SECOND QUARTER 2022
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #3
APRIL 16, 2022
“CAIN AND HIS LEGACY”

 

By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. Hebrews 11:4, NKJV.

Adam and Eve looked forward to the immediate fulfillment of the promise of Genesis 3:15 (cf DA, p. 31). Unfortunately, the distorted view of God’s character with which they were infected was revealed in Cain and his legacy, in contrast to the legacy of Seth, the son who was to sit in Abel’s place as compensation for their loss. Seth would take the place of Abel in the plan of salvation.

It is an intriguing study to look at the names of these biblical characters and their offspring - it appears that they represent to some degree diverging views of God and how humanity would relate to His salvation plan.

Look at these names and their meanings in the line of Cain, Abel, and Seth:

 

Cain - Acquired, possessed, spear

Enoch - Initiated, dedicated

Irad - Flee, fugitive

Mehujael - Smitten of God

Methusael - Man who is of God

Lamech - Power, powerful, for humiliation

Jubal and Jabal - Streams

Tubal-Cain - Offspring of Cain

 

Abel - Breath, Vanity, Empty

 

Seth - Compensation, sitting

Enos - Man

Cainan – Possession

Mahalaleel - Praise of God

Jared - Descent

Enoch - Initiated, dedicated

Methusaleh - Man of the dart, When he dies the weapon will come

Lamech - Power, powerful, for humiliation

Noah - Rest

 

Cain’s legacy was the fruit of man’s efforts to save self, or to experience salvation without death to self. The first Lamech exercised punitive power by killing someone who merely wounded him. He was proud of the fact.

Abel’s legacy, transferred to Seth, was different. He had the Faith of Jesus, relying on God’s word to do what it says. He and his progeny believed that without God we are nothing, and life is vain and empty. God would in humility send Christ to empty Himself and bring all of heaven’s riches to us. The second Lamech saw power in resting in this promised Christ. Through his son Noah humanity was saved by resting and trusting in the word of God.

Thus, the two offerings of Cain and Abel and the offspring of Cain and Seth became emblematic of divergent messianic views and thus different ways of living.

In the first offering - works of appeasement - God is pictured as One Who requires dedication or submission of those who are afraid and thus flee from Him. He smites them to reveal His rulership over man in forceful power, acquiring the stream of humanity as His possession.

A Jewish tradition states that when all Israel - as a nation - keeps the Sabbath, the Messiah will come. But the Jews of Christ’s day were willing to kill Him because by healing on the Sabbath He revealed that the Father was much different than their false conceptions of Him. His love in the plan of salvation was much broader and deeper than they imagined.

In the second offering - humble sacrifice and surrender - God’s compensation for the fall of man would be One He had possessed from eternity (Proverbs 8:22), who was praised and worshiped as God (Hebrews 1:6), but descended to become dedicated and humbled to the death of the cross (Philippians 2:6-8), showing His true power by resting in complete submission to His Father (Luke 22:42, 23:46).

Jesus came as the Messiah Who took all humanity into Himself, lived a perfect life, died the death we inherited from Adam, and rested in that work. He invites us to rest in this perfect work on the Sabbath, and was raised in the power of faith and love with which He rules, and in which He invites us to rule with Him.

The legacy of Cain was the complete destruction of the then-known world. The legacy of Abel was the Faith of Jesus.

Thus, Noah’s ark, which we will study in next week’s lesson, became the reality and future symbol of safety from utter destruction, of resting in Christ, while all outside of Christ perish - those who reject the gospel to rely on their own efforts.

Today, the Sabbath is the sign of that rest and of the sealing of the people of God within the ark of safety - hidden in Christ and His righteousness by accepting Him, His faith and His obedience.

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“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.”

“A Long Sermon. - When Cain killed Abel because his own works and worship were evil and his brother's according to the direction of the Lord, he doubtless thought he had silenced Abel's testimony for truth. But Abel ‘yet speaketh.’ For six thousand years Abel has been testifying to the world that it is good to follow the Lord.”

“The Work of Faith. - The life of righteousness and the work of faith and the labour of love never cease to bear fruit so long as the world stands and there are sinners who can be saved, and souls to be encouraged. Every life not lived to itself starts a circle of influence for good that continues to widen until it touches the shores of eternity. Abel's gift of the firstlings of his flock was a small one, but God still testifies to the love and the faith which prompted it.”

“A Successful Life. - Abel was so young, and his life was so suddenly cut short that it might appear at first thought that he had accomplished little in the world, notwithstanding his faithfulness. But God, Who does not measure the influence of men's lives according to the world's standards, has made Abel's simple life a blessing and encouragement and a sermon to millions.” (July 9, 1896 EJW, PTUK 433.4)

“Abel did according to the word of the Lord; he had faith. Cain carried out the Lord's instructions according to his own views. God had demanded a sacrifice, and he brought one; not, indeed, exactly as the Lord had said, but near enough, he might say, to answer the purpose. The sacrifice was the essential thing, and not the particular thing that was offered. His offering was just as valuable as Abel's, and cost him just as much. But in that departure from the very words of the Lord he showed that he had not faith; for faith takes a thing exactly as God says it. The difference in their offerings was the difference between having faith and having it not.”

“So, it is with the people now. Not all who bring sacrifices to the Lord are counted righteous. God has said, ‘The seventh day is the Sabbath; in it thou shalt not do any work;’ but we hear men say, ‘The particular day is not essential; what God wants is one day’s rest in seven.’ But faith takes every word of God just as it is spoken, and does not attempt to measure the ‘substance’ of what He says, or discover the ‘essential principle.’ Not one word of God can be non-essential. If it could, God would be finite like ourselves. And those who knowingly disregard one word of God show thereby that they have not faith in Him as God. And thus, they class themselves with the wicked; for the wicked are simply those who have not faith.” (February 14, 1895 EJW, PTUK 98.)

“‘KNOWING this first, that there shall come in the last days, scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 2 Peter 3:3,4. ‘Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.’ Jude 1:11.”

“The way of Cain is murderous infidelity. The error of Balaam is the willful opposing of God, and the leading of His people into idolatrous fornication. The gainsaying of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram is the representing of ecclesiastical authority as priestcraft, and civil authority as tyranny. All these sins are to be represented by the last-day scoffers; but there will be true faith in the world at the same time.”

“‘By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.’ In what did the faith of Abel consist? Wherein was his sacrifice more excellent than his brother's? — He believed in the Redeemer to come, whose blood was to be shed for his transgression. By this faith, Abel offered the bloody typical sacrifice of a victim. Cain had no such faith; but rejecting the work of atonement, he offered the bloodless, untypical sacrifice of the fruits of the earth.”

“While the great masses of the people are denying the atonement, and the personal second coming of Christ, there are a few, here and there, who believe the word of the Lord. These live by faith, although scoffers are on every hand. In fact, the scoffers strengthen the faith of the believers, instead of discouraging them. When they hear the scoffers say, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?’ they remember that the Lord has said that in the last days men will say these very words. By this they know that they are living in the last days. They know that when the scoffers have come, it will not be long until Jesus will come. ‘Even so, come, Lord Jesus.’” (November 15, 1898 ATJ, ARSH 737)

“We believe that the coming of the Lord is near. We have believed this for a long time, and as time passes and the evidences of this event multiply, we are confirmed in this belief, ‘that He who shall come will come quickly, and will not tarry.’ To the people living at this time it is said, ‘now the just shall live by faith.’ It is faith that saves, but works come in as the result and fruit of faith. Your faith will be shown by your works. It is the connecting link between God and man. We read the promises of God and become partakers of the divine nature. God speaks, faith claims, and we become possessors of that which God promises, and without it we cannot please God. We cannot honor God with our own ways. Faith is that which takes hold of present truth and acts upon it.

There is much that people call faith that is not faith at all. To believe what God has not said is not faith at all. I may believe it but not by faith, because faith must have God's word to rest upon. Abel offered a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain. Cain’s was rejected because he did not offer that which expressed a faith in the Christ. Abel brought a lamb, the blood of which was offered in expression of his faith in the blood of Christ. We can worship, we can pray, and not have faith. Noah became heir to righteousness by faith. When the Lord told him that he was going to destroy the world, did it look reasonable? Do you suppose the learned men, the D.D.’s. looked upon those things as reasonable? All arose and rejected the message of warning, but on the word of God Noah built the ark, preached the truth and was saved by faith while those who reasoned were lost. Faith keeps apace with the progression of the truth of God. ‘Abraham went out not knowing whither he was going.’ Was not that very foolish? He went on a thus saith the Lord. He was just simple enough to do as God commanded, and to believe that when God had more instruction for him, he would receive it.” (May 1889 ATJ, KCMS 4.2)

“In Hebrews 11:4 we are told that it was by faith that Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.”

“Ah, now we see why Cain was not accepted, - he tried to come to God in his own way, in place of in God’s way. He did not have faith in the cleansing, saving power of the blood of Christ. He thought that some other way would do just as well as the way God had commanded. But without faith in Jesus all the sacrifices in the world could not do him any good, for there was no other way under heaven whereby he could be saved.”

“Without the blood of Christ there is no remission (pardon) of sin. But Cain showed his unbelief in the blood of God’s Lamb by not bringing a lamb and offering its blood as his sacrifice. By bringing an offering of the fruit of the ground, without any blood, he showed that he thought he could be saved without Christ’s blood. For God had commanded that all who believed in the blood of Christ should bring the blood of a lamb in their offerings.”

“Notice: Abel had faith in Jesus, therefore he was careful to obey Him in every little thing; but Cain did not have faith in Him, therefore he was not careful to obey Him in every little thing. Your actions will always show whether you have faith or not. If you really believe God and have faith in His Son, you will obey Him. And without faith in Jesus, it is impossible to please God, or be accepted, or be saved, no matter what you may do. Why? Because ‘there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ ‘Neither is their salvation in any other.’” (May 3, 1894 EJW, PTUK 285)

~Todd Guthrie