Daily Genesis

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†. Gen 4:9 . . Yhvh said to Cain: Where is your brother Abel? And he said: I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?

The Hebrew word for keeper is shamar (shaw-mar') which means: to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard; generally, to protect, attend to, etc. The same word is at Gen 2:15 describing Adam's duties in the garden of Eden, and at Gen 3:24 in respect to the flaming sword that watched over the way to the tree of life.

Cain worshipped The Only True God, same as his brother, and he participated in the very same rituals, same as his brother; yet responded to his maker's simple question with a lie and a sarcastic retort. Those who are the Serpent's offspring often act like that because the Serpent's offspring have a Serpent's mind.

†. John 8:44-45 . . You are of your father the Devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

†. Eph 2:1-2 . . As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

The Pharisees of Jesus' day were the most pious men in existence; staunch defenders of the one true God-given religion. Yet many of them hated Jesus because he sided with God against them; just as Cain hated Abel because he too sided with God.

Many of Jesus' opponents were hypocrites who didn't fully practice what they preached. He saw right through their pious façade and often discredited them in public debates. Eventually a bitter rivalry developed between brother and brother; between Jesus a Jew and the Pharisees; themselves also Jews. The very same kind of family rivalry that flared up between Cain and Abel, which ultimately led to Abel's death; and also ultimately led to Jesus' death.

†. Mrk 15:6-10 . . Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested. And the man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection. And the multitude went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. And Pilate answered them, saying: Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews? For he was aware that the chief priests had delivered him up because of envy.

The New Testament Greek word for envy is from phthonos (fthon'-os) which means: ill-will (as detraction), i.e. jealousy (spite). Related words include: malice, grudge, malevolence, rancor, revenge, vengeance, and vindictiveness.

†. John 3:1-2 . . Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said: Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.

Imagine that!?! The Jewish ruling council was fully aware that Jesus of Nazareth was from God; but pride, envy, and rivalry overwhelmed their better judgment and drove them to oppose him anyway. The Serpent no doubt easily punched their buttons and took full advantage of the Serpentary nature residing in their hearts to assist him in mounting an assault against the woman's offspring.

If Jewish religious leaders of the one true God-given religion in Jesus' day opposed the very God who gave them their religion, then who's to say that other Bible oriented religions aren't doing the very same thing even now in this very day and age? No doubt many Christian leaders, in the past and even now today, have opposed, and continue to oppose, the very Christ they supposedly represent, and would deeply resent Jesus' intrusion into their churches because he would make of himself a big nuisance and undermine their credibility with the people sitting out in the pews; just as he undermined the credibility of the religious leaders of Judaism in his own day.

The parallel between Jesus and Abel is striking. Both men were hated by their own people because they were righteous. Both were hated because they took God's side and disapproved their own people's conduct. And ultimately both men were murdered by their own people out of a spirit of rivalry, envy, malice, and vengeance.

C.L.I.F.F.
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†. Gen 4:10 . .Then He said: What have you done? Hark, your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground!

The word for cries out is from tsa` aq (tsaw-ak') and means: to shriek. Whether or not human blood actually has an audible voice isn't nearly important as to what it might be saying. And in this case, it certainly couldn't be good.

This scene is extremely important; for a very good reason. Some people are of the opinion that God is arbitrary and doesn't really have to make a case against sinners in judgment. According to them, He can just say: "You are condemned." And that's it; case closed. But no. God doesn't work that way at all. The Almighty is fair and reasonable. Solid evidence, and reliable testimony, will be presented to prove, and to demonstrate, beyond a shadow of doubt, that people deserve retribution.

†. Jude 1:14-15 . . Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him."

The word for convict in Jude's passage is from elegcho (el-eng'-kho) and means: to confute, admonish. Webster's defines confute as: to overwhelm in argument; refute conclusively. So the wicked will have their day in court, and a chance to defend themselves. But meanwhile The Lord will be aggressively making His own case too (cf. Rev 20:12).

†. Mtt 12:36-37 . . But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every thoughtless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

In civil law, it's handy to produce the corpus delicti in a homicide because it's very useful for proving the reality of a death, and for establishing the cause, and the time of its occurrence. It's interesting that God didn't produce Abel's body for evidence. He could have, but instead relied upon the voice of its blood. Or should I say the "testimony" of its blood. Yes, that's better. So a victim's blood can be used as evidence against murderers in the courts of Heaven. That is very interesting.

†. 1John 5:6-8 . .This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

The serous fluid that came out of Jesus' abdomen when he was speared by a guard during crucifixion, carries just as much weight of evidence as his blood, and indeed both are ready to give their testimony some day.

†. Heb 12:22-24 . . But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

The testimony of Abel's blood served to convict a sinner of homicide. But the testimony of Jesus' blood, through faith, doesn't condemn sinners. No, to the contrary, it serves to acquit them (Rom 5:6-11, 1Pet 1:18-19). That's a whole lot more to their advantage.

C.L.I.F.F.
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†. Gen 4:11a . .Therefore, you shall be more cursed than the ground,

Cain was neither condemned to die, nor doomed to Hell for what he did. He was simply more cursed than the ground, but he wasn't cursed beyond hope any more than the ground was cursed beyond hope in Gen 3:17-18. The soil still produces; just not as good as it once did before the curse. And Cain will now lose a goodly percentage of his talent for making things grow. In fact, God will see to it that his efforts at farming are frustrated no matter how skillfully he goes about it.

But how did Cain get off with only a slap on the wrist? Why wasn't he executed for murder since God himself mandates capital punishment for murderers as per Gen 9:5-6, Ex 21:12-14, Lev 24:17, Lev 24:21, and Num 35:31-34? Does God practice a double standard?

Cain got off with such a light sentence because God's laws don't have ex post facto jurisdiction; viz: they aren't retroactive (Gal 3:17). Since God hadn't as yet enacted a law against murder in Cain's day, then He couldn't legally charge him with it.

†. Rom 4:15 . . Because the law worketh wrath: but where no law is, there is no transgression.

†. Rom 5:13 . .For until the Law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

†. Gen 4:11b . . which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

That is so creepy. It portrays our planet as a hungry beast ingesting people down into its gaping maw like a massive carnivore. Well, actually it is; in its own way.

This big ol' terrestrial ball we live on is nothing in the world but a celestial mausoleum, coasting through space like a giant death star serving to warehouse millions and millions of dead bodies sealed within its vast earthen chambers. Relatively few people have ever got off. Just about everybody who ever lived is still here. If aliens had radio capability to pick up the combined voices of all the blood that was ever shed on the Earth since the beginning of time, they would surely be scared off by all the ghastly shrieking coming out of their radio speakers.

According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, America's death rate projected for 09/11/09, at 2:10 PM eastern standard time, was one every 13 seconds, or about five per minute. By the time Brian Williams completes his thirty-minute evening report, an average of 138 Americans— men, women, and children— cross over to the other side. Within a mere 24 hours, roughly 6,646 Americans leave this life and move on to the next.

Global numbers are even more impressive. According to the International Programs Center, U.S. Bureau of the Census, the current population of the World, projected for 09/11/09, at 2:14 PM eastern standard time, was 6,783,512,853. Using America's death ratio of 6,646 per day at a current population of 307,420,008; the global death rate can be estimated at approximately 146,650 per day— enough corpses to fill the new Yankee Stadium to capacity 2.8 times in twenty-four hours and to populate the Woodstock Festival of 1969 in about 3½ days time.

Look around you. See the people? —your friends, your family, your co workers, the people in the malls and on the freeways? In a mere fifty years just about every one of them will be dead, sealed in the earth; including yourself. That's a lot of graves.

So where did Abel go when he died? Did he just disappear into the soil like an animal carcass? Is there life after death? Ancient Judaism taught that during the altercation between Cain and Abel, one of the topics of their discussion was the existence of another life.

T~ And Habel answered and said to Kain: There is a judgment, and there is a Judge; and there is another world, and a good reward given to the righteous, and vengeance taken of the wicked. (Targum Jonathan)

But Cainish people don't believe in things like that.

T~ Kain answered and said to Habel: There is neither judgment nor Judge, nor another world; nor will good reward be given to the righteous, nor vengeance be taken of the wicked. (Targum Jonathan)

There are two Hells in the New Testament; a temporary Hell and a permanent Hell.

The temporary Hell is Hades; named after the Greek word haides (hah'-dace) which is the netherworld; viz: the unseen world of the dead— both the good dead and the bad dead.

Hades corresponds to the Old Testament Hebrew word sheol (sheh-ole') which is sometimes translated grave in English versions of the Bible; while other versions don't attempt to translate it all but let it go into the English text as-is.

Jesus went to Hades right after his crucifixion (Acts 2:27-32)

And there's a certain rich man who also went to Hades (Luke 16:19-24)

One section of Hades houses good men like Christ and Abraham (Luke 23:43, Luke 16:22-16)

Another section houses bad people (Luke 16:23-24)

†. Luke 16:19-25 . . There was a rich man . . At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus . . The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried.

. . In hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him: Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire. But Abraham replied: Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

In that scene, all three men are alive and conscious in a very real way. The rich man is experiencing agony, anxiety, thirst, and fear for the future of his surviving relatives while Abraham and Lazarus are experiencing comfort.

Some people say that Luke's narrative isn't literal; it's just one of Jesus' parables. But the sacred text gives no indication it's a parable. Besides; would Jesus tell a tall tale about a real man in the Bible named Abraham? Moses is mentioned in that narrative too. If Jesus were telling a figurative tale, then wouldn't that create a false impression about those two real-life men? How could we trust Jesus to tell the truth about spiritual things if he couldn't be trusted to tell the truth about real things?

†. John 3:31-32 . . He who comes from above is above all . .what He has seen and heard, of that He bears witness

†. John 3:34 . . For he is sent by God. He speaks God's words, for God's spirit is upon him without measure or limit.

Would a man filled with God's spirit beyond limit; and who said of himself "I am the truth" stoop to spinning yarns to teach spiritual truth? Of course not; that would be completely out of character, and besides, he didn't have to.

All Jesus had to do was borrow real-life examples out of everyday human experiences. Think about the sower who went forth to sow. Farmers were common in the Israel of Jesus' day. The unjust judge, the woman who lost some coins in her house, a woman kneading dough, the fig tree, repairing old cloth with new: all those were common things in the Israel of Jesus' day; he didn't have to make anything up; and besides the things he spoke, he spoke not of his own initiative, but rather, he spoke them because God directed him to speak them.

†. John 12:49 . . For I have not spoken on my own initiative, but the Father himself who sent me gave me a mandate, what to say, and what to speak.

Every one of Jesus' parables were like that— they were realistic stories because they were taken from real-life human experiences that Jesus either saw for himself, or knew about in some other way. He was thirty years old when he began his public ministry. That's a lot of years; and surely Jesus had seen a lot of life in that time so that he had a pretty large data base to draw upon whenever he needed a pertinent illustration to amplify a point in one of his sermons.

And anyway, like I said, the sacred text does not identify Luke 16:19-25 as a parable. People have done that— of their own initiative, not God's.

C.L.I.F.F.
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†. Gen 4:12 . . If you till the soil, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. You shall become a ceaseless wanderer on earth.

Cain went on to become a very hungry, very overworked man. Wherever he tried to farm, the ground would respond to the curse in such a way as to act infertile and its production was stunted. The curse was leveled right at his diet and the source of his food. Up till now, Cain had been a successful, independent farmer. But no amount of agricultural wisdom would ever restore his independence, nor his once green thumb no matter how hard he tried to overcome it. Cain had crossed over a line and there was no going back. It is very, very possible for Chris-tians to make the very same kind of mistake.

†. 1John 5:16-17 . . If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that.

For the Chris-tian, a deadly sin doesn't result in going to Hell (cf. John 5:24, Rom 5:6-11, Rom 6:3-11). Deadly sins can result in a premature physical death (e.g. Acts 5:1-11, Rom 8:13, 1Cor 11:23-30).

Since Cain could no longer sustain himself by farming, it would be difficult to settle down and build himself a home; so he was forced to become migratory and forage for seasonal foods like the uncivilized beast that he was. It was poetic justice. The punishment sure fit his personality. If he was going to act like a brute, then he deserved to live like one.

†. Gen 4:13 . . Cain said to the Lord: My punishment is too great to bear!

His punishment was actually very lenient. It's true that Cain would struggle to eat. But at least he was allowed to survive. His kid brother was dead.

There is no absolution nor redemption for a man like Cain. Not that God doesn't have an effective way to absolve men who do things like that. After all, both Moses and David were murderers and surely no one would consider either of those men damned. But Cain, unlike Moses and David, had a serious problem with authority. I'm sure Abel, the family's prophet, had instructed the older sibling how to live by faith and obtain absolution for every sin imaginable. But Cain hated Abel and wasn't about to follow his kid brother's lead; and so went into history an unrepentant, unforgiven man.

Many intellectuals are just like Cain. No, I don't mean they're murderers. But they will never yield to the Gospel because it would be impossible for them to do so without a complete loss of their dignity. Self respect has them locked into meeting a terrible fate.

†. Luk 18:17 . . Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.

†. Mtt 18:1-3 . . At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said: Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said: Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Since there were no laws against murder in Cain's day; it was therefore not yet a crime. Murder is morally wrong, yes; and it is intrinsically a sin, yes; but God's mandate for punishing murderers wasn't imposed until after the Flood. So men could kill each other up until the mandate with a certain measure of immunity because the mandate doesn't have ex post facto jurisdiction; viz: it wasn't retroactive. That may sound ridiculous; but nevertheless, it's an extremely important biblical principle.

†. Rom 4:15 . .The only way to avoid breaking The Law is to have no Law to break!

†. Rom 5:13 . . for before The Law was given, sin was in the world. But sin isn't imputed when there's no Law.

It would have been wrong for God to formally charge Cain with the crime of murder because there was neither one of His own laws, nor a civil law against murder at that time.

The promises (which we'll come to later in Genesis) made to Abraham, and to his posterity, regarding eternal possession of Eretz Israel, were made long before the Ten Commandments were imposed. So that The Commandments, which came later, cannot reach back and effect Abraham's covenant. So then, regardless of how sinful the people of Israel become, Abraham's covenant is secure because its promises are not dependant upon the Jews' faithfulness— the promises regarding ownership of Eretz Israel (not its occupation) rest solely upon God's integrity; rather than upon whether the Jews are good or bad.

That same principle applies to those who are in Christ. His crucifixion moved them into a zone of where The Commandments have no jurisdiction (Rom 6:3-11, Rom 7:1-6, Gal 2:16-3:29, Eph 2:11-18). Thus, since they are no longer under the jurisdiction of The Commandments, they're in no danger of its curses, judgments, and punishments, because where there is no law, there are no trespasses to condemn.

Jesus' sheep are in a neutral zone; immune to The Commandments, and therefore completely safe from the Almighty's criminal justice system. They are not safe from discipline, that's true, but discipline is a family matter, not a criminal matter.

C.L.I.F.F.
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†. Gen 4:14a . . Since You have banished me this day from the soil, and I must avoid Your presence and become a restless wanderer on earth—

(chuckle) It's just amazing how people's minds jump to conclusions. God didn't banish Cain from the soil, He simple took away his green thumb so that Cain's efforts at farming would no longer be as productive. Cain could still grow things if he wanted; just not as abundant as before.

And who said he must avoid Yhvh's presence? Where did he get that? Avoiding Yhvh was Cain's decision, just as it was Judas' decision to abandon Jesus. Both men could've turned it around if they wanted; but didn't. Cain gave up God's friendship of his own volition. Now he would face life all alone and very insecure.

†. Gen 4:14b . . anyone who meets me may kill me!

Have you ever walked alone at night, on a very dark country road, or an empty side street in the city? How did it make you feel? Nervous? Wary? You bet it did. We feel that way because, down deep in our hearts, just like Cain, we don't trust our fellow man.

Anybody who watches the evening news is fully aware that our fellow human beings can't be trusted to look out for our best interests. American citizens have killed their fellow Americans for little more than the Nike shoes on their feet; and at other times, simply to satisfy their thirst for revenge in a road rage; and even killed for no reason at all except for the excitement of it.

But who might "anyone" be? Who was Cain afraid of anyway? Cain is a good example of many like him who, even in our own day, don't believe the Adams were at one time the only human beings on the whole planet. Cain assumed God surely must have created others and put them out there somewhere. But there were no others. Cain's lack of faith in the Genesis account of creation rendered him insecure, and anxious about the unknown.

Some Chris-tians are similar to Cain in that they cannot bring themselves to trust the New Testament accounts of Jesus; so they live in dread of the future; or they just stick their heads in the sand and sing; "Que sera, sera; whatever will be will be." In other words, since no one really know things like who's going to Heaven and who's going to Hell, what's the use in worrying about it?

But the person with a solid trust in the Bible, knows they have nothing to fear because John wrote a letter to friends who truly believed and said: These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life (c.f. 1John 5:13 cf. John 3:14-18, John 5:24, John 6:37-40, and John 10:27-29).

Within those parenthesized passages are many verbs in the present tense. That means, if you look closely, you will see that those who truly trust Jesus and his words, have eternal life right now; no waiting period. They not only currently possess eternal life, but also have the promise that they will never perish and that they have passed from Death into Life, and that they are in absolutely no danger of being condemned.

Cain is going to leave home and move on; which is just as well because once his dad and mom find out what really happened, they would be terrified and have to put locks on their doors. Cain was a very dangerous, volatile man. It would only be a matter of time before he flew off the handle and killed somebody else.

Modern prisons are one practical alternative to banishment. Without a system of criminal justice, no one would be safe for very long at a time here in America. Even with one in place, violent crime is still rampant. But without civil authority and criminal justice, it would be much worse and we would be back to the stone age in no time at all. Only with law and order can any society possibly attain its highest potential.

C.L.I.F.F.
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†. Gen 4:15a . .Yhvh said to him: I promise, if anyone kills Cain, sevenfold vengeance shall be taken on him.

God didn't promise to be Cain's body guard; only to severely punish anyone who killed him. This event highlights one of the problems associated with domestic tranquility. Law works to protect you only when people are forced to obey it; so that retribution becomes the only really practical deterrent. However, when people don't fear retribution, as in the case of the Muslims who crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center, then it's every man for himself.

If God was willing to punish someone who killed a man like Cain, then Cain's life had at least a measure of worth after all. And actually it did. In spite of his deed, Cain was still a human being patterned after God's image and likeness (Jas 3:9). That gave him a measure of worth he didn't deserve, but nevertheless, he came in for it just like everybody else.

In a modern court of law, Cain's deed probably wouldn't be classified as murder; but as the lesser crime of manslaughter; defined as a homicide committed by accident or misfortune, in the heat of passion, upon any sudden and sufficient provocation, or upon a sudden combat, when no undue advantage is taken, nor any dangerous weapon used, and when the killing is not done in a cruel and unusual manner. (Targums teach that Cain used a stone on Abel's skull, but that allegation is totally conjecture.)

Though manslaughter isn't as bad as murder; it's still a serious crime. However, a measure of leniency is granted the perpetrator because of the heat of passion, and for sudden and sufficient provocation, so that later, when Moses' Law was enacted, cities of refuge were set up in Eretz Israel where the manslayer could flee from lynch mobs and revenge by angry friends and relatives of the victim (Num 35:6, 35:12).

†. Gen 4:15b . . And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest anyone who met him should kill him.

The nature of Cain's mark is totally unknown; but could have been a symbol of some sort, or maybe even an entire written paragraph. However, the mark was not so people would hoot at Cain wherever he went. It was an ID card to protect him from random violence. In that day there existed no civil authorities to keep the peace and protect citizens. Every man did pretty much as he pleased; including hunting and killing other men. Well, Cain had a "No Hunting" sign on him so future generations of the Adams' family would know he was a protected species; so to speak.

God allows ignorance as an excuse; to a degree. However, information creates responsibility. When a person knows an act is sin, and goes ahead and does it anyway, they are in much deeper trouble than one who did not know that a particular act was wrong. No one had been forbidden to kill Abel, nor forbidden to kill any other man for that matter. But soon it would become widespread public knowledge that God strictly forbade killing Cain. Therefore, anyone who ignored God's decree would pay dearly for knowingly, and willfully disobeying a Divine mandate; just as the Adams paid in the garden (cf. Num 15:30-31, Mtt 11:20-24, Luke 12:47-48, Heb 10:26-27).

C.L.I.F.F.
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†. Gen 4:16a . . Cain left the presence of Yhvh

The way that's written, it appears Cain's departure was willing; and has the aura of a dreadful finality. He renounced God, and his native religion, and was content to forego its privileges so that he might not be under its control. He forsook not only his kin but also their altar, and cast off all pretenses to the fear of God; and never, on the page of Scripture, came among Godly people again, nor ever again gave any thought to any of God's holy ordinances. That verse is a terrible epitaph upon the tombstone of Cain's life, and you can almost feel the concussion of a dreadful thud as the mighty doors of perdition close solidly behind him; sealing his passage into permanent darkness.

Cain's separation from God is a component of the conditions that will exist in Hell. Perdition is not only a place of physical torment, but also a vacuum; an eternal loss of access to the sympathies and compassions of the Bible's God. It's a perpetual banishment from the fountain of all that's good. It's just as well though. I think many resolute sinners actually prefer Hell rather than submit to the Bible's God— and so shall their doom be.

†. 2Thes 1:6-10 . . God is fair-minded: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power on the day He comes to be glorified in His holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

†. Mtt 13:40-43 . . As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Why didn't God plead with Cain to stay in touch through prayer? Well, that would be like throwing good money after bad. Cain wasn't one to listen. Of all the things that Cain had done up to this point, walking out on God was his worst mistake. Yes, he would have to scrounge for food; but that was a mere slap on the wrist compared to loss of contact with his maker. People need to think that over. No matter how harsh your circumstances are, and no matter what life has thrown in your face, loss of contact with your maker is much worse. It is wise to stay in touch with God even if your life is a total wreck and God seems oblivious to your circumstances.

When the Adams fell, God drove them out of the garden; but not out of contact. When Cain fell, he wasn't driven out of contact either. He broke contact of his own volition. Though doomed to the life of a nomad, he should have made the best of it and tried to maintain some sort of connection with God.

†. Ps 103:8-14 . .The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love. He will not contend forever, or nurse His anger for all time . . As a father has compassion for his children, so The Lord has compassion for those who fear Him. For He knows how we are formed; He is mindful that we are dust.

C.L.I.F.F.
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†. Gen 4:16b . . and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

The word for Nod is from nowd (node) and means: wandering, vagrancy or exile. Precisely where Nod was located is unknown. The only other place in the entire Old Testament where the word nowd is found is one of the Psalms.

†. Ps 56:9 . .You keep count of my wanderings; put my tears into Your flask, into Your record.

Wandering and exile are fates in store for some of Chris-tianity's elite; especially those who are only in it for gain.

†. Jude 1:11-13 . .Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam's error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion. These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm— shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted— twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

†. Gen 4:17a . . Cain knew his wife,

Cain, of course, married a sister or a niece because there were no other families on the entire planet at that time but the Adams. Some believe that sibling marriage has always been abhorrent to God since it's forbidden by stipulations in Moses' covenanted law. However, those laws were not enacted till many, many years after the Flood; and they are not retroactive (Rom 4:15, Rom 5:13, Gal 3:17).

Regarding birth defects, sibling marriage is currently very risky business indeed. But sibling marriage was neither a risk, nor a taboo in Cain's day like it is now. After all, Adam's wife, Eve, was the female version of himself. In reality then, Adam engendered the entire human race by mating with his own flesh and blood. You can't get any closer to home than that.

The human race in Cain's day was very young, very healthy, and very close to its origin. Not enough time had elapsed to damage the gene pool. Proof of the excellent quality of the early human genome was longevity. Adam lived till he was 930 and Noah till he was 950. Nobody even comes close to that anymore. According to the 2009 World Almanac And Book Of Facts, the life expectancy of an American born in 2006 is 78.1 years. In 1900 it was only 47.3 years.

By Abraham's day, the human life span had shortened considerably.

†. Gen 25:7-8 . .This was the total span of Abraham's life: one hundred and seventy-five years. And Abraham breathed his last, dying at a good ripe age, old and contented; and he was gathered to his kin.

Abraham was just a child by Adam's standards; but yet Genesis says he lived to a ripe old age; which in his day was a mere 175. Abraham, the friend of God, wed his half sister Sarah.

†. Gen 20:12 . . And besides, she is in truth my sister, my father's daughter though not my mother's; and she became my wife.

Moses' Law later forbade marrying a half sister.

†. Lev 20:17 . . If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace; they shall be excommunicated in the sight of their kinsfolk. He has uncovered the nakedness of his sister, he shall bear his guilt.

However; there was no law against sibling marriages in Abraham's day, and with God's blessing, a brother and sister mated to engender Isaac; who was the beginning of the people of Israel— and he was also Christ's progenitor. So sibling marriage was not all that bad a thing even as recent as Abraham's day; which was only a mere three to four thousand years ago.

C.L.I.F.F.
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†. Gen 4:17b . . and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he then founded a city, and named the city after his son Enoch.

In Hebrew, Enoch's name is Chanowk (khan-oke') which means: initiated or dedicated. His name is taken from chanak (khaw-nak') which means pretty much the same thing and is found in some important passages in the Bible (e.g. 1Ki 8:62-63, Pro 22:6).

Just exactly to whom or to what Cain dedicated little Enoch is unknown.

The city Cain developed probably wasn't the kind of city we're used to thinking. The word for it is from `iyr (eer) and means: a community— a place guarded by waking or a watch —in the widest sense; even of a mere encampment or post.

Whether Cain actually lived in a permanent settlement is doubtful since he was stuck with vagrancy and wandering. Cain's city was very likely nothing more than a rudimentary village like the towns in the Old West and the Klondike that grew up around rail heads and mining camps. Some of those were little more than a village of tents, and that's probably all that Enochville amounted to. Just a nomadic assembly of Cain's clan where they could pool their resources, and watch each other's back as they wandered from place to place in the land of Nod searching for sustenance.

†. Gen 4:18 . .To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methusael, and Methusael begot Lamech.

Two of those names, Mehujael and Methusael, end with 'el (ale); a word that means: strength. As an adjective it means mighty; especially the Almighty (but used also of any deity). Some feel that Mehujael's name means: smitten of God. And Methusael's name means: man who is of God; or God's man. Just exactly what Cain was trying to get across with those names is uncertain. Religion is sometimes an important part of a person's social résumé. Perhaps by giving his children what we might call "Chris-tian" names, Cain maintained a semblance of piety. Kind of like adulterers, hookers, and porn queens going to church on Sunday.

†. Gen 4:19 . . Lamech took to himself two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other was Zillah.

Adah is from `Adah (aw-daw') and means: ornament. It's not unusual for people to name their little girls after jewelry like Pearl, Ruby, and Amber. Zillah is from Tsillah (tsil-law') which is derived from tsel (tsale) and means: shade, whether literal or figurative. Shade is a good thing in sunny locales so Zillah's name may have been associated with shelter, protection, peace, serenity, and rest— as in the Song.

†. Song 2:3 . . Like an apple tree among trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the youths. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my mouth.

Lamech's marriages are the very first incidence of polygamy in the Bible, and I have yet to see a passage where God either approved or disapproved of it other than the restrictions imposed upon New Testament church officers (e.g. 1Tim 3:2, 1Tim 3:12, and Titus 1:6) .

Since there was no law against polygamy in those early days, either by God or Man, Lamech can't be accused of impropriety.

Aside from the obvious sensual benefits men derive from harems; polygamy does have its practical side. The gestation period for human beings is nine months. At that rate, it would take a man many years to build up his clan to a respectable size. But with multiple wives, he could speed things up considerably. In primitive cultures, large families are very influential, and their numbers crucial to survival and self preservation.

†. Ps 127:4-5 . . Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are sons born to a man in his youth. Happy is the man who fills his quiver with them; they shall not be put to shame when they contend with the enemy in the gate.

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Cain's line, though wicked, produced a culture of very high intellect and extraordinary ingenuity. Proof enough that just because people are Godless doesn't necessarily mean they're brainless lummoxes. Actually, the majority of true Chris-tian believers are supposed to reflect a cross section of mediocrity: a people of just average achievement.

†. 1Cor 1:26 . . Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

It's a pity that so many otherwise bright, gifted people are going to Hell where their intellect, their energy, and their talents will never be appreciated nor put to good use ever again.

†. Gen 4:20 . . Adah bore Jabal; he was the ancestor of those who dwell in tents and amidst herds.

This is the Bible's very first mention of man-made dwellings. Jabal was the inventor of the first portable shelter; sort of a primitive version of the modern RV. Tents and teepees make it possible to roam long distances in relative comfort while searching for foods and pastures. Abraham and Sarah were housed in portable shelters the whole time they lived in Canaan. With tents and teepees, Enochville could be a very mobile community, staying in one place only long enough to deplete its natural resources before moving on to better diggings.

Jabal wasn't the father of animal husbandry as the passage seems to suggest. Abel was already tending flocks before Jabal was born (Gen 4:2). Dwelling "amidst" herds describes the lifestyle of America's early plains Indians; whose livelihood depended a great deal upon wild buffalo. Though they followed the herds, the Indians didn't actually raise any of their own like on a ranch.

Dwelling amidst herds is a nomadic way of life rather than one that's domesticated; hence the need for portable shelters; and the herds (e.g. deer and wild goats) would provide fabric for not only the tents, but also for shoes and clothing; which would need replacement quite often. One of Lewis' and Clark's complaints, when they were passing through the Oregon territory, was that moccasins rotted off their feet in the Northwest's climate. Even without rot, the soles of moccasins are not all that resistant to wear. Buckskins, manufactured from Elk hide and/or deerskin, fared little better.

†. Gen 4:21 . . And the name of his brother was Jubal; he was the ancestor of all who play the lyre and the pipe.

He wouldn't be the ancestor of all who play lyre and pipe now because Cain's entire civilization perished in the Flood. The word for ancestor is from 'ab (awb); a primitive word which means father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote application. In this particular case, 'ab wouldn't mean literal kin, but likely analogous to an inventor who is the first to introduce a new concept which then later becomes widely adopted; e.g. the LASER.

The first working laser was demonstrated on 16 May 1960 by Theodore Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories. Ironically, Maiman's laser wasn't intended to have commercial applications; it was just a device to prove a theory. Since then, lasers have become a multi-billion dollar industry. By far the largest single application of lasers is in optical storage devices such as CD and DVD players and recorders. The second-largest application is fiber-optic communication. Other common applications of lasers are bar code readers, laser printers, laser pointers, surveying, taking measurements, sensing distance, and cutting metals.

The word for lyre is from kinnowr (kin-nore') and means: to twang. So the actual instrument itself is difficult to identify. It could have been a harp. But then again, it may have even been something as simple as a string stretched between a washtub and a broom stick. The interesting thing about an ancient twanging instrument is its string. How did the Cainites make them? Of what material? A stringed instrument is a pretty advanced musical tool and certainly not something you would expect to find among so primitive a people as the antediluvians.

The word for pipe is from `uwgab (oo-gawb') and means: a reed-instrument of music. A modern reed instrument is typically a woodwind that produces sound by the vibrating of a thin strip of wood against the mouthpiece; like clarinets and saxophones (hence the classification: woodwinds). But in that culture, it could very well have been something as simple as a tube whistle made from a single hollow section of plant stem; or several of those bundled together like a Pan flute.

†. Gen 4:22a . . As for Zillah, she bore Tubal-cain, who forged all implements of copper and iron.

Tubal-cain was an early smithy of metal knives, hoes, chopping tools, kettles and skillets; which would certainly make life a lot easier out on the frontier. Copper and iron, in their natural condition, are not too strong nor very hard and wear resistant. Their properties are much improved when alloyed with additional elements.

If the smithy adds a tiny percentage of carbon to iron, he gets steel; a much tougher and far more durable metal than its parent. If the smithy adds even more carbon, he gets cast iron, which is a very rigid metal and really good for cooking because it cools slowly.

Adding a little zinc to copper produces brass, which is much stronger and tougher than pure copper. Copper's advantage in cooking is its natural heat conduction, which is very fast as compared to iron and/or steel. It's also an excellent conductor of electricity, but unless they were bottling lightening in those days, copper's electrical properties would have to wait for future exploitation.

†. Gen 4:22b . . And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

Naamah is from Na` amah (nah-am-aw') which means pleasant, amiable, or agreeable. A girl named Joy would probably fit that category. Naamah was Enochville's public affairs officer over at the local chamber of commerce. A prosperous community like Enochville could always use a friendly hostess, one who was good with the public. Naamah would have tourist and commercial information about the metal tools and implements on sale over at Tubal-cain's blacksmith shop, and about the guitars and horns available at Jubal's music store. Jabal's place was the local Home Depot combined with an apparel boutique, offering do-it-your-selfers plans and materials for making teepees and tents; and hides and wool to make clothing and leather goods.

So all in all, Enochville, though unproductive at farming, prospered through commerce instead; trading the goods and services of their industrial base for much needed produce; the same way that most urbanites still do even today. People in towns and cities typically don't support themselves directly from nature. They earn a medium of exchange in some sort of skill or profession, then trade it with merchants to buy the things they need to survive.

The technological, and cultural, level of early Man was very high. It's interesting that the identifying marks which evolutionary anthropologists use to denote the emergence of a stone age culture into a civilized society were evident in Adam's day: animal husbandry, agriculture, trades, urbanization, music, and metallurgy. All these civilizational technologies emerged very early: within just a few generations of Adam; not after thousands upon thousands of years of human development. I'm not saying there never was any "stone-age" peoples. Obviously there were. But Adam and Cain were not among them.

It's a pity the Flood wiped early Man off the map. Who can tell what he might have accomplished had his progress not been interrupted (cf. Gen 11:6).

C.L.I.F.F.
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†. Gen 4:23-24 . . And Lamech said to his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice! O wives of Lamech, give ear to my speech! I have slain a man for wounding me, and a lad for bruising me. If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.

Brag, Brag, Brag— boy, I tell you some men sure love to show off and glorify themselves in front of women; no doubt about it. Apparently ol' Lamech figured the homicide he committed wasn't nearly as severe as Cain's because he killed in retribution; whereas Cain killed in a rage. Also, Cain killed his kid brother, whereas Lamech killed others. So in Lamech's estimation, Cain's killing was a much more serious crime; and if a dirty rotten scoundrel like gramps was under God's divine protections, then, in Lamech's mind, he certainly deserved to be under them even more so. Lamech's kind of conscience is a direct result of eating the forbidden fruit (Gen 4:22).

It almost appears that Lamech killed two people, but really it was only one; and in fact a person younger than himself. Two words describe Lamech's opponent. The first word is from 'enowsh (en-oshe') and simply means a mortal; viz: a human being (of either gender), in general (singly or collectively). The second word reveals the person's age. The word for lad is yeled (yeh'-led) and means something born, i.e. a lad or offspring: —boy, child, fruit, son, young one and/or young man.

Apparently Lamech got in a disagreement with somebody and they settled their differences in a fight. The injury Lamech received in the ensuing scuffle could have been something as simple as the man biting his ear or kicking him in the groin. It's my guess Lamech over-reacted and stabbed the man to death with a spiffy bowie knife that his son Tubal-cain made for him over in the blacksmith shop.

Lamech's sense of right and wrong reflects the humanistic conscience of a man void of God's spirit. In his earthly mind, revenge was an okay thing; which is a common attitude in many primitive cultures. But his opponent only wounded him. In return, Lamech took his life. The scales of justice do not balance in a situation like that— they tip. Pure law says eye for eye, tooth for tooth, burning for burning, stripe for stripe, life for life, and no more. If the lad's intent was obviously upon great bodily harm; Lamech would probably be justified to kill him in self defense since his opponent was a younger man and had the advantage in age. However, according to Lamech's own testimony, he killed the man in revenge; not self defense.

Cain's side of the Adams family is characterized by technology, invention, boasting, achievement, commerce, and violence. But not one word is recorded concerning its association with, nor its interest in, their maker. Cain's entire community was God-less and went on to be completely destroyed right down to the last man, woman, and child in Noah's flood. No one survives him today.

The Bible doesn't record even one single incident of a Cainite blessing God for His goodness; nor for His mercy, nor for His providence. There is no record that any of them ever said even one single prayer— not even a simple lay-me-down-to-sleep kind of prayer. Every one of the little kids in Enochville went to bed each night without the slightest assurance that the God of creation cared at all for the well being of their little souls.

How many homes right here today in modern America reflect that very same Cainish culture? The parents and the children are unthankful, unholy, and irreligious; caring little or nothing for things of eternal value: moving towards an inevitable head-on rendezvous with death and the hereafter, and totally unprepared to meet their maker.

C.L.I.F.F.
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†. Gen 4:25 . . Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, meaning, "God has provided me with another offspring in place of Abel," for Cain had killed him.

One can only imagine the grief and the guilt the Adams must have felt at the loss of two sons in one day— one murdered, and the other leaving home, off on his own.

Abel, being the family's prophet, no doubt carefully explained to his mom that through her would come a savior who would eventually destroy both the Serpent and its agenda. Along the way though, a terrible conflict would develop between the savior's followers and the Serpent's followers. With Abel's death, all seemed lost. But no, the woman's seed is not about to be stopped all that easily. The Serpent found a way to instigate the murder of the beginning of a line to Messiah; but it failed to take into account the powers of God and His own agenda.

†. Gen 4:26a . . And to Seth, in turn, a son was born, and he named him Enosh.

Sometimes the record shows the mother naming a child, and sometimes the father; which suggests that in all cases there was very likely mutual consultation between husband and wife on this important decision. But it's always important for the father to take a hand in naming the children because the act testifies that he has legally, and officially, accepted them as his own (e.g. Gen 15:16, Gen 21:3, Mtt 1:21, Luk 1:13, Luk 1:63, Rev 2:17).

Enosh is from 'enowsh (en-oshe') and means: a mortal; hence a man in general, singly or collectively (and thus differing from the more dignified 'adam (aw-dawm') which means: a human being) There's really nothing special about an 'enowsh— just a feller. Sometimes boys are named Guy, or Buddy, so 'enowsh would be a common enough name.

†. Gen 4:26b . .Then men began to call on the name of The Lord.

That doesn't mean that people began communicating with God only just then. It only means they began calling upon God by a different name than usual. The new name of God here in Gen 4:26 is yhvh. According to a note in the Stone Tanach, the four letters of this name are those of the Hebrew words: He was, He is, and He will be— signifying that God is timeless and infinite; ergo: self existent.

Yhvh is an important name of God which is almost always connected with redemption. It is the name by which God rescued the people of Israel from Egypt (Ex 6:2-8).

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were familiar with The Name. But they didn't have a personal experience with its redemptive connection. Their relationship with God was more in line with El Shaddai; which means: The Almighty God. So to them, He was a god of providence (Gen 28:20-21) who could do anything, even make a barren woman have children in her old age. But Abraham's posterity were in very deep trouble down there in Egypt. They were in slavery and helpless to escape it. So they needed a different kind of god than Abraham's. They didn't need riches, and they didn't need someone to repair their women's wombs. They needed a Rescuer, a Champion, a Knight in shining armor to free them from inescapable oppression.

It's very significant that antediluvians called on The Name. It strongly suggests that they recognized their own need of redemption. Not redemption from the slavery of men, but from the slavery of a sinful human nature; and their prayers very likely contained, among other things, petition for pardon and forgiveness.

The Name is very seldom pronounced exactly as it's written in order to spare it abuse and indignity. People need to be cautious how they use The Name. It is a very serious sin to speak it in a disrespectful manner.

†. Lev 24:15-16 . . Say to the Israelites: If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible; anyone who blasphemes the name Yhvh must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes The Name, he must be put to death.

The New Testament's Jesus is connected to The Name in a very special way.

†. Phil 2:6-11 . . Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The name that is above every name is Yhvh. Jesus has a right to all the worship and service and reverence and obedience that is due to The Name because he was given permission to use the name that is above every name for himself by Divine decree. It's understandable that there would be people who have personal issues with Jesus and can't respect him. Nobody has to like Jesus. The important thing is to worship and obey him out of respect, if not for Jesus, then at least for the sake of the name Yhvh.

C.L.I.F.F.
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†. Gen 5:1a . .This is the record of Adam's line.

The Bible record generally follows the genealogy that leads to Messiah; but, on the way, sometimes takes little side trips along lines forking off the main stem. So Genesis first shows where Cain's line went, drops it, and then picks up Seth's; beginning at Adam. Adam's line of course includes every human being who ever lived, but the only fork in his tree that really counts is the one leading to Jesus of Nazareth: the Bible's central figure.

It's easy to assume that Jesus was some sort of last minute emergency contingency, like an ambulance sent to an accident. But no, he was predestined to be a ransom for the sins of Man before either Man or Earth were even created

†. 1Pet 1:18-20 . . knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you

†. Rev 13:8 . . All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast— all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.

So God wasn't taken by surprise when the human race that He created went bad. God was not only expecting it; but He was ready for it.

†. Gen 5:1b-2 . .When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God; male and female He created them. And when they were created, He blessed them and called them Man.

As a preamble to Seth's line, Genesis reminds the world that Man's origin was by special creation, and that he was made in the likeness of his creator, and that he was a human being right from the get-go. Man didn't begin his existence as some sort of pre-human hominid. Jesus' pedigree in the book of Luke begins with his nearest male blood kin, a man named Heli, and goes all the way back to Seth and Adam. It goes no further because there is no further to go.

It's extremely important to show that Messiah is related to Adam because Jesus wouldn't qualify to pay for Man's sins unless he were a fellow man. This principle, the principle of the kinsman redeemer, was written into Moses' Law, and can be seen played out in real life in the book of Ruth; where redemption is shown to be what it really is: kin rescuing kin.

†. Heb 2:14-15 . . Since the children [of Abraham] have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death— that is, the Devil —and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

Some people of course have problems with Genesis because it seems so unscientific, and contrary to the (known) fossil record. But they need to be cautious because Science does not have perfect understanding of everything yet, and it often has to be revised to reflect new discoveries, and to correct outdated theories and opinions.

Although Man was delegated the task of classifying all the wildlife (Gen 2:19-20), he wasn't permitted to classify himself. Man's creator was the one who tagged human beings with a species name; and He didn't call them primates or hominids— He called them Man. Plus, God called both genders Man; not just the male. The idea that women are somehow a separate specie of human life didn't originate in the mind of God.

The first man's personal name reflected the name of his species: 'adam (aw-dawm') which means: ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.). The male was the whole human race embodied in just one individual. There were no other people created along with Adam. He was the entire species of Man all at one time. Adam's wife was produced from his own body and spirit.

Man didn't invent himself; nor did he evolve from a lower order of life. He was created by God. Since Man is decidedly God's creation, and de facto His private property; then it should be a foregone conclusion that God has a right to have some say in Man's purpose. For Man to act independently of his maker is like a fresh new clay jar saying to its potter, "I am finished. You may leave now." But it doesn't work that way. Creators are sovereign over their creations, whether it be God over Man, or Man over an automobile and a three-bedroom home. Homes and automobiles don't rule those who built them. It's the other way around.

Man isn't from eternity, but of just only yesterday; there being a specific point in time in which God created him. And Man was not the one born first in creation; but the junior of it. All else came before him, including the brute beasts and the lowly insects.

God created Man a composite being— male and female —for their mutual comfort as well as for the preservation and increase of their kind. God is a composite being too— not in a way specifically related to gender like Man is; but in another fashion. He associates with the world by His word, and by His spirit— two sentient manifestations of the Divine nature. The third part of God, that part of the Supreme Being which nobody is permitted to see in real life, nor even to so much as hear its voice; is the True God in actual person.

God's word, and His spirit, both act as buffers and mediators between the True God and the creature Man— a necessary arrangement to protect Man from the hazards of associating with a spirit being who emits a radiant light so powerful that organic creatures cannot survive exposure to it. The concept of a composite God is an Old Testament concept, predating the New Testament's theological teachings by at least 1,400 years.

C.L.I.F.F.
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†. Gen 5:3a . .When Adam had lived 130 years, he begot a son

Adam lived to be 930. If we compare that age to that of the average life expectancy of American men today, Adam would have been around 11 when Seth was born.

Eve understood Seth to be Abel's replacement. But that doesn't necessarily mean Seth was the very next boy born into the Adams family after Abel. It doesn't even mean Seth was her third child. Bible genealogies often have very large gaps in them, omitting insignificant male siblings; and typically all of the girls. Here's a good example of that.

†. Ruth 4:22 . . Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.

It's true that David was Jesse's son. But he wasn't the only son, and he sure wasn't the first one either. David was the youngest of eight brothers, of whom seven were all born before him. Abel was a special man because he would have been in Messiah's line had he lived. Seth took that honored position after Abel's death.

†. Gen 5:3b . . in his likeness after his image, and he named him Seth.

Adam was created in the image and likeness of God; which implies he came into existence with innocence. But because of the incident in the garden, people now come into the world with Adam's image rather than God's; and Adam's is now the image of a sinful being rather than that of an innocent creature.

†. Ps 51:7 . . Indeed I was born with iniquity; with sin my mother conceived me.

You know who said that? It was David, whom God said was a man after His own heart. David didn't come into the world innocent and then go on to become a sinner later on. No. It's not like that at all. He was a sinner right from the bell; from the moment of conception in his mother's womb. But technically, the Adams' posterity are sinners even prior to conception; because they became sinners in Eden; right at the very moment when their ancestors became sinners themselves.

There is a concept in traditional Christianity called Original Sin. The various denominations understand original sin in proprietary ways; but basically it just simply means that every human being in the Adams' family is guilty of eating the forbidden fruit.

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Differences of opinion exist regarding the precise time of guilt. But according to Rom 5:12-19, everyone became guilty of eating the fruit in real time; viz: they ate it at the exact same moment as the Adams ate it because the verbs indicating the time of complicity are in the past tense.

†. Rom 5:12 . .Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned

†. Rom 5:18 …In conclusion . . through one transgression condemnation came upon all,

Since the verbs are in the past tense, it means that people who haven't even been born yet are already pre-guilty of eating the fruit prior to their conception in the womb. This particular kind of guilt isn't a genetic guilt passed on to children by their biological parents because, according to the Bible, a man's children don't inherit complicity in their parents' sins (Deut 24:16, Ezek 18:2-20). So then, Adam's posterity's guilt in the garden sin isn't a genetic guilt at all, but rather; it's an *imputed guilt.

*Imputation is an extremely important principle in the plan of salvation. Let me show you.

Have you ever been crucified? I have. Not physically, of course; but by imputation. When Jesus went to the cross, the nails that were driven into his hands and feet, were driven into my hands and feet too (Rom 6:3-11).

Have you ever been resurrected? I have. When Jesus rose from the dead, I rose from the dead too (Rom 6:3-11, Gal 2:20, Gal 5:24, Col 3:3-4).

Are you righteous enough this very moment to go to heaven should your death occur before the week is out? I am: by imputation. The quality of my imputed righteousness is such that I am fully qualified to go to heaven at any time (Rom 3:21-28, Rom 4:6-8, Rom 4:20-25, Rom 5:12-19, Php 3:8-9).

So that by imputation, I have already been executed for my sins, I have already risen from the dead, and I already have enough personal righteousness to my credit to enter heaven.

In Rom 5:12-19, Jesus' cross is juxtaposed with Adam's fruit. Since neither my crucifixion, nor my resurrection, nor my righteousness were genetically inherited from Christ as a biological ancestor, then neither was my complicity in Adam's disobedience. Everything, including my being held responsible for Adam's act, was passed to me by imputation. If not, then Paul's analogy in Rom 5:12-19 is inaccurate.

There's more. When the Adams ate the fruit, they died: not later, but right then, just like God said they would (Gen 2:17). They became sinful beings: and that, in a nutshell, is one of the more serious ramifications of bearing Adam's post-garden likeness. His entire posterity, including Seth, is actually born pre-dead. Their bodies will die later, but they themselves existed in a condition of death even before they were born.

†. Rom 5:12 . . and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned

Again, the verbs are past tense; indicating that Adam's posterity is already dead prior to conception. So then, there is a death within Adam's posterity that is somewhat different than standard mortality.

The capability to sin —which is a different condition than that of being prone to sin— is not a result of Man's fall. No, the capability to sin was in human nature right from the sixth day of creation because the Adams disobeyed God, in the third chapter of Genesis, not from the depths of a fallen nature, but from a state of complete innocence. However, that's no longer true. Everyone who descends from Adam, including Seth, now comes into the world with a propensity to sin (Rom 7:14-24) which is a condition that Man did not get from God on the day of his creation; no, the human race obtained its intrinsic propensity to sin from the forbidden fruit.

Webster's defines propensity as: an often intense natural inclination or preference.

Human nature's propensity to sin is the direct result of eating the fruit. So I would have to say that the first sin wasn't committed with a rebellious attitude, but rather; I think they took a calculated risk that the Serpent just might be right. I seriously don't think either one of them had a problem with authority, or of being told what to do because Eve really was convinced the Serpent was telling the truth, so she didn't eat the fruit just to assert her independence like when Nemo slapped the underside of that boat in defiance of his dad's wishes to the contrary.

Writing to born-again Christians about the propensity to sin, Paul said:

†. Eph 2:1-3 . . As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

To be an object of wrath "by nature" implies slavery. Just as human beings by nature are slaves to food and water and rest, so they are slaves to the propensity to sin. Sin is just something we have to do; it's our way of life, and any other way can lead to mental disorders. Resisting our own natural impulses can lead to psychoses because its fighting against nature; and that is a losing battle if ever there was one.

Although many of us no doubt still chose to sin, we today fall into sin much easier than the Adams because of our propensity to sin; whereas at the first, Adam and his wife didn't have that problem to deal with.

The propensity to sin, is itself sin because the propensity alone is sufficient to make everybody objects of God's wrath. Although I have never killed anybody illegally, there have been many times I would have liked to. Those longings to take someone's life are enough to qualify me as a murderer even though I've never followed through with my feelings about it. The problem is: I have a propensity to murder; and that alone is enough for God to categorize me as one. And that is primarily why the average pew warmer is not going to make it to Heaven. Not because they're murderers, but because they are slaves to a propensity to sin; which in itself is sin, and renders them an evil being.

†. Gen 8:21 . . every inclination of man's heart is evil from childhood.

†. Jer 13:23 . . Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.

The only God-given remedy for man's own natural propensity to sin so he can go into eternity as a perfectly sinless being is by undergoing a second birth as per John 3:3-8 (cf. Ezek 36:24-28, 2Cor 5:16-17).

C.L.I.F.F.
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†. Gen 5:4-5 . . After the birth of Seth, Adam lived 800 years and begot sons and daughters. All the days that Adam lived came to 930 years; then he died.

Well, there goes ol' Adam, just like God predicted.

†. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return (Gen 3:19)

And but for a very few exceptions, every one of Adam's posterity has so far suffered the very same fate.

†. Ps 90:1-10 . . Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You turn men back to dust, saying: Return to dust, O sons of men. For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning— though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered.

. .We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. The length of our days is seventy years— or eighty, if we have the strength —yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

†. Ecc 2:13-16 . . I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both. Then I thought in my heart: The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise? I said in my heart: This too is meaningless. For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die!

We all come into this life condemned men; just passing time till the inevitable day of our deaths. Youth is a wonderful thing— pity it's wasted on the young.

†. Ecc 11:9-12:1 . . Enjoy life, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see (but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment). So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are transitory. So appreciate your vigor in the days of your youth, before those days of sorrow come and those years arrive of which you will say: I have no pleasure in them.

There really is no reason to doubt that people in the primeval world lived nearly a thousand years as the Bible says. After all, the Earth— its atmosphere, its soil, and its water— was young and unpolluted, and Man was fresh out of the oven with no accumulated genetic mutations to tamper with his immune system or degrade his cell structure.

But when did Eve die? Did she outlive Adam? Who died first, Adam or Eve? Nobody really knows. But supposing Eve died quite a while before Adam? Did he remarry? And if he remarried, who did he marry? One of his own grandchildren? Well . . in Adam's case, what's so bad about that? I mean, after all, his first wife was manufactured from the organic tissues of his own body; so that in reality, Eve was his first child. I don't see how it could possibly be any worse for him to sleep with one of his adult grandkids; especially if they were like six or seven times removed.

C.L.I.F.F.
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†. Gen 5:6-7 . .When Seth had lived 105 years, he begot Enosh. After the birth of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and begot sons and daughters.

No doubt some people envy the longevity of the antediluvians; but I don't. Their life was hard, and for the most part, pretty boring. Would you want to live for 912 years in third world conditions? Not me.

Was Enosh the first of Seth's children? Maybe, but probably not. However, he's the only child that counts because it's through him that we're moving towards Noah; and ultimately, Messiah.

†. Gen 5:8 . . All the days of Seth came to 912 years; then he died.

(sigh) The story of our all too brief, pathetic lives. So and So was born. He got married and had children; then lived X-number of years after that, and then died— same O, same O. The weary circle of life.

†. Gen 5:9 . .When Enosh had lived 90 years, he begot Kenan.

Kenan's name in the Hebrew is Qeynan (kay-nawn') which means: fixed or permanent; sort of like drifters finally ending their nomadic life and putting down some roots. Fixed can also mean that someone's life has a noble purpose and that their mind is focused upon that purpose rather than upon something trivial and temporal.

Jesus' sheep are exhorted to fix their minds upon the realities of their position in Christ.

†. Col 3:1-3 . . Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Believers focused entirely upon this life are carnal and worldly. And actually, only truly born-again Christians, the ones currently possessing eternal life; can set their minds upon things above because ordinary Chris tians are not even sure where they're going when they die. It's good to have something to look forward to. Treasures in heaven support the weary heart and help it to endure difficulties down here on the planet.

†. 1Pet 1:3-4 . . Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you,

For marginal Chris-tians, hope is defined as a longing for the unattainable. For those who are born-again, who are actually confident that Jesus' crucifixion is an adequate ransom to rescue their souls from the wrath of God, hope is defined as a guaranteed expectation; as opposed to the wishful thinking of the damned.

†. Gen 5:10 . . After the birth of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and begot sons and daughters.

You know, some of these guys really didn't accomplish very much. All they seemed to do was reproduce. But the important thing is; they made a line to Messiah and, as is the duty of patriarchs, preserved whatever sacred teachings were handed down from their fathers.

†. Gen 5:11 . . All the days of Enosh came to 905 years; then he died.

(yawn) Over and over again. Just about everybody reproduces in chapter five. And just about everybody dies too.

†. Gen 5:12-20 . .When Kenan had lived 70 years, he begot Mahalalel. After the birth of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and begot sons and daughters. All the days of Kenan came to 910 years; then he died. When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he begot Jared. After the birth of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and begot sons and daughters. All the days of Mahalalel came to 895 years; then he died. When Jared had lived 162 years, he begot Enoch. After the birth of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and begot sons and daughters. All the days of Jared came to 962 years; then he died.

Four of those men— Enoch, Jared, Mahalalel, and Kenan (Cainan) —are listed in Jesus' genealogy at Luke 3:37-38.

C.L.I.F.F.
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†. Gen 5:21 . .When Enoch had lived 65 years, he begot Methuselah.

Methuselah's name is Methuwshelach (meth-oo-sheh'-lakh) which is a compound word made up of math (math) which means an adult (as of full length or full size), and shelach (sheh'-lakh) which means a missile of attack, i.e. a spear, sling stone, or perhaps an arrow. Methuselah was a full-size missile; viz: not a wimpy BB pellet, but a full metal jacketed smokeless cartridge.

Apparently people had some pretty sophisticated weapons in those days; which could be used for hunting as well as for war. Today our preferred missile of attack from a hand held weapon is the bullet. A Methuselah bullet would probably be known today as a magnum. Magnums cost more than normal ammo but hit harder, go further, and cause more damage (they're louder too). A modern name that might correspond to Methuselah is Long Tom— a nickname often given to very large canons. Maybe they meant to call him Big Guy because he was such a heavy newborn.

†. Gen 5:22-23 . . After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years; and he begot sons and daughters. All the days of Enoch came to 365 years.

Enoch was a fiery preacher, speaking the words recorded in Jude 1:14-15; warning people prior to the Flood that Almighty God intends to make the wicked give an account of themselves some day.

†. Gen 5:24a . . Enoch walked with God;

This is the very first man on record who is actually said to have "walked" with God. People still walk with God. Here's a useful acronym that covers most of the essential elements of faith regarding walking with God. The acronym is ROTC.

Read your Bible.
Obey His will
Talk with God
Confess your sins.

Those who are outwardly religious, but don't actually walk with God, might be wise to give this next little saying some thought.

Ye call Me lord and respect Me not.
Ye call Me master and obey Me not.
Ye call Me light and see Me not.
Ye call Me way and walk Me not.
Ye call Me life and choose Me not.
Ye call Me wise and follow Me not.
Ye call Me kind and love Me not.
Ye call Me just and fear Me not.
If I condemn thee, blame Me not.

†. 1John 1:6 . . If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

On the page of scripture, Enoch isn't stated to walk with God until after his little boy Methuselah was born; suggesting perhaps that parenthood can have an amazing influence on some men's attitude towards their maker.

C.L.I.F.F.
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Enoch walked with God during a very large percentage of his life. The New Testament's Jesus walked with God too; which, although his life was quite brief, only 33 years, was rich in quality time.

†. John 8:29 . .The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.

Believers are urged to walk just as Jesus walked; viz: always strive to do what pleases God.

†. 1John 2:3-6 . .We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

Churches experienced an increase in attendance the Sunday morning following the World Trade Center disaster. When people's knees are shaking; they're sometimes inclined to kneel on them and turn towards God like they would a spare tire or an ambulance. But the really faithful among His people stay in touch with God every day of their lives, and please Him all the way to the end, just like Enoch; whether in good times or bad.

†. 3John 1:11 . . Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.

The phrase "hath not seen God" in 3John 1:11 doesn't mean good Chris-tians get to experience close encounters of a third kind with the Bible's God. The Greek word for seen is horao (hor-ah'-o) which means: to stare at; viz: to keenly observe, to study; to discern clearly.

In other words, bad Chris-tians don't as yet know the kind of God they're dealing with. Apparently they're unaware that Chris-tianity's God is not only a nurturing parent, but also a Jurist of impeccable integrity who believes in, who practices, and who preaches good conduct, good morals, justice, and retribution.

†. Gen 5:24b . . then he was no more, because God took him away.

Enoch has the distinction of being the shortest lived man in chapter five. But he didn't die a natural death. He crossed over to the next life miraculously.

†. Heb 11:5 . . By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away.

People like Elijah (2Ki 2:11) and Enoch (Gen 5:24, Heb 11:5) don't undergo the discomfort of dying, even as the true believers on earth when the Lord comes in the air won't have to endure the discomforts of death either (1Cor 15:51-52, 1Thes 4:13-18). To be taken up without dying— viz: translated —implies shedding the human body in an instantaneous, painless way. In Elijah's and Enoch's cases: one second you're flesh and blood, next second; pop! you're a ghost. In the case of true believers at Jesus' return: one second you're mortal, next second; shazaam! you're immortal.

Thus, everyone's Adamic human body has to perish, whether via translation or via natural expiration, because it is appointed unto human beings to die at least once (Heb 9:27) and in Adam; all die, including Elijah and Enoch, no exceptions (1Cor 15:22) since flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. (John 3:3-8, 1Cor 15:50)

Enoch's experience in the Old Testament is the very first revelation in the Bible of life beyond death; and the New Testament verifies it beyond question.

†. 2Cor 5:6-9 . .Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight— we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.

C.L.I.F.F.
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†. Gen 5:25-27 . .When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he begot Lamech. After the birth of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and begot sons and daughters. All the days of Methuselah came to 969 years; then he died.

Ol' Methuselah holds the record for longevity. He outlived his son Lamech, dying five years after him in the very year the Flood came; when Methuselah's grandson Noah was 600. Whether or not Methuselah died in the Flood or by natural causes is not said. However, he may indeed have perished in it right along with all of the rest of Noah's relatives. Just because men are listed in Messiah's genealogy doesn't necessarily mean they were righteous. In point of fact, some of the Davidic kings in Jesus' line were totally wicked men beyond remedy. (e.g. Jer 22:24-30)

†. Gen 5:28-29 . .When Lamech had lived 182 years, he begot a son. And he named him Noah, saying: This one will provide us relief from our work and from the toil of our hands, out of the very soil which the Lord placed under a curse.

The word for Noah is from nuwach (noo'-akh) and means: rest or quiet. But not the kind of quiet one might find in a sound-proof room. More like the peace and quiet a person would experience by getting away from anxiety, fear, conflict, and toil.

Lamech speaks as one fatigued with the business of living, and as one grudging that so much energy, which otherwise might have been much better employed in leisure, entertainment, or self improvement, was unavoidably spent in toil and labor necessary simply to survive.

Lamech undoubtedly saw that Noah was a very special boy; the next patriarch after himself. Perhaps he hoped Noah was the promised seed of the woman; the one who would crush the Serpent's head, remove the curse, and restore the Earth to its former prosperity and glory; thus making for Man a much more enjoyable experience than the one he is subjected to for now.

†. Rom 8:18-21 . . I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its slavery to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.

†. Acts 3:19-21 . . Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.

According to Acts 3:19-21, men have been pounding pulpits since the very beginning, and all of the prophets, ever since Abel, have looked ahead in anxious anticipation to Messiah's intervention in world affairs and bringing into existence a much better world than the one there is now.

†. Gen 5:30-32 . . After the birth of Noah, Lamech lived 595 years and begot sons and daughters. All the days of Lamech came to 777 years; then he died. When Noah had lived 500 years, Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Lamech escaped the Flood by a mere 5 years. It came when Noah was 600. (Gen 7:6)

Shem was the next patriarch after his dad Noah. But the names of all three boys are given probably because of the role they will play in repopulating the Earth after the Flood. The Bible doesn't say Ham and Japheth were good men. They survived the Flood in spite of their character only because they got aboard the ark with their dad when it was time for the rain to begin. If they had mocked, and remained on land with the rest of the world, then they would have certainly drowned right along with everyone else in spite of their ancestry.

So; were Mr and Mrs Noah childless until Noah was 500 years old? Probably not. The other kids, if there were any, didn't count as far as God was concerned, and, if there were any, they perished in the deluge. Being related to holy men like rabbis, pastors or deacons doesn't guarantee a ticket to safety. Everyone has to make their own personal decisions in that regard (e.g. Gen 19:12-14). God commands all people everywhere to repent. Refuse, and it's curtains; no matter how important, nor well connected, your relatives might be.

C.L.I.F.F.
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