 that I must love, but living with the responsibility of being 342 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:23,360 a neighbor to everyone we encounter who is in need. 343 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:26,680 Whatever their need, whatever their politics, whatever their 344 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:29,360 philosophy, whatever their lifestyle, whatever their 345 00:21:29,360 --> 00:21:31,720 background, whatever their gender, whatever their skin 346 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:35,560 color, be a neighbor and love them in the name of Jesus. 347 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:41,240 This is the righteousness. This is the right thing that 348 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:47,360 Cain couldn't see, because Cain was obsessed with achieving his 349 00:21:47,360 --> 00:21:54,000 own righteousness, his own glory, his own status at the 350 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:55,960 expense of anyone who stood in his way. 351 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:03,720 But even in the end, even in the end, God's way, God's way of 352 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:07,040 mercy, God's way of compassionate love for those 353 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:12,520 around us, even even after Cain spilled his brother's blood and 354 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:16,760 God cast him out and cut him off, God still showed him mercy. 355 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:19,920 Cain said. I'll be an outcast. 356 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:22,720 Everyone I see will try to kill me. 357 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:27,920 This would be a great spot to remind ourselves that we can see 358 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:31,320 this historically. We can see this as as a, as a 359 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:37,160 parable, as an allegory and, and, and you know, you're going 360 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:39,480 to see it historically. The challenge is, is where we're 361 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:41,760 all of these other people that we're going to kill Cain. 362 00:22:42,360 --> 00:22:45,640 And when he goes and starts to join and moves into a city, 363 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:48,160 which we see in a few verses later, where'd the city come 364 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:51,520 from? We don't want to get caught up 365 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:55,320 in those kind of details. However you see it. 366 00:22:55,320 --> 00:23:01,240 Cain was afraid to be cast out of God's presence, mean to be 367 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:04,040 removed, meant to be removed from God's protection. 368 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:10,440 And so God put his protection upon Cain, a mark. 369 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:14,440 We have no idea what the mark was, but it wasn't a curse. 370 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:18,200 It was a sign that even though this man is no longer in my 371 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:20,560 presence, he's still under my protection. 372 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:30,200 God's still extending mercy, still extending grace, even to 373 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:33,080 the first murderer who killed his own brother. 374 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:41,200 God's way is the way of life. God shamed Cain in the 375 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:45,160 beginning, but God didn't shame Cain to punish Cain. 376 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:50,480 God shamed Cain to restore Cain so that Cain would come back to 377 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:53,120 him and say, God, how can I restore my honor? 378 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:55,920 What can I do? How can I do rightly? 379 00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:58,640 How can I be? The function of shame in the 380 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:01,840 Bible is not punitive. That's one of the worst things 381 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:06,240 about our culture right now is the way shame is used 100% 382 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:09,120 punitively. And if someone ever does any 383 00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:12,880 wrong, they get shamed and cut off and cast out and removed, 384 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:16,960 and there's no hope no matter what they do from that point on, 385 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:21,240 can they be restored? That's how cancel culture 386 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:25,600 functions, and people were playing the cancel culture game 387 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:31,120 long before social media. There were things that people 388 00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:33,480 could do that would so shame their family and their friends 389 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:35,840 and their community that they could never be restored. 390 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:39,480 But that's never how God used shame. 391 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:44,680 The purpose of turning away from Cain and his offering was to 392 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:47,560 restore Cain so that Cain would know he had done wrong. 393 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:50,680 That he was going down to the wrong path. 394 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:54,160 That pushing God to the back burner and making him a low 395 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:57,520 priority and being unconcerned with God's honor and God's glory 396 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:02,400 was putting Cain on the way to death that would control him for 397 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:04,600 the rest of his life if he didn't course correct. 398 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:11,160 And to the very end, God was trying to bring Cain back, to 399 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:14,440 show him mercy, to give him opportunity for repentance. 400 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:19,920 We don't know for sure, but I don't think Cain ever took God 401 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:24,560 up on that. We do know that several 402 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:29,160 generations later, 1 of Cain's I did the counting before and now 403 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:33,120 I can't remember it was a great great great grandson or great 404 00:25:33,120 --> 00:25:36,760 great great great grandson is a few generations down. 405 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:45,080 Lamech, a descendant of Cain had taken 2 wives, Ada and Zilla. 406 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:49,160 And Lamech said to his wives, Listen to me, wives of Lamech, 407 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:52,040 hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding 408 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:57,400 me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged 7 times, 409 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:05,760 Lamech is avenged 77 times. God said to Cain, you need to 410 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:10,520 deal with your behavior, need to deal with this unrighteousness, 411 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:12,880 this wrongness in your relationship with me and with 412 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:15,640 others. If you don't, sin will rule over 413 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:22,360 you, but you need to master it. It appears that sin ruled over 414 00:26:22,360 --> 00:26:26,240 Cain was now ruling over Cain's descendants. 415 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:32,560 There is an amazing passage in the Bible at the beginning of 416 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:36,000 the 10 commandments, did I not? Oh, I thought I copied and 417 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,280 pasted that. Doggone it, I got to go. 418 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:41,800 I got to change apps. I'm sorry, because I got to read 419 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:45,800 this. I stop being difficult 420 00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:50,640 technology. OK, I could have sworn I copied 421 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:53,080 and pasted that into my notes and I did not. 422 00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:57,280 I would say smoke them if you got them, but that would be 423 00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:02,840 inappropriate. Exodus 20. 424 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:07,200 All right, And we'll just start at verse one. 425 00:27:21,660 --> 00:27:24,260 The 10 Commandments You shall have no other God before me. 426 00:27:24,540 --> 00:27:28,060 God said you should not make for yourself an image in the form of 427 00:27:28,060 --> 00:27:30,940 anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the 428 00:27:30,940 --> 00:27:33,580 waters below. You shall not bow down to them 429 00:27:33,580 --> 00:27:36,660 or worship them. For I, the Lord your God, am a 430 00:27:36,660 --> 00:27:40,580 jealous God. God is saying I created you, 431 00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:45,440 I've sustained you. I, I, I brought you out of 432 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:49,520 slavery in Egypt. I shamed and defeated the most 433 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:52,280 powerful Kingdom on earth just to redeem you. 434 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:53,760 I brought you through the wilderness. 435 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:57,520 I'm taking you to a promised land, a land flowing with milk 436 00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:02,400 and honey to give to you as your inheritance, as my children. 437 00:28:04,120 --> 00:28:06,760 I am honoring you and glorifying you. 438 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:11,120 Honor and glorify me. Surrender to me, serve me, bow 439 00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:14,440 down to me, give your allegiance to me, and I will give you all 440 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:18,480 of the honor and glory you need. Don't turn to other sources for 441 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:20,920 that. That's what idolatry was about, 442 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:25,560 to turn to other sources for salvation, for hope, for relief, 443 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:29,240 for honor, for glory. God said get that from me. 444 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:31,640 And God then says this curious thing. 445 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,160 I am a jealous God punishing the children for the sin of the 446 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:41,440 parents to the 3rd and the 4th generation of those who hate me. 447 00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:49,240 I don't think God is saying that He's just going to take 448 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:52,640 retributive justice against grandchildren and great 449 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:54,920 grandchildren because of the sins of their parents. 450 00:28:56,840 --> 00:29:02,920 What God is saying is as parents, what we do not only 451 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:07,400 effects those around us now, it is part of the legacy that we 452 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:11,760 leave to our children and to our grandchildren and to our great 453 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:16,360 grandchildren. As fathers on Father's Day in 454 00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:18,040 particular, me, talk to the dads. 455 00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:22,240 This is for moms too. And, and, and for anybody, talk 456 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:24,200 to the fathers. We're going to leave a legacy to 457 00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:31,640 our children, a right or wrong. They will inherit some sinful 458 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:34,480 patterns and sinful ways of thinking and mindsets and 459 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:38,520 behaviors from us. And you can go back and look at 460 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,600 your own family history and your own see different kinds of 461 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:44,800 dysfunction and brokenness that have repeated themselves across 462 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:51,960 generations in your family. We have a responsibility and our 463 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:57,000 right relationship with God and others includes our descendants 464 00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,920 who have not yet even been born and won't be born until well 465 00:29:59,920 --> 00:30:04,200 after we've died. The life that we live and the 466 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:08,080 legacy that we leave behind will affect children who aren't a 467 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:10,120 twinkle in their grandparents eyes yet. 468 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:17,920 And that's part of our responsibility to to establish 469 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:22,280 this righteousness in our lives so that we can pass that on. 470 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:27,000 And God says that. God says that, says punishing 471 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:29,840 children for the sins of the parents to the third and 4th 472 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:34,000 generation of those who hate me, but showing love to 1000 473 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:38,200 generations of those who love me and keep my commandments, 474 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:42,680 showing love to 1000 generations. 475 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:47,080 When you live righteously and right relationship with me and 476 00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:51,240 the people around you, that's the legacy. 477 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:56,240 That's the legacy that endures. That thousand generations could 478 00:30:56,240 --> 00:31:01,040 be a literal 1000 generations. It could be a a figurative 1000 479 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:03,560 generations in the sense of it'll just go on and on and on 480 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:06,840 for a long time. But there's sometimes when that 481 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:12,600 thousands, that #1000 is used as an equivalent to forever, for 482 00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:17,040 all eternity, that the goodness and righteousness that we do as 483 00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:20,960 fathers, as mothers, as as as parents, grandparents, that 484 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:25,480 that's a legacy that lasts and endures forever and ever. 485 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,720 That's God's way, that way of life. 486 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:34,280 And it begins, it begins with honoring God. 487 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:38,480 That's why the first of the 10 commandments, the first 4-5 of 488 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:43,280 them I should know that are all about how we honor God before we 489 00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:46,880 get to the commandments about honoring other people and loving 490 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:48,600 and serving and caring for other people. 491 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:51,520 The first are all about our relationship with God because 492 00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:55,560 that's the priority. We get that relationship right. 493 00:31:56,160 --> 00:31:59,960 We get that relationship right so that we're, we're trusting in 494 00:31:59,960 --> 00:32:03,120 God for all the honor and glory and respect and dignity that we 495 00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:05,520 need, all that we need coming from God. 496 00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:11,680 Now we're free to live and love and and and humility and peace 497 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:16,680 with our neighbors, with our family, with our friends, and 498 00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:19,560 even with our enemies. And that's God's way. 499 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:22,680 It's the way of life. Which way will you choose? 500 00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:27,840 The other thing that's clear in the story is that Cain had a 501 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:31,800 choice. Cain had a choice. 502 00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:36,600 We all have that same choice, every single one of us. 503 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:41,000 Which way will we choose? We will we choose Cain's way, 504 00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:45,680 where we make our own way no matter what the cost to others? 505 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:51,680 Or will we choose God's way and which we make God a priority, 506 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:56,880 receive all that we need from Him, and live in humility and 507 00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:00,160 peace and love and service with those around us. 508 00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:07,040 Shame, sin and the mercy of God. We all have to do. 509 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:10,120 We all have to deal with shame. We all have to deal with sin. 510 00:33:11,280 --> 00:33:13,800 Thank God we can all receive the mercy of God. 511 00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:17,840 Let's choose to receive it and choose to live it with others in 512 00:33:17,920 --> 00:33:20,120 Jesus name, Amen. Amen.