Fear No Fear

God placed an angel with a sword guarding the way back to the Garden. There was no way to get back there without dying. Human effort no longer could make a way back to God. Only through a sacrifice of life (blood) was it going to happen. And since not everyone can SEE the spiritual realm, only a VERY special individual could attempt it — Messiah (or the Anointed One).

Humanity now continued the dichotomy of choice that we always had, but with a severe handicap: dead spirits. Instead of a nature in harmony with God which encouraged the voice of the Holy Spirit, we had a dead spirit existing in a physical world ruled by a liar who sought to tarnish, rob, and kill every single human being that breathed. This evil inclination (or selfish flesh-bound thinking) was still operating by the rules. What we SAW, we THOUGHT about, and then DID. But as we will see, the free choice we always had was now slaved to evil selfishness. We continued our movement — imitating God whose image we are (Genesis 1:2) — but it was movement AWAY from Him and NOT toward Him. Our free choice was faulty.

This is almost IMMEDIATELY evident when Cain and Abel have a situation. They brought offerings to God. As a shepherd, Abel chose the firstfruits (the very best of the very first) of his flocks to offer. As a farmer, Cain chose produce. It doesn’t say the best. It doesn’t say the first. And since the ground (not the livestock) had been cursed in Genesis 3:17, there are those who felt he was offering cursed products to God. Another way of thinking is this. Abel offered the first fruit of a blessing (livestock) that he didn’t labour to produce — they were a gift of nature (natural reproduction). Cain offered what he laboured for, the fruits of his efforts. Abel said I could do nothing, thank you for your blessing (I don’t deserve it). Cain said here is my best work, bless me (I deserve it). In any case, Abel’s offering vs Cain’s offering had a difference. I believe it was a heart issue, but we’re not told exactly. God accepted Abel’s offering, and did not accept Cain’s. This did not go over well and Cain was angry — perhaps because Abel was younger. This is where choice once again takes centre stage.

“sin is crouching at the door. And its desire is for you, but you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:7)

Cain could choose to listen to the evil inclination or he could choose to listen to what he knew God wanted. His father, Adam, had chosen his mate Eve instead of listening to what God wanted. They were both warned by God Himself. They both chose a selfish path — the nature of the father evident in the son (and it has continued through all Adam’s offspring right up to today). Instead of changing himself so that the offering was acceptable, he killed his rival. He was punished and kicked out for it — although marked so no one would kill him (Genesis 4:15). Even with murder, God was being merciful. He was showing Grace.

The bloodlines split here. The descendants of Adam’s third son, Seth, and Adam’s firstborn, Cain. The sons of God and the sons of man. Those striving for right standing with God and those who rebelled. There are parallels between them and it is interesting to look at each descendant with their counterpart and see how one line stayed with God and the other went as far as you can go.

One notable son of Man was Lamech. He took two wives (first one to do that) and then he killed a man in the heat of the moment. Next thing he did was claim the protection of God and make it bigger. God didn’t mark him. God didn’t promise him anything. We start seeing humanity figuring that since God wasn’t killing them when they did wrong, He must be accepting of it. He must be so merciful it doesn’t matter what they did. This attitude spread and poisoned the world.

The Law wasn’t given at this point, but the bible notes that the sons of God saw that the daughters of the sons of Man looked good to them and they married into Cain’s line. They mixed blood. Later, God prohibited this. God knew that when you mix values in a marriage, you are pressured and influenced by your mate. People fell because of it. Look at how Adam sided with Eve and not God even though he KNEW the truth of the situation (1 Timothy 2:14). This was a HUGE mistake and we see that with how evil people got. Like a cancer, the selfishness of humanity spread until almost every person on earth focused on themselves, their feelings, their desires, and it manifested in violence against each other. The good creation had become totally corrupt. But there was hope (as there ALWAYS is with God).

The sons of God had some notable people too, but in a good way. People who loved and sought after God. Oldest recorded human (Methuselah — 969 years). A man, Enoch, who didn’t die. He walked in trust (faith) with God and because of that God called him Righteous (Hebrews 11:5). Enoch was translated to heaven as a living man. And of course Noah (the tenth generation of humans, including Adam as first). His name means rest (but the root of his name means to lead or guide). He strove to seek God. He put his heart into it and loved the Lord enough to obey Him, even in the face of abnormal and odd instructions. In the midst of a desert, possibly in a world that had never seen rain (there are differing opinions on it), he built a HUGE boat. Just because God said so, and he built it to God’s specifications.

Summary

Key Players: Cain, Abel, Seth, Lamech, Enoch, Noah

Key Themes: The choice to sin or seek God; The deterioration of human morals; The obedience that comes from love.

Key Verse(s): Genesis 4:6–8, 15; 4:19–24; 4:26; 5:21–24; 6:1–2, 5–6, 22