Genesis Framework Part 47

Genesis Framework

GF 47 Genesis 4.17-22
July 31, 2016
Part 47

Genesis 4:17-22
17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son -- Enoch.
18 To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.
19 Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah.
20 And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.
21 His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute.
22 And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.

The portion of the Word of God we are about to study depicts the transformation of the city of man into the temple of Man.
Soon we will see that man becomes the god-king who is an idolization of power, full of corruption and violence in revolt against the Creator.

Looking ahead a bit…

Genesis 6:5
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 6:11-12
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

Human history since the Fall is a tale of two cities.

The first city, on one hand, was the city of God which had been offered to man at the beginning of the creational covenant; on the other hand, since this city is rejected by the Fall of covenant-breakers, the City of God is once again offered as the final goal of the process of cosmic redemption. This City of God is the city of the promised achievement of Christ, the redeemer-king.

Before the Incarnation of Christ within the midst of the world wilderness, God provided a sign of the eternal city in the form of the Jerusalem-centered theocratic kingdom of Israel. So, even in the New Testament age, the City of God is in one sense already a present reality. That is, the heavenly Jerusalem where Christ is present in the midst of the countless hosts of angels and the saints whose rest is already won.

The Scriptures bear this testimony…

NKJ Hebrews 12:22-24
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

This is a good “question” time.

What figure is speaking?
The blood of Abel and Christ.

What does each have to say?

Realize this as well; the present redeemed of Christ who are still on earth already have a real, but hidden citizenship there; and a real, but hidden life of the Spirit in that invisible heavenly sphere.

But in terms of public visibility in this world, our city is yet to come.

That city is only perceivable by eyes whose range of perception has been faith-sensitized to receive a light from an otherwise invisible spectrum yet to come.

NKJ Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Our faith in that which remains to come is substantive and is evidential

substantive- having a firm basis in reality and therefore important, meaningful, or considerable.

evidential- providing substantive evidence of the unseen things that characteristic of our faith.

The Old Testament theocracy was never intended to be preserved, it was a typical sign that stood long enough for it to point to the city that was to come down out from heaven, having the glory of God which shall come at eschatological re-creation.

So, what exactly is the second city that stands over against the City of God? It is the mundanely present, visible to all, the “city of man”.

This city that is plainly visible to all, and one that carries a negative religious charge, insofar as its connotation is that of the apostate character that it has borne from the time of its development under the hand of fallen mankind.

The character of this city is much different from the original theocratic-family community of Eden, because now God’s covenant community is in the midst of a common-grace/ common-curse world.

The spiritual source at the origin of the city of man was the spirit of Cain, devilish and antichrist.

Because God’s common grace was applied, the apostate spirit that was present in the city of man from its beginning, was curbed and restrained from escalating too quickly into the fullness of demonic potential otherwise possible.

The common state is designed by God to provide a supportive framework for the life and mission of God’s covenant people.

And it is to do so by keeping within the fundamental purpose of common grace, to make possible a general history within which God’s redemptive program might unfold.

From the day of Cain, the story of the second city, the city of man is of the turning of the culture of man into the cult of Man. This kind of man whose citizenship lies only in the city of man, is characterized by his boasts of iron swords that are mightier for vengeance than the golden cherubim with their flaming swords. While none could read the signs in the heavens, neither could they discern that it was the gathering clouds which would bring the deluge.

According to our Hebrew text of Genesis 4.17, the establishing of what is evidently to be regarded as the first city in the history of mankind, is ascribed to the one who had also slain the first martyr, Abel.

Cain’s hatred had first flared at the altar of worship. This is where the enmity that followed first broke out; and it did that when the Lord exposed the hypocrisy of Cain’s act of worship.

This was because Cain was still in relationship with the lying and deceiving serpent, and he was not capable of acting in obedience to God by offering an acceptable sacrifice to Him. Cain’s quarrel was with the Lord God, and was manifested against Abel as the one accepted by the Lord. The erupting violence was typical of the conflict predicted to continue between the serpent’s seed and the seed of the woman.

The city of man makes a plain contrast between human political government as an interim product of common grace, and the city of God as a holy eschatological kingdom produced by redemptive grace.

It is a contrasting comparison; common grace product, over against redemptive grace product.

The city of man, the city of common grace owes its existence ultimately to the redemptive grace of God.

But, apostate men misuse the city of man, and the state of it constantly reassert the original rebellion against the Creator.

In what ways do they accomplish such a thing?

They misuse the state and reassert the rebellion against God by their cultic dedication of the state to various false gods, or by their exploitation of the state for their own aggrandizement by the proclamation and power of their self-autonomy.

A dedication is a proclamation to abide in a prescribed order of hierarchical consecration.

We will see more about this next week.

Let’s get back to our text.

Genesis 4.17 begins the story of the family of the first city of man.

Even in this brief biblical account of the city of man, we find positive benefits provided due to God’s common grace over the city.

The city was a refuge for the family of Cain, making it possible for him to continue his kind generation after generation.

Genesis 4:17-18
17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son -- Enoch.
18 To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.

Cain begot Enoch, begot Irad, begot Mehujael, begot Methushael, begot Lamech.

The city was a place of cooperation and enterprise where an accumulation of knowledge, skill, and resources provided notable progress in the industries and arts that ministered to the physical and aesthetic needs of man.

Genesis 4:19-22
19 Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah.
20 And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.
21 His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute. And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.

There were already those who were tillers of the soil.

When it came time to dedicate the city, was it consecrated to the order and plan of God’s will?

NO!

The very name of the city was to be a memorial, a reminder, pointing to its inner spirit of the autonomy of man, a spirit intended to be passed on from its founding father to its ruling dynasty and beyond.

Cain dedicated the city to himself by naming it after “Enoch” his son, who was his image and his continuing memorial in the earth.

Where we are now in human history, is evidenced in the making of our way as a covenant people, pilgrims in a spiritual wilderness.

Many will be surprised on the Day of Judgment when they discover that it was just as the Word of God says; only the righteousness of Christ is able to save you.All men are sinners and no one can save himself. God is just, so He must punish sin; but He is also merciful, moreover gracious, and offers His Son as the perfect sacrifice in order to purchase a place for you in heaven, which He offers to you as the free gift of eternal life. As we continue to examine man’s earliest duties with regard to the covenant of works, although they can be categorically divided into two distinct types of classes; one in relationship with God, and the other in relationship with fellow man, all covenant stipulations are expressions of the will of the Lord. The law of the covenant is the law of man’s image-sonship.

Jesus is God Incarnate

In order to pay the debt of our sins, He came from Heaven, having been sent by the Father, where He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father even unto the shameful death upon the cross in order to pay the debt of your sins.This gift must be received by faith, believing that Jesus’ perfect life and Cross Work was His complete and necessary Atonement for your sins, in your behalf.Faith is a gift that comes by the Power of God the Holy Spirit working in a person’s innermost being. The Holy Spirit has the authority and power to quicken your dead spirit, to make it come to life. If you have not done so before this moment, ask Jesus to forgive you your sins, tell Him you’ve stop trying to be your own savior, and ask Him to come into your life right now, and to give you eternal life. Then, in faith believing, thank Him for the gift that He is giving you, the one He paid for in full in your place, in Jesus’ name,AMEN