9. The Birth of Children and The Depth of Depravity
- Daniel Fahringer
- Aug 9, 2023
- 8 min read
Updated: Sep 4, 2023
In hardships, God often seems to bring great blessings.
Upon God's pronouncement of the curse on the man and woman because of sin, they are driven out of the garden and barred from re-entering the beautiful garden (Genesis 3:24). They are sent out to cultivate the ground that is now cursed on their own, apart from the excellent and glorious home that God provided.
Despite the departure from the garden, God brings another blessing to them.
With the Help of Yahweh
"Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a man with the help of Yahweh.” - Genesis 4:1 (LSB)
The blessing and joy of their marriage relationship led to an incredible blessing through the birth of a child. God provided a child. The first child on the earth was born. What joy should have flowed into Adam and Eve's lives at this first birth. God's command to "Be fruitful and multiply" was obeyed and it was and is still good. Eve recognized how the child came about and it wasn't just through the man and the woman alone- it was by God.
Every child born comes about through the Lord's help. God forms every child in the womb and knows every child completely. Every child is a gift of God and an image-bearer of God. May we always remember that every child comes with the help of Yahweh and may we praise Him for every image-bearer He creates.
In consequence of this reality, may we see the abomination that is abortion. May we deny the absurdity that permeates children being seen as burdens and barriers to a better life. It truly is a miracle that God designed the marriage relationship in such a way to create children who bear the image of God and often resemble the man and or the woman. Children are one of the greatest blessings in life and are often the greatest gift that many will fail to recognize. Despite their sin and the righteous judgment because of their sin, God still showed Adam and Eve favor by providing them with a child.
Cain is born and in the next verse, we see God blessed Adam and Eve again.
Different Domains, Yet Dominion Exercised
"And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground." - Genesis 4:2 (LSB)
God blesses them again with the birth of Abel and another image-bearer gets to image God on the earth. As Cain and Abel grow up, they get to obey God's command of taking dominion on the earth, and obeyed the command in different avenues.
Abel exercised dominion over the animals by managing the flocks. He was a shepherd who led the animals to green pastures and protected the flocks from danger. Cain exercised dominion over the ground by cultivating and keeping the ground. He tended to the garden by the sweat of his brow and worked against the cursed ground.
Cain and Abel had different domains of dominion but they still obey God's commands to subdue the earth and exercise dominion. As they exercised that dominion. by God's grace and strength, they were able to depend on that dominion exercised for existence.
Sacrifices from Their Domain
God blessed Abel and Cain in their labor and it lead to a productive harvest so that their family might live.
"So it happened in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to Yahweh of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part, also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And Yahweh had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell." - Genesis 4:3-5 (LSB)
As Cain and Abel labored in their domains and had fruitful harvests, they took an offering to the Lord. Both sought to honor and worship God by giving Him some of their first fruits. I think about this action in the context of a tithe. Although the idea of giving a tenth to the Lord in a tithe isn't first pictured until Genesis 14, it has many similarities. When Abel and Cain brought their offering to the Lord, it was a giving back to the Lord. The Lord had blessed both of them in their domains and they were giving to the Lord what already was His.
"The earth is Yahweh’s, as well as its fullness,
The world, and those who dwell in it." - Psalm 24:1 (LSB)
The Lord owns everything. Everything is the Lord's whether we acknowledge it or not. So when we tithe our first fruits or give to the Lord they don't become His once given. They already were and are always His. As we give to the Lord, it glorifies Him. This also shows that we are not our own god, but that He is our God and is worthy of everything we have. May God be glorified in our giving.
One Regarded, One Disregarded
Abel and Cain both brought their sacrifices to the Lord from the fruit of their domain. Cain brings to the Lord some fruit of the ground he worked by the sweat of his brow. Abel takes a firstborn from his flock, likely a lamb, and sacrifices it to the Lord. He brought his best to the Lord by bringing the firstborn lamb who was well nourished which allowed him to bring the fat portions to the Lord as well. Through this sacrifice, we can see this as a forerunner to the sacrifices during the sacrificial period. God was pleased with this sacrifice and had regard for it.
Cain brought produce from his domain, but no mention is given regarding the quality of the produce. The quality of His offering didn't matter as it wasn't regarded by God. Abel's offering cost him. It cost him wealth, and time spent to sacrifice the animal. He recognized who the offering was for, and made the offering in light of who God is. Cain on the other hand made his offering for any other person except God. His offering was a nice thought but it didn't really cost him to the extent that Abel's did.
"By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he was approved as being righteous—God approving his gifts—and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks." - Hebrews 11:4 (LSB)
Abel offered a better sacrifice and through the offering of it, God approved him as righteous. Cain was a different story.
No Regard, No Restraint
'Then Yahweh said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is lying at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” Then Cain spoke to Abel his brother; and it happened when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.' - Genesis 4:6-8 (LSB)
Since Cain lacked in offering to the Lord, God did not regard it. Cain became angry and it is said that "his countenance fell." God comes to him to ask why he is angry and why his countenance has fallen. God gives the prescription for the problem immediately as he knows Cain's heart. Simply God tells Cain to do well so that his countenance improves. Do what is good according to God's commands and it will lead to a lifting of our countenance.
Cain didn't rule over his sin. He let anger fester in his mind and as a result, it led to the slaughter of his brother. This is our depravity manifested. Through the entrance of sin through Adam, all have sinned, and are thoroughly depraved.
"God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there is anyone who has insight, Anyone who seeks after God. Every one of them has turned back; together they have become worthless; There is no one who does good, not even one." - Psalm 53:2-3 (LSB)
This is the state of humanity. There is none good. There is no neutral person that deep down has a good heart. All humanity has rebelled against God, and sin is devouring and reigning in the lives of many.
'Then Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to Me from the ground. “And now, cursed are you from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. “When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth".' - Genesis 4:9-12 (LSB)
After murdering his brother, God asks Cain where Abel is. Cain doesn't answer the question but just shrugs it off that he is not Abel's keeper. God didn't shrug off the matter. Abel's blood cried from the ground. As a result of this sin, God cursed Cain's domain of tending to the field. Cain could try to cultivate the ground, but the ground wouldn't yield to his strength. His fruitful domain was devastated by the curse, and he would be driven away from it.
Cain became a wanderer on the earth. This is the story of the first child born on the earth, who failed to obey, worship God rightly, and cause the murder of his own flesh. That sin and the punishment from it caused him to no longer take dominion over the earth as God commanded and intended. Instead, he was driven out from his family and became a wanderer on the earth.
After Cain
After Cain, and many generations later in Genesis 6 we see the reality of the spread of sin and depth of depravity.
"Then Yahweh saw that the evil of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." - Genesis 6:5 (LSB)
Yahweh looks out across the earth and the evil of men was great on the earth. Their thoughts were only evil continually. Due to their sin, it led the Lord to blot out man and most of His Creation, with the exception of Noah and his family, through a worldwide flood. This is depravity of the human heart because of Adam's sins. All images-bearers of God are dead in the flood of sin and are in need of the ark of Christ for salvation. Without Christ, judgment for sin will flow for all eternity. Come to the ark of Christ through the work of Christ on the wooden cross and repent of your sins; confess and believe that He is Lord (Romans 10:9-10).
Works Cited
Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.
