Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev19990627.htm

GENESIS: THE SOURCES OF GOOD AND CALAMITY IN OUR ORIGINS
Part II - The Source Of Calamity In Our Origins
C. Understanding And Productively Adjusting To Man's Social Institutional Troubles
(Genesis 4:1-24)
  1. Introduction
    1. One need only read any newspaper or news magazine today to know that man has social institution problems. Families, extended families, communities, towns, cities, states, nations and international communities all suffer from tro ubles in economic, criminal and other related issues that cause deterioration.
    2. Genesis 4:1-24 details the cause of such social institution troubles. Using this text with what we learned in Genesis 3 that speaks of sin and predicts the coming of salvation through Christ, we can understand and productively adjust to man's social institution troubles as follows:
  2. Understanding And Productively Adjusting To Man's Social Institutional Troubles, Genesis 4:1-24.
    1. Sin in man led to tragedies in families, Genesis 4:1-8 with Gen. 3:6-7, 12-13.
      1. When Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis 3:6, it led to a self-centered, irresponsibility that passed the blame on others instead of accepting one's fault and dealing with it, Gen. 3:6-7, 12-13.
      2. This sin nature passed onto the children of this couple, leading to Cain's murder of his brother, Abel:
        1. Cain, the eldest son of Adam and Eve, brought an unacceptable sacrifice to God where his brother, Abel brought an acceptable one, Genesis 4:1-5a.
        2. As when Adam and Eve sinned, Cain did not accept the blame, but even became very angry, 4:5b.
        3. God warned Cain to repeat his sacrifice properly to be accepted lest his anger lead to tragedy, 4:6-7.
        4. However, Cain refused to address his sin, and killed his brother out of jealousy, Gen. 4:8.
      3. Thus, God punished Cain by cursing the ground against his getting any crops, making him a fugitive in the earth to keep him repressed enough from feeling arrogant so as not to kill others again, Gen. 4:9-12.
    2. Sin in man led to tragedies in ever widening circles of communities of families, Gen. 4:9-24 with 3:6-7.
      1. Sin in man led to communal crime in mishandling economic issues, Gen. 4:9-22.
        1. Cain worried that others might take vengeance on him for murdering Abel. God graciously gave him a sign to encourage Cain of God's help so that he wouldn't choose to live in isolation, 4:13-15.
        2. However, Cain's son, Enoch built a city apparently as an attempt to neutralize God's curse of making Cain a vagabond by creating a close-knit community, Gen. 4:17; Ryr. St. Bib., KJV ftn. to Gen. 4:17
        3. Well, other sons of Cain set up trades independent of agriculture to work around Cain's curse, and their trades exchanged goods and services for food that they could not produce, Gen. 4:18, 20, 21f.
        4. With trade for food came trade abuses due to man's sin, leading to economic problems we now face!
      2. Sin in man led to communal crime in relationships, Gen. 4:23-24 with 3:6-7.
        1. With people living closely in cities, sin in man led to a faster development of interpersonal stresses until someone attempted to murder Lamech, Cain's descendant, Gen. 4:23b.
        2. That was met by Lamech taking vengeance unlike what God did not let others do to Cain, 4:23-24.
      3. Sin in man led to communal gender abuses, Gen. 4:19, 23-24; 3:6-7.
        1. Lamech, Cain's descendant, took unto himself two wives in violation of God's pattern, Genesis 4:19. This probably occurred due to more loose morals due to close city dwelling, Gen. 4:17-19.
        2. Such an act was abusive toward sexual relationships as bigamy is a stress on women anyway.
        3. Lamech's brutish male boasting to his wives of his murder was understandably emotionally offensive!
    3. However, as implied in Genesis 3:15, 21, 22-24, faith in Christ gives hope out of these social failures:
      1. God promised that Christ would bruise Satan's head at the cross through Genesis 3:15.
      2. He implied the substitutionary atonement of God's Lamb in providing skins for clothes to man, 3:21.
      3. His preserving the tree of life in Genesis 3:22-24 though man would die first according to Gen. 3:19 implied a resurrection from the dead that would be without sin, and a return to a utopia for man!
Lesson: Societal problems all stem from the basic problem of sin. Yet, faith in Christ addresses not only man's sin, but leads to God's final eternal utopia through resurrection that is through Christ!

Application: Thus, the truly effective way to address societal evils is to disciple men to faith in Christ!