Month: June 2022

Genesis 5:22, 24 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. And Enoch walked with God and he was not; for God took him.

Chapter 5 lists 10 generations from Adam to Noah, from the Fall to the Flood. Except for Enoch, it says about all of them, ”and he died.” The Word shows that Adam’s Sin was passed on to all subsequent human beings, along with its curse and consequence, death. ”…You shall surely die.” ”Death reigned.” ”Many died through one man’s trespass.” Nothing is as certain…. No one escapes alive.

However, as if to be the exception that proves the rule, one man (and with Elijah, two) did not die, but was translated directly to heaven, the other world, the unseen realm, where God dwells. “For God took him.” Why? Why did two men in all of human history not die physically? They were sinners, too. The answer: to give people hope. There is another life; there is a resurrection. That hope became fact in Christ. And all believers in the Promise (Jesus Christ) have the same certain hope, like an anchor of the soul. And by the way, Enoch and Elijah did die: their bodies died and rose again in an instant. They were transformed suddenly, ”changed in the twinkling of an eye.”

The translation of Enoch was a foreshadowing of the bodily resurrection of Jesus and of the general resurrection to life of all believers in Christ. Hope: if it could happen to Enoch it could happen to me. And Jesus makes it happen.

Enoch’s response to God’s word and promise was that he ”walked with God.” This means he had faith, he believed God. He was, like all of us, a sinner, but he turned to God when he sinned and received grace, mercy, and forgiveness. The good news is: we can respond to the Good News with instant repentance, forgiveness, and faith. We, too, may walk with God by faith in Christ, and find resurrection life.

Genesis 25, 26 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bare a son, and called his name Seth; for God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. 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.

After the murder of Abel, the curse on Cain, his exile from God’s presence, and the continuing wickedness of Cain’s generations, the Lord blessed Adam and Eve with another son, and then a grandson, who would carry on the Gospel Promise of a Seed of the woman to come and crush the head of Serpent. The response of the people to the blessing of God was to call upon the name of the Lord.

When Seth and Enos were born they began to have a real hope that God would keep His Word and Promise. Adam and Eve (and the rest of the family) were naturally in despair over their sin in the Fall, the subsequent Curse on the earth, and the certainty of Death enshrouding everything. Then there was discouragement at the loss of Abel, followed by the disappointment over the crime of Cain and the continued evil in his family. Added to this was the loss of paradise and the regret of what life could have been like. On top of all this were the pains and problems, toils and troubles, stresses and strains, heartaches and heartbreaks of daily life.

But in the midst of all that, Adam and the rest clung to the fairly vague promise of a Seed. This fledging promise began to be evidenced in the births of Seth and Enos. Then, when the hope began to take some shape, people began to “call upon the name of the Lord.” This was the human response to the Lord blessing Seth with the gift of a son, Enos. ”Men,” whoever and how many there were we don’t know, began to believe God and His Gospel.

Now there was for people a glimmer of hope in their despair, a flicker of light in the darkness, a spark of joy in the midst of sadness, and a sign of life in the midst of death. That light and life grew brighter and became more real until Jesus was born. Now the hope is sure, the light is brilliant, and the life is real since Jesus rose. Certainly, we will call upon the name of the Lord, and pray in faith, every day (not just in the day of trouble). We respond with faith and we are saved. We respond with prayer and are delivered. ”Call upon me (believe Me) in the day of trouble (every day); I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me [Psalm 50:15].” Jesus keeps His word; He saves and delivers; we call upon Him and glorify Him.

Genesis 4:9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: am I my brother’s keeper?

Cain had just murdered his brother, Abel, when the Lord came to him with the question, ”Where is your brother?” Of course, God knew what happened and where Abel was, but He was confronting Cain to give him chance to repent, to fess up, to be forgiven and restored. However, Cain chose to respond with a lie, an excuse, and a cover up. He stupidly responded by avoiding repentance, spurning God’s implicit offer of love and forgiveness.

Cain’s response exemplifies the stupidity of sinners after the Fall, First, he outright lied, ”I know not.” We see how far man has fallen into sin and ignorance. How did he think he could get away with covering up his crime by lying to the Lord, who knows everything? But even we today mistakenly think our sinful thoughts, hurtful words, and harmful deeds escape God’s notice, while we hope He notices and accounts for the good things we do. We might know we can’t lie to God, but we somehow figure that we can live a lie by keeping up appearances and keeping other people from knowing who we really are and what we really do. Or we just ignore God, thinking we can keeping Him from noticing our sinfulness or confronting us with it.

Secondly, Cain made excuses and rationalizations: ”Am I my brother’s keeper?” In man’s newfound stupidity he didn’t know that ”Yes, you are. You love the brother and the neighbor, take care of them and look after them.” Not only did he fail to keep, but he actively killed him. He sinfully thought only of looking after himself. And so we today do not regard others as ”more important than ourselves.”

The proper response would be: ”I am the sinner. I am the killer. I confess. I repent. Have mercy on me and forgive my sin.”

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 shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

The Lord confronted Cain and gave him a chance to repent and be accepted. He asked Cain, ”Why are you angry and your face fallen? If you do the right thing you will be accepted; if you do the wrong thing greater sin and misery will come your way.” The right thing (“doing well”) is repentance and trust in mercy; the wrong thing (“doing not well)” is resisting repentance and faith.

Cain responded by choosing not to ”do well.” He did not repent and turn to the Lord, and, well, we know the rest of the story. Repentance and faith in the Promise (Jesus) would have prevented the first recorded crime after the Fall. Every time we sin (which is every day) we have the opportunity to repent and come back into God’s good graces. For this reason, our life is one of continuous repentance and faith and renewed life. By this proper response we ”rule over him (Sin).”

Sin is described in this verse as a person: ”crouching at the door, his desire, rule over him.” This person is also described as someone we can ”rule over.” A real war is being waged for our soul, but faith in Christ puts us on the winning side. Death is swallowed up in victory and we rule.

Genesis 4:3, 4: Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering.

Recognizing that ”every good and perfect gift comes from above,” humans from very early on made sacrifices and offerings to God or to the gods. Apparently, men learned about offerings from Adam, who was taught by the Lord when He made animal skins for clothing. But the reason for the offering would differ among men.

Those who ”walked in the way of Cain [Jude 1:11]” brought a sacrifice of their own human effort and good works. Cain’s type of people wanted to please the god with their good works so that the god wouldn’t be mean to them and instead give them good things. When the god sees how good we are He rewards in kind. Most non-Christian religions end up offering to demons. Even good Christians are still tempted to ”be good” in order to gain God’s favor and blessing.

Those who emulate Abel bring the blood sacrifice of the Lamb of God, by faith in someone outside themselves. ”By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous [Hebrews 11:4].” Abel’s type of people come to God in faith offering up the blood sacrifice of Christ, the Son of God. It is the death and merits of another (not self) that receives acceptance and offers genuine thanks.

The appropriate and acceptable human response to the lavish kindness and abundant blessing of God is faith in the the substitutionary sacrifice of the Lamb of God. Thank God, He forgives our sins, hears our prayers, and commends us as righteous because of Christ.

Genesis 3:12-13 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

The Lord confronted the first Man and Woman: ”Have you eaten of the tree?” In this way the Lord gave them another chance to admit their guilt, confess their sin, and repent. But, instead of repenting and taking responsibility for their sin, they resorted to blaming. Blaming someone else deflects the guilt and avoids facing our own sin. Therefore, the subsequent Curse comes into effect. They had already died (been separated from God, evidenced by hiding), but now also man’s short life will become hard.

Ever since, all people respond to pain of all kinds by blaming, making excuses, and complaining. We are like Israel in the wilderness, blaming God for their problems and complaining dozens of times. Complaining implies that it is someone else’s fault, certainly not mine. Unbelief in God’s judgment and mercy and pride in ourselves prevents us from repentance, and confessing ”It’s my fault. I am the sinner.” Therefore, we blame and complain. We blame others (“the woman gave me to eat”), or God (“whom you gave me”), or the devil (“the serpent beguiled me”).

The proper response is repentance, admitting guilt and receiving mercy. The proper response is ”pray, praise, and give thanks.” The proper response is trust in Jesus for life and forgiveness. The gospel breathes God’s life into us. That life knows how to respond when confronted with sin and guilt.

Genesis 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Adam heard the voice of God walking in the garden. A voice walking is a strange mix of metaphors: voices don’t walk. The Man knew the Presence of God was nearby, whatever that meant to Adam in his new state of sin and separation (death).

The voice of God asked, ”Where are you?” Of course God knew where he was, and why, but the Lord wanted to give Adam a chance to turn and repent. If he had, God may have forgiven him and restored him to Paradise Life. We don’t know, but, in any case, the Man did not admit his guilt and repent of his sin. Instead of repentance, Adam chose to blame God for his situation and make excuses. He was afraid!

He was afraid of God because he was naked. ”Naked before God” is a symbol of the impossibility of our standing before Holiness only with our Sin. And Adam felt that shame: he was afraid. But we sing: ”Nothing in my hands I bring; simply to Thy cross I cling,” and ”Naked come to Thee for dress.” I come into the Presence under the Cross, washed in the Blood, and clothed in God’s Righteousness.

If God appears to me while I remain in my own pride and righteousness, exposed in my sin and shame, I should be afraid. But if I stand in the Blood and Righteousness of Christ I am bold, confident, and unafraid. We confront two opposite understandings of fear: in Adam, I am afraid; in Christ, I fear God. “Fearing God” in the Bible means believing God and driven to trust God’s mercy for Christ’s sake. Afraid of God hears only the Law. True Fear of God hears also the Gospel. Fear is the wrong response, but proper fear is the right response.

Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

A common response of the sinner when he senses God nearby is to hide himself from God. This is what Adam and Eve did when they ”heard the voice of the Lord walking.” They knew they had sinned against a holy God; they felt the guilt and shame of it; they knew they had died immediately, that is, separated themselves from God and His Life. They knew the Lord was close by, but they could not face Him. Instinctively, they knew that sin cannot be in the Presence of Holiness.

The Man and the Woman did not know three things: 1) You can’t ”hide from God;” 2) God is relentless in His pursuit and He will find you; 3) The Presence of God appears to us with both Judgment and Mercy, Law and Gospel, order to elicit repentance and faith that saves. Ultimately, the love of God for the hiding sinner overwhelms, overpowers, and overcomes.

The Holiness and Justice of God demanded judgment, and so The Curse. But embedded within that curse was also the first Gospel Promise (Genesis 3:15). The OT believers clung to this Hope, until it was fulfilled at the Cross. The saying, ”Love conquers all” applies to our own human response of hiding from the presence of God.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is a NT parallel to this ”hiding” story. The son tried to hide his sin and guilt in a ”far country,” but the Lord found him and brought him to his senses (repentance) and he returned (faith). And the son was surprised by the unexpected, unconditional, and lavish love of the father.

Hiding is easy for us sinners: to avoid, neglect, and ignore God and His Word. Finding was hard for the Son of God: to suffer and die for us. Once again: God shows up, we hide, God loves and finds.

Genesis 3:9 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

The human response of Adam and Eve to one simple and clear command of God was direct disobedience: ”they did eat.” All of us human beings are ”in Adam,” and we have done, and continue to do, the same thing: sin against God, and disobey His direct command. The Holy Spirit convicts me of sin and guilt: I am the sinner; I disobey. Romans 5:19: ”For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”

So the Spirit also convinces me of forgiveness and righteousness: I am righteous; I have perfectly obeyed. And it is all because of Christ. My faith in Christ is counted as righteousness. God’s faithful response to my sinful response is Christ our righteousness. The ”Old Adam” from human birth lives in me alongside the ”new man” that lives in me from the new birth of baptism and faith. Daily repentance and faith in the gospel quickens us to be dead to sin and alive in Christ. And instead of responding to God from the old man, we respond from from the new life: ”Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Genesis 2:19-20 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

Adam, before the Fall, responded correctly and obediently to God’s command and blessing to ”have dominion” over every living thing. To “name” something is to take ownership of, control over, and responsibility for something. He had the wisdom and authority to give names to every living thing on land, sea, and air. This miraculous event is an example of the extraordinary gifts and abilities of the God-created and God-blessed human being before the Fall. Noah would exhibit a similar feat with the help of God.

However, Man lost this dominion, authority, and brilliance by choosing to disobey the Lord when he fell into Sin, and brought us all down with him. Humans have domesticated some animals, but many remain wild and even deadly. We have some residual dominion remaining, but it’s nothing like it was in Paradise.

The response of Jesus is to restore some measure of spiritual dominion over Sin and Evil, and we have the right to exercise that dominion in Jesus’ Name. In His Temptation, Jesus had a do-over of Satan’s temptation of Adam and Eve, and He overcame for us. A little-known verse in the Temptation story in Mark 1:13: ”and he was with the wild animals,” hints at how Jesus restored dominion to us. Our proper human response is to believe: ”Lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.”