DEATH & EXILE
When Jesus Christ died on cross, the power of sin, the guilty of sin, and the consequences of sin was broken.
Just one seemingly little act of disobedience lead man into exile.
In this last series of Sin, Curse & death I discuss spiritual & physical death, and the exile.
We observe the following in Genesis 3 & 4;
1. The disastrous consequences of sin are toiling, suffering & death.
2. Exile or alienation and a broken relationships with fellow man.
3. Separation from God.
4. Man is in deep trouble and the sad part is that he cannot escape, except he is rescued by God Himself.
No amount of slunder, accusation, insults & curses from Christians will change a sinner.
Unless God reaches out to a sinner, mankind is hopelessly incapable of saving himself.
THE IDEA OF DEATH (Gen. 3:17-19)
"In the sweat of of your face you shall eat bread. Till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return".
The idea of death is intimated. Man who is soil will dig the soil for his bread, until he returns to the same soil he was formed from, this is way too deep.
When Adam and Eve sinned they died spiritually. "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1)
Being spiritually alienated from God is spiritual death.
Jesus Christ in the parable of the lost son put it so clearly, "For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and he is found"
THE IDEA OF COVERING
"And for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them" (Gen.3:21)
The same God who pronounced judgement, is the same God who provided covering for them.
What is significant about this animal skins is the fact that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.
We see the idea of redemption by the blood.
This is what we learn from this passage;
(a). The fig leaves are not enough to approach God. You cannot bribe your way into God's presence by good works. You need to come to God open, naked, exposed and as vulnerable as you are & you will find mercy & covering from God.
(b). Fig leaves are not accepted in the sight of God because they are man made. Salvation is initiated by God above, not by man below.
(c). True covering from nakedness is provided by God alone.
(d). Jesus Christ in his death on Calvary provides the final & perfect covering.
ADAM & EVIL ARE EXILED (Genesis 3: 22)
"Then the LORD God said, behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he puts out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever. Therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So man He drove out the man; and He placed a cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life"
Definition; to exile is the state or period of forced absence from one's country or home.
In other words Adam is forced out of his home which is the garden of Eden. He is exiled from his home.
From here man is further moving away from the east (Garden of Eden, God). This is the rebellion that is hightened in Genesis 11 at the tower of Babel.
But God's grace reached out to one man Abraham through him man begins a journey back to the Garden of Eden, back to God.
For you and me that road back to the tree of life is through the cross of Jesus Christ.
THE FIRST MURDER (Genesis 4)
The first recorded cause of death is not sickness, natural cause or old age but murder.
God knows the answer to the question, “why is your face downcast?”. It is a question meant for Cain to begin to identify the root cause of his jealous, anger, bitterness, resentment, the feeling of rejection and self-pity.
Discovering the answer to the “why is your face downcast” question, will help you to do what is good next time and your countenance/face will be lifted.
Whether it is something wrong that you did, or it is something wrong that was done to you, I pray for you that your face will not be buried in the sand of shame forever.
I pray that your head will be lifted above your enemies.
I sense a lifting in your life child of God!
Having the courage to confront yourself, and do a spiritual diagnosis of your own life. Why am I so angry? Why do I feel so bitter? Why do I have these feelings of revenge? Why do I feel so rejected?
It’s always easy to critique others, but to critique yourself is very hard. God wants Cain to identify where he went wrong, where he sinned, so that he can then confess and do the right thing before sin spins out of control.
Is it strikingly similar how the reasons for murder remain the same? Jealous, anger, bitterness etc.
• Sin is the root cause of man's problem, not generation curses.
• Your offerings, seeds and sacrifices are human fig leaves that doesn't cover the sin.
• The right spiritual diagnosis leads to the confession of sin.
• God's grace covers Adam, puts a mark on Cain to protect him from being killed. God excutes both Judgement & mercy without confliction.
UPS Coach Lawrence Musunte
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