A single sin is more horrible to God than all the sins in the world are to us.

On the cross hung the one spotless, blessed Man, yet forsaken of God. The Faithful and true
Witness cried to His God and was not heard. What does this mean? What part have I in the cross?
One single part_my sins!

If all the sins that ever were committed in the world were committed by you, this need not prevent
you from believing in Christ and coming unto God through Him.

"And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had
formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight,
and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of
good and evil. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted,
and became into four heads" (Gen. 2:8-10).

Eden means "pleasure" or "delight" (the same Hebrew word is found in 2 Sam. 1:24 and Psa.
36:8). It suggests a scene in which was found everything that could minister to the natural
happiness of an innocent man. Every tree that was pleasant to the sight and good for food was
there. The garden also contained features_the tree of life and the river_that are distinctly typical
of Christ and the Spirit. From the very outset God gave an intimation that He had in His mind a
greater good for man than anything that could be found in the natural sphere. The tree of life in
the midst of the garden was a suggestion and promise of something better and greater than all the
good with which He had surrounded Adam. It was the promise of life before sin came in, before
the ages of time had begun to run their course, and while death was only known as the terrible
penalty attached by Jehovah’s word to disobedience. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil
was there also. But this was a question which God alone was equal to; man was not competent to
take it up; it meant ruin for him to touch it. Hence God fenced about the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil with the most restraining prohibition possible, and with the most solemn penalty
attached to disobedience.

The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil bring in such great and important
subjects that they call for careful consideration. It seems as if God here plainly declared the two
great questions which He purposed to work out in connection with man. The two trees standing
together seem to suggest that the question of life for man was bound up with the solution of the
question of good and evil. That question having come into the universe, it had to be settled
according to God’s glory, so that life according to His thought of it might become the portion of
His creatures. Man became involved in that question by his disobedience and fall. God knows
good and evil, and can take account of both perfectly; man could only get that knowledge by
becoming evil himself. But it was in the purpose of God that man should be as Himself in knowing
good and evil in a holy nature, and this comes about through Christ and through the cross.

The question of good and evil was too great for the creature; man gained the knowledge of it, but
in so doing, fell under the penalty for disobedience. But now, God has made it possible for good
and evil to be known in the way of pure blessing, and not simply in a guilty conscience. What a
setting forth of good and evil was there at the cross! Good in God was brought to light by the evil
in man in a way it could never have been known in a world of innocence! We see the evil judged
there too, and the death penalty attached to that tree coming upon One who bore it in love, to
God’s glory. As a result, streams of life and blessing flow out from that very spot. Evil has
become the background to show out the luster and glory of good in the blessed God. The
revelation of God in Christ seems to be what is really typified by the tree of life. When the
creature is brought to live by the knowledge of God as revealed in the Person of Christ through
the Holy Scriptures, a power of life is brought in that no evil can touch.

We see in the cross the two trees brought together. Good and evil have been brought to light and
disentangled there. We see the infinite goodness of God there, and we see evil both in man and
Satan fully exposed, but the good in God has triumphed over the evil. The whole question is
settled now, and the One who has settled it has become the Tree of life. But having been involved
in that question by the fall, we have to learn its character and solution through moral exercises,
in which we make discovery of what we are, and also, through grace, of what God is. And this
is not only in connection with the first exercises of the soul that prepare it for the gospel, but
through those experiences by which the people of God "have their senses exercised to discern both
good and evil" (Heb. 5:14).

"A river went out of Eden to water the garden." When God recovers man through redemption He
gives him His own Spirit; that is more than Adam innocent ever had. It is God’s way when
anything fails which He has set up to bring in something better. He permits in His wisdom an
order to exist in which failure can come, and when it comes He secures greater glory for Himself
and greater happiness for His creatures by bringing in a better thing. To be forgiven, justified, and
indwelt by the Holy Spirit puts one in a higher and better place_into much greater nearness to
God_than Adam had as an innocent being. The Christian through redemption has the Spirit of
God, and that is more than living by the inbreathing of God. The believer has his own spirit, but
he has also God’s Spirit bearing witness with his spirit that he is a child of God (Rom. 8:16).

The picture of the garden of Eden given here is most wonderful. The tree and the river are here,
and we get them again at the end of Revelation. What God begins with He ends with. He began
with Christ in a typical way, and He will end with Christ in fullest reality. He has brought all that
Christ is into view, and the very fall of man has become the occasion of his appreciating in a very
deep and blessed way, when born again and having the Spirit, all that God is as revealed in Christ.
It is wonderful that we should have before the fall such a setting forth typically of grace and of the
outgoings of God’s heart.

God has come in and solved the question of good and evil in the cross and death of Christ. He has
brought everything into clear light there, and has done it in favor of man, so that from that spot
blessing flows out. The rivers suggest that, and four points to universality (as in the four
directions). No doubt they speak, too, of the outflow of blessing from the sanctuary on earth and
from the heavenly city in a coming day (see Ezek. 47:1-12; Rev. 22:1,2). But at the present time
the rivers find their answer in the gospel going out in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Much could be written about Eve. She was the first woman, the first wife, the first mother.
However, the main theme I will deal with here is the nature of the temptation to which she
succumbed.

"And the serpent said unto the woman, You shall not surely die; for God does know that in the
day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods [or as God,
according to JND, NASB, and other translations], knowing good and evil. And when the woman
saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired
to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with
her; and he did eat" (Gen. 3:4-6).

The fruit looked good, good enough to eat; but its main appeal to Eve seemed to be its potential
for conferring God-like wisdom and knowledge. "You shall be as God, knowing good and evil,"
the serpent said. Eve’s main desire was probably not one for better fruit but a desire for
autonomy_the freedom to make one’s own rules and to be independent of God. Is it possible that
she and Adam had already felt some dissatisfaction with their roles as dependent creatures? God
knew everything and they knew nothing. Everything they wanted to know, they had to ask Him.
Here was a way to remedy that situation_"You shall be as God." So she took of the fruit.

Human beings still want autonomy. Some want autonomy in morals. God has revealed in His
Word all that men and women need to know about good and evil, but humans demand and assert
their right and ability to decide for themselves what is right and wrong. Some want intellectual or
religious autonomy. A neighbor of ours, an upright man in many ways_honest, faithful to his
wife, and generous with his time and money in helping those in various difficulties_once said to
me, "A man’s mind is his own business. God doesn’t have the right to tell me what to believe."

Human beings still want autonomy and Satan still uses the same temptation, "You shall be [or can
be, or should be] as God." This is more or less explicitly stated in such cults as Mormonism (we
will all be gods eventually), and in the New Age movement (we are all a part of god and should
develop our divine potential), or in what could broadly be termed "humanism" (we don’t need a
god to tell us what is right, we can decide for ourselves). It is implicit in much scientific research
(we will overcome all disease and even death itself; we will manipulate the genetic attributes of
humans; we will find the means to allow a woman to give birth after the normal reproductive age).
Not all scientific research is wrong; it is the refusal to be subject to God’s will and limitations that
is wrong.

What Satan said to Eve, he says to everyone today. What Eve wanted, all of us in our fleshly
natures want. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us that we are able to
overcome the lust for autonomy. "The carnal mind is enmity against God:for it is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be…. If you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the
body, you shall live" (Rom. 8:7-13). Let us beware of the deadly intersection of our lust and
Satan’s suggestions. Let us become thoroughly knowledgeable of Scripture so as to refute Satan’s
suggestions, and seek to be totally controlled by the Holy Spirit so as to overcome our lust.

"Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16).

In Gen. 3:1-5 we have the beginning of moral evil on earth. The Holy Spirit relates the fact with
its instruction for every child of Adam.

"Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And
he said unto the woman, Yea, has God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" It was
but a question of what God had said. But where this is allowed, He is dishonored, and a breach
is made in the line of defense for the enemy to enter. To doubt God’s word is the beginning of the
worst evil; it is to sit in judgment on God, whereas only He can and ought to judge.

Under the seeming modesty of a question Satan was undermining the prime duty of a created
being. And what did he particularly seek to accomplish through his question? To insinuate a doubt
of God’s goodness. What! May you not eat of all the trees? Is it possible that you are forbidden
any? How can God love you and withhold a single good thing from you? Surely there must be
some mistake. "Has God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" Is it so?

It is written, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (Jas. 4:7). Eve, on the contrary, listened
and conferred. The mischief was begun. The serpent substituted the more distant and abstract
"God" of creation for "Jehovah God" (Gen. 3:1), the Creator in moral relationship with man.
Thus she fell into the trap and discussed the question raised only to excite desire for what God had
prohibited. Yielding to the devil, instead of turning away at once, Eve became a prey while she
continued her conversation with the serpent.

"And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but of
the fruit which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you
touch it, lest you die." Had Eve held fast the sense of her responsibility to obey, she would have
resented the question, rather than answered it. And her answer lets us see that the evil intent of
Satan did not fail to have its effect. She added to the prohibition, and took from the penalty.
Jehovah had not said a word about touching the forbidden fruit, but had in the most assured terms
threatened death in the day of eating it. Exaggeration of truth is no more the truth than diminution
of it; either enfeebles, and both are Satan’s work.

Eve well knew and could tell the tempter the liberty given as to all other fruit, as well as the
penalty for partaking of the one forbidden tree. Yet she ventured to hear what the serpent had to
say when there was already the proof that he was by his question challenging the truth of God’s
goodness. Did not God delight in their happiness? From whom came their most bountiful
provision? Was she cherishing dependence on Him and confidence in Him? How worthless is
knowledge which issues not in grateful praise and simple-hearted obedience! Alas! unbelief has
grown greatly since the days of Eve!

Emboldened by his crafty success the enemy advances. "And the serpent said to the woman, You
will not surely die." It is no longer insinuation against God’s good will, but open assault on His
truth. And it is the same lie that has beguiled mankind ever since. Death is hidden diligently from
men’s eyes; and when it cannot be hidden, its importance is explained away. People are willingly

ignorant, and are earnest only to enjoy the present. Let us eat and drink, and tomorrow go here
or there and get gain. Ah! you know not what will be on the morrow. It is certain, now that man
is fallen, that "it is appointed unto men once to die, [and] after this judgment" (Heb. 9:27). But
men lend a ready ear to him who deceived Eve; though unable to deny the truth, they do not
believe it because it would paralyze their pursuits and poison their pleasures.

Further, the serpent held out as a bribe the good of evil. "God knows that in the day you eat
thereof, then your eyes will be opened, and you will be as God, knowing good and evil." The
serpent was saying in effect, "God is jealous; I am your friend. He would keep you ignorant. Take
my advice:be independent and know for yourselves as He does." Thus Eve received the lying foe
as her best friend when his slander of the living and true God entered her heart. Open sin and ruin
followed without delay.

The remedy is not in man, but from God in Christ for him_indeed, for the most guilty if he
repent and believe the gospel. The Lord Jesus is the only Deliverer, as indeed is foretold in Gen.
3:15. He vindicated God and vanquished Satan in every respect in which the first man failed. The
gift of Christ displayed God’s immense love to the world; His death for sin was the proof of God’s
truth no less than of His love. What a contrast there is between the Son of God and those who,
being only human, seek to be as God and, in so doing, become Satan’s slaves! But thanks be to
God, who through Christ crucified and risen, gives the victory to all who call upon the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:57).

"Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the
garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam and said unto him, Where are you?" (Gen. 3:9).

Here we begin to trace the actions of divine grace with a sinner. At the same time, God’s righteous
judgment is not set aside, but maintained fully. Herein is seen the harmony of the divine attributes,
the moral unity of God. There is no conflict in His nature. Justice and mercy, holiness and love,
are not at war in Him. When He acts, all of His attributes act in harmony.

Notice that God questions the man and questions the woman; the serpent He does not question,
but proceeds instead immediately to judgment. Plainly there is something significant in this. It
cannot be thought that the One who is omniscient needed to know the things that He inquired
about; therefore, if not for His own sake, it must have been for man’s sake He asked these
questions. It was, in fact, the appeal to man for confidence in One who on His part had done
nothing to forfeit it. This was God’s gracious effort to bring Adam to own, in the presence of his
Creator, his present condition and the sin which had brought him into it.

It is in this same way that we find entrance into the enjoyed favor of a Saviour-God:"We have
access by faith into this grace wherein we stand," the "goodness of God [leading] to repentance"
(Rom. 5:2; 2:4). Confidence in that goodness enables us to take true ground before God, and
enables Him thus, according to the principles of holy government, to show us His mercy. Not on
the basis of self-righteous efforts to excuse ourselves, nor in self-sufficient promises for the future,
but "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8).

To this confession do these questionings of God call these first sinners of the human race. Because
there is mercy for them, they are invited to cast themselves upon it. Because there is none for the
serpent, there is in his case no question.

Let us notice also the different character of these questions, as well as the order of them. Each of
these has its beauty and significance.

The first question ("Where are you?") is an appeal to Adam to consider his condition_the effect
of his sin rather than his sin itself. The second and third questions ("Who told you?" and "Have
you eaten?") refer directly to the sin. This double appeal we shall find everywhere in Scripture.
If man thirsts, he is bidden to come and drink of the living water. If he is laboring and heavy
laden, he is invited to find rest for his soul. This style of address clearly takes the ground of the
first question. It is the heart not at rest here rather than the conscience roused. However, when a
sense of guilt presses on the soul, Christ is right there with reassuring words:"The Son of Man
is come to seek and to save that which is lost" (Luke 19:10).

These are, as it were, God’s two arms thrown around sinful men. Thus would He seek to draw
them to Himself_appealing first to their self-interest when they are as yet incapable of any higher
motive. How precious is this witness to a love that is the very character of God (1 John 4:8,16).

How slow we are to credit Him when He speaks of "his great love wherewith He loved us, even
when we were dead in sins" (Eph. 2:4,5)! How little we believe it, even when we have before our
eyes God "in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them"
(2 Cor. 5:19)! The awful cross, wherein man’s sin finds alone its perfect evidence and
measurement, manifests the overflowing grace of God. But sadly, even in view of that cross,
sinful man justifies himself rather than God, and refuses the most plain and simple testimony to
sovereign goodness, which he has lost even the bare ability to conceive.

In how many ways is God beseeching man to consider his own condition at least, if nothing else!
In how many tongues is this "Adam, where are you?" repeated to the present day!

Adam does not initially respond to the LORD‘s questions and appeals. His confession of sin is
rather an accusation against God:"The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of
the tree, and I did eat." In patient majesty, God turns to the woman. She, more simply, but still
excusing herself, pleads she was deceived:"The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." Then,
without any further question, He proceeds to judgment.

Enfolded in that judgment of the tempted ones lies mercy, and in the pronouncement of a curse
upon the old creation, there appears hints of the beginning of a new creation. "I will put enmity
between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and
you shall bruise His heel." This last expression received its plainest fulfillment on the cross. There
Satan manifested himself prince of this world, able (so to speak) by his power over men to cast
Christ out of it and put the Prince of Life to death. But that victory was his eternal overthrow:
"Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out; and I, if I be
lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me" (John 12:31,32).

This is deliverance for Satan’s captives. However, it is not the restoration of the old creation nor
of the first man. The seed of the woman is emphatically the "Second Man," another and a "last
Adam," new Head of a new race, who find in Him their title as "sons of God," as "born, not of
blood [that is, naturally], nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John
1:12,13).

The judgment of the woman and the man now follow, but they have listened already to the voice
of mercy_a mercy that can turn to blessing the hardship and sorrow, henceforth the discipline of
life, and even the irrevocable doom of death itself. Adam was an attentive listener, as we may
gather from his own next words which are an intimation of the faith that has sprung up in his soul:
"And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living." The "woman
whom Thou gavest to be with me" is once again "his wife," and he names her through whom death
had come in as the mother, not of the dying, but the living.

Thus does Adam’s faith lay hold on God_the faith of a poor sinner surely, to whom divine mercy
has come down without a thing in him to draw it out, save only the misery that spoke to the heart
of infinite love. While he bows in submissive silence to the sentence of God’s judgment, the grace
enclosed in the sentence opens his lips again. Beautifully are we permitted to see this in Adam,
a faith which placed him before God for justification. This helps us to appreciate the significant

action that follows:"Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and
clothed them." Thus the shame of their nakedness is removed, and by God Himself, so that they
are fit for His presence.

The covering provided by God must be seen as fully satisfying to God. Death provided this
covering. These coats of skin owned the penalty as having come in, and those clothed with them
found shelter for themselves in the death of another, and that the one upon whom it had come
sinlessly through their own sin. How full of instruction this is as to how even today man’s spiritual
nakedness is covered and he is made fit for the presence of a righteous God! These skins were the
witness of how God had maintained the righteous sentence of death, while removing that which
was now his shame, and meeting the consequences of his sin. Our covering is far more, but it is
such a witness also. Our righteousness is still the witness of God’s righteousness_the once dead,
now living One, "who of God is made unto us … righteousness," and in whom also we are "made
the righteousness of God" (1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21).

The antitype in every way transcends the type; yet very sweet and significant is the first testimony
of God to the Son. It is a double testimony, first to the seed of the woman, the Saviour, and
second, a testimony to that work of atonement whereby the righteousness of God is revealed in
good news to man.

Not till the hand of God has so interfered for them are Adam and his wife sent forth out of the
garden. If earth’s paradise has closed for them, heaven has already opened. The tree of life, denied
only as continuing the old creation, stretches forth for them its branches, loaded with its various
fruit, "in the midst of the paradise [no longer of men, but] of God" (Gen. 3:24; Rev. 2:7; 22:2).

(From Genesis in the Light of the New Testament.)

While being driven through Kenya in East Africa a few years ago, my wife and I saw a large field
of red flowering plants. Our driver told us it was pyrethrum (related to the chrysanthemum). We
immediately recognized the name as the major ingredient of an insect repellant we were using to
protect against mosquitoes that carried the malaria organism.

It was of great interest to find that in a country devastated by malaria, a plant was being grown
for use in reducing the population of mosquitoes that transmit the malaria organism from one
individual to another. Malaria is one of the many aspects of the curse that God has brought upon
mankind because of Adam and Eve’s sin. But right in the middle of the area most affected by
malaria, God has also provided an antidote, a natural means of controlling the disease.

Upon further thought, we realized that the world is full of examples of God’s provision of
antidotes for the curse brought about by sin. Acetylsalicylic acid (or aspirin), found in the bark
of the willow tree, is a pain reliever and protects against heart attack and stroke. Digitalis, found
in the foxglove plant, is used to treat certain kinds of heart disease. Quinine, obtained from the
bark of the cinchona tree, was used early on as a treatment of malaria.

God cursed the ground so that it would produce thorns and thistles and cause man to labor long
and hard, "in the sweat of [his] face," in order to put food on his table. But at the same time, God
has given man the wisdom and knowledge to develop machinery and technology that reduces the
time and labor involved in plowing fields and planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops.

God pronounced upon women, "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in
sorrow you shall bring forth children." But at the same time, God has helped man to develop (1)
anesthetics and methods of relaxation (such as the Lamaze method) to reduce the pain of
childbirth, and (2) medications, devices, and timing methods to help reduce the frequency of
conception that was greatly multiplied as part of the curse for sin.

Whenever we think about these many antidotes that God has provided to overcome sin’s curse
upon the world, we are reminded of the most important and wonderful antidote of all. This, of
course, is God’s remedy for the sin, death, and eternal judgment that have come upon all mankind
because of Adam and Eve’s sin (Rom. 5:12-19; 1 Cor. 15:21,22). He has sent His only Son into
the world which He (the Son) created (John 1:3; Col. 1:16) to become a Man. As perfect, sinless
Man, He has taken our sin and guilt upon Himself and suffered God’s righteous judgment on our
behalf. Thus, the sinner who puts his/her trust in the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ is
delivered from sin (Eph. 1:7; Rev. 1:5), from death (John 3:16; 5:24; 2 Cor. 1:10), and from
eternal judgment (Rom. 5:16,18; 8:1; 1 John 4:17).

Such thoughts surely cause our hearts to overflow in worship and praise to God for the riches and
glory of His grace (Eph. 1:6,7).

" O the glory of the grace
Shining in the Saviour’s face!"

Let us conclude with a practical application of the thoughts that have been presented here. Let us
not be like Cain who glibly "went out … and … builded a city" after having a curse placed upon
him by the LORD (Gen. 4:11,16,17; see the article by J.G. Bellett in this issue). We may often
avail ourselves of God’s antidotes for sin’s curse (as is His desire, I believe). Let us do so with
thankful hearts and with the desire to use the benefits derived therefrom to bring glory and honor
to God, rather than ease, comfort, and pleasure to ourselves. Let us use labor-saving and sweat-
reducing machinery, computers, and other devices only to have more time and energy available
to serve the Lord. Let us use contraceptives only as definitely led of the Lord in order to be better
able to devote our time and energies to bringing up the children He has already given us, or to
serve Himself in other ways.

" To God be the glory,
Great things He has done!"

Introduction:What Is Faith?

The story is told of young Bobby who was asked by his mother, "What did you learn in Sunday
school today?"

"We learned about faith."

"And what is faith?" continued his mother.

"Faith is believing things that are not true," replied Bobby.

Well, either Bobby did not learn his lesson very well or his teacher did not make it very clear. But
Bobby’s faulty definition of faith isn’t very different from that found in my Webster’s New World
Dictionary:"Faith implies complete, unquestioning acceptance of something even in the absence
of proof and, especially, of something not supported by reason."

The concept of faith in the Bible is far different from this. "Faith is the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence [or the being convinced by evidences] of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). None of
us has ever seen George Washington, either in person, or on a video, or in a photograph. Yet is
there any who has the slightest doubt as to his existence in history. Thus, while never having seen
Mr. Washington, we have faith_based on a multitude of evidences_that he really lived and really
was the first president of the United States.

Just so, none of us has actually seen God, or Jesus Christ, or the Apostle Paul. No man was
watching when "God created the heavens and the earth." There is no one living today who
observed the Lord Jesus Christ hanging on a cross or the Apostle Paul writing the Epistle to the
Ephesians. But by faith supported by a multitude of evidences, both in the Bible and from sources
outside the Bible, we believe that all these persons really exist and all these events really
happened.

Hebrews 11 presents what we might label the "Hall of Fame of the Faithful Ones." Here we read
of men and women who manifested faith in Jehovah, the God of Israel. Even though they never
actually saw their God, their history is full of convincing evidences of His existence and His divine
intervention in the affairs of mankind. In this series we shall look for lessons that can be learned
from these men and women of faith.

Abel

"By faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain" (Heb. 11:4). The offerings
of Abel and Cain are described in Gen. 4:2,3:"Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering
unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock."

We all know the lesson well. Cain brought that which was produced by hard labor from the

ground that had been cursed by God (Gen. 3:17-19). Abel, on the other hand, brought that which
entailed the shedding of blood. No doubt both of them had learned from their parents how God
had made provision for their nakedness that resulted from disobedience. God’s provision of "coats
of skins" (3:21), requiring first the shedding of blood, replaced Adam and Eve’s aprons of fig
leaves (3:7). Cain brought that which in a sense magnified his own human efforts, while his
brother brought that which prefigured the immense work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross on
behalf of all mankind.

So the first lesson we find here is this: Faith gives to God that which reminds Him of the
sacrifice of His Son.

There is more to be learned from the history of Cain and Abel. Some might object that Cain was
treated unfairly. After all, "Cain was a tiller of the ground" while "Abel was a keeper of sheep."
Thus, each of them offered to God what was close at hand and associated with their daily
occupation.

Let us look more closely at the account given in Scripture. What did Cain bring? Did he dig up
entire plants or bushes or trees to offer to the LORD? No, he only brought the produce from those
plants, bushes, or trees. What did Abel bring? Did he bring just the produce from his flock, such
as milk, cheese, and wool? No, he brought entire animals_the very source of the produce. So in
this regard as well, Abel’s offering was more excellent than that of Cain’s. Furthermore, while
Cain’s offering is described simply as "the fruit of the ground," Abel’s consisted of "the firstlings
of his flock and … the fat [or fattest] thereof.

This is where Abel’s faith really shined. He didn’t wait to see how many new lambs would be born
in his flock. Nor did he select for his offering those lambs which were runts or physically
defective. Rather he brought to the LORD the first and the best of his flock, having faith that the
LORD would make it up to him. In other words, Faith does not give God the leftovers, but
rather gives to God the first and the best.

Let us apply these lessons to ourselves. First, let us consider our daily devotions, meditations, and
prayers. Do we focus primarily on filling our head with facts about Bible history and doctrine?
Do we think and pray mostly about the different things we want God to do for us? Or are our
devotions and prayers largely centered about the One who has already "loved us and has given
Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor" (Eph. 5:2)?

Second, let us examine ourselves as to whether we only give to God the "leftovers." Do we fill
each day with many projects and then say, "If I have any energy left at the end of the day, I will
devote it to Christ"? Do we make up a big long list of things we want to buy and then say, "If
there is any money left after satisfying my wants, I will give it to the Lord"?

In summary, two lessons of faith that we learn from Abel are these:

Faith gives to God that which reminds Him of the sacrifice of His Son.

Faith does not give God the leftovers, but rather gives to God the first and the best of our
time and our possessions.

"The LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering, but unto Cain and to his offering he had not
respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why
are you wroth? and why is your countenance fallen? If you do well, shall you not be accepted? and
if you do not well, sin lies at the door" (Gen. 4:4-7).

At least three sins committed by Cain are recorded in the first few verses of Genesis 4. The LORD
responded to each one. The first sin has to do with the offering Cain brought_the fruit of that
which was under a curse. It may not seem all that serious. But Cain surely had learned from his
parents what the LORD desired in an offering. Whether he was stubbornly rebellious or forgetfully
insensitive to God’s will, Cain missed the mark (which is the literal meaning of the word for "sin"
in both the Old and New Testaments). The LORD responded by not having respect "unto Cain and
to his offering," whereas He "had respect unto Abel and to his offering" (Gen. 4:4,5). We are not
told what the LORD did to show His respect and lack thereof to the two offerings. Perhaps He sent
fire down to consume Abel’s, but not Cain’s offering (see 1 Ki. 18:38; 2 Chron. 7:1).

Cain’s second sin was in becoming angry when the LORD did not accept his offering. This time
the LORD appealed to Cain to think about why he was angry. He told Cain that there was still
opportunity for him to turn around, do the right thing, and be accepted by the LORD. However,
if Cain would not turn around, if he were to continue in his angry, rebellious spirit, then notice
was given to him that "sin lies [or crouches] at the door." In other words, Cain would be opening
himself up to the potential for even greater sin. Sin is presented here in the figure of a crouching
wild beast, ready to pounce on its victim (see 1 Pet. 5:8 for a similar picture).

Cain did not heed the LORD‘s warning, did not control his anger, and allowed sin to pounce on
him and consume him. "Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him" (4:8). Once again,
the LORD spoke to Cain:"What have you done? the voice of your brother’s blood cries unto Me
from the ground. And now you are cursed" (4:10,11).

(It might be noted here that at least one Bible scholar translates verse 7 as "a sin-offering lies at
the door. The Hebrew word here is commonly translated both "sin" (as in Gen. 18:20; 50:17; and
many other places) and "sin offering" (as in Lev. 4:3,8 and many other places). The context must
be used to decide which translation is appropriate. While it is wonderfully true that God has made
full provision for man’s sin, it does not seem fitting to use "sin offering" in the particular context
of Gen. 4:7. Using that would essentially be saying, "If you do not bring your anger under control
and continue sinning, don’t worry:there is still a sin offering available for you." Such language
takes away the gravity and seriousness of sin and does not seem to fit with the rest of Scripture.)

There is an extremely important point to be made from this passage (a point that is entirely missed
if we use the translation "sin offering" in verse 7). We all sin, we all fail, we all make
mistakes_often, and in a great variety of ways. The major problems that have occurred
throughout the history of the world are not, I suggest, a result of man’s basic propensity to sin per
se. Rather, they are a result of man’s pride and ego not allowing him to receive reproof and
correction and to confess and acknowledge his sins and failures. Cain’s original failure_bringing

a faulty offering_could easily have been remedied, and all would have been fine. Even his second
sin_anger toward the LORD_could have been repented of and he would have been accepted. But
Cain passed up these opportunities to make things right, and added to his fame as mankind’s
firstborn son the infamy of being the world’s first murderer. A curse was pronounced upon Cain
and perhaps the ultimate result of that curse is that every single descendant of Cain died in the
great flood in Noah’s day.

In Matt. 18:15-17 the Lord gives us instruction for dealing with fellow believers who sin against
us. "Go and tell him his fault between you and him alone:if he shall hear you, you have gained
your brother." If every sinful act were dealt with in this way, and if the sinner were always to
respond in the right way_hearing his brother_what a different world we would be living in
today! Think what this would do to the rate of marital separations and divorces, employee firings,
student suspensions, divisions in the body of Christ, and wars within and among nations!

That original sin or offense or trespass referred to in Matt. 18:15 might be a relatively small
matter, say a nasty or slighting word spoken to another. But if the offender stubbornly refuses to
acknowledge that there was anything wrong with what was said, the end result could be
excommunication and being treated as a heathen by the local assembly (18:17).

What is it that keeps us from "hearing" our brother? It is our pride, our ego, our self-esteem. This
"pride of life" (1 John 2:16) was the very first sin of the human race (Gen. 3:5,6), and no doubt
is the very last sin to be eradicated from the most mature Christians.

God has many ways of showing us our sins. "All Scripture … is profitable … for reproof" (2 Tim.
3:16). "The Comforter [or Holy Spirit] … will reprove the world of sin" (John 16:8). "I charge
you … reprove, rebuke, exhort" (2 Tim. 4:1,2 along with Matt. 18:15 and others). If I do not
respond to the teachings and reproofs of Scripture and the Holy Spirit, God may send a human
messenger to reprove me. (I think we all would far rather be reproved by Scripture or the Holy
Spirit than by a fellow human being!)

When reproved by another, how do we respond? The Book of Proverbs describes those who
do_and do not_respond to reproof. On the one hand, "he who regards reproof shall be honored
… is prudent" (13:18; 15:5); the ear that hears the reproof of life abides among the wise"
(15:31,32). On the other hand, "he who refuses reproof errs" (10:17); "he who hates reproof is
brutish … shall die" (12:1; 15:10).

Let us not despise reproof just because it may be given to us by one younger than we. Remember
how the LORD gave young Samuel a message of reproof to deliver to old Eli (1 Sam. 3:10-18).
A fellow who is serving a life sentence in the state prison once told me that his children appealed
to him to change his way of life … and he ignored them. Just a few weeks later he was arrested
for murder. The exhortation to Timothy, "Rebuke not an elder," means literally, "Do not rebuke
an elder sharply, or strike him with your words." The Apostle goes on to say, "But entreat him
as a father" (1 Tim. 5:1).

May we allow the Holy Spirit to do His needed work of showing us our pride and delivering us

from it. Thus, may we be faithful in hearing and receiving reproof before "secret faults" develop
into "presumptuous sins," and these in turn lead to "great transgression" (Psa. 19:12,13).

In Gen. 4:17 we are told that Cain builds a city. He has a thriving, prosperous family. Through
their skill and industry the face of the world flourishes and looks well. All is respectable, and the
people are pleasant and friendly to one another. The murder of Abel is forgotten. Man does not
hear the cry of blood, but rather the sound of the harp and the organ. His inventions have stifled
his convictions. Cain is an honorable man, but he is as thoroughly separated from the presence of
God as when his hand was freshly stained with the blood of his brother. The ease and indifference
with which Cain could turn his back upon the LORD, and upon the recollection of his brother’s
blood, is astounding. He got a promise of security (verse 15), and that was all he cared for. And
quickly, under his hand, accommodations and delights of all sorts fill the scene.

In some sense this is very alarming. But is not this the "course of this world" (Eph. 2:2)? Was it
not man that slew the Lord Jesus? Does not the guilt of that deed lie at every man’s door? And
what is the course of the world but the ease and indifference of Cain in this highest state of guilt?
The earth has borne the cross of Christ; and yet man can busy himself with garnishing and
furnishing the earth, and making life on it convenient and pleasurable without God. This is solemn
and awful when we look at it in full divine light. Cain was a respectable citizen of the world, but
all the while he was a heartless forgetter of the sorrows of Abel! His ease and respectability are
the blackest features of his history. He went away as soon as he got a promise of security; and that
promise he used, not to soften his heart and overwhelm him with convictions of all that had
happened, but to give him full occasion to indulge and magnify himself.

We read in the New Testament of "the way of Cain" (Jude 11). It may be_in fact is_run by
others. And what a way does this chapter show it to be! Cain was an infidel, a man of his own
religion_not obedient in faith to God’s revelation. He practiced the works of the liar and the
murderer; he hated the light; he cared nothing for the presence of God which his sin had forfeited,
or for the sorrow of his brother which his hand had inflicted. And, as such a one, he could take
pains to make himself happy and honorable in the very place which thus witnessed against him.

Is this "the way of Cain"? Is man still like this? Yes! and nature outlives a thousand restraints and
improvements. For at the end of Christendom’s career it will even then be said of a generation,
"They have gone in the way of Cain" (Jude 11).

This is deeply solemn, beloved, had we but hearts to feel it. There is, however, a rescued,
separated people. Seth’s family are after another order altogether. They are not seen in cities,
furnished with accommodations and pleasures, apart "from the presence of the LORD" (Gen. 4:16)
like Cain; but as the household of God, they are separated from that world that lay "in the wicked
one," to the faith and worship of His Name. They are strikingly opposed to the way of Cain, and
remarkably sensitive to the way of God.

The details about these believers living prior to the flood are very scanty; but through it all there
is this heavenly character. They do not supply history for the world; but they do supply instruction
for the Church. Their conduct asks, "What fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? and
what communion has light with darkness?" (2 Cor. 6:14). Their religion is characterized by

separation from the world, and so are their habits.

They "call upon the name of the LORD" (Gen. 4:26). The name of the LORD is the revelation He
has been pleased to make of Himself. Immanuel, Jesus the Lord our Righteousness, Jehovah, God
Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit_these are among His names graciously and
gloriously published by Himself. And "to call upon the name of the LORD" was service or worship
of God in spirit and in truth.

This was the religion of these earliest saints. It was the religion of simple faith and hope. They
worshiped God, and apart from the world they waited in hope. "The work of faith" and "the
patience of hope" are seen in them. Something of the Thessalonian spirit breathed in them. For
they served the living and true God, and waited for His Son from heaven, who had already
delivered them (1 Thess. 1:9,10).

In their ways and habits the family of Seth are only seen as a people walking across the surface
of the earth, till their bodies are either laid under it (Gen. 5:8), or are translated to heaven above
it (5:24). All around them is as Babylon to them, and their harps are on the willows (Psalm 137).
Cain’s family have all the music to themselves. But Seth’s family are a risen people. Their
citizenship is in heaven. They look for no estates or cities. Nothing is told us of their place or their
business. They are strangers where even Adam was once at home and, much more, where Cain
still was.

They are the earliest witnesses of this heavenly strangership. They leave the world to Cain. There
is not the symptom of a struggle, nor the breath of a complaint. They neither say nor think of
saying, "Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me" (Luke 12:13). In
habits of life and principles of conduct, they are as distinct from their injurious brother as though
they were of another race or in another world. Cain’s family make all the world’s history. They
build its cities, they promote its arts, they conduct its trade, they invent its pleasures and pastimes.
But in all this Seth’s family are not seen. The one generation call their cities after their own
names; the other call themselves by the name of the LORD.

We may bless the Lord for this beautiful portrayal of heavenly strangership on earth and ask for
grace to know some of its living power in our own souls. After this pattern the Lord would have
us in the world, but not of it; of heaven, though not as yet in it (except in Christ). The Apostle
Paul, in the Holy Spirit, would so have us, taking example from those whose "conversation is in
heaven" (Phil. 3:20). Peter, in the same Spirit, would so have us "as strangers and pilgrims"
abstaining "from fleshly lusts" (1 Pet. 2:11). James summons us, in the same Spirit, to know that
"the friendship of the world is enmity with God" (Jas. 4:4). And John separates us as by a stroke:
"We are of God, and the whole world lies in wickedness" (1 John 5:19).

May God grant that our practical lives as saints of God might become more and more delivered
from "the way of Cain," from association with the world in all its most respectable as well as its
basest forms. May we rather become more like the family of Seth, separated unto and calling
"upon the name of the LORD." It is for the Church, surely, to walk in this elevation and
separateness. What is according to the call of God, and what is worthy of heavenly hopes, but

this? Compared to these and like witnesses, our testimony is feeble indeed.

Lead us, Lord, we pray Thee!