Can I Know The Will Of God? Pt. 2 God's Will In Genesis: We Must Come To God On His Terms.

 

We are studying the will of God in a survey manner, hoping to see clearly how the will of God is expressed. 

He has made known His will on the pages of scripture and each believer has an obligation to search these things out. 

My intent is not an exhaustive or complete study, but rather, looking at examples of God's will in each book of the Bible. 

First, we saw that God's will is always found whenever He speaks. When God said "Let there be light" that was a clear communication of His will.

We saw God teach Adam His will. Part of His will was with regard to agriculture and animal husbandry. One important part was a moral test, involving what Adam and Eve ate.

We learned that a faith response to the will of God means we simply obey what He is telling us to do or not do.

We also learned that sin causes spiritual and physical death. It also has long term consequences resulting from our sinful actions and it saddles us with shame and guilt.

Finally, we learned that God's will is to save us from our sins, Genesis 3:15 is the first promise in the Bible, and it is about God sending His Son, Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman, to crush the serpent's head. 

There is only one way to approach God: His way. 

Genesis 4:1,2  And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. 2)  And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 

This paragraph of scripture teaches us something that we need to know. God is the only One who can and does tell us how we can have a relationship with Him.

He showed Adam and Eve that an innocent animal without blemish or spot, must be slain and it's blood applied, in order to atone for their sin. This is the will of God for mankind to be rightly related to Him, after the fall. 

Adam and Eve taught their sons, Cain and Abel the will of God and they both knew what God said would be accepted by Him. 

Abel exercised faith and obeyed God, Cain did not.  

Genesis 4:3-5  And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 4)  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: 5)  But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 

Two sons of Adam are put before us and they both actively engaged in the two major areas of responsibility that God gave to man. Agriculture and animal husbandry.

Abel offered one of the firstlings of his flock and the fat, to God. This means that he complied with God's will concerning the sacrifice and blood shed of an innocent substitute. 

All such offerings prefigure or point to Jesus Christ on the cross as God's perfect Lamb. 

Abel was a righteous man who obeyed God.

Hebrews 11:4  By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. 

Abel is called a a righteous man by Jesus Christ (Matthew 23:35). The author of Hebrews makes it clear that Abel had the righteousness that comes by faith, for the just shall live by faith. 

Remember, that God placed a curse upon the earth (Genesis 3:17-19), for this fact is essential to understand why God rejected Cain's offering.

Cain brought fruit that he harvested as an offering to God and it was promptly rejected. The words "had not respect" means that Jehovah turned His gaze away from the cursed fruit that Cain offered. 

Cain exploded with anger and his countenance fell. The word "wroth" means Cain experienced a burning wrath and was full of fury. 

His countenance fell. The words "countenance was fallen" is a very broad word that is more than just our facial expressions. It includes our mood, emotions and attitude of our hearts. 

Essentially, Cain did not deal with his anger in an appropriate manner and he allowed anger to govern his whole being. He became an anger driven person who would murder Abel, with a hate fueled passion. 

Cain was a wicked man and did evil things.

1 John 3:11,12  For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12)  Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. 

Cain disregarded the instruction of God he received from Adam. He lived for the world and is a picture of a typical sinner, living for self and unconcerned about spiritual matters. 

We already know this historical account ends with Cain killing his brother Abel followed by burying him in a field. 

Why did Cain commit such a vile act? Because he was a child of the Devil. Satan is a liar and a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). Cain listened to the serpent's voice instead of God's. 

The apostle John gives us the motive for Cain murdering his brother. It was because his own works (offering fruit of the cursed ground) were evil. 

God told them what kind of an offering was acceptable to Him and Cain refused to bring it. 

He killed Abel because his brother's offering was righteous and accepted by God. Therefore, jealousy and hatred were the motives behind Cain's wicked sin. 

God gave Cain an opportunity to repent and obey. 

Genesis 4:6,7  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7)  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.

Jehovah spoke to Cain because He could see the wicked heart of this man. He asked Cain three questions. God asked Cain "Why are you angry" because Cain allowed unchecked anger and hate to fill him with rage. 

God's question served to remind Cain that it was his own disobedience that resulted in God refusing his offering. He had no one to blame but himself. 

God's second question addressed Cain's fallen countenance. His countenance was fallen because he allowed the sin of anger to dominant his person. He did not have to be angry and let it overtake his whole being.

God's third question was merciful. "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?" He reminded Cain that He was a faithful God who keeps His word. If Cain obeyed, his offering would be accepted.

Then, God issued a warning that Cain's failure to obey would lead to more sin, in this case murdering his brother Abel. 

Thus, God was merciful and gave Cain an opportunity to obey Him. He told Cain that failure to obey would result in him experiencing sin and its deadly consequences. 

Cain was angry and took the Devil's bait. 

Ephesians 4:26,27  Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27)  Neither give place to the devil. 

Anger should be promptly addressed so that it does not result in sin. If Cain had thought about why he was angry, he would have concluded that it was because he did not obey God's instructions.

God's commands make it clear that we must deal with our anger rather than allowing it to fester until it erupts with venomous hatred. Giving place to the Devil means giving in to his temptations.

Genesis 4:8  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. 

Cain sinned because he gave place to the Devil. Satan tempted this angry man so that he killed his own brother. 

The combination of anger, jealousy, hatred and a fallen countenance proved lethal to innocent Abel.

Cain typifies sinners who will always persecute believers in Christ.  Abel was righteous because he obeyed God. Cain was evil because he disobeyed God. He was jealous and could not stand to live with his righteous brother, so he killed him. 

Galatians 4:29  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

Thoughts to Ponder...

First, we should take great care to obey God's will. His word and His commands are His will. His will is understandable and if we wish to live eternally with our Creator, we must obey Him. 

All other options that man can think up will be rejected by God. 

This is why there is only one way of salvation, one way to heaven, one way of eternal life, through repentant faith in Jesus Christ (John 14:1-6).

Romans 1:16,17  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17)  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 

Second, God's will is to save us when we exercise repentant faith in Christ. 

We cannot earn favor with God by our works. The works of our flesh are just like we are: polluted by sin. Therefore, God will never accept any man's works that are offered for salvation. 

Third, God's will is for all people in the world to hear the gospel of Christ and to respond with repentant faith in Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:8-9).

May the Lord Jesus Christ grant each of us hearts that are willing and happy to obey Him.

Bob