Genesis 4_9-10 - The Blood of Able
Episode Stats
Words per minute
126.450226
Harmful content
Toxicity
4
sentences flagged
Hate speech
12
sentences flagged
Summary
After the fall of the Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel sinned more and more. Cain s sin became so great that God rejected one of their offerings, Abel's. God then turned to Cain and asked, "Where is my brother?" and Cain responded, "I don't know my brother's keeper." God then said, "The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground." (Genesis 4:9-10) What is the role of blood in redemption? What role does Cain play in God's plan for redemption? And how does God respond to Cain's sin?
Transcript
00:00:00.000
Praise God, we are here still in this great book of Genesis, and we are in chapter 4.
00:00:11.860
And if you recall, we are focusing on chapter 4 as this design of life after Eden.
00:00:23.680
And more than that, it's the continuation of life, but also the intensification of the fall.
00:00:34.160
So we saw in chapter 3 the fall of Adam and Eve, but here in chapter 4, we see the intensification of that sin,
00:00:42.880
of the symptoms of the fall, have gotten greater and greater.
00:00:55.020
It was their offerings that they each made to God.
00:00:57.920
We know that one offering was accepted by God through faith, the offering of Abel.
00:01:03.980
And we know that one offering was rejected by God.
00:01:12.300
and we also saw his ultimate murder of Abel, who became the church's first martyr.
00:01:25.640
By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain,
00:01:39.600
and through his faith, though he died, he still speaks, end quote.
00:01:46.240
Now, today we turn our attention to the next section, which is really verses 9 through 16.
00:01:52.940
By God's grace, you have a preacher who goes very slow, and so we're only going to get through the
00:01:57.180
first two verses, 9 and 10, and we're going to break up this section, and we're going to have
00:02:02.900
next week's sermon. We'll get through the rest of this text. Now, this section, we're going to learn
00:02:08.300
three primary truths in this section between this week and next week. The first is that
00:02:14.980
there is a design for blood in redemption. It is very important that every Christian
00:02:21.540
understands the significance of blood as it pertains to the gospel. This isn't something
0.94
00:02:27.300
that you should figure out 10 to 20 years into your walk with Christ. It is a fundamental,
00:02:33.980
foundational understanding of blood for the grasp of the gospel. The second thing we're going to
00:02:41.360
learn is that unrepentant sin always results in covenantal expulsion. Unrepentant sin always
00:02:52.600
results in covenantal expulsion. And third, that God is sovereign over human affairs and human
00:03:00.260
vengeance while still executing justice on the wicked. We will see that Cain is marked and
00:03:08.960
you think, man, this guy should just be killed. Why is God saving him from the wrath of man?
0.74
00:03:15.440
Well, we will learn that vengeance is the Lord's and it is a great piece of text for the benefit
00:03:23.460
of our own souls. So today we're going to read verses 9 and 10. I want you guys to follow along
00:03:28.560
with me. Look down in your Bibles because there's a lot of word connections that we need to make
00:03:32.820
today. So follow along. It says in verse nine, it says, then the Lord said to Cain, where is Abel
00:03:40.980
your brother? He said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper? And the Lord said, what have
00:03:49.600
you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. Now, if you remember
00:03:58.060
several sermons ago, God approached Adam in the same way that he approaches Cain in this moment
00:04:08.000
after sin. After the fall, the Lord questioned Adam. He says, where are you? Where are you?
00:04:14.560
Now, we discussed, is this a valid question or is it a rhetorical question? You know, this isn't
00:04:20.580
because God lacked information. It's not that he didn't understand where Adam was. It also doesn't
00:04:25.280
mean that he doesn't understand where Abel was. No, he was offering Adam and Cain both the
00:04:35.560
opportunity of confession, the opportunity of repentance. And we see this same judicial and
00:04:42.740
pastoral pattern here with Cain. And so God says to Cain, where is your brother Abel?
00:04:49.920
and really the question is a question of mercy and it's an opportunity that Cain might confess
00:04:58.240
his sin but unlike Adam who at least spoke honestly we see if you look back to Genesis
00:05:08.100
chapter 3 Adam says I heard the sound of you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked
00:05:14.000
and I hid myself. So at least he responded honestly. But Cain responds with a lie.
00:05:22.600
He says, I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?
00:05:29.080
Now, here we see another pattern similar to Adam in the pattern of Genesis chapter 3.
00:05:35.180
If you remember, Adam's disobedience quickly expanded into further disobedience through
00:05:42.420
excuse-making. And Cain's disobedience follows a similar pattern. Murder gives birth to lying,
00:05:51.400
and lying gives birth to the evasion of responsibility. And what that means is this,
00:05:57.120
sin gives birth to more sin. And every single one of you understand what that means.
00:06:04.660
Sin gives birth to more sin. I want you to consider this in your own life.
00:06:09.280
Have you ever lied because it was required to protect another lie?
00:06:18.700
When has sinful anger then led to insults and then led to violence or physical altercations?
00:06:28.000
I think there are plenty of children in the room this week who have had that experience.
00:06:32.200
when has compromise led to further compromise and that those things that once convicted your
00:06:42.420
conscience have become numb to your conscience and no longer convict you and you've become more
00:06:48.340
and more sinful in your ability to not be offended by what is wicked
00:06:55.800
calvin famously says one sin opens the door for another
00:07:03.200
it's almost something i want to have on my wall to remember that one sins opens the door for
00:07:11.380
another thomas watson adds he says a lesser sin draws on a greater as the little thief opens the
00:07:18.980
door for the robber and the robber for the murderer it is always an escalation
00:07:25.240
and so it's our duty as Christians this week I want you to think about it when you have an
00:07:33.580
opportunity of sin it's always a duty to kill sin when it's small it's much easier to kill a small
00:07:41.360
shrub than an oak and when that sin grows large it is much more powerful
00:07:47.960
now the phrase am i my brother's keeper it's a very important phrase i want to look at together
00:07:56.140
with you it's not an innocent question it's not like am i my brother's keeper no it's a calculated
00:08:03.100
sarcastic retort toward god think about that think about the wickedness of being sarcastic
00:08:21.420
Cain also knows that Abel was a keeper of sheep.
00:08:26.960
If you look back in your ESV translation, at least,
00:08:33.160
And it's the same Hebrew word that we see here.
00:08:38.520
Essentially, Cain's saying, we know that there are keepers of sheep, but there are no keepers of men, and I am not a keeper of my brother.
00:08:49.980
Answering this way, Cain is trying to deflect responsibility through kind of a cynical wordplay.
00:08:57.560
And again, if you think that you've never done this, you're wrong.
00:09:02.620
In fact, many children do this to their parents.
00:09:09.200
We use cynical wordplay to disrespect and deflect responsibility.
00:09:15.280
Again, when we read about Cain, it's easy to look down upon Cain and not see yourself in Cain.
00:09:22.320
The reality is that we all sin, and it's the reason we need Christ.
00:09:29.960
Now, God responds to Cain by saying, what have you done?
00:09:35.640
The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.
00:09:43.080
I think this is one of the most theologically packed sentences in Genesis.
00:09:47.060
And I don't think I understood it until I started studying it this week.
00:09:55.140
Now a lot of commentators, and I read a lot of commentaries,
00:10:00.420
will look at this passage of scripture or this particular verse,
00:10:03.220
and they'll just go, it's merely a poetic personification of Abel's blood speaking.
00:10:14.620
But really it is much, much more significant than that.
00:10:23.800
This is the first mention of blood in the entire Bible.
00:10:27.420
It's the first mention of blood in all of the scriptures.
00:10:30.280
and I think it's very important that we lay some foundation so that we as Christians can understand
1.00
00:10:39.440
the significance of blood in redemptive history so that you're not one of these Christians that's
0.76
00:10:44.500
20 years deep and you don't know the fundamentals so that we can actually mature and really connect
0.99
00:10:50.860
why did Christ have to die why was blood spilt throughout the Old Testament I don't know if you
00:10:59.000
understand how much blood is in the Old Testament. It may be the most significant consistency in all
00:11:06.880
of the Old Testament is blood. And so for us to move past this passage about blood without really
00:11:13.200
understanding the significance of blood, I think would be incorrect. And so I'm going to give you
00:11:19.200
three understandings of this passage that really connects systematically to the rest of the Bible,
00:11:25.180
but I think will also help us understand this text. So first, in the Bible, blood is not symbolic
00:11:35.480
of life. Blood is life, and life is blood. You need to understand this. Blood is life, and life
00:11:45.120
is blood. In fact, Genesis 9-4 says exactly, it says, but you shall not eat flesh with its
00:11:55.160
life that is its blood leviticus 17 11 says for the life of the flesh is in the blood and i have
00:12:07.440
given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls for it is the blood that makes
00:12:14.080
atonement by the life three verses later it says for every life or sorry for the life of every
00:12:24.460
creature, your creature, right? For the life of every creature is its blood. Its blood is its life.
00:12:33.780
This is still scripture, by the way. Therefore, I have said to the people of Israel, you shall not
00:12:39.180
eat the blood of any creature for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it
00:12:46.340
shall be cut off. The substance of your life is in your blood. The substance of life is in blood.
1.00
00:13:00.900
When your blood spills, your life spills. And you need to understand this because when we sing
00:13:07.500
songs that Jesus's blood was spilt for us, you need to understand that that's really a synonym
00:13:24.660
which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
00:13:32.600
What he's really saying here is that this is my life.
00:13:36.160
This is my life poured out for those who need a substitute
0.98
00:13:42.500
that they might die and that I might die in their place.
0.99
00:13:46.380
That I might give their life where they ought to have given theirs.
0.98
00:13:52.820
Their blood should have been spilt on that cross,
00:13:59.480
That's the communication that is being said here.
00:14:02.320
We're getting into what's called the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement.
00:14:07.140
It's a very technical term, but it's very helpful.
00:14:14.940
Now, this is also why we as Christians are forbidden from drinking the blood of fallen animals and of men.
00:14:26.880
But we are commanded to drink the blood of Christ sacramentally through the Lord's Supper.
00:14:33.760
when we are drinking the cup of the Lord's Supper
00:14:41.980
we are sacramentally drinking the eternal life of Christ
00:14:50.880
you could write books on each one of these points
00:14:53.740
now blood is extremely solemn in the scriptures
00:15:03.060
In fact, I think that it will be very helpful for us to understand how we should think about blood in general.
00:15:11.960
In fact, if you're a hunter, if you fish, if you cook, anytime you see blood, you ought to think of it different than you probably do now.
00:15:27.920
whatever men among the children of Israel or among the strangers who sojourn among them
00:15:37.840
who hunts and catches any beast or bird that may be eaten he shall pour out its blood
00:15:46.360
and cover it with earth. I wanted to look this up so I looked up some commentaries on this
00:15:52.920
particular passage and i found two commentaries that i'd like to read to you one of them is from
00:15:58.420
the 1800s theologian octavius winslow he says the hunter even in the midst of his occupation
00:16:06.500
must keep atonement in mind when he captures his prey he must reverently stand still pour out its
00:16:13.540
blood to jehovah the provider and cover it from the gaze of man and the appetite of predatory
00:16:20.400
creatures. God desires the sinner's soul to send up adoring thanks to him for atonement,
0.94
00:16:28.600
even amidst the forests of wild animals. No one should be in a circumstance where they cannot
00:16:35.340
see the value of blood. Israel's huntsmen were to be the men of faith, hunting not to satisfy
0.78
00:16:42.960
the passions of their hearts or for food, but for necessity. The solemn act of pouring out blood
0.78
00:16:51.860
served as a check on the hunters. Only those willing to pause their intense pursuit to reflect
00:16:59.380
on the value of blood should engage in this activity of hunting. It is not for the carefree,
00:17:06.100
the wild sports of youth. It is for the serious person who sees sin, life, death, and atonement
00:17:13.760
whenever they see blood. Powerful. It shifts the way we think about blood. Another theologian
00:17:25.820
made a shorter comment, Horatius Bonar in the 1800s. He says,
00:17:30.360
Let them go, let them ride furiously over the rocks and chasms, let them shoot the arrow, but behold, the field becomes a sanctuary that leads them into the presence of the Holy God.
00:17:43.820
They must stand still at the blood of their kill.
00:17:51.620
so blood according to god is not some inanimate liquid
00:18:00.700
it's the substance of life and all life is holy because it is given by god god is the giver of
00:18:11.480
all life the life that you have is given by the lord and so when blood spills the life that god
00:18:20.480
gave spills. And it is a solemn act. Point number two. So that was point number one. Point number two.
00:18:31.080
Cain's murder is not an individual crime. It's not merely an individual crime.
00:18:39.320
but a covenantal act in the war between the two seeds okay i want you to grasp this
00:18:59.640
it's an act of war between the two seeds now who are the two seeds well we know we have the
00:19:09.020
seed of the woman who leads to Christ, and we have the seed of the serpent, and that there is a
00:19:14.680
eternal or at least an earthly war waging between these two seeds that was told to us in Genesis
00:19:21.560
chapter 3. Now, if you remember, 1 John chapter 3, 8 says that Cain is of the evil one. Cain is of the
00:19:32.660
evil one, and that God has placed enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.
00:19:41.640
Now, Jesus says that another group is of the evil one. He actually uses the phrase of the devil.
00:19:51.600
John 8, 44, speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus says, you are of your father, the devil,
00:20:02.580
He was a murderer from the beginning, end quote.
00:20:07.140
Now, why is that important to our text in Genesis chapter 4?
00:20:12.320
Well, because in Matthew 23, which is kind of a parallel text,
00:20:16.340
in verse 35, Jesus also speaking to the Pharisees says this,
00:20:21.680
so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth from the blood of righteous Abel
00:20:31.660
to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the
0.70
00:20:40.940
altar. Think about that. Think about some man coming up to you telling you that you murdered
00:21:17.740
he's not thinking just individually he's thinking covenantally he's thinking in groups
00:21:25.220
he does this again because history to god is covenantal it's federal you're either represented
00:21:35.180
by adam or christ or the seed of the woman or the seed of the serpent you're covenantally represented
00:21:44.460
again even though they're separated by millennia Cain and the Pharisees
00:21:51.680
belong to the same seed they share the same father and ultimately they have the same guilt
00:21:58.840
think about that think about the implications theologically of what's going on here of the
00:22:06.300
the federalism that's happening here this is difficult for our radically individualistic
00:22:10.680
minds to think about to grasp but again in god's economy identity precedes activity
00:22:18.000
you behave based on who you are who you are will determine your behavior
00:22:25.480
we are judged not only by what we do but to whom we belong
00:22:31.660
do you belong to adam and the seat of the serpent or do you belong to christ in the seat of the
00:22:38.760
woman. You will have a federal representative. You'll stand before the Lord one day and the
00:22:46.760
Lord will say, who is your federal head? Is it Adam or is it Christ? Are you in Adam or
00:22:53.840
have you been born again in Christ? Third, it's my final point. When Abel's blood speaks,
00:23:12.800
When his blood speaks, it's crying for justice.
00:23:17.800
Now, Hebrews 12.24, very important connection verse for this text today.
00:23:23.280
Hebrews 12.24 directs us to another blood that speaks.
00:23:27.780
In fact, there are only two passages in Scripture specifically that says blood speaks.
00:23:35.540
And we're going to read it right now in verse 12, 24 of Hebrews.
00:23:38.820
It says, we have come to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
00:23:55.300
Now, I cannot tell you how difficult this passage is to interpret.
00:23:58.580
OK, I spent hours trying to get through how to interpret this correctly.
00:24:06.440
Commentators are divided on this particular text.
00:24:09.980
And they're divided over the phrase, the blood of Abel, in this passage in Hebrews.
00:24:18.040
It says, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant,
00:24:20.540
and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
00:24:26.740
Now, they're divided here because they're wondering,
00:24:41.440
that Abel offered from the firstborn of his flock?
00:24:59.140
that it's more connected that the sacrificial blood of Abel
00:25:03.100
offered from the firstborn of his flock fits more theologically and
00:25:07.020
systematically. Let me explain. Now, I will say this. In one sense, I think
00:25:11.100
they're both valid views because there's really a two-sided
00:25:26.620
cries out for judgment and what happens the blood of christ cries out fulfilling that judgment
00:25:32.300
it fulfills the justice it satisfies the judgment of abel's blood so yes you can say yes that that
00:25:40.300
actually occurs abel's blood speaks a word of justice demanded christ's blood speaks a better
00:25:47.820
word of justice satisfied that's essentially what's happening here however abel
00:25:56.060
was also the first man recorded to shed sacrificial blood. So just stay with me here.
00:26:04.120
We're going to be a little theological. Abel was the first man ever recorded
00:26:08.400
to shed sacrificial blood, and he did so in faith.
00:26:14.040
He offered the blood of a firstborn lamb. And Hebrews 11.4 tells us,
00:26:21.200
By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous.
00:26:30.540
God commending him is accepting his gifts, and through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.
00:26:51.200
one, his sacrifice that he made, the offering that he made,
00:26:58.060
the fat of the firstborn calf in which he slit the throat
00:27:03.200
and poured the blood on the offering in Genesis 4.
00:27:08.180
Abel speaks in testifying that sin requires death.
00:27:14.660
Now, we don't know what the conversations were between Genesis chapter 3 and 4.
00:27:19.560
We don't know if God gave instructions on blood.
00:27:25.820
But we know that Abel's testimony of his sacrifice says sin requires death.
00:27:35.000
Number two is that God's wrath must be appeased by blood.
00:27:43.220
and again we know that because the consequences of
1.00
00:28:02.680
but just because you pay with your physical life
00:28:10.660
and here it says that god's wrath must be appeased by blood
00:28:16.240
and the third point is that the old testament faith looked beyond the animal sacrifice to
00:28:23.320
something greater it was pointing people to and preparing people for a different lamb
00:29:00.120
as faithful as his sacrifice was, we know Hebrews 10, it says, for it is impossible
00:29:08.460
for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Think about this.
00:29:14.840
All throughout the Old Testament, blood of bulls and goats were slain. And then Hebrews says,
00:29:21.600
for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
00:29:31.060
So while Abel's physical blood and his sacrificial blood both spoke of a need for justice and atonement,
00:29:42.380
Jesus' blood spoke a better word as the fulfillment of that justice and a fulfillment of that atonement.
00:29:54.760
Christ's blood does what neither Abel's shed blood could do.
00:30:19.200
Now we have to remember that the cross is where mercy was purchased, but justice was paid.
00:30:36.900
This is the reason that God put Christ forward at this particular time.
00:30:40.540
It says to show God's righteousness, that there is a standard.
00:30:46.060
And it says, because in his divine forbearance, he had passed over former sins.
00:30:51.760
In other words, when Jesus comes and the cross is coming in time,
00:31:02.200
It will either land on your shoulders or the shoulders of the Savior.
00:31:17.960
We often think about the blood of Christ only securing mercy.
00:31:22.480
but it really does secure judgment for those who reject christ the cross does not remove the
00:31:31.620
judgment it confirms it it confirms the judgment
00:31:37.400
the very sacrifice that could have saved them becomes the standard by which they are actually
00:31:44.740
condemned it's why jesus in john 3 18 says whoever believes in him is not condemned but
00:31:55.800
And so I'm going to sum it up in just this one line.
00:31:58.480
And if you don't remember anything from today, remember this one line.
00:32:02.320
Christ's blood fulfills what Abel's sacrifice anticipated.
00:32:18.060
christ's blood fulfills what abel's sacrifice anticipated he's sitting there cutting the
00:32:28.840
throat of a lamb and that blood cannot redeem him and so christ's blood anticipates and resolves
00:32:39.240
that sacrifice. It also resolves what Abel's murder demanded. It satisfies the justice
00:32:50.380
that was demanded for sin. And so Genesis 4 reminds us that there are only two bloodlines
00:32:58.420
in history. Two bloodlines in history. Cain and Abel were brothers by birth and enemies by covenant.
00:33:06.140
they're brothers by birth and enemies by covenant one belonged to the seat of the serpent and the
00:33:14.060
other belonged to the seat of the woman warring throughout history scripture and i think our own
00:33:21.780
experience tells us that that division still runs today there are people that are the seat of the
00:33:27.640
woman and there are people who are seat of the serpent. And you will die one day and you will be
00:33:38.960
in one family and one bloodline or the other. Your blood will either confirm your guilt or it'll rest
0.97
00:33:49.780
in Christ. The gospel is not telling us that we can avoid physical death, but that death
00:33:58.020
has been overcome. And though Abel died, yet he lived. It's why Jesus in John 11, 25 says,
00:34:06.640
I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet he lives.
00:34:14.180
and so let's walk away today understanding a little bit more about the importance of blood
00:34:23.560
the appreciation of blood and that when we see spilt blood we think of the atonement
00:34:30.160
we think of the cost of our sin we think of life we think of death and we think of the gospel