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ND Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. * 2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. (Genesis 4:1-8)
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OE unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. (Jude 1:11)
The first man upon the earth was Adam. By hum came a general death sentence upon all his progeny – including you and me. By the second Adam, eternal life has been granted to all by grace and faith. 45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. (1 Corinthians 15:45-49)
God, in His infinite wisdom, has presented His word to us by both example and explicit measure. Throughout the Bible, the first son has been entitled to the blessing; but in most cases recounted in the Bible, it is the second son that gains the blessings of the father. Adam was the first man (first son of God – Luke 3:38) from whom all physical humanity is descended. As such, Adam became the federal head of all in the flesh: however, the Lord Jesus Christ is the second man and Son of god by whom the elect are born anew in the new creation. Our Lord is the spiritual head of all who are redeemed in Christ. If we skip several generations, we come to the second son of Abraham, Isaac, who received the promise of his father, Abraham. He was the promised son and therefore the only begotten of both Abraham and Sarah. Then came Esau and Jacob of Isaac and Rachel. The blessings descended upon Jacob instead of the firstborn. So, what point am I making?
Cain was the firstborn of woman (Eve) and Abel was the second. Abel was called of God as a prophet. . . . . the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. (Luke 11:50-51) Cain was cursed in two ways – for his failure of obedience to God in offerings and later for the murder of prophet-brother, Abel. Cain was the first rebellious child born on earth. He was rebellious in the same sense as Korah before Moses.
Why did God reject the offering of Cain? It seems innocent enough to bring the fruits of one’s labor from the earth, right? Wrong! God had already demonstrated the necessity of a blood-offering in covering sins. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21) That animal (likely a lamb) slain was a precious and innocent creature in the Garden – Adam no longer was. That innocent animal whose life God had to take to cover the nakedness (sin) of Adam and Eve must have caused much sorrow for the Lord. It reflected an even greater sacrifice, determined from before the foundation of the world, of God’s only Son – the Lamb of God. The toil and sweat of farming represented an effort to appease God by good works, but good works will never suffice. A blood sacrifice of the living must be made to cover sin – for without the shedding of blood, there is not remission of sin. (see Hebrews 9:22) By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. (Hebrews 11:4)
Cain proudly rejected God’s commandment in offering a sacrifice from a cursed source – . . . . cursed is the ground for thy sake. (Gen 3:17)
Just as in the case of David’s adulterous affair with Bathsheba that led to murder, so the prideful reaction of Cain at God’s rebuff led to the murder of innocent blood in the killing of Abel. Cain could not bear the notion that the offering of Abel, his younger brother, was well received by the Lord while his own was rejected. His bitterness and jealousy led to outright hatred, and hatred leads to murder. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. (1 John 3:15) So all who hate their brothers and sisters in Christ are bound for the same destiny and darkness as Cain.
Even in many churches there exists this jealousy, bitterness and hatred of other servants of God who are devoted to His service. When entertained for more than a short period of time, these seeds of evil germinate and turn to vile hatred that will terminate at the abyss. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. (Jude 1:11)
Abel was righteous and he was persecuted by the unrighteous (Cain). We often look at this condition and believe the cards are stacked against the righteous in this world. Such an assumption is more than speculation – it is real. We have a perfect example of this condition and relationship in politics today. Those who are willing to lie, cheat and steal always bear a great advantage over those who are honest and forthright in politics. It has become brazenly evident that this projection of moral turpitude has egregiously grown into a profound model of political deception in our day. Both friend and foe at the top of the political spectrum understand the lies, but are unable to reveal truth effectively owing to the intrenched establishment which does all to hide the truth from the general public.
In our day, our social and political practices are well on the way of Cain.
The way of Cain will always lead to misery and deprivation. But, since our Lord Jesus Christ is the WAY, the TRUTH, and LIFE, we would all fare so much better if our values were attuned to that path rather than that of corruption, embezzlement and educational indoctrination of children in the failed systems of the past.
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