In all the history of the world no group has been more
despised than the Jews. From the time of
Abraham and Sarah, Satan has targeted the Jews for extinction. Why?
Because Satan remembers the promise God made in the Garden of Eden (Gen.
3:15). He knows the divine promise that
one day the seed of woman will crush his head.
So he continually asks throughout Old Testament history, “Who is this
seed?”
Last Christmas Eve I preached on Sunday’s companion text –
Revelation 12:1-4. In his book What’s So Amazing about Grace? Philip
Yancey writes, “I have yet to see that version of the story of Christ’s birth
on a Christmas card.” As Jesus pulls
aside the curtain to reveal the reality of spiritual warfare past, present, and
future to His beloved John, He gives him a clear view of that night in that
cave on the outskirts of Bethlehem. As
Jesus clearly indicates, it’s not really “Silent Night” – it’s D-Day. It’s the moment when the full might of satanic
forces aligned to destroy the seed of woman before He’s born. Only in Gethsemane and on the cross do we see
more vitriol.
Remember the testimony of Scripture regarding Satan’s
assault on the seed. When Sarah’s too
old to conceive, Satan thinks he’s won; but God miraculously opens her womb and
Isaac is born. When Isaac’s wife Rebecca
is barren for twenty years, Satan thinks he’s won; but God opens her womb and
gives her twins. When the twins grow up
and the older hates the younger, Satan thinks he’s won; but then God pours out
His grace on both of those boys. At
almost every point in Israel’s history, Satan’s hopes are raised and
dashed. You see it in the life of
Joseph. You see it in David’s life. You see it throughout the history of God’s
people. But you know where it all
begins? It begins immediately east of
Eden. As we will note on Sunday, the
story of Satan’s attack on the seed of woman begins only a chapter break away
from God’s expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden.
Now I had planned to offer a panoramic view of Satan’s
attack on the seed of woman throughout the Old Testament this Sunday. But as is often the case, when I dug into
Genesis 4, I found far too much to hurry past.
This Sunday is the week directly before Advent – a time in
which we will examine God’s response to Satan’s attack by sending to us THE
SEED of woman. He is as Martin Luther so
aptly describes Him – an alien righteousness.
And it’s righteousness that is exactly what we need. Moreover, it is this righteousness that will
nail Satan’s coffin shut one day. We
will focus on righteousness in five messages: The Promise of Righteousness, The Son of Righteousness, The Belt of
Righteousness, The Cost of Righteousness, and The Point of Righteousness. So, this Sunday is a perfect precursor
to God’s ultimate response to Satan’s repeated employment of The Cain Calculation ((his seed
destruction plan) throughout Old Testament history. We get our first glimpse of this calculation
in our primary text this week: Genesis
4:1-9.
In preparing for Sunday’s message you may wish to consider
the following:
1. According
to R.C. Sproul, the “shelf principle” is among the most important hermeneutic
(interpretive) tool we have available to us as Bible students. What is the “shelf principle”?
2. What
linkages can you find between the events of Genesis 3 and the Cain/Abel story?
3. What
does the name Cain mean? What does it
tell us about Eve’s perspective on Genesis 3:15?
4. What
does the name Abel mean? Is he
well-named?
5. Why
do you think Abel’s offering was acceptable to God and Cain’s isn’t? Does Hebrews 11:4 help?
6. How
does Cain exhibit the three fruits of sin we discussed last week?
7. How
does God’s question to Cain (verse 9) mirror His question to Adam in Genesis 3?
8. What
is God telling Cain about himself and about God in verse 7?
9. How
is John correct about Cain when he references him in I John 3:12?
10. How does
the story of Cain provide the key to the way God will win the victory over
every will but His own?
See you Sunday as we listen to the Word and feed on Him!
