Angelic Conflict part 104: Human history – Gen 3:20-24; 4:1-15; 49:9; Rom 7:2-6; Heb 11:4; 12:24; Jud 10-16; .
length: 61:36 - taught on Jun, 21 2013
Class Outline:
Title: Angelic Conflict part 104: Human history - GEN 3:20-24; 4:1-15; 49:9; ROM 7:2-6; HEB 11:4; 12:24; Jud 10-16; .
Results of the Fall: GEN 3:20-24.
GEN 3:20 Now the man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.
GEN 3:21 And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
This is the first blood-sacrifice, an example of grace in the context of judgment. The covering of animal skis, which required the shedding of blood to give them atonement, replaced the covering of fig leaves.
A person only approaches God based on the work of Christ.
GEN 3:22 Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" —
GEN 3:23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.
Being expelled he must now begin the function of tilling the ground from which he originated.
And God drove him out with force.
GEN 3:24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every direction, to guard the way to the tree of life.
There is a geographical expulsion and a spiritual one since man could no longer fellowship with the Shekinah Glory who once came walking in the Garden in the cool of the day.
Now they were met with two cherubim and a flaming sword that we would assume would kill them instantly if they attempted to cross it.
The word for “stationed” has the same root as Shekinah which was a visible manifestation of God’s presence.
If you recall, the Cherubim are often associated with God’s glory.
The flaming sword is now the manifestation of the Shekinah glory to them - fire and sword mean judgment. They are under the justice of God.
They are now under the justice of God. The shekinah is no longer the welcoming presence of love but a means of keeping man out of the Garden. Judgment and justice had come upon them and the Seed of the woman would take that judgment.
Immediately it would be animal blood sacrifice that would represent that atonement and the faith that anyone had in that future day.
Directly after the fall, before the entrance to the GoE God had set up a manifestation of the Shekinah glory with two cherubim on either side. Precursor to the Ark of the Covenant.
Besides the set up, the gate of the garden was on the east side of the Garden. By the same token, the entryway to the Tabernacle was on the east side, where the altar stood. Therefore, the gate of the doorway of the Tabernacle faced east in front of the Tabernacle and the Altar of Sacrifice. The gate of the Garden of Eden faced east, and before it, very likely the place of the sacrifice.
Justice, represented by the flaming sword, would see the animal blood and be satisfied. Therefore, immediately after the fall the doctrine of propitiation is revealed to mankind.
Cain and Able: GEN 4:1-15.
GEN 4:1 Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, "I have gotten a manchild withthe help of the Lord."
It is likely that this is Eve’s first born while Abel is not necessarily second, though he could be.
GEN 5:4 Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth (at age 130) were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters.
“Cain” [Qayin] - from a root word meaning to shape or to give form to. It is very close to “I have gotten” [Qaniytiy], therefore “to obtain” or “to possess.”
“the help of” is in italics since it is not in the original Hebrew. Should read - I have gotten a man with Jehovah. It is obvious why the translators added this, but it takes away from the theological significance.
It is likely that Eve thought that Cain was the fulfillment of the promise in GEN 3:15. I have gotten a man with Jehovah indicates that she thinks this is the promised Seed or the God-Man.
Iyish et YHWH is an interesting phrase - man with God or man from God. Eve thought her firstborn was the promised Seed.
“I call him possession for I have gotten a man from God.”
Interestingly, satan is going to think Abel is the promised seed. This shows that neither man nor satan can determine or even figure out the plan of God. His plan can only be known by revelation.
She will soon be disillusioned from this belief.
GEN 4:2 And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
“Abel” - vanity or breath; used in JOB 7:16; PSA 144:4. By the time Abel is born, the curse of the fall had begun to make itself felt in the lives of Adam and Eve.
I waste away; I will not live forever.
Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath [“vanity” - KJV, ASV].
Man is like a mere breath [“vanity” - KJV, ASV];
His days are like a passing shadow.
This shows that by this time Adam and Eve are definitely disillusioned - calling your son Vanity. By the time Abel is born, the curse of the fall had begun to make itself felt in the lives of Adam and Eve. By now Cain hasn’t lived up to his parents hopes of messiah. Whatever Cain was he was no God-Man.
Abel kept sheep and Cain, like his father, was a farmer.
GEN 4:3 So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground.
“course of time” - literally = “at the end of days” or the time of the offering. There was a specified time to bring the offering.
ISA 1:11 "What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?" Says the Lord. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats
ISA 1:12 "When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?
ISA 1:13 "Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.
ISA 1:14 "I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.
ISA 1:15 "So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
ISA 1:16 "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil,
ISA 1:17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.
ISA 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the Lord, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.
ISA 1:19 "If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land;
ISA 1:20 "But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword." Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
This indicates that this was probably not the first offering presented and it is possible that Cain brought the proper blood-sacrifice in the past. Since Abel was the keeper of flocks Cain would have had to purchase an animal from him each time.
They did not present an offering for every sin, but at the specified time as God had instructed them.
The blood-sacrifice is the presenter revealing his faith in the future blood of Christ (Seed), but it does not take away sin,
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
God withholds all judgment of sin until noon on April 11, 32 AD [approx.] when they will all be imputed to Christ.
But this time Cain brings the fruit of the ground. It doesn’t mention the quality of the fruit or what it was, but the point is that his offering is bloodless.
The place of the offering is in front of the gate. Cain brought the offering to the Lord. At the gate is the flaming sword turning every way, which is the Shekinah glory with the two cherubim on either side.
The flaming sword represents the justice of God and the only thing that will satisfy His justice is the blood of Christ, depicted at this time through faith along with the blood of an animal.
Cain approaches the justice of God with his own labor and without blood. If this was accepted the ramifications are enormous. It would mean that man can work to satisfy God’s justice and judgment.
GEN 4:4 And Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering;
GEN 4:5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.
Abel brought a first born lamb and the fat portions (the best parts) - the best of the best animal; a blood sacrifice. This is proper.
By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
Jesus offered a better sacrifice than Abel:
and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.
Both Cain and Abel were sinners; both were born after the fall and outside the Garden of Eden; both had the same parents, the same upbringing, the same environment, and the same knowledge.
Cain and Abel - same environment. Environment has no bearing on success in the spiritual life. Faith is determined by the individual’s own volition.
GEN 4:5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.
Jud 10 But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.
Jud 11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
Jud 12 These men are those who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;
Jud 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.
Jud 14 And about these also Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones,
Jud 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."
Jud 16 These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.
The way of Cain - rejecting God’s way and then becoming angry and downcast when God will not accept your way.
GEN 4:5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.
GEN 4:6 Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
These were rhetorical questions not meant to be answered.
GEN 4:7 "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it."
“If you do well” - offer the proper sacrifice … your face will be enlivened.
This is the first mention of the word sin, but not the first sin. We naturally have a lot of first mentions in Genesis.
The sin nature is seen as a crouching lion ready to spring forth and its desire is to spring upon the soul of the sinner, have dominion over him, and make him crouch down to the ground.
The word means to lie down or to crouch and as it does it’s seen as waiting for the proper time to spring forth and conquer the soul.
The noun “sin” is feminine and singular and so it refers to the old sin nature which responds to volition.
The conqueror of sin is seen in a similar imagery:
"Judah is a lion's whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He couches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a lion, who dares rouse him up?
The word for crouching also means to bow down under a heavy burden.
When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam;
Then God instructs him - “you must master it.” This is the same construction as GEN 3:16, using the same Hebrew verbs.
GEN 3:16 Yet your desire shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you."
Like the sin nature desires to rule Cain so the woman in her flesh desires to rule her husband and as Cain must master his sin nature so the husband must rule his wife.
In the NT Paul portrays the OSN as a husband, who according to the Adamic Covenant, would rule the woman, in this case, your soul. However, in Paul’s wonderful analogy Christ kills the husband and according to the Law he no longer has dominion and then Christ becomes the new husband. Now, dominion belongs to Him and He is the greatest Master.
ROM 7:2 For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband.
ROM 7:3 So then if, while her husband is living, she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress, though she is joined to another man.
ROM 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God.
ROM 7:5 For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.
ROM 7:6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.
GEN 4:7 "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it."
How is Cain going to master his sin?
Cain will master his sin if he brings before the flaming sword an offering from the flock at the specified time.
One could not conclude that this is works. There is no Mosaic Law. As far as we can tell there is at this early stage in our history only one command placed on the sinner and that is to present a blood-sacrifice before the Shekinah glory and Cain refuses to do it.
GEN 4:8 And Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
The Septuagint reads - “Let us go out into the field.” And it does so for the reason that the Jewish teachers had always believed that Cain was luring his brother out into the field through a conversation in order to kill him. It should read, “And Cain talked with Abel his brother.”
This is the first homicide and also the first fratricide, the killing of a brother.
that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel [first book of Heb. Bible] to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar [last book].
For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous.
Believing God’s promise concerning the woman’s Seed made Abel righteous and his blood offering was a righteous deed.
Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Verses 9 - 15 details the judgment upon Cain.
Cain was not punished by execution, since the death penalty would not be put into effect until after the flood.
"Whoever sheds man's blood,
By man his blood shall be shed,
For in the image of God He made man.
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