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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
(1) THE WAY TO GOD. Cain presents to God a th a n k offering of th e fru it of the earth. He recognized God as th e ru ler and as en titled to worship, and believed in his own ability to please God w ith his offerngs. H is a lta r may have been beautifully constructed and the offering may have been beautifully a r ranged upon th e alt^ r, b u t it was lacking in th e principal thing. Cain looked upon God as one like himself, and bases his hope of acceptance w ith God on th e fact of his acknowl edgm ent of Him. God had dem onstrated w hat was essen tia l for an offering to Him, and no doubt Adam had been in structed and had him self ta u g h t Cain and Abel how to approach God. (Acts 17:23) “F o r a s I p a ssed by and b eh eld y ou r d e v o tio n s, I fonn d an a lta r w ith th is in sc r ip tio n , TO TH E UNKNOWN GOD. Whom, th e r efo r e, y e ig n o r a n tly w o r sh ip , him d ecla re I u n to y ou .” (Isa. 1:10-15; Heb. 11 :6 ; 1 Sam, 16 :7 ; 1 John 3:12) We m ust obey God and God demands as a first necessity of worship th e confession of sin. Abel recognized h is own sinful n atu re and his need of a substitute, so he brought of th e firstlings of his flock and the fa t thereof. Abel bowed his head to th e righteous will of God. A proper understanding of these two offerings reveals th e whole foundation of a rig h t relation of man to God and of God’s plan. If you get a rig h t s ta rt the travelling is easy. W hat is God’s law as recognized by Abel? (Lev 17:11) “F o r th e lif e o f th e flesh is in th e b lood ; and I h a v e g iv e n it to y o u up on th e a lta r to m ak e an a to n em en t fo r y ou r so u ls; fo r it is th e b lo od th a t m ak eth an a to n em en t fo r th e so u l.” ■ (Heb. 9 :22 ; Heb. 11 :4 ; Matt. 20:28; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19) God testified to His acceptance of a proper offering in 1 Kings 18:38: ifl^ ae n * fire o f th e Lo rd fe ll, and con sum ed th e bu rn t sa crif lce, and th e wo od , and th e sto n e s, and th e d u st, and lic k e d up th ei w a te r th a t w a s in th e tren ch .” (And in Judges 13:20) Cain was self-righteous and wilful. He was rejected. Abel acknowledged his fault, made an acceptable blood of fering and was accepted. (2) THE WICKEDNESS OF THE HEART. The wickedness of Cain’s h ea rt is revealed in his refusa! to listen to God’s reasoning (Isa. 1:18) H j K g f i n " w l e t US rea son to g e th e r , s a ith th e Lord; th o u g l th e v b l sca,r le t> th e y s h a ll b e w h ite a s sn ow ; t h o u |l th e y b e red lik e crim son , th e y s h a ll b e a s w o o l.” ' * He was w roth w ith God. His face m irrored th e thoughts of his h eart. A sin offering was a t his disposal and Abel, his brother, would be subject unto him. Worship of God is based on a blood offering. Death and judgm ent stand in the way of m an’s acceptance w ith God, bu t Christ has abolished death. The worshipper is iden ti fied w ith his offering. I t is no longer, "I, bu t Christ.” We are accepted in Him, seen in Him, aré alive in Him, justified in Him. If a man identifies himself w ith Christ, then Christ identifies H imself w ith th a t man. F o r tru e worship it is necessary to know God in Christ as Saviour (John 3) and to worship Him as Lord (John 4 ). God, th e F ath e r, seeks worshippers (1 Cor. 2:14 ) - BK£ th 5! n a tu ra l m an r e c e iv e th n o t th e th in g s o f th e Splri o f God; fo r th e y a re fo o lish n e ss un to h im ; n e ith e r can h k n ow th em , b ecau se th e y are sp ir itu a lly d iscern ed .” (Rom: 8:8) There are th ree essentials,— a Divine n atu re— born of God; the S p irit of God to lead; the Word of God th a t we may know Him.
and the Pharisee, and in the dying th ief who railed a t Christ on the cross. (3 ) THE WITNESSING BLOOD. There is th e cry of th e blood of Abel. E a rth is in sym pathy w ith man, for man was made of th e du st of the earth . “Be sure your sin will find YOU o u t” (Gal. 6:7) Cain was a m u rderer. There is a retribu tiv e power in sin. Crime has a voice of its awn. The voice of Jesu s’ blood cries for mercy (Heb. 12:24) “And to J e su s tb e m ed ia to r o f th e n ew c o v en an t, an d to th e bl ood o f sp r in k lin g , th a t sp e a k e th b e tte r th in g s th a n th a t o f A b el .” (4 ) THE WRONG-DOER’S PUNISHMENT. There was a m ark upon Cain, and Cain’s line had to bear the m ark. God’s face was hidden from him. Awful fear possessed him. There is an elem ent of hell in sin. Im agination haunts, conscience accuses, memory is always alive and reason justifies a deserved and righteous punish ment. Cain was cursed from the earth. The ea rth rebelled against yielding) h er streng th to Cain. He became a fugi tive and vagabond. Among th e ancient Romans, a man cursed for any cause, m ight be freely killed. “My punish m ent is g reater th a n I can b ear.” God’s m ark was upon him. W hat was it? Why was a seven-fold judgm ent pronounced upon him? (Rom. 12:19) “D e a r ly b elov ed , a v e n g e n o t y o u r se lv e s, bu t r a th er g iv e p la c e un to w r a th ; fo r i t is w r itte n , V en g e a n c e is m in e; 1 w ill rep ay , s a ith th e Lord .” The m ark upon Cain was God’s warning ag ain st the crime of m urder. A fterwards God made th e law (Gen. 9 :6 ) “W hoso sh ed d eth m an ’s bl ood , by m an sh a ll h is bl ood be sh ed ; fo r in th e im a g e o f God m ad e he m an .” (6) WORLD CIVILIZATION. There are two types of men in the e a rth ’s history,— th e Cainites and the S ethites; Pharisees and publicans. The development of th e race is seen in these two types (Gen. 4:16-24) the Cain line: “And Cain w e n t o u t from th e p r esen ce o f th e Lo rd an d dw e lt in th e land o f Nod, on th e e a st o f E d en .” (Gen. 4 :25 -5 :32 ) the Seth line: . “And sh e bare a son , and c a lled h is n am e Se th ; fo r God, sa id sh e, h a th app o in ted m e an o th er seed In stead o f Ab el, w h om Ca in s lew .” Hum anity is seen on the down grade. F irst, th e sin of Adam and Eve; the m urder of Abel by Cain; the confession of sin by Lamech (polygamy and m u rd er). The promise of the seed of th e woman, given by God to Adam and Eve, is found in Seth. View the course of Cain’s descendants. The land of Nod, where he settled, was probably somewhere n ear the Garden. He had his wife from God,S-hls sister or a relative, of necessity, th ere being no law to the contrary. There is no suggestion of contrition, or confession of sin, on th e p a rt of Cain. He is sorry to have to b ear the burden of punishm ent, bu t th e re is no expression of sorrow for the. sin itself. Every sinner lives \vith his back to God, and God’s judgm ent is determ ined upon him. 2 Thess. 1: 7-10; Heb. 11 :4 ; 1 John 3:12; Jud e 11) In Cain’s fam ily there is m aterial enterprise, centraliza tion and consolidation— a settled life. Cain had a son and called his name Enoch. He bu ilt a city and called it afte r his son’s name— “Enochville” probably. The characteristics of this period were,—-pride of fam ily; aristocracy; caste; arch itectu re; the fine a rts; musical in strum en ts; polygamy. A rt flourished as it often has when ungodliness has been rampant. We are prone to t'hink th a t the ennobling of the race accompanies civilization, b u t th e opposite has been tru e in the history of th e world.
T rue worship is opposed to formalism . There is no aorrow , no penitence, no faith , no response, in Cain. He had a wicked, wilful, murderous h eart. (Jer. 1 7 :9 ). Cain is reflected in th e P harisee in the parable of th e publican
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