January 16 - two sides of the coin

The path of destruction

 

I was on the phone with a someone who asked me about smoking cigars. Now this person doesn’t smoke them, but they were asking bout someone who does, and how I felt about it. I told him, smoking cigars won’t send you to hell. I don’t think anyone who does something like this on occasion or has a drink is in danger of losing their salvation. 

 

However, there is a law of compromise that is always at play. If I compromise on small things, eventually the small things add up to big things. So the more small things I allow to happen, the more likely I will give into some of the bigger things. 

 

See here is the thing, if I flirt with disaster, it will find me. 

 

When I open a destructive path, it allows room for the destruction to consume me and everyone around me. 

 

So we ended yesterday with the story of Cain killing Abel.

 

If you remember, God told him that sin was crouching at his door. If you remember what this word means, it literally means that sin was simply laid out in front of him, waiting for him to trip over it. See, this is why the small things matter. If they are attached or are in any way a doorway to sin, you are inviting sin to hang out at your door. 

 

But let’s read what happens next in Genesis as we continue down this path and see the chaos begin to unravel things. 

 

Genesis 4:9

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

 

“I don’t know,” he replied. “am I my brother’s keeper?”

 

The Lord said, “what have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

 

Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 

 

But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out form the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. 

 

Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech. 

 

Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jamal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who played stringed instruments and pipes. Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah. 

 

Lamech said to his wives, 

 

“Adah and Zillah, listen to me;

Wives of Lamech, hear my words. 

I have killed a man for wounding me, 

A young man for injuring me. 

If cain is avenged seven times, 

Then Lamech seventy-seven times.” 

 

Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” Seth also had a son and he named him Enosh. 

 

At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord. 

 

 

Ok, let’s look closely at this story. 

 

You essentially have two different pathways begin from Cain and Abel. 

 

We see Cain is banished and sent away. But he adds an extra punishment that is not there. He says in verse 13, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me form the land,. . . . “ and he adds this part - “And I will be hidden from your presence.” 

 

Why does he add this? 

 

Because the condition of his heart has not changed. God warned him before he killed his brother. He told him that sin was crouching at his door and waiting to overtake him. Yet he did not care and went about things his own way. Now God is telling him to leave the land. But Cain is adding that he will be banished from the Lord’s presence. Is this true? 

 

Is the Lord banishing him from his presence? 

 

Not at all! You can not escape the presence of the Lord! He is always with you and pursuing you. In fact, I love the 139th Psalm. Listen to what it says. 

 

Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence? 

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, 

If I settle on the far side of the sea, 

Even there your hand will guide me, 

Your right hand will hold me fast. 

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me 

And the light become night around me.” 

Even the darkness will not be dark to you; 

The night will shine like the day, 

For darkness is as light to you.” 

 

King David is the psalmist here, and he is admitting that there is no way to escape the presence of the Lord. And he wrote this in one of his darkest moments. He knew first hand that God will not banish someone from his presence, no matter what they have done. 

 

So why has Cain declared that he will be banished from the presence of the Lord? 

 

Because he is choosing to separate himself from the order of God’s creation. 

 

See, you can’t be in rebellion against God’s order, and maintain a proper understanding of God’s presence. It doesn’t work like that. If you rebel against God’s order, you will feel the distance from God’s presence.

 

Listen to what we read about Cain next. 

 

He made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. - Now listen closely to this part - Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.

 

The name Enoch in the Hebrew language means - dedicated. And what was it that Cain was dedicating Enoch to? Well he was building a city in his honor and naming it after him. 

 

What is Cain pursuing? 

 

He is pursuing a name for himself. He has fully walked away from pursuit of the things of God and is now pursuing his own name for his family. So he builds an earthly city and names it after his son. 

 

Just 5 generations later, Lamech pulls his wives to the side and tells them that he has followed in Cain’s footsteps and has killed a man for wounding him. 

 

Cain has built a legacy of death. In fact, in two more chapters we will read that mankind had gotten so evil, that all they could things about was evil all the time. They were greedy and selfish to the point of carelessness toward one another. So God will eventually wipe them out with a flood. 

 

Cain’s legacy is destructive. And it all started with one sin that led to him turning his back on the Lord. 

 

His bitterness and selfishness led to a deep embracing of the chaos once again. 

 

See, when you don’t keep the little things in check, they build up and lead to utter destruction. 

 

So for me, I choose to keep myself from the things that might lead to death. 

 

Again, works don’t get us saved. However, by doing the work to keep myself from the sin that crouches at my door, I will remain able to pursue the presence of the Lord. 

 

Ok, now look at the other side of the coin. 

 

Adam and Eve remained focus on the presence of the Lord. 

 

Eve gave birth to a son and named him Seth - whose name means substitution. He was meant to fill the void left by losing her son Abel. And the Seth gave birth to a son and named him Enosh. And do you know what Enosh means? 

 

In its simplest form, it simply means “man.” 

 

No big name to him, nothing profound. Just man. 

 

Their focus wasn’t on themselves. It was on the Lord. 

 

And because of this, listen to the rest of vs. 26 - At that time, people began to call on the name of the Lord. 

 

See, we can focus on ourselves and compromise by doing things our way. But it will lead to death. The truth is, we all follow our own path at some point. But the quicker we can turn from it and begin to focus back on the Lord’s plans, the better things will be. Because Adam and Eve chose to refrain from building their own name, it lead to a people who were calling on the Lord. 

 

So here is the take-a-way

 

If we compromise and allow the chaos into our lives in little pieces, it will consume us and drive us to hide from the presence of the Lord. 

 

So we must continually humble ourselves and call on the name of the Lord. 

 

Any lack of humility, will puff up and drive us deeper into the darkness. 

 

So do the work to humbly pursue the Lord, and ask him to build his name and not yours. And if you do this, you will find your fulfillment in the presence of the Lord! 

 

That’s all the time we have left for today. I love you, and God bless!