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- This morning I want to discuss the
sinful heart.
- Last week, we saw how Cain
inherited Adam's rebellion & how his behavior was worse than his father's.
- While Adam sinned, he repented
& turned back to God; but while Cain sinned & regretted it, he did not
repent & turn back to God.
- This week, we will see how Cain's
sin continued with his line & the downward spiral of the sinful heart with
Lamech as the main example.
- Last week we saw that part of God's
punishment of Cain was that he would be a wanderer, banished from the presence
of the Lord; however, even though Cain did go away from God's presence, he
didn't become a wanderer.
- He settled in a certain land, east
of Eden; Nod, which means wandering, Cain wanders away spiritually, but not
physically.
- Remember, Cain regretted killing
his brother, but he did not repent of killing his brother & so, angry with
God & angry with himself he sentenced himself to a life of spiritual
wandering
- Cain remembers that God put a mark
of protection on him & that mark reminds him of God's grace.
- By settling east of Eden, he settled outside of God's will for his
life.
- How often in life do we do this?
- How often do we wander away from
God spiritually, choosing to do the things that we want to do or that we
think are best?
- The job we take, how we spend our
money, the TV & movies we watch, the people we date & marry, the
friends we choose...
- How often do we choose to settle just east of Eden, just outside of
what God's will is for our life?
- After the birth of his son Enoch,
Cain chose to build a city in honor of his son, naming it Enoch,
"Dedication."
- Proud of his son & proud of the
city he established, the unrepentant Cain settled down & dedicated himself
to continuing his family line & legacy, a line that would continue to
wander away from God.
- So we're starting to get a picture
of why Cain settled & built a city, Cain was not only a jealous murderer,
he was also proud.
- His pride drew him into the worship
of self.
- We see this as he builds a city
& names it after his son.
- Cain was focussed on celebrating
his own accomplishments.
- By building that city, he was building a monument to man, to himself.
- We also do this by times.
- Don't get me wrong, it's important
to celebrate successes in life, but in doing so we must point to God & give
him the credit.
- If our successes are born out of sin & we have not repented, then
we are only celebrating ourselves.
- If so, we are still living east of
Eden, building monuments to man.
- Now, let's look at Cain's
descendant, Lamech.
- Lamech represents the seventh
generation descended from Adam through Cain.
- & we know that the number seven
is significant in the Bible, it represents the number of completeness, so
Lamech is meant to be an example of the heart that is completely ruled by sin.
- What do we learn about Lamech?
- He was a bigamist, i.e., he had more
than one wife, & he was also a murderer, about which he bragged to his
wives, Adah & Zillah.
- Lamech was shameless; he displayed
no amount of shame or regret for his actions, unlike his ancestor Cain who
displayed fear & regret, rather Lamech displayed a dangerous arrogance
toward God & others.
- Lamech believed that his life was
worth more than his ancestor Cain, 77 times more.
- He lived for himself alone, did as
he pleased, shamelessly taking two wives, taking revenge on the young man who
hurt him (by murdering him), & defied the living God.
- Despite being made in God's image, Lamech's heart was bent completely
towards sin & away from God.
- A godless man, he represents the moral
degeneration of Cain's line.
- Cain's sin degraded, degenerated
beyond Adam's sin, & Lamech's sin beyond Cain's sin.
- The pattern of sin passing from one generation to the next produces
more sin.
- Let's pause here for a minute.
- Cain turned from God & chose to
celebrate the human accomplishments & as each generation passed, they
became more self-centred, more sinful, as we see in Lamech.
- But
we have another example.
- Let's look at Cain's brother, Seth;
the Bible tells us: And Adam
knew his wife again, & she bore a son & called his name Seth, for she
said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain
killed him.” To Seth also a son was born, & he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the
name of the Lord. Gen 4:25-26
(ESV, italics added)
- Seth
begins the line that is God centered rather than self-centered.
- Enoch, Seth's descendant, (not to
be confused with Enoch, the son of Cain) is the seventh generation from Adam
through Seth.
- Unlike Lamech, "Enoch walked
with God", i.e., he had a close personal relationship with the Lord.
- Enoch walked
with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years & had other sons &
daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, &
he was not, for God took him. Gen 5:22-24 (ESV)
- Without intervention, one faithless
generation reproduces another faithless generation.
- An ungodly family will produce an
ungodly generation.
- But the Bible also says: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord
our God, the Lord is one. You
shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words
that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of
them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie
down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they
shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of
your house and on your gates. Deut 6:4-9 (ESV, italics added)
- As we see in Scripture, we must
pass on our history; our place in HIS story, telling the next generation of the
great grace of God.
- When we share the answer to the sinful heart, lives change & God
gets glory.
- Without intervention, one godless
generation produces another godless generation.
- Humanity needs a great intervener
& God has provided that intervention in Jesus Christ & he has created a
new family.
- It takes a godly family to
reproduce a godly generation & by the grace God has made available in Jesus
Christ the church becomes that godly family.
- We are called to be that godly
family & we are the ones to take the message of God's intervention in
Christ Jesus to the ungodly.
- We, the church, are charged with
the answer for the sinful heart.
- When we share the answer to the sinful heart, lives change & God
gets glory.
- Although Lamech was such a greatly
sinful man, God's image continued in the creativity & innovation of his
sons, who pursued science & art through agriculture, metallurgy, & the
invention of musical instruments.
- The people of our world today have
that same image of God in their creativity & innovation.
- & they too need the intervention of
Jesus Christ so that God's image might be completely restored in them &
their creativity & innovation bring glory to God.
- We, the church, are charged with
the answer for the sinful heart.
- When we share the answer to the sinful heart, lives change & God
gets glory.
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