Genesis 4:13

Genesis 4:13 says, And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.  Cain had killed his brother out of jealousy and anger, but he complained to God that his punishment was greater than he could stand.  Life was no longer going to be easy for Cain, but he should have been grateful that he was alive.  We too often seem to feel that our punishment is unfair when we should simply acknowledge that we should be grateful that we are alive and have the ability to repent and be restored to God, as did Cain.  I believe his attitude shows that he still had not taken responsibility for his actions.  Verse fourteen states, Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.  Though Cain would be a vagabond, he was not driven from the face of the earth.  We are not really told of anyone else knowing about what Cain had done, so we should question why everyone would want to kill Cain.  Of course, there is also the question of where everyone came from if Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel were the only people who existed.  Whoever the people were, Cain said everyone would want to kill him, possibly based on the way he treated Cain.  Cain was judging others based on his own attitude.  Verse fifteen declares, And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.  God protected Cain from being killed.  Today, if we are alive, even if we refuse to follow God's teachings or even believe in Him, we are alive because God sustains our life.  God said anyone killing Cain would be punished seven times worse, and he put a mark on Cain so that everyone would know who he was.  I don't believe that this was a mark that would pass to Cain's descendants as some claim, but was a mark unique to Cain.  His descendants, like ours, are not punished for our sins, but each individual is held accountable for his or her own.  Verse sixteen states, And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. Cain went to dwell in the land east of Eden.  Eden was not the only place in the world, and Cain was not the only one cast out, so his punishment may not have been as severe as he claimed.  We never find an account of Cain accepting responsibility for his actions and asking forgiveness, and since he evidently did not, then God's face was indeed hidden from Cain as he had stated earlier.  Sin, especially unconfessed sin that we know we are guilty of, will always stand between God and us.  Verse seventeen declares, And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.  We know that there were at least a few more people than what has been revealed, because Cain had a wife.  This does not make the account of Adam and Eve and the garden of Eden incorrect.  Cain and his wife had a son that they named Enoch and built a city named after Enoch.  Then, we begin the genealogy verses.

Genesis 4:1

Genesis 4:1 says, And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.  This is the first recorded birth, and God is credited with giving life to the baby, Cain.  We should always acknowledge God as the source of life.  Verse two states, And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.  Then, we have a record of the birth of Abel, and are told both Cain and Abel's occupation, so evidently some time had passed since their birth.  Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer.  Verse three declares, And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.  After some time, Cain brought sacrifice to God.  This was before the sacrificial system was set up, so we must assume that this was something that Cain decided to do on his own.  This does not say that Cain brought the best of his fruit to God.  If we are going to give something to God, we need to make sure we are doing so with His guidance and that it is the best that we have.  Verse four states, And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:  Abel brought an offering to God, and we are told that it was the first and best of his flock.  We should always give the best that we have to God.  Verse five proclaims, But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.  Some people say that Cain's offering was not accepted because it was not a blood sacrifice.  We need to remember that this was before what was to be sacrificed was spelled out and that it was a voluntary sacrifice.  I believe the reason the sacrifice of Cain was not accepted was because of his attitude.  I believe Cain made the sacrifice to bring praise to himself and not to God.  Likewise, I believe that Abel's sacrifice was accepted because his attitude was to give God the best.  We cannot give to God for any reason other than to bring glory to Him and expect Him to have to accept our sacrifice and praise us.  I believe that Cain's countenance fell because he expected praise and did not receive it.  Verse six asks, And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?  God asked Cain why he was upset.  Like Cain, we really have no reason to be upset if we offer something to God for the wrong reason and He rejects it.  Verse seven adds, If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.  God told Cain that if his attitude toward God was right, then his sacrifice would be accepted.  God did not say that if Cain brought the right sacrifice that it would be accepted.  We should always bring the best that we have to God for His glory, and when we do our sacrifice will be accepted.  Verse eight states, And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.  We are told that Cain talked with Abel.  I believe that it was not a polite conversation on the part of Cain.  Cain was not satisfied with talking, but was so angry he killed Abel, who had done nothing to Cain.  I believe that self righteousness was behind the murder.  We can never allow the successful worship of God by someone else to make us angry.  If we feel that someone is being more blessed, then we should simply praise God for their blessing.  Verse nine proclaims, And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?  God asked Cain a simple question that He already knew the answer to.  Cain did not answer, but responded with a question for God.  We are never going to outsmart God, no matter how we may attempt to deflect His questions.  Cain asked if he was his brother's keeper, as if he didn't know what had happened to Abel.  We can be certain that when God asks us a question that He already knows the answer, and if we are guilty of sin our only response should be to confess that sin and ask for forgiveness.  Verse ten asks, And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.  God told Cain that He knew that he had killed Abel.  The truth can never be hidden from God, no matter how evasive we may be.  Verse eleven states, And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;  Then verse twelve adds, When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.  Sin will never go unpunished.  Even though Christ took on the punishment of our sins Himself, they were and are still punished.

Genesis 3:14

Genesis 3:14 says, And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:  The serpent was at least used by Satan in the deception of Eve, and but it was really Satan that was punished.  We may simply be following the deception of Satan when we sin, but we will still have to accept punishment for our sins.  Verse fifteen adds, And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.  Though spoken to the serpent, this relates more to the woman and Satan.  This refers not to the serpent, but to Satan.  The woman had been deceived by Satan, but now there would be an enmity between them.  Satan really is always the enemy of people, wanting only their destruction in an attempt to justify his own actions.  Then, there is a reference to Christ, the One Who would bruise Satan's head while Satan bruised His heel.  Satan may have felt almost victorious at the death of Christ, but it proved but a temporary bruise in terms of eternity.  Verse sixteen declares, Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.  The women was not left blameless.  Though she had been deceived, she was still responsible for her disobedience.  Pain in child birth was her sentence, and we could add the fact that her husband would rule over her.   Still, we should view this as with both husband and wife being obedient to God.  Verse seventeen says, And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;  Though Adam attempted to blame both the woman and God, he was told he was responsible for his own actions.  We cannot place the blame for our sins on anything but our own disobedience to God.  I don't believe that we are  guilty of sin simply because we were born, but are guilty of sin when we are capable of knowing what God wants us to do and not doing it.  God had made it clear to Adam what was not allowed, and Adam did it anyway.  Verse eighteen adds, Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;  Then verse nineteen continues, In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.  Instead of a garden where everything was in harmony, Adam was going to find the ground cursed and have to labor for his food.  I believe that we will always find life harder when we do not follow God's teachings.  Verse twenty states, And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.  Adam named the woman Eve, meaning she was the mother of all people who lived.  Verse twenty-one declares, Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.  God made coats of skins for Adam and Eve.  Someone may personally believe that it is sinful to wear fur and leather, but God certainly does not teach this.   We should never attempt to make things true when they go against Biblical teachings about God.  Verse twenty-two proclaims,  And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:  Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but had apparently not eaten of the tree of life.  God said that this was not going to happen.  Verse twenty-three adds, Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.  Adam and Eve were evicted from the garden of Eden, and sent to earn their own way.  Verse twenty-four states, So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.  We don't need to speculate where the garden of Eden was or is, because God has hidden it from us and prevents us from going there.  Our way to everlasting life with God is through accepting Jesus as our Savior and Lord, and that is what we really need to concentrate on.

Genesis 3:9

Genesis 3:9 says, And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?  God called to Adam, not because He didn't know where Adam was, but to allow Adam to respond to Him.  We do not have to find God, because He will always call us to Him.  Nor can we hide from God, since He always knows where we are, both physically and spiritually.  Verse ten states, And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.  Adam responded that he heard the voice of God and was afraid because he was naked, as he had always been.  Adam's physical state was not really what made him afraid, but his spiritual state was.  We have no need to be afraid of God unless we have been disobedient to Him.  Verse eleven asks, And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?  God asked how Adam knew he was naked.  Then, God asked if Adam had eaten of the tree that he had been told not to eat of.  When we sin, I believe that we will be made aware of it, and sin is always disobedience to God's will for us.  God knew what Adam had done, but He was waiting for Adam to acknowledge it.  God knows when we sin, and if there is to be forgiveness and restoration, we must acknowledge what we have done.  Verse twelve declares, And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.  Basically Adam answered that it wasn't his fault, but God's fault or at least the woman's fault.  Adam said you gave me the woman, and she gave me the fruit and said to eat it.  We cannot blame God for our sins, nor can we blame others.  Adam knew what God had said, but he chose to listen to the woman instead.  Verse thirteen asks, And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.  God asked the woman what she had done, and she answered that she was beguiled, or tempted and deceived by the serpent.  If we do not have an understanding of God's word or a firm belief in what He tells us, then we may likewise be tempted to disobey Him.  Like Adam, the woman attempted to put the blame elsewhere.  Ultimately, we must confess and accept the responsibility for our own sins.  Then we can either ask God's forgiveness or continue to bear the responsibility for our sins.

Genesis 3:1

Genesis 3:1 says, Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  This was not just a serpent that God had created, because God called His creation good.  This was Satan, either in the form of a serpent or having possessed a serpent.  The woman, Eve, was not afraid because at that time there was only peace and harmony between mankind and the animals.  The serpent, or Satan really, was very subtle.  He did not just state the fact that God had declared that there were two trees that weren't to be eaten from, but questioned Eve if that was what God had said.  Satan knows what God has declared is true, so his best hope is to get us to question what God has said.  As long as we stand firm in God's word, Satan is already defeated.  Verse two states, And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: Eve had not been given these instructions, but Adam had.  Eve starts with the truth of God.  They were free to eat of the fruit of the trees, except two.  Verse three adds, But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  Eve said they were prohibited from eating from the tree in the midst, or middle, of the garden, but she added to what God had said.  Sho said that God said that if they even touched it they would die.  If we are to obey God, we must never attempt to add to His word.  If we do, we will find ourselves going astray as Eve did.  Verse four states, And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:  Satan said that God had lied.  I know that he didn't come out and say this directly, but that was his implication.  Satan will always be subtle in his temptations and will appeal to our carnal nature.  Verse five adds, For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.  Satan basically said that God was trying to keep something good from them.  Satan said if they ate of this tree that they would be like gods.  God had created them and given them a perfect world to live in, but Satan said they could have more.  This is always the temptation that Satan leads us to.  He says if we disobey God's laws that we can have more, but this was, is, and always will be a lie.  Verse six says, And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.  Eve saw that the tree and its fruit looked good.  I don't believe that we are ever going to be tempted to disobey God by something that looks bad.  I guess God could have made the tree look bad just as He could make all sin look bad, but this would not be a true test of our obedience to Him.  The question will always be whether we will disobey God for the things of this world that tempt us.  Eve ate of the tree and gave some of the fruit to Adam, and he ate also.  Adam, to whom God had given the instructions, chose to follow Eve instead of God.  If we are in a position where we have to follow those closest to us or follow God, we must always choose to be true to God.  Verse seven declares, And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.  After they ate, they saw the world differently.  The knew that they were naked, and now it became something that they saw as wrong.  They attempted to fix what they saw as a problem and made themselves aprons of fig leaves.  When we sin, we cannot cover it up or correct it ourself.  We must go to God in repentance and ask His forgiveness.  Verse eight states, And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.  When they heard God, they attempted to hide from Him.  Their relationship with God had changed.  Anytime we sin, our relationship with God is changed, but we must acknowledge that we cannot hide from Him.  We always need to confess our sins so that our relationship can be what God wants it to be.  The more we attempt to hide from God, the worse things will become.

Genesis 2:15

Genesis 2:15 says, And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.  After God created the garden of Eden, He put man in it to take care of it.  Man always had a purpose, and that was to obey God and take care of His creation.  Verse sixteen states, And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:  Man was given everything needed to live a life of abundance.  He simply had to enjoy what God had provided, and so must we learn to do today.  We have been promised that God will meet our needs, and we must be content to enjoy what God provides.  Verse seventeen declares, But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.  This was the first time where we see that man was given free will.  There were only two trees that man could not eat from, and if he did, he would die.  We today are too often tempted to see only what we think God is denying us instead of what He is providing for us.  Verse eighteen says, And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.  God had provided for all of man's needs except for companionship.  Verse nineteen states, And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.  I don't believe that this contradicts the order of creation from chapter one, but is simply a statement that God had created the animals and brought them to Adam to name.  Verse twenty adds, And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.  Though God brought the animals to Adam to name, none were fit to be a help mate for him.  The animals were not intellectually or spiritually equal to Adam and could not provide the companionship that he needed.  Verse twenty-one says, And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;   While Adam was in a deep sleep, God removed one of Adam's ribs.  Verse twenty-two declares, And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.  God created a help mate for Adam out of one of his ribs.  God could have easily created any number of men from the dust, but He chose to create a woman out of the rib of man, establishing the unique relationship between men and women.  I believe that this is a relationship that only a man and a woman can fulfill for each other.  The woman was not made to be the servant of man, but to be his equal and his completion.  Verse twenty-three proclaims, And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.  Adam recognized the equality of the woman.  She was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh.  Verse twenty-four states, Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.  Though not stated by the name, this is God's plan for marriage.  A man shall leave his mother and father and take a woman to be his wife, and the two will become on flesh.  The concept of marriage did not come later on, but it was God's plan from the beginning.  Verse twenty-five declares, And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.  Shame at being naked came after the fall of man.  Until sin entered into the life of mankind, there was no shame.

Genesis 2:1

Genesis 2:1 says, Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.  Creation was complete.  We can either accept that all things are possible with God or not.  If we accept that God created everything from nothing, then we should have no problem accepting what He said the time frame was.  Verse two states, And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.  We are told that God rested on the seventh day.  This was not because He was tired, but because He was finished.  We are told that we are to set aside the seventh day, or now the first day, or Lord's Day, for God.  Verse three declares, And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.  As just stated above, God blessed and sanctified the seventh day.  After Christ's burial and resurrection on Sunday, the first day of the week, I don't believe that we are wrong to set it aside for God instead of the seventh, or Saturday.  The Jewish people still celebrate the Sabboth, or seventh day, but they do not acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah.  Verse four states, These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,  I believe that this is referring to what was stated in chapter one, and that generations means beginnings.  Verse five adds, And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.  The plants were growing, but there was yet to be rain, because God had yet to cause the rain to come, nor was there anyone to till the ground.  Matthew Henry points out that this is the first time God is named and that He is the LORD.  Verse six says, But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.  God watered the plants with a mist and sustained them by His power.  Verse seven declares, And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.  We were created out of the dust, or dirt, of the earth, and would have no more value than any plant or animal, except that God breathed His life into us and we became a living soul.  This will always separate mankind from any other form of life on the earth.  We were created in God's image and He breathed life into us giving us a soul.  Verse eight states, And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.  God created a perfect place for people to live.  Verse nine adds, And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  God planted the trees that looked good and were a source of food, but also the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  Verse ten states, And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.  A river went out of Eden to water the garden, then it split into four rivers.  Verse eleven says, The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;  Verse twelve states,  And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.  Verse thirteen adds, And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.  Then verse fourteen concludes, And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.  I will not attempt to identify these rivers, though many people do.  I believe that the key is to simply accept that God created this garden and these rivers for the benefit of mankind.