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 Sermon > Official Service |
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Title |
Lecture on Genesis Ver.2(83) - Lecture on Genesis Ver.2 (83) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Genesis 4:1-2 |
Date |
2012-03-09 |
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Scripture
Genesis 4:1-2
[1] Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, "I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD."
[2] Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
This is 83rd Lecture on Genesis.
The spatial setting of Genesis Chapter 3 was the Garden of Eden in the 2nd heaven.
The background of the account in Genesis Chapter 4 that I will begin to explain now is this Earth that belongs to the 1st heaven.
Genesis 3:23 says, "therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken."
I explained that 'the ground from which he was taken' has two meanings.
First, it refers to the ground of this Earth.
It is because God created Adam from the dust of the ground of this Earth.
Therefore, 'cultivating the ground from which he was taken' means that Adam now has to come down to the Earth and cultivate its ground.
Secondly, it refers to 'the heart-field' in a spiritual sense.
And now, the process of human cultivation that cultivates the human heart-field was begun in earnest.
By the way, where is the place that Adam settled down?
It was the place where today's nation of Israel is located.
The place where Adam first settled down was later called 'the land of Canaan.'
It was because the grandson of Noah, Canaan settled down there and prospered after the Judgment of the Flood.
Later, God gave this land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants for an everlasting possession.
Genesis 17:8 says, "I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."
And this promise was actually kept.
That is, the Israelites who escaped from Egypt lived in the wilderness for 40 years and settled down in this land of Canaan.
And then, about 1,500 years later, Jesus, the Savior of mankind was born in this land of Canaan.
And this land will be the important stage of history until the very last moment of human cultivation.
God the Father foreknew like this, and let Adam settle down on this place.
However, the place where Adam wished to live was not the land of Canaan.
Where do you think it was?
It was the Nile river area of Egypt.
In the far distant past from this time, Adam favored the place most.
While he was living in the Garden of Eden, he visited the place whenever he came down to the earth.
By that time, Egypt, especially the Nile River area was far more beautiful than it is now.
In all aspects, the Garden of Eden is so beautiful that the earth cannot even be compared with it.
However, the Nile River area of Egypt on Earth had beautiful scenery that fascinated Adam.
For Adam the place had an exotic flavor and unique charm.
So, Adam had chosen this area of Egypt as the place where he built Pyramids.
Adam constructed the Pyramids to reveal the glory and dignity of God the Trinity.
In addition, he also ascribed a commemorative meaning into them that he was the ruler of the Earth.
Therefore, when Adam was driven out from the Garden of Eden, he wanted to go to that area of Egypt.
But God's thought was different from Adam's!
God the Father had a general picture of human cultivation, and He made Adam settle down on the most appropriate place.
As you heard so far, the area of today's Israel has been established as a very important stage from the very beginning of human cultivation until its very last moments.
And so, God had Adam settle down in the place that is the area today's Israel.
Adam missed the Garden of Eden his entire life.
At least, there was a spiritual passageway by that time that God placed in the area to connect to the Garden of Eden.
Even though Adam couldn't go to the Garden of Eden through the passageway, he could hear the news from the Garden of Eden.
Besides, though it was limited, the descendants in the Garden of Eden could visit the Earth and see Adam and Eve through the passageway.
For this reason, Adam considered the area of Israel important and accepted settling down there.
You may say, "If Adam had longed for the area of Egypt, he could have moved there, couldn't he?"
Well, Adam would not have left the place where there was a spiritual passageway.
Besides, Adam's circumstances were those of a sinner who was sent to a place of exile.
He was not in a situation that he could move to wherever place he desired.
Even if he could, he had to walk there.
It was unlike when he took UFO as transport in the past.
In fact, during the years when Adam lived on earth, he didn't go to the area of Egypt, but only missed it.
Dear brothers and sisters.
With and understanding of this background information, let's now take a look at Genesis 4:1.
It says, "Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, "I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD.""
When Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden, they gave birth to countless children.
After they came down and settled down on Earth, they also gave birth to many children.
To get children on this earth, however, was different from when they were in the Garden of Eden.
It was because their bodies were changed from that of a living being to a fleshly man.
Since they had a body of a living being in the Garden of Eden, it was possible to control their body as they pleased.
Both in the Garden of Eden and on this Earth, the principle is the same; a sperm and an egg combine to conceive a new life.
In the Garden of Eden, however, a new life is conceived only when both the man and the woman want to have a baby.
Only when they make love to conceive a baby, are a perm and an egg produced.
However, on this Earth, the period of an egg being produced was limited.
Conception of a baby is possible only during this period.
In addition, a pregnant woman in the Garden of Eden barely feels any pain.
On this Earth, however, she suffers from a much greater pain.
She may have serious morning sickness. She may also have various symptoms due to changes in her body.
It is the same in her delivery.
Just as God said to Eve, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth," it was fulfilled.
In the Garden of Eden, the moment she gives a birth, materials which are no longer necessary in her body decompose and disappear.
When she delivers a child, everything is over and becomes clean.
Compared with that in the Garden of Eden, childbirth on Earth is truly painful.
Eve gave birth to so many children in the Garden of Eden.
When she gave birth to children on Earth, however, she herself certainly experienced that the situation had changed.
The feeling that she had during childbirth was completely different, and so were her emotions toward having children.
In Genesis 4:1, after she gave birth to Cain, she said, "I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD."
What did she feel at this moment?
When she was giving birth in the Garden of Eden, she didn't realize the grace of God.
Though she knew God was the origin of life, she herself could control whether or not to conceive.
There was no situation in which she could have conceived an unwanted baby, and there was also no situation in which she couldn't have a baby if she wanted one.
Therefore, she didn't earnestly realize it is under the jurisdiction of God to conceive a baby and to give birth.
Once she came down and lived on the Earth, the situation was completely different.
She couldn't have a baby whenever she wanted to; she had to follow the law of nature that God set.
In other words, in order to conceive a baby, the period to conceive and all the conditions had to be met.
As she had children in such a new environment, she learned that it is completely by God's grace to have children.
She realized that she couldn't have children with her own will, but that God has to work for her to have children.
She finally understood that the power to open or close her womb belongs to God.
The examples of God opening or closing the womb are found in many parts of the Bible.
Genesis 20:18 says, "For the LORD had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife."
And Genesis 29:31 says, "Now the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren."
In addition to the ones mentioned, Isaac, Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist were born by the work of God.
Regarding this, Psalm 127:3 says, "Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward."
By the way, there is a fact hidden in her words when she said, " I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD."
Eve was thankful to God who gave her a child, and she said, "I have gotten a manchild."
Why was she thankful for having a manchild?
In fact, Adam and Eve already gave birth to many children on Earth before they had Cain.
They were all daughters.
After giving birth to many daughters, they finally had the first son.
And so, their emotion in having this child was greater.
Even though this fact is not recorded in the bible, please believe that it is true.
For human cultivation, people should prosper, and so it was reasonable that God gave Adam and Eve daughters first.
You will continually hear these facts that God tells us and see how helpful they are to understand the bible.
Now, let's take a look at Genesis 4:2.
It says, "Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel." In addition to their first son, Cain, they gave birth to another son.
He was Abel.
By the way, Genesis 5:3-4 says, "When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters."
At the age of 130, Adam gave birth to Seth, and he lived 800 years more while giving birth to other sons and daughters.
FYI, Adam's age was counted from the year when he settled down on the Earth.
After Adam settled down on the Earth, he gave birth to many daughters, but Cain was his first son.
And then, Abel was his second son.
At the age of 130, he had the third son, Seth.
The bible mentions only three sons among all the children of Adam and Eve; Cain, Abel, and Seth.
However, there are more children whose names are not recorded in the Bible.
They gave birth to many children between Abel and Seth, and after Seth, they gave birth to many more children.
The Bible records only the names of those who bore significant meaning in the history of human cultivation.
Usually it is the names of those who carried on their family line who were recorded.
Now, Genesis 4:2 ends by saying, "And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground."
The Bible again skips to provide the background of this verse.
Among the many children, Adam and Eve loved Cain and Abel especially.
It was because these two sons were born when Adam and Eve were in the most difficult of their situation and their births gave them great consolation and joy.
Specifically, Adam loved Abel more, and Eve loved Cain more.
And so, Adam and Eve let these two sons take over the family occupations.
Meanwhile, as other children grew up, a proper share was allotted to them, and they were to leave their parents.
Then they set up their lives in distance places, had families and gave birth to their own descendants, and they prospered.
Unlike today, there were far fewer harmful elements such as diseases and disasters.
Therefore, the population was able increase very rapidly.
As you read Exodus, you find that 70 members of Jacob's family who moved to Egypt increased in number to more than 2 million in 400 years.
In the beginning of human cultivation, people gave birth for over many hundreds of years.
It may be safe to think something bad seldom happened to children resulting in their deaths.
And thus, you should understand that Adam and Eve's descendants prospered and multiplied at an amazing speed that goes beyond your imagination.
When you have such background information as this, you can understand Genesis Chapter 4 well.
Whenever necessary, I will continue to provide you with such information.
Let's go back to where we were.
The family occupations that Cain and Abel took over were 'tilling the ground' and 'keeping the flock' respectively.
Adam, as the father of his sons, passed down the knowledge and skill necessary for their occupations.
Adam had knowledge and wisdom abundant enough to control and rule over the 1st and 2nd heavens.
It was the knowledge that God the Father taught him as he lived in the Garden of Eden for countless years.
To adapt himself to the life on this Earth, he used his rich knowledge.
Therefore, you should not assume that Adam might have lived a primitive life when he first began to live on earth.
Of course, since he began with nothing, he couldn't build a sophisticated civilization.
For example, even if you have the knowledge, ability and wisdom to assemble a computer, when you are alone on a deserted island, you cannot create a computer soon, if at all.
Likewise, even though Adam had outstanding knowledge and wisdom, it took a long time to put them to use.
Besides, no matter how long the years were that passed by, there were many fields where he couldn't use his knowledge while he was alive.
At best, he could use his knowledge and wisdom only in primary industries that directly impacted his relation with nature and such things as farming and ranching.
Adam knew well about characteristics and features of all the animals including the domestic herd animals.
He also knew well about the process how planted seeds sprout and grow up and bear fruit.
Using such knowledge, he could till the ground and keep the flocks.
And then later, he passed on his experience and knowledge to his sons.
He taught the first son, Cain, how to farm, and his second son, Abel, how to keep the flock.
Farming was an essential job to get food, but why do they need to keep the flocks?
They didn't even eat meat back then.
The fact that wool was beneficial to their lives was one reason; but there was another very important reason.
It was to give sacrifice to God when worshiping God.
How to worship God is recorded in Leviticus.
It was the words that Moses received from God on Mount Sinai.
This period of time was about 2,500 years after Adam had settled down on earth.
However, Adam already knew how to worship God.
It was because God taught him how to worship God.
Even after Adam and Eve were driven out from the Garden of Eden to this earth, God still wanted to communicate with them.
According to seasons, He let them know what was necessary, and He wanted to receive the aroma of their hearts.
A man who committed sin, however, cannot communicate with God.
And thus, God taught Adam how to be forgiven of sin and how to communicate with God.
It was the law of worship.
There are many different ways to worship God; the sin offering was offered to be forgiven of sin.
According to the law of spiritual realm, 'the wage of sin is death.'
Those who commit sin go to the way of death.
However, when they gave sin offerings according to the law, they could be free from sin.
That was by transfer of the sin of a sinner to an offering, and to kill the offering instead.
These offerings of the sacrifice were the sheep.
And so, Adam kept the flock, and he passed down how to keep the flock to his son.
Moreover, he taught his children in great detail about God the Creator, and how to communicate with God.
The reason was because it was such an important way they could meet and experience God.
However, as time passed by, this way of worshiping God gradually deteriorated.
And a serious problem occurred.
I tell you about this in the next lecture.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
In this lecture, I explained the process of Adam and Eve's coming down to the Earth and settling down.
They settled down in the area that is Israel today. After giving birth to many daughters, they came to have Cain, the first son.
And then, they had another son, Abel.
Using his abundant knowledge and wisdom, Adam began farming and keeping flocks, and he taught the necessary knowledge to continue the work to his sons.
One of the important reasons they needed sheep was to use them in sacrifice to worship God.
Through the sacrifice, they could communicate with God.
The ways of sacrifice of the Old Testament today is the practice of worship.
Through the worship, God the Father talks to us and accepts the aroma of our hearts.
Therefore, those who worship God well, always receive God's protection and blessing.
In the days of the Old Testament, they had to kill a sheep or a bull to offer as a sacrifice.
After Jesus gave himself as an atoning sacrifice for the forgiveness of the sin of all mankind, people didn't need to make animal sacrifices any longer.
All they have to do is worship God by believing in Jesus Christ.
Our Jesus said in John 4:24, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Just as He said, I urge you to prepare for a service with all your heart and mind, and worship in the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
Father God is searching for the children who worship like this, and He gives answers to their hearts' desire.
Besides, those who worship like this can deeply communicate with God during the service.
They can also enjoy the joy of Heaven, and experience spiritual grace.
May you give pleasing aroma to God the Father in every service and receive amazing blessing both in spirit and in body, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray! |
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