GENESIS 4:26 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.
This verse is supposed to be a reference to prayers first being said. I never quite understood it that way but in any case nothing specific is said. It is noteworthy what is MISSING in the Antidiluvian era which is ANY reference to prayer at all; we don't even see anything stated for Noah a man of faith; perhaps this is why he silpped so easily into drunkenness after the event when he was tilling a vineyard.
IN the Believer's Portal (dot com) cite we find a list of 650 prayers in scripture. I would recommend that site to get a comprehensive overview of prayer in scripture. According to this cite Genesis 15 is the first prayer stated in scripture and involved Abraham's prayer for his offspring; with the next being Isaac's prayer for Ishmael; the third was Abraham's well known one involving God sparing 10 righteous if they existed in Sodom. This cite also gives the response; in the second prayer it wasn't according to God's will and hence wasn't answered.
Genesis 21 contains the first prayer of a woman (Hagar). This prayer expresses her concern for the immediate fate of her son; Ishmael born from Abraham's seed. She is given miraculous provision in the desert; then told of the future of her son in verse 12 to be a "wild donkey of a man". This sort of "sentiment" wasn't limited to her as others had less than favorable destinies in other familial "blessings".
These passages show that front and center was family posterity and generational blessings and cursings that were the result of prayers as well as frequent scripture themes of God's working with the early patriarchs. Since only a few families existed for God's righteous line it isn't unexpected these are prevalent subject matters of prayers at that time.
In the next post I will consider Abraham's prayer about Sodom and how he acted as intercessor.
Since I had several postings on the subject yesterday; I would recommend you to look at that if helpful.
On my last commentary yesterday, I discussed the "mark of Cain" as mentioned in Genesis 4:15. This was something God allowed after Cain murdured his brother and was promised that he would be a vagabond on the earth from that point forth and Cain protested saying that was too hard. The Lord could have wiped him out at that point; but there was a greater lesson there.
Later on we see Lamech in Genesis 4:24 saying that he would be avenged seventy seven times after his violent acts.
Several things can be pointed out here; firstly this was the first time a mark on a person was given; and also God ultimately was the authority. Cain at the time would have been the only man alive; conceivably marrying one of his sisters later born to Adam and Eve so that God had to preserve him to continue the human race at that point at least until Seth was born; of course God knew ahead of time that others would reproduce; but also at the time there was no formal law regarding murder.
The main concept here and later passages is any mark whether of God or Satan is an identifier of a master and ownership. The idea that we ultimately have free will in regard to this issue seems to be ultimately not true. God once again mentions a mark with those who are mourning over the abominations at the time in the Temple of Jerusalem ( Ezekiel 9:4). God's mark again is mentioned with the 144,000 in Revelation 7 starting in verse 4. This is to make the judgments of God to not affect these men.
Of course the infamous mark of the Beast in Revelation 13 is something people will take or "decide" on; but all those whose names are not written in the Book of Life will not only take it but worship the Beast. ( Rev. 13:8).
Computer chips are now assimilating economic and health care information; so likely a chip is meant ("chargma") in original language means a mark on or under theskin
Regarding righteousness, according to the imagery set-up by God, the blood of the murdered man cried out from the ground for justice, and the cry was heard loudest by the member of the clan who stood nearest to the dead in kingship, the kinsman-Redeemer; therefore, the closest of kin would follow through as the blood avenger fulfilling this responsibility" ( Genesis 4:1-16,10.
The family Has the Lead
We must remember that within a theocracy (A governmental system that ruled over men based upon God's leadership, as opposed to monarchy, social rule or democracy), which is what Israel was; it is a system that does not believe that the government itself is responsible for the people, the tribe / family is.
Those that ruled a culture or society were not considered responsible for the welfare of the people in a direct manner as it is today.
The ruling party rather, a monarchy as in the King or Queen, a dictator such as a King, or a king who was a conqueror who captured nations and acquired lands, or a theocracy; the main responsibility of these governing powers was the cohesion of the nation itself, which did involve protection from outside forces, and the carrying out of the "laws of the land" in the form of maintaining justice, yet not the personal responsibility of individuals.
Within the nation of Israel, post Egyptian flight and pre kingship; based upon God's commands, welfare if not met by the family was met by rules such as NOT collecting the fallen wheat as the crops were being gathered by owners. So that the poor could pick up what was left, called gleaning.
From the time of the inception of the church 2000 years ago, the churches has taken on meeting the needs of welfare regarding the poor, orphans, widows, and those disabled, this was not normally a function of the governments themselves.
Continue in His goodness or be cut off. For what God has shown in His mercy by the sacrifice of His Son and his promise of eternal life to us, is it unreasonable for us to be a living sacrifice, this cannot refer to a sacrifice that covers or atones for sin. It is true repentance and obedience and service to Him. A choice to do and continue to do or be cut off/perish.
Cain and Abel made an offering, without doubt, they were doing this because God had instructed them, but it does not say what was instructed. Abel was a keeper of sheep and Cain was a tiller of the ground and they both brought of their works. Can we say it was because Abel sacrificed blood he was accepted? No.
Could they be sacrificing for sin when the law had not been given? Noah is the next one who is recorded sacrificing and the law was not yet given. When Cain killed Abel God put a mark on Cain so no one would kill him because the penalty for murder was not given until after the flood, Gen. 8:6.
It was not the offering type or quality that Cain offered, it was his heart, and his offering was not in faith, Genesis 4:6-8. LORD God spoke to Cain and said that if he would do good it would be accepted, but if not, sin would devour him. Same as we are to continue in His goodness or be cut off. This does not mean that we earn God's love or favor; we receive that as a result of salvation through Jesus, our repentance and obedience are the evidence of our faith, Hebrews 11.
"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers" unless it would cause you to sin. I agree this has been used by many and is used today with misinterpreted Scriptures for control, power, and wealth over people. We see this in Revelation 2 with the Nicolaitans that exploded in the 4th century even with the punishment of death using the word heresy, the Greek word hairesis meaning, a self-chosen opinion, a religious or philosophical sect.
In addition to my previous post about SOUL and SPIRIT, I would like to comment on the magnitude / greatness of distinguishing the offering that pleases GOD and what does not.
Genesis 4:3-5
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground(Inanimate things, i.e. lifeless, without SOUL) an offering unto the Lord.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock (a being that has a SOUL) and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering(the offering of Abel was from GOD's perspective): 5 But unto Cain and to his offering GOD had not respect. (Why? Because the offering of Cain was inanimate things, without soul, i.e. lifeless, like the dead letter of the Law that kills, it is mortal, a human offering by the spirit of man, not by the Spirit of GOD.)
JESUS said to Satan: your thinking is from a human perspective(the offering of Cain was from a human perspective), a stumbling block, and not from GOD's perspective. Matt.16:22-23.
And GOD said through Isaiah: Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of ? Is.2:22
Covenants of God: Introduction: God's patterns in initiation
1. End of Dispensation: Judgment of men
2. Signs and Wonders
3. Element of fire
4, Blessings and cursings
5. Separation of God's people
6. Be fruitful and multiply
EDEN. God sent out man after what is known as the "Age of Innocence"; possibly that involved an implied covenant with Adam
to care for the earth; and the first marriage. Man would be mortal and suffer on earth; and driven out from the Garden
and the Tree of Life. The Serpent was cursed; and by implication Satan. The death blow was promised in Genesis 3:15 along
with God's final victory. Judgment came on Cain and would affect his descendants in Genesis 4:15.
NOAH. God made a covenant symbolized by the rainbow after destroying all but Noah and his family (8 people). He promised never to destroy the earth by water again. The animals were part of the plan for preservation and interestingly part of the
covenant promises ( Gen. 9:12). He also was told to be fruitful and multiply anong with his sons( Gen. 9:1); compare with Genesis 1:28). Genesis 10:15-18 had Ham's one son cursed (no time to elaborate here).
ABRAHAM: Sent from Ur of the Chaldees; and given promises through fire in Genesis 15:17-20 when asleep (note Adam's
deep sleep in Genesis 2:21). He was promised miraculously to have innumerable offspring in Genesis 22:17. Judgment
came on Sodom in Genesis 18; Abraham's relative and family.
EXODUS/DEUTERONOMY: God at Horeb appears in fire and smoke; and great sounds to produce fear of His Name; then promises to bring them fully out of the promised land. Ten Commandments "seal the deal" as it was being a peculiar people.
God eventually purged out the rebels; only Caleb and Joseph made it to the promised land of that generation along with children.
BOOK OF ACTS: Pentecost brings about Church Age and New Covenant with fire; signs and wonders. God judges Israel AD 70; final judgment promised later.
Thanks Frankie J. I did note your initial comment about 'how we fulfil the requirements of the Law'. Yet, the point I was trying to highlight is that we can never perfectly fulfil them, as Jesus the sinless One, did. The Law was never designed for men (Israel) to obey as God demanded - it only was given to show them their sin ("by the law is the knowledge of sin" Romans 3:20). We can "pick up the Cross & following Christ", but only by the indwelling Spirit of God can the Law be fully known as God intended (the Decalogue in its given state couldn't do this), all our sin be exposed, & we can experience full forgiveness on the merits of Christ's Sacrifice.
Hebrews 8:13. I should have quoted from Hebrews 8:7-13, where to the House of Israel, a new Covenant will be made, not according to the old Covenant with their fathers. Had the old Covenant been without fault, there would be no need for the New. In this new Covenant, Israel will have God's Laws written into their hearts & minds, that which they had not had before this (future) time. And with the inception of this new Covenant, the Old will vanish away. I see that Israel, because of their blindness & hardheartedness, have yet to acknowledge the Savior of God & until they do & turn wholly to Him in faith, they will still be bound to the old Covenant. But to those IN Christ now, the new Covenant in Christ's Blood is already administered to us, where God's Laws are written upon our hearts & minds by His Spirit, that which Israel still waits for.
And so Jesus is the "mediator of this new Covenant", that speaks of God's Mercy towards the sinner & Grace to receive His forgiveness & healing, something that the shed blood of Abel was in total contrast. It only cried out for vengeance from the ground ( Genesis 4:10). The Old Covenant showed man his sin & God's Vengeance was upon him (but saved by the sacrifices); "but Grace & Truth came by Jesus Christ" ( John 1:17) & we now can receive unconditional pardon.
According to Genesis 4:15; a mark set upon Cain was to cause vengeance to anyone who would attempt to take his life. Compare this to the Mark of the Beast in Revelation 13 and we find some interesting parallels.
First; Satan was a "murderer from the beginning." ( John 8:44). It is no surprise that the first child of Adam was to be attacked after Adam and Eve fell. Having failed the test of God he let temptation rule over him and slayed Abel his brother. Satan is also said to steal and destroy ( John 10:10) along with his lying. We see the progeny of Adam and Eve being destroyed; along with stealing from the parents being able to give an inheritance and Abel receiving it.
Later on in Genesis 4:24 Lamech tries to gain vengeance by his declaration of seventy times seventy for himself for his own violent actions. Kind of like the opposite of forgiveness for the same in Matthew 18:21-22.
The apparent resurrection of Antichrist from a deadly wound as well as being able to kill the two prophets that tormented men will inspire him to declare indestructibility as well as being able to effectively fight against God. He will likely convince men that he can live forever by merging with AI; and likely the DNA of the Nephilim or something to that affect will be part of that plan; as it was in Genesis 6 when all the descendants of men were destroyed for that reason (see Genesis 6:8-9 on Noah being perfect in his generations). Hence at that time we saw no repentance except for Noah; his wife; his 3 sons and their wives.
Whatever the case men will be unredeemable once they take the mark ( Revelation 14:9 and other passages). That will be the fulfillment of 2 Thessalonians 2:11 where people willingly reject the truth and believe The Lie.
The verse on those who dwell on the earth ( Revelation 11:10; also see Revelation 6:10 and other passages) indicates the sea of lost humanity. Revelation 13:8 concludes this for all unsaved.
I thought I'd offer an alternative view to consider. Most here seem to be using reasoning that if something is omitted then it didn't happen. I generally disagree with that logic. If 100% of everything was documented from the Bible days there would not be enough paper or ink to even document it all. The general assumption is that because no other women are mentioned that none others existed, but is that true?
There are many other things not mentioned either, such as Adam and Eve going to the bathroom or bathing or hobbies for how they generally spent their time, but isn't it possible they might have done these things and it just wasn't mentioned? If I wrote a book on a period of my life, I surely wouldn't include everything, but just what I consider to be the most important parts. And any omission wouldn't mean I would be deceiving anyone.
Maybe Adam and Eve ate of other trees too and did lots of other activities that weren't fully documented. With that in mind, because Adam and Eve were already banished from the Garden and relocated... and due to it mentioning the Land of Nod Genesis 4:16 with virtually no introduction or explanation, I think its possible there were other people created and placed in other regions. I'm just offering this as a possible explanation and not claiming this is what happened.
Dixon and Julius. In ( Genesis 1:26-27) God (created) man in his own image, in the image of God (created) he him; ((MALE AND FEMALE)) (created) he them. God (created) male AND female here. ( Gen 1:31) Tells us "And the evening and the morning were the sixth day" Now in ( Gen 2:1-4) v1 Tells us "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them" v2 Tells us "on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all the work which he had made" v4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. (All things were finished, and God rested on the seventh day) Now in the next verse, v5 we see ((there was NOT A MAN to till the ground)) in ( Gen 2:5-7) God had already (created) male and female on the sixth day, yet we are told in v5 there was (not a man) to till the ground. Now in v7 we see "And the LORD God (formed) man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. It wasn't until many verses later that God made Eve from one of Adam's ribs in ( Gen 2:20-23) v23 Tells us "she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man" Remember male and female were (created) the sixth day in ( Gen 1:26-28) Then God (formed) Adam of the dust of the ground after He rested the seventh day. And God (made) Eve from one of Adam's ribs so he would have a help meet. The man God (formed) from the dust of the ground (Adam) would be the bloodline that Jesus Christ would come through. There were many people on the earth by that time for Cain to find a wife from the sixth day (creation). Thats why the serpent, (Satan) beguiled Eve in an effort to corrupt that bloodline the Saviour of the world, (Jesus Christ) would come through. Read your KJB along with this and you should have no problem seeing the Truth. Truth matters. Blessings.
Genesis 5:4 says that Adam (with Eve) begat other sons and daughters besides Cain, Abel, and Seth. So, Cain must have married one of his younger sisters.
Winston4933 There were two Enochs born during that time period in Scripture. The first Enoch was the son of Cain in ( Genesis 4:17) The second Enoch was the son of Jared in ( Genesis 5:18) You can read of their family in those Chapters. Blessings.
Jimbob, I don't know if you have considred this verse or not. Genesis 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. Another verse to ponder regarding reading, comprehending and the purpose of the scripture. Hebrews 13:9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
Eve had freewill and choose to sin and she did to be "like God." Maybe Adam wasn't even around initially.
Today, people try to tempt or convince others they too can be "like God" and some even assume they are a god, or the God. Obviously this comes from satan as he is very skilled at deceiving, including Christians. Emulating the character of Jesus and walking in His footsteps is very different than someone claiming the other self centered special powers- almost like a form of self worship, and separates someone from the one true God, what satan wants.
Yes, Jewel, for mankind, This is where sin started. Romans 5:12-15
But even before the sin of Adam and Eve, Satan sinned before God and so did the angels that followed after him. So, sin originated in Satan. But we each choose to sin due to our sinful nature.
Why did Adam allow Eve to eat from the tree of life when God told Adam he could eat from any tree but that and he did it anyway with Eve, is this when sin started?
Adam and Eve's children would have married each other. Eve is given a prophetical title in Gen 3:20 as, "the mother of all living." There is no law against this at this time and also something different genetically sense people had such long lifespans. Hope that helps.
Were Cain and Abel twins? I know what Genesis 4:1-2 KJV says but Genesis 4:2 KJV seems to leave room for the possibility that Abel was born with in minutes of Cain, or even at a later time depending on interpurtation of verse.
Where to find the verses in the Bible where it shows that it is a sin to be gay/ liesibein etc. I have a family member that is saying that it is ok in the new testament of the Bible I know it is a sin, but need to show her proof.
This is prime example that no matter how much money we give to churches, we cannot enter in Heaven unless we are born again. Cain was living sinful life; therefore, God rejected his offering.
I would like to add to what Brother Chris has shared,
In Hebrews 11:4 it reads "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain",
Now faith comes by hearing the word of God,
So if Abel offered his sacrifice by faith it seems he was instructed to offer the sacrifice he offered.
BY WHICH HE OBTAINED WITNESS THAT HE WAS RIGHTEOUS, God testifying of his gifts: ( AND BY IT ) he being dead yet speaketh.
It seems God expected obedience from Cain to follow through with a specific command in Genesis 4:7
"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.
Cain could have humbled himself and pleaded for forgiveness as Brother Chris said.
It is impossible to please God without faith. Hebrews 11:6.
Hello Linda. Many tend to believe that because Cain did not provide a blood offering, God had rejected it. But I cannot be sure whether at that time a blood sacrifice was mandatory, rather, that God was looking for something else.
Therefore, in Genesis 4:3-5, we read that "the LORD had respect (or, looked upon, attended to) unto Abel and to his offering". I read this as both the offerer & the offering were considered by the LORD whether to be acceptable or not. God was considering Abel, his heart, his motives, his giving, and found him acceptable, as also his offering.
But with Cain, his heart & offering were not right before the LORD, as we see that Cain flew into a rage when God rejected him & the offering. Abel had brought the "firstlings of his flock & its fat", while Cain might have just grabbed whatever 'produce of the ground' that came to his hand, deeming that the sacrificial act was more important than the quality of the sacrifice & of the heart.
Cain, who also walked & talked with God as did his parents, should have rather been humbled by his error & pleaded for forgiveness & sought corrective help. But he walked off in a huff & allowed his anger against the LORD & against his brother to fester, allowing the devil to have his way with him ( Genesis 4:7,8; 1 John 3:12). So, in my understanding of these verses, it seems that the LORD was requiring both the gift & giver to be in an optimal state before Him; unfortunately, Cain failed God, his family & left a murderer & a vagabond.
Why did God reject Cain's offering? He was a tiller of the ground - he gave the first fruits of what he had. I do not understand why it was turned away. Thank You . . .
We may ask ourselves; well then before the sin was there no knowledge of good? God's own goodness not to mention the idyllic environment of the Garden; the beauty of the first man and woman in a sinless state of innocence and their whole existence would bring to mind that they should have had some idea of what "good" was. We see; with careful examination of what is NOT said that there is no praise mentioned toward their Creator; or any other scripture indicating that they were even truly saved. No mention is made in the Garden of any greeting that said "Lord" when He spoke to Adam in the cool of the day. They are NOT included for instance in the long list of saints in Hebrews 11. The only thing I can see is when Seth was born to replace Abel after Cain murdured his brother ( Genesis 4:1) where Eve said that she had gotten a "man from the Lord."
Knowing evil; hence was the introduction to Satan's world and usurping the authority God gave them in the garden; as well as bringing thorns; toils; and a guaranteed death sentence to the body; and later if not repentant and saved; to their souls sending their spirits to Sheol. We can't be certain as to their fate; but looking at the state of their children such as Cain being a murdurer and their later descendants such as Nimrod it doesn't seem evident much discipline was given to them either.
Anyway; KNOWING evil of course is the nesting place where thoughts and imaginations lead to the depravity that increases in an individual and all of society in time; so we have a condition like in Genesis 6 where God had to destroy the earth. Knowing evil led to women literally "knowing" fallen angels intimately; and bringing the Nephilim and all sorts of hybrid offspring; so that only Noah and his family were "perfect" before God. ( Gen. 6:9 says "perfect in his generations.") Others can interpret as they may; but only 8 people all in his immediate family were saved.
This verse is supposed to be a reference to prayers first being said. I never quite understood it that way but in any case nothing specific is said. It is noteworthy what is MISSING in the Antidiluvian era which is ANY reference to prayer at all; we don't even see anything stated for Noah a man of faith; perhaps this is why he silpped so easily into drunkenness after the event when he was tilling a vineyard.
IN the Believer's Portal (dot com) cite we find a list of 650 prayers in scripture. I would recommend that site to get a comprehensive overview of prayer in scripture. According to this cite Genesis 15 is the first prayer stated in scripture and involved Abraham's prayer for his offspring; with the next being Isaac's prayer for Ishmael; the third was Abraham's well known one involving God sparing 10 righteous if they existed in Sodom. This cite also gives the response; in the second prayer it wasn't according to God's will and hence wasn't answered.
Genesis 21 contains the first prayer of a woman (Hagar). This prayer expresses her concern for the immediate fate of her son; Ishmael born from Abraham's seed. She is given miraculous provision in the desert; then told of the future of her son in verse 12 to be a "wild donkey of a man". This sort of "sentiment" wasn't limited to her as others had less than favorable destinies in other familial "blessings".
These passages show that front and center was family posterity and generational blessings and cursings that were the result of prayers as well as frequent scripture themes of God's working with the early patriarchs. Since only a few families existed for God's righteous line it isn't unexpected these are prevalent subject matters of prayers at that time.
In the next post I will consider Abraham's prayer about Sodom and how he acted as intercessor.
On my last commentary yesterday, I discussed the "mark of Cain" as mentioned in Genesis 4:15. This was something God allowed after Cain murdured his brother and was promised that he would be a vagabond on the earth from that point forth and Cain protested saying that was too hard. The Lord could have wiped him out at that point; but there was a greater lesson there.
Later on we see Lamech in Genesis 4:24 saying that he would be avenged seventy seven times after his violent acts.
Several things can be pointed out here; firstly this was the first time a mark on a person was given; and also God ultimately was the authority. Cain at the time would have been the only man alive; conceivably marrying one of his sisters later born to Adam and Eve so that God had to preserve him to continue the human race at that point at least until Seth was born; of course God knew ahead of time that others would reproduce; but also at the time there was no formal law regarding murder.
The main concept here and later passages is any mark whether of God or Satan is an identifier of a master and ownership. The idea that we ultimately have free will in regard to this issue seems to be ultimately not true. God once again mentions a mark with those who are mourning over the abominations at the time in the Temple of Jerusalem ( Ezekiel 9:4). God's mark again is mentioned with the 144,000 in Revelation 7 starting in verse 4. This is to make the judgments of God to not affect these men.
Of course the infamous mark of the Beast in Revelation 13 is something people will take or "decide" on; but all those whose names are not written in the Book of Life will not only take it but worship the Beast. ( Rev. 13:8).
Computer chips are now assimilating economic and health care information; so likely a chip is meant ("chargma") in original language means a mark on or under theskin
Part 2.
Continuing function 2 of the Kinsman Redeemer.
Regarding righteousness, according to the imagery set-up by God, the blood of the murdered man cried out from the ground for justice, and the cry was heard loudest by the member of the clan who stood nearest to the dead in kingship, the kinsman-Redeemer; therefore, the closest of kin would follow through as the blood avenger fulfilling this responsibility" ( Genesis 4:1-16,10.
The family Has the Lead
We must remember that within a theocracy (A governmental system that ruled over men based upon God's leadership, as opposed to monarchy, social rule or democracy), which is what Israel was; it is a system that does not believe that the government itself is responsible for the people, the tribe / family is.
Those that ruled a culture or society were not considered responsible for the welfare of the people in a direct manner as it is today.
The ruling party rather, a monarchy as in the King or Queen, a dictator such as a King, or a king who was a conqueror who captured nations and acquired lands, or a theocracy; the main responsibility of these governing powers was the cohesion of the nation itself, which did involve protection from outside forces, and the carrying out of the "laws of the land" in the form of maintaining justice, yet not the personal responsibility of individuals.
Within the nation of Israel, post Egyptian flight and pre kingship; based upon God's commands, welfare if not met by the family was met by rules such as NOT collecting the fallen wheat as the crops were being gathered by owners. So that the poor could pick up what was left, called gleaning.
From the time of the inception of the church 2000 years ago, the churches has taken on meeting the needs of welfare regarding the poor, orphans, widows, and those disabled, this was not normally a function of the governments themselves.
See Part 3.
Thank you,
Part one,
Continue in His goodness or be cut off. For what God has shown in His mercy by the sacrifice of His Son and his promise of eternal life to us, is it unreasonable for us to be a living sacrifice, this cannot refer to a sacrifice that covers or atones for sin. It is true repentance and obedience and service to Him. A choice to do and continue to do or be cut off/perish.
Cain and Abel made an offering, without doubt, they were doing this because God had instructed them, but it does not say what was instructed. Abel was a keeper of sheep and Cain was a tiller of the ground and they both brought of their works. Can we say it was because Abel sacrificed blood he was accepted? No.
Could they be sacrificing for sin when the law had not been given? Noah is the next one who is recorded sacrificing and the law was not yet given. When Cain killed Abel God put a mark on Cain so no one would kill him because the penalty for murder was not given until after the flood, Gen. 8:6.
It was not the offering type or quality that Cain offered, it was his heart, and his offering was not in faith, Genesis 4:6-8. LORD God spoke to Cain and said that if he would do good it would be accepted, but if not, sin would devour him. Same as we are to continue in His goodness or be cut off. This does not mean that we earn God's love or favor; we receive that as a result of salvation through Jesus, our repentance and obedience are the evidence of our faith, Hebrews 11.
"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers" unless it would cause you to sin. I agree this has been used by many and is used today with misinterpreted Scriptures for control, power, and wealth over people. We see this in Revelation 2 with the Nicolaitans that exploded in the 4th century even with the punishment of death using the word heresy, the Greek word hairesis meaning, a self-chosen opinion, a religious or philosophical sect.
See part two.
"Rainwalker" and Giannis
Greetings in Christ JESUS
In addition to my previous post about SOUL and SPIRIT, I would like to comment on the magnitude / greatness of distinguishing the offering that pleases GOD and what does not.
Genesis 4:3-5
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground(Inanimate things, i.e. lifeless, without SOUL) an offering unto the Lord.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock (a being that has a SOUL) and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering(the offering of Abel was from GOD's perspective): 5 But unto Cain and to his offering GOD had not respect. (Why? Because the offering of Cain was inanimate things, without soul, i.e. lifeless, like the dead letter of the Law that kills, it is mortal, a human offering by the spirit of man, not by the Spirit of GOD.)
JESUS said to Satan: your thinking is from a human perspective(the offering of Cain was from a human perspective), a stumbling block, and not from GOD's perspective. Matt.16:22-23.
And GOD said through Isaiah: Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of ? Is.2:22
1. End of Dispensation: Judgment of men
2. Signs and Wonders
3. Element of fire
4, Blessings and cursings
5. Separation of God's people
6. Be fruitful and multiply
EDEN. God sent out man after what is known as the "Age of Innocence"; possibly that involved an implied covenant with Adam
to care for the earth; and the first marriage. Man would be mortal and suffer on earth; and driven out from the Garden
and the Tree of Life. The Serpent was cursed; and by implication Satan. The death blow was promised in Genesis 3:15 along
with God's final victory. Judgment came on Cain and would affect his descendants in Genesis 4:15.
NOAH. God made a covenant symbolized by the rainbow after destroying all but Noah and his family (8 people). He promised never to destroy the earth by water again. The animals were part of the plan for preservation and interestingly part of the
covenant promises ( Gen. 9:12). He also was told to be fruitful and multiply anong with his sons( Gen. 9:1); compare with Genesis 1:28). Genesis 10:15-18 had Ham's one son cursed (no time to elaborate here).
ABRAHAM: Sent from Ur of the Chaldees; and given promises through fire in Genesis 15:17-20 when asleep (note Adam's
deep sleep in Genesis 2:21). He was promised miraculously to have innumerable offspring in Genesis 22:17. Judgment
came on Sodom in Genesis 18; Abraham's relative and family.
EXODUS/DEUTERONOMY: God at Horeb appears in fire and smoke; and great sounds to produce fear of His Name; then promises to bring them fully out of the promised land. Ten Commandments "seal the deal" as it was being a peculiar people.
God eventually purged out the rebels; only Caleb and Joseph made it to the promised land of that generation along with children.
BOOK OF ACTS: Pentecost brings about Church Age and New Covenant with fire; signs and wonders. God judges Israel AD 70; final judgment promised later.
Thanks Frankie J. I did note your initial comment about 'how we fulfil the requirements of the Law'. Yet, the point I was trying to highlight is that we can never perfectly fulfil them, as Jesus the sinless One, did. The Law was never designed for men (Israel) to obey as God demanded - it only was given to show them their sin ("by the law is the knowledge of sin" Romans 3:20). We can "pick up the Cross & following Christ", but only by the indwelling Spirit of God can the Law be fully known as God intended (the Decalogue in its given state couldn't do this), all our sin be exposed, & we can experience full forgiveness on the merits of Christ's Sacrifice.
Hebrews 8:13. I should have quoted from Hebrews 8:7-13, where to the House of Israel, a new Covenant will be made, not according to the old Covenant with their fathers. Had the old Covenant been without fault, there would be no need for the New. In this new Covenant, Israel will have God's Laws written into their hearts & minds, that which they had not had before this (future) time. And with the inception of this new Covenant, the Old will vanish away. I see that Israel, because of their blindness & hardheartedness, have yet to acknowledge the Savior of God & until they do & turn wholly to Him in faith, they will still be bound to the old Covenant. But to those IN Christ now, the new Covenant in Christ's Blood is already administered to us, where God's Laws are written upon our hearts & minds by His Spirit, that which Israel still waits for.
And so Jesus is the "mediator of this new Covenant", that speaks of God's Mercy towards the sinner & Grace to receive His forgiveness & healing, something that the shed blood of Abel was in total contrast. It only cried out for vengeance from the ground ( Genesis 4:10). The Old Covenant showed man his sin & God's Vengeance was upon him (but saved by the sacrifices); "but Grace & Truth came by Jesus Christ" ( John 1:17) & we now can receive unconditional pardon.
According to Genesis 4:15; a mark set upon Cain was to cause vengeance to anyone who would attempt to take his life. Compare this to the Mark of the Beast in Revelation 13 and we find some interesting parallels.
First; Satan was a "murderer from the beginning." ( John 8:44). It is no surprise that the first child of Adam was to be attacked after Adam and Eve fell. Having failed the test of God he let temptation rule over him and slayed Abel his brother. Satan is also said to steal and destroy ( John 10:10) along with his lying. We see the progeny of Adam and Eve being destroyed; along with stealing from the parents being able to give an inheritance and Abel receiving it.
Later on in Genesis 4:24 Lamech tries to gain vengeance by his declaration of seventy times seventy for himself for his own violent actions. Kind of like the opposite of forgiveness for the same in Matthew 18:21-22.
The apparent resurrection of Antichrist from a deadly wound as well as being able to kill the two prophets that tormented men will inspire him to declare indestructibility as well as being able to effectively fight against God. He will likely convince men that he can live forever by merging with AI; and likely the DNA of the Nephilim or something to that affect will be part of that plan; as it was in Genesis 6 when all the descendants of men were destroyed for that reason (see Genesis 6:8-9 on Noah being perfect in his generations). Hence at that time we saw no repentance except for Noah; his wife; his 3 sons and their wives.
Whatever the case men will be unredeemable once they take the mark ( Revelation 14:9 and other passages). That will be the fulfillment of 2 Thessalonians 2:11 where people willingly reject the truth and believe The Lie.
The verse on those who dwell on the earth ( Revelation 11:10; also see Revelation 6:10 and other passages) indicates the sea of lost humanity. Revelation 13:8 concludes this for all unsaved.
I thought I'd offer an alternative view to consider. Most here seem to be using reasoning that if something is omitted then it didn't happen. I generally disagree with that logic. If 100% of everything was documented from the Bible days there would not be enough paper or ink to even document it all. The general assumption is that because no other women are mentioned that none others existed, but is that true?
There are many other things not mentioned either, such as Adam and Eve going to the bathroom or bathing or hobbies for how they generally spent their time, but isn't it possible they might have done these things and it just wasn't mentioned? If I wrote a book on a period of my life, I surely wouldn't include everything, but just what I consider to be the most important parts. And any omission wouldn't mean I would be deceiving anyone.
Maybe Adam and Eve ate of other trees too and did lots of other activities that weren't fully documented. With that in mind, because Adam and Eve were already banished from the Garden and relocated... and due to it mentioning the Land of Nod Genesis 4:16 with virtually no introduction or explanation, I think its possible there were other people created and placed in other regions. I'm just offering this as a possible explanation and not claiming this is what happened.
Genesis 5:4 says that Adam (with Eve) begat other sons and daughters besides Cain, Abel, and Seth. So, Cain must have married one of his younger sisters.
Today, people try to tempt or convince others they too can be "like God" and some even assume they are a god, or the God. Obviously this comes from satan as he is very skilled at deceiving, including Christians. Emulating the character of Jesus and walking in His footsteps is very different than someone claiming the other self centered special powers- almost like a form of self worship, and separates someone from the one true God, what satan wants.
But even before the sin of Adam and Eve, Satan sinned before God and so did the angels that followed after him. So, sin originated in Satan. But we each choose to sin due to our sinful nature.
Thank you.
Read Romans Chapter One.
Also 1 Cor. 6:9
thanks
It has helped me in finding many scriptures.
I really reading the Bible
Thank You for making this possible.
Jennifer Minton
You can reach me on on Facebook.
Many Blessings to You and Family.....
I would like to add to what Brother Chris has shared,
In Hebrews 11:4 it reads "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain",
Now faith comes by hearing the word of God,
So if Abel offered his sacrifice by faith it seems he was instructed to offer the sacrifice he offered.
BY WHICH HE OBTAINED WITNESS THAT HE WAS RIGHTEOUS, God testifying of his gifts: ( AND BY IT ) he being dead yet speaketh.
It seems God expected obedience from Cain to follow through with a specific command in Genesis 4:7
"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.
Cain could have humbled himself and pleaded for forgiveness as Brother Chris said.
It is impossible to please God without faith. Hebrews 11:6.
God bless.
Therefore, in Genesis 4:3-5, we read that "the LORD had respect (or, looked upon, attended to) unto Abel and to his offering". I read this as both the offerer & the offering were considered by the LORD whether to be acceptable or not. God was considering Abel, his heart, his motives, his giving, and found him acceptable, as also his offering.
But with Cain, his heart & offering were not right before the LORD, as we see that Cain flew into a rage when God rejected him & the offering. Abel had brought the "firstlings of his flock & its fat", while Cain might have just grabbed whatever 'produce of the ground' that came to his hand, deeming that the sacrificial act was more important than the quality of the sacrifice & of the heart.
Cain, who also walked & talked with God as did his parents, should have rather been humbled by his error & pleaded for forgiveness & sought corrective help. But he walked off in a huff & allowed his anger against the LORD & against his brother to fester, allowing the devil to have his way with him ( Genesis 4:7,8; 1 John 3:12). So, in my understanding of these verses, it seems that the LORD was requiring both the gift & giver to be in an optimal state before Him; unfortunately, Cain failed God, his family & left a murderer & a vagabond.
We may ask ourselves; well then before the sin was there no knowledge of good? God's own goodness not to mention the idyllic environment of the Garden; the beauty of the first man and woman in a sinless state of innocence and their whole existence would bring to mind that they should have had some idea of what "good" was. We see; with careful examination of what is NOT said that there is no praise mentioned toward their Creator; or any other scripture indicating that they were even truly saved. No mention is made in the Garden of any greeting that said "Lord" when He spoke to Adam in the cool of the day. They are NOT included for instance in the long list of saints in Hebrews 11. The only thing I can see is when Seth was born to replace Abel after Cain murdured his brother ( Genesis 4:1) where Eve said that she had gotten a "man from the Lord."
Knowing evil; hence was the introduction to Satan's world and usurping the authority God gave them in the garden; as well as bringing thorns; toils; and a guaranteed death sentence to the body; and later if not repentant and saved; to their souls sending their spirits to Sheol. We can't be certain as to their fate; but looking at the state of their children such as Cain being a murdurer and their later descendants such as Nimrod it doesn't seem evident much discipline was given to them either.
Anyway; KNOWING evil of course is the nesting place where thoughts and imaginations lead to the depravity that increases in an individual and all of society in time; so we have a condition like in Genesis 6 where God had to destroy the earth. Knowing evil led to women literally "knowing" fallen angels intimately; and bringing the Nephilim and all sorts of hybrid offspring; so that only Noah and his family were "perfect" before God. ( Gen. 6:9 says "perfect in his generations.") Others can interpret as they may; but only 8 people all in his immediate family were saved.