Back in January 2010 we began a 12-week preaching series entitled, “Portraits of Christ in the Old Testament” and we started with Abel. We offered four points that day contrasting the blood of both men and seeing how Jesus’ was greater.
The early church called Abel the first martyr. Augustine called him a pattern of the regenerate soul. But do you remember what his name means in Hebrew? “A breath” or “a vapor.” It’s not like the breath mentioned in Genesis 2. It’s not like the breath God breathes into the dust to create a living spirit. Actually, it’s the antithesis of that. It’s the kind of breath you find in Psalm 39 when the Psalmist says, “Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!” It’s a breath of little consequence; a vapid vapor with little substance or weight. It’s as if, when Eve names this second son, she has expended all her energy, as well as her hopes and dreams. What a contrast between this second son and her first son.
In Genesis 4:1 we find Eve naming her firstborn – Cain. The English translation says, “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, ‘I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.’” But in Hebrew there’s a much more profound point to Eve naming her firstborn. The Hebrew word for “gotten” sounds like the name Cain, but the meaning of his name goes deeper than that. In fact, her naming of her firstborn is directly tied to God’s pronouncement in Genesis 3:15. From Eve’s perspective, the birth of Cain is the fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation and deliverance. But when he grows up and becomes a man this hope is dashed. How can Eve be so wrong? The same way we can be so wrong.
The thesis of Sunday’s message is that we are Cain. Just as Abel is an excellent picture of Jesus, Cain is a perfect portrait of who we are by nature. Cain is a living, breathing example of the depth of our brokenness in sin.
In Cain we have a picture of how every possible koinonia is broken: our brokenness with God, ourselves, our brother, and our nature. Instead of following God’s prescribed order, Cain takes matters into his own hands, not once, but repeatedly. Instead of killing his sin, he kills his sibling. He lures him into a lonely place and there sets an example for Absalom (II Samuel 13), Joab (II Samuel 20), Judas (Matthew 26), and many others in Scripture. The story of Cain is so profound and so relevant that the Apostles John, Paul, and Jude all speak of his correlation to us.
This Sunday is World Communion. It’s the Sunday we gather with Christians all over the globe, of every race, tribe, and tongue to remember that we are reconciled and restored by divine grace through faith, not of human works lest anyone should boast. What a perfect Sunday to study Genesis 4:1-16. Here one chapter after the fall, we see the depth of our brokenness and the height of God’s amazing grace. In fact, the offer God makes to Cain in verse 7 is the same offer He makes to every man through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In preparing for this message I’ve had to leave at least a third on the “cutting room floor.” I hope to pick some of it up next week in a message entitled, “That’s Who I Am!” I am convinced if you dig into this story of Cain you will see so much more than you’ve ever seen before. You will not only see your original identity, you will see the Lamb of God perhaps in ways that you’ve never seen Him before. In the story of Cain we are both present.
Here are a few things to consider as you prepare for Sunday:
1. How does the Hebrew text render Genesis 4:1?
2. What is the link between Eve’s hopes and dreams and Genesis 3:15?
3. What does the name “Cain” mean in English?
4. What does the author of Hebrews mean when he says in Hebrews 11 that Abel brought his offering to God in faith?
5. What is the reason God had no regard for Cain’s offering?
6. What does that say to us about our worship?
7. What is the source of Cain’s anger?
8. What is God’s response to Cain’s anger?
9. What do you make of God’s warning in verse 7?
10. What is the sin under the sin for Cain? And what is God’s remedy for it?
11. What is the connection to the communion table?
See you Sunday!
