October 9, 2007

Bible Study:

 

Genesis Chapter 4

The Portrait of the Omnipotent Father

To receive the greatest possible blessing from this Bible study, please take a moment to read the passage.

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            Prayer:

Omnipotent Father, I’ve mastered hiding my faults from myself as well as from others. But from You, I can hide nothing for You see even the worst part of me. Help me willingly face my sins that I may seek forgiveness and open my eyes that I may see glimpses of Christ You have for me. In Jesus’ precious name, I pray. Amen.

 

        Introduction:

 

          Virtual reality movies amaze and thrill the audience with technology that makes us feel like we are actually experiencing what we are viewing on the screen. To me, observing other people’s reactions is far more entertaining than the movie. It’s funny! They allow their minds to get so caught up in the phenomenon that they do stupid things like: ducking when an object is “hurled at them,” hanging on to the rail because they’re on a “roller coaster”  adding “oohs and ahs,” or jumping over an obstacle “tumbling at their feet.” Of course, without the 3D glasses none of it works.

            When studying Scriptures, the New Testament operates like 3D glasses to reveal the hidden treasures of Jesus Christ on every page of the Old Testament.

            The Lesson:

            In the third chapter of Genesis, we picked up the beginning of the scarlet thread that is woven through the entire Bible—In fact, the law requires that nearly everything  be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22). For a clearer understanding of the importance God places on blood sacrifice, take the time to read Hebrews chapter nine.

            As we examine the familiar account of Cain and Abel, observe the scarlet thread of love and forgiveness paralleling the dark thread of sin and judgment.

            Verses 1-5:  There has been great debate about the reason God rejected Cain’s offering and accepting Abel’s sacrifice. Oh, wait an offering vs. a sacrifice! Which is more pleasing to the Lord? God required sacrifice from the beginning, not to appease His anger, but to remind us of the graveness of our sin. Sin is ugly and the consequence is death.

            Upon refusing the appropriated sacrifice, Cain denied his sinfulness and rejected God’s plan for salvation. Like his parents, Cain tried to make his own way of atonement through self-righteousness. (Remember Adam’s and Eve’s covering made of fig leaves.)

            In these verses, we see the picture of the blood atonement of Jesus Christ offered as well as the reality of one accepting it and one rejecting it.

            Verses 6-7:  As we continue in the account, we see the picture of the Omnipotent God emerge. The Lord, in His infinite mercy and love, spoke with Cain warning him of the dangers of remaining in bitterness and anger. At this point, all Cain needed to do was to admit his transgression and make the proper sacrifice. Humble himself before God—Ouch! But, God knew Cain’s heart and his motives as He knows ours.

            Verses 8:  Since God is omnipotent, Cain’s course of action came as no surprise to the Lord. So, why didn’t the Lord stop him? As God knew Cain’s evil heart, He knew Abel’s righteous heart and willingly permitted Abel’s death to bring Cain to his knees in repentance. This seems unreasonable to us until we view it through the 3D lens of the Good News of Jesus Christ. And in this, we observe another beautiful picture of Christ. Evil seemingly triumphs over good. However, God uses it to offer salvation to the downfallen. In God’s economy, the righteous will suffer and even die for the sake of the wicked, because God loves the evildoer as much as He loves the godly person. And Christians are called by God to die to themselves and live a life of sacrifice for Jesus’ sake. Like Paul, we develop the attitude For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21). When we begin to make this our life verse, Christ begins to life and reign in our lives.

            Verse 9-10:  Again, focus on the Omnipotent Father as His power, knowledge, and mercy comes into clear view. He knew where Abel was (standing in His presence), but He desired Cain’s earnest confession and repentance. Abel’s blood, as the blood of all who died for Jesus’ sake, cries out to God. And if their blood cries, how much more does the blood of our Lord cry out to the Father. To Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (Hebrews 12:24 NIV).

            Verses 11-14:  Busted! Cain remains silent before the Righteous Judge. No sense denying his guilt, there is a witness before the throne crying out for vengeance. (See Revelation 6:9-10.) Now God delivers the sentence—Cain is placed under a greater curse than his father’s for now the ground will produce no fruit in spite of Cain’s hard labor. He is driven from his home and will remain a restless wanderer all his life. But, his most grievous punishment is his awareness of being outside the ark of God’s safekeeping, which produces fear within the fallen man. And he cries out to God for mercy.

            Verse 15-16:  As Cain pleads with the Righteous Judge, another picture of our merciful Father transpires when the Lord places the mark on Cain for protection. Consider the options—God could have: struck Cain dead immediately; or sent him out without protection and said, “You deserve what you get.” But the Father chose to show mercy because Cain realized the graveness of his sin and humbled himself before the Almighty God. 1 John 1:9 reminds us—If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

                       

           Conclusion and Challenge:

      The above picture sports a dozen hidden horses. Like the horses, some of our sins are more easily spotted than others; however, God see them all.

      In the account of Cain and Abel, the Father demonstrates His desire to show mercy to the sinner. After we repent of our sins and ask Jesus to reign over us, He places His mark on us to protect us from our enemy—Satan. Having believed, you were marked in him [Jesus Christ] with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:13-14 NIV). As with Cain, God sends us out, not out of His presence, but into the enemy’s territory where the enemy will attack with the intent to kill us. But, Jesus has placed His mark on every believer and we shall not be destroyed.