Genesis 22

Abraham's faith is tested

The bible calls Isaac a lad, so we feel he is old enough to understand some things, but not yet an adult. God comes to Abraham and tells him to go to a place of God's choosing and offer Isaac for a sacrifice. Needless to say, this would put Abraham in a grievous position. Never the less, Abraham obeys and does as God asks. On the journey, Isaac has enough understanding to realize that there is no sacrifice with them. Abraham  tells Isaac what still holds true to this day and is the foretelling of the Messiah, that God will provide a sacrifice. 

Despite the torment Abraham must have been going through, he obeys and goes to sacrifice his son. God, who is always on time, sends and angel to stay his hand. In verse 17 God reiterates his promise to Abraham because of his faithfulness. We must believe that Jesus saves us from our sins, but we also must believe enough to put it into action. 

The chapter ends to show of the generations of Abraham's brother that will provide a wife for Isaac in an upcoming chapter. 

Genesis 4

Genesis chapter 4

It doesn't take long for sin to get out of control. Unless someone actively seeks God, they will drift further away from his mercy and protection. Sin was now in the world and it was going to get worse, as is often the case with sin. Pride and ego seemed to be present with the first sin, and now jealousy and greed are going to place a part in this next sin. The bible does not say if this was actually the second sin, so we can only speculate. No doubt this was the first murder, and to make matters worse it was between brothers.

Cain and Abel both took offerings to the Lord. It appears as if Abel took the best (first fruits) and Cain just took what was available. God is is jealous God and wants the best we have to offer him at all times. God wants the best we can offer because he deserves the best we have to offer. Today we live in a world with the plan of Salvation and that was the best heaven had to offer us, so we in turn need to offer our best.

Cain gets jealous of Abel and finally kills him after an argument. I'm sure Cain did not set out to kill Abel, but as sin so often does, it takes you further away from God than you intended. When God comes asking after Abel, Cain sarcastically says that he's not his brothers keeper. Oh, we are indeed our brothers' keeper and we should forever look after our loved ones and fellow saints. We are to lean on one another and there has to be a certain familiarity for that to take place.

Cain doesn't despair for his brother but laments for his own lot in life. Cain had selfishness down pat and he was going to continue on this path. People sometimes ask, in a 'gotcha' kind of way, where did the people come from Cain married and lived with. Obviously they were his own flesh and blood. We don't know how much time passed between the exit from the garden, Cain and Abel's birth, to the murder of Abel. Since God doesn't mention creating other people, we are left with only one conclusion. This is not mysterious or a case of the bible come up short. Evidently the author assumed we were smart enough to figure this part out. So God puts a curse on anyone who touches Cain (again, no need for a vow or curse if he is only one of three people on the planet) that they will see greater judgment then Cain did.

We have the generations of Cain as the chapter ends. We end up with hints of good people and hints of more sin. With the birth of Seth and his son Enos, the bible says that 'then men began to call upon the name of the Lord'. As always, God's mercy shows through to man and his condition.