l i f e i n H ) e
ì & l o o ò -
Stuò? of At onement
on ^ I t a r aitò (Tross.
Kowarò 'Msllogg, "^Department of b i b l i cal TLiterature, Occidental College, Hos An g e l e s, California.
ance, a translation so literal as even to follow the idioms of the original, is as follows: " I s there not, if thou dost well, acceptance? and if thou dost not well, at the opening a sin offering is crouching, and unto thee its desire and thou rulest over i t . " Why, Cain! if you are not a sinner, you are accepted, but if you have sinned, at your very tent door a lamb, a sin-offering, is crouching, and you have full authority over it; take it and, by the shedding of its blood upon the altar, con- fess that your own blood has been for- feited, and that you accept by faith My provision for forgiveness, and you shall be restored. But no, Cain was the first Unitarian, the first rejector of salvation by grace, the first to spurn the unmerited favor extended to the penitent. Is it imagined that he was too refined to shed the blood of an animal in place of his own? Was he so fastidious in his taste that he was already anticipating the modern pulpiteer as he prates about the "religion of the shambles?" Listen to the record, " A n d Cain saith unto Abel his brother, ' Let us go into the field'; and it cometh to pass in their being in the field, that Cain riseth up against Abel his brother, and- slayeth him."—Young. Noi delicacy of nature but the hardness of a murderer's heart lay at bottom of Cain's refusal to acknowledge his own life for- feited by his sin. IV. Declaring God's Righteousness. At Mount Sinai, the principles underly- i n g sacrifice and remission of sin were given by revelation and in the Tabernacle service the work of the Savior upon the Cross was shown by many types and fig- ures. These are best understood as we read their significance expounded with au- thority in the book of Hebrews. Compar- ing and contrasting the blood of the sac- rifices with His own blood, we have the following in Heb. 9:11-14. 11 But Christ being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and
H I . (Continued from Page 208) Cain's Eejection.
Very early in human history was the significance of atonement made clear to man. The first sin is recorded in Genesis 3. The first atoning sacrifice is recorded in Genesis 4. It is that of Abel. Turn- ing to the third verse, and reading through the eighth, we have the record of the sacrifice óf Cain and Abel. 3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the first- lings of his flock and of the f at thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering-; 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy counte- nance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin neth at the door: and unto thee shall be ,his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 8 And Cain talked with Abel his broth- er; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. The facts recorded are plain and easily understood until we arrive at the seventh v°rse. Even here the first part is clear, " I f thou doest well, shalt thou not be ac- cepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door." But what can the re- maining words mean? " A n d untò thee shall be his desire and thou shalt rule over h i m ." There appears to be" no ra- tional connection between these clauses. Such is our confidence in thè Word of God as originally given that when we find an obscurity of this sort we are compelled to the belief that there has been a poor trans- lation on the part of man. Can a better one be found? That of Robert Young, the author of Young's Analytical Concord-
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