# 14 Murder, Mercy & Calling Upon YHWH I (Genesis 4:1-16) - Eden to Zion Series

The Story of Cain and Abel.
For more: https://www.myking.com/

Time Stamps
00:00 Introduction to Genesis 4
05:44 The Family of Adam and Eve
21:05 Scene 1 - One Accepted, One Rejected
46:35 Scene 2 - YHWH Questioning Cain
55:36 Scene 3 - The Murder of Abel
1:12:11 Scene 4 - Criminal before Judge
1:55:32 Scene 5 - Mark of Protection
2:04:29 - what is the mark?
2:14:12 Closing

Hello, I’m Stephen Buckley, welcome back to our Eden to Zion bible series, through which you will develop a biblical worldview and solid framework of the gospel narrative to live by and tell by.
Today we are tackling Genesis chapter 4, that contains the first murder, and the beginning of prayer. In truth, it is a chapter of firsts. The first family, the first death, the first city, the first polygamous marriage, and more.

Genesis 4 is the latter part of the section that began in Genesis 2 verse 4. We recall that Genesis contains 11 or so titles after the creation account, meaning 12 natural dividers given by the author that begin with “the history of” or “the family of” or “these are the generations of” depending on the translation.

This section was titled “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth” (Gen 2:4) The section the tells us what became of creation – it was corrupted by the first family. It is not a “return to chaos” as some commentators may pen. There was no chaos beforehand, it is a turning from perfection and purity to chaos and iniquity.

Creation displayed the glory and power of God. The crown of creation rebelled against God, commencing with the serpent deceiving the glory of man in the form of his wife. The man chose to rebel against God’s just law, failing to guard the garden, God’s word, and his family from attack. Our just LORD cursed the serpent, the process of childbirth, relations between the sexes, and upon the land and man’s relationship to it. In his mercy, he promised a saviour in the seed to crush the serpent. Faced with death (albeit delayed), the LORD covered the man and woman with animal skins, before escorting them out from the garden. Salvation came through judgment as James Hamilton puts, “setting forth the grandeur of the glory of God.” Life outside the garden, post-fall of man, with curses in play, is the context of Genesis 4, which is a continuation of this section with an overall theme we could title “‘attachment’ to sin.”

The “generations of the heavens and the earth” detailed in the first genealogy in history is interrupted by the story of two brothers.
There are three main sections to Genesis 4:
1-16 Cain and Abel
17-24 The Family of Cain (thereafter)
25-26 The Family of Seth

These sections begin in similar fashion: “Now Adam knew Eve his wife” (v1) “Cain knew his wife” (v17) “And Adam knew his wife again” (v25) all conceiving and naming a male child, with a story to be told about each.

The emphasis here is not so much on the murder itself although significant in history, but on the turning points in the build up to murder, and the moments in the aftermath, that challenge those of faith.

I do not buy that Moses incorporated an edited version into the Torah leaving us with suitable questions that God should have answered. I’d be open to Adam, even Noah having written books of generations, and could it be possible to land in the hands of Moses? But regardless, God determined chapter 4 I believe by dictation that contains all the truth we require.
I was surprised by the extremes of differing opinions about aspects of the narrative. One commentator will hold someone in positive light, the other negative. And back and forth it goes throughout. All commentators differ here and there, but I found Genesis 4 to be strikingly polarizing. I do not like ambiguity. I am not a man of equivocation, nor unnecessary nuance. I like to know where you stand, I’ll tell you where I stand, with no sneaking up on people, no leaving with elephants ignored… I like to nail my colours to the mast with conviction where the bible calls for such dogmatism, and I believe God has given me a gift of understanding the scriptures. I have to say during my study of Genesis 4 I found it slightly trickier in places than expected, and I’ve really had to pray for LORD to open my eyes to see the truth. I will then present various sides throughout AND hopefully bring clarity of position, certainly in the conclusion.

Turn with me please to chapter 4 of Genesis.
From the top.