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 Sermon > Official Service |
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Title |
Lecture on Genesis Ver.2(89) - Lecture on Genesis Ver.2 (89) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Genesis 4:15-22 |
Date |
2012-06-29 |
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Scripture
Genesis 4:15-22
[15] So the LORD said to him, "Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him.
[16] Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
[17] Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son.
[18] Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael became the father of Methushael, and Methushael became the father of Lamech.
[19] Lamech took to himself two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah.
[20] Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.
[21] His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.
[22] As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
This is the 89th Lecture on Genesis.
Cain killed his brother, and as his punishment he was to become 'a wanderer on the earth.'
God 'appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him.'
This sign not only protected Cain, but it also clearly revealed that Cain was a sinner.
There are important lessons in God protecting Cain like this.
The first is that God endlessly forgives all of mankind and He loves all of man as well.
God wanted the people of Cain's times and of later days to always remember this fact.
God is precisely balanced between divinity and humanity; He is never biased toward either side.
And yet, the most fundamental characteristic of God is 'love.'
'Justice' is an element that makes this 'love' complete.
Therefore, when God judges, reproaches, or rebukes, the fact is that there is 'love' as its foundation.
Such love of God reached its peak when God gave us Jesus on the cross.
It was just as recorded in Romans 5:8 saying, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
In addition to this, as shown in the following verses, God the Father delivered countless messages of love through our Lord.
"When a brother sins against you, you shall forgive him up to seventy times seven."
"But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink."
"Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you."
This is not all of it, the main topic and basis of all that lies behind and throughout the entire Bible is 'love.'
The fact is that God the Father Himself showed such love through the matter involving Cain.
The second lesson is that to 'Condemn the offense and not its perpetrator.'
How does the one who committed sin affect your thinking, and how did you treat him?
Have you pointed your finger at him and criticized him?
Did you casually condemn him in your indifference?
If you did this to someone who did you no harm, what will you do if someone does harm you?
James 4:11-12 says, "Do not speak against one another, brethren He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?"
Not a single verse is found in the Bible that allows for you to point out a brother's sin to others, judge, or condemn the brother's sin.
The right to judge and condemn belongs only to God.
We only have to have mercy on the sinner, and pray for him.
You must keep the same heart that you use to deal with those who are weak in faith.
Those who are new to church, or those who are weak in faith may still have worldly habits in their words and deeds.
As you deal with such people, you should not unconditionally point out that something is inappropriate, or force them to do something.
Otherwise, they may develop hostility and resentment and never come back to church.
Romans 14:1 says, "Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions."
And Jude 1:22 says, "And have mercy on some, who are doubting."
Now, many of you have reached a level of faith that is beyond The Rock of Faith, and have come close to entering spirit.
It means that the truth has filled your heart to that extent.
The more your heart is filled with the truth, the more and more you can give out of your self.
You have a broader heart to understand and tolerate others.
Our God the Father opened a way of life even to a man like Cain.
I hope you can, in this same way, completely resemble such a broad heart as that of God the Father.
I hope that you can harbor those who commit sin who are weak in faith while you thoroughly hate every form of evil.
May you be able to lead many souls to salvation by the power of spiritual love in this end time when sin and evil are rampant, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray!
Dear brothers and sisters.
In Genesis 4:16, Cain left the land he used to live in, and settled down in the new land.
It says, "Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden."
Until this point, Cain had lived together with Adam and Eve.
The land that Adam and Eve settled in after they were driven out from the Garden of Eden was the land of today's Israel.
Adam and Eve gave birth to many children on the earth, and they all moved out and separated from them except Cain and Abel.
And so, Cain had lived with his parents until now in the land of today's Israel.
But now, he was punished and had to leave the land.
Regarding this, the Bible says, "Cain went out from the presence of the LORD."
It means 'he now departed from being under the grace and protection of God.'
Even though Adam committed sin and was driven out to the earth, God continued to pay attention to Adam.
From the land where Adam settled down, God didn't remove the passageway of spirit, but still communicated with Adam in His love.
Just as He separated the land of Goshen from Egypt in the Exodus, He paid special attention to the land Adam settled in.
I'm not saying the other areas were polluted or had disasters at that time.
What I'm saying is that the attention and love for the land of Israel was much greater than for the other areas.
Simply put, God's grace and mercy were on the land.
Suppose you have to send your child or loved one to a foreign country; wouldn't you then pay more attention to that country?
If there is any news of a great accident or disaster, your eyes would open wide at the news.
And you would become busy checking whether the place your child lives in is safe, and how far your loved one is from the place of the accident or disaster.
Likewise, God the Father also had great interest in the land where Adam settled down.
Until this time, Adam's son, Cain, was in such a place of blessing.
But now, Cain received the punishment to leave the place.
That's why it says, "Cain went out from the presence of the LORD."
The new land that Cain settled down in was 'the land of Nod, east of Eden.'
'Nod' contains the meaning of 'barren land,' and 'wasteland.'
Cursed just as Cain was cursed, Cain came to settle in the land 'that doesn't yield its strength.'
By the way, it is said that 'the land of Nod' was 'east of Eden.'
Since 'Eden' refers to the domain of light in the 2nd heaven, does it mean that 'Nod' was located in the 2nd heaven?
No, it doesn't.
Adam couldn't go back to the 2nd heaven, much less Cain who committed sin.
Then, what does 'Eden' refer to in this verse?
It refers to the area where a passageway of spirit to the Garden of Eden was located.
Adam came down to the Earth through this passageway, and later his descendants in the Garden of Eden also visited Adam through this passageway.
To Adam, the place where this passageway was located was like 'Eden.'
Adam's descendants that Adam gave birth to on this earth, called this place 'Eden.'
The land where Cain settled down was on the 'east side' of this place they called Eden.
It was not far from Eden.
Cain thought he moved to a pretty far place, but actually he didn't go very far.
The reason is because he had to travel on foot, since there was no transportation developed back then.
Cain settled down in the land where he thought he might avoid the eyes of his people.
However, the land was barren.
It was a whole lot different land from where he once lived.
Dear brothers and sisters.
Through Cain, you should realize how different a life is when it is under the grace and protection of God and when it is not.
There is never changing in our God.
He doesn't change His mind as He pleases while He is protecting someone.
He accomplishes everything according to justice just as He had set in motion initially
Since God Himself is light, He gives grace and love to His children who walk in the light.
However, those who walk in the darkness belong to the enemy devil and Satan.
Just as light and darkness cannot co-exist, God of light cannot protect the children of darkness.
This Law has been applied without changing since the beginning, and it will continue.
God explained this Law one by one in great detail through Moses.
It is the commandments, ordinances, and statutes; there are a total of about 613 of them.
God also clearly explained about the blessings that would be received when they kept the law and woes that would come upon them if they violated the law.
Such examples are found in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28.
And Jesus fulfilled the law with love.
And He said to us in John 14:15, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
He also said in John 14:21, "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him."
Those who love God the Father and the Lord feel joy in living by the word of God.
They suffer when they live outside of His will.
Since our God the Father Himself is love, He gives overflowing love to those who truly love God.
He binds us in the 'bundle of the living (1 Samuel 25:29)' and always protects us.
Even in a situation when we might lose our life, He protects us so that we may never get hurt.
He also blesses us so that we will not get sick but live a healthy life.
In addition, as His children ask and seek, God the Father listens to them and makes it happen.
By making even the impossible possible, He blesses them to live as children of God.
Since you met God, you must have experienced these blessings.
When your first love for the Lord was fervent, you received whatever you asked.
If you had not lost the first love, you would have continued to receive grace and blessing from God.
If you used to receive an answer anytime, but not now, then you should look back upon your faith.
It is because justice is applied at different standards to receive answers according to your faith.
The higher your measure of faith, the higher becomes the level of the standard of measure.
Therefore, you should honestly check whether your current deeds of faith are lesser than what they were initially, or whether you show the proper deeds according to your measure of faith.
If you are not walking the path of life, but of death after committing sin, it is difficult to receive answers to your prayers.
The way of life is the path of blessing. It is an unchanging path that God has set. It never changes.
When the heart of a man changes and goes off the path, he cannot be protected by God.
I hope that you can realize this fact and that you will long for the place where God's grace can be found.
I urge you walk only the way that God has instructed you.
May the proof of God's love for you always be with you in your lives, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray! |
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