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Man 9 s Second Chance or The Age of Freedom
Wednesday Night Bible Lecture by Rev. Len G. Broughton, D.D., of Christ Church, London
Reported for The Golden Age by M. I. H.—Copyright Applied for.
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Scripture. —Genesis IV and V.
~[ HE first view we had of man, lie
>i Jk was in the Garden of Eden with
JI everything that God could do to
j&g make him happy. He was himself
Or perfect; he also had a perfect place
® of abode, a perfect environment, a
W perfect Instructor and Guide, for
\ God was his Instructor and Guide ;
- and he had a perfectly free and
unbiased will. But he failed, and his failure
was complete, so complete that God drove him
out of the Garden of Eden, and made him make
his living by the sweat of his face.
But I want you to observe with reference
to this act of God, that it was an act of two
fold mercy. First, imperfect man, as Adam
was, after his fall, could not live in a perfect
environment. You could not have imagined
a more bitter experience for Adam, after he
had fallen, than to have lived in the Garden of
Eden. Think of it! Adam in the Garden of
Eden, a place of perfection, and he a fallen
man, it would have been hell to Adam.
And then, in the next place, it was an act
of mercy because imperfect man could not re
main in idleness. "Work to imperfect man is
his only solace. And now that he is fallen,
and is imperfect, it is an act of mercy really,
that he has to work. Idleness verily is the
devil’s workshop, it is his playhouse. The
only hope some of us have, as we are, is that we
have to work.
But, leaving the account of man’s first fail
ure, we come to the study of Cain and Abel,
where we are confronted with a second failure.
Under this heading, we come first to the birth
ol Cain. His name meant il acquisition.” Eve
said when he was born, “I have gotten a man
with the Lord.” You will observe in the Au
thorized Version that the rendering is “with
the help of the Lord;” that is an addition. It
should remain as the original. Notice here,
that Eve uses the word “Jehovah,” which
means “the God of Covenant.” There is no
doubt but that she had in mind the faint proph
ecy made in the Garden of Eden concerning
the deliverer, and she had hope that Cain was
this deliverer. Alas, how bitterly she was
disappointed!
Following this we read of the Birth of Abel.
His name meant “a breath.”
As they grew to manhood they adopted dif
ferent pursuits of life. Cain became a tiller
of the ground. Abel, a keeper of sheep. Here
we find the natures of the two brothers assert
ing themselves. Animal flesh was not permit
ted as food at the time. And we can there
fore conclude that sheep were kept for sacri
ficial purposes, and for the manufacturing of
garments. The devotional nature of Abel,
therefore, to some extent is seen in his selec
tion of the vocation of sheep raising.
The Golden Age for February 20, 1913.
Cain’s Wife.
Now, a word as to their wives. The question
is often asked, “Where did Cain get his wife?”
Some ask because they want really to know,
others, because they want to disprove the Bible
contention that the human race is descended
from a single pair. In attempting to answer
this question, there are some things we must
admit. First, we do not know at what period
of life Cain married. Secondly, it is not stated
who his wife was. But we do know from the
Scriptural records and statements in various
places, that there was sufficient population on
the earth at the time Cain married to have fur
nished him with more than abundant oppor
tunity for selecting a wife.
We must remember that Adam lived 930
years, which was about the average life of man
in the early days of history. Adam saw his
children’s children to the eighth generation.
He actually lived for fifty-six years as a con
temporary of Lamech. There is no mention
of the names of the daughters of Adam, but it
is stated he begat sons and daughters. How
many we are not told. We may be sure of a
large number of sons and daughters, for God
commanded him to be fruitful and multiply;
and we must remember that since there had
to be an original pair, that the first marriages
were between brothers and sisters, which was
not forbidden until long after this. Abraham
married his sister.
Mulhall’s Dictionary of Statistics, gives the
present average age of man as under 30 years,
and the average number of children per fam
ily all over the world as four.
But from the Bible records, we find that the
average age of man, including Enoch, who
was translated at the age of 365, was 900 years
in those early days. The average number of
children on the same basis, would work out at
120 per family.
But in order to be very generous with our
figures, let us allow 48 children per family
instead of 130. Then we will allow that one
fourth of the population did not marry (al
though everyone whose name is given did mar
ry, and had children); and allow also for pre
mature disease to take away another quarter of
the population—and we have one-half of the
actual population married. Then we will al
low that for 700 years out of their lives they
had no children; that they only had children
during the second and third hundred years of
their lives, and then, at the average rate of
only one child every four years. This basis is
considerably less than half the actual average
at the present time.
What, under these most reasonable circum
stances, would have been the population of
the earth during the time of Adam? It might
easily have been around twenty millions. While
Cain, if he lived the average age of those early
days, might have been surrounded by over 136
millions of people on the earth.
Therefore, it is easy to see how, with the
long life of the people, and their great physical
vigor, mating and marrying as they certainly
did, and each family raising sons and daugh
ters, and their sons and daughters also mar
rying and raising families, in this way with
their long lives, and great fertility, I say, it is
easy to understand how Cain could get a wife,
and a good one at that! Perhaps a sister, born
long after he had left his father’s house; or
possibly a niece.
It is also easily seen that there was sufficient
population for the building of cities, and the
carrying on of the lines of work that Cain and
his children engaged in.
Their Offerings.
We come now to look at their offerings. Sac
rificial offerings began very early in the his
tory of man. They were expressions to show
gratitude of God; they were also expressions
of petition and prayer for God’s favor; and
more than that, they were vows of loyalty to
God; sacrifices for sin, and means of commu
nication with God.
Cain brought for his offering the fruit of the
ground. Abel brought for his offering the first
lings of his flock. It is written, ‘‘ The Lord had
respect unto Abel and to his offering; but
unto Cain, and to his offering, He had not re
spect.” - _
We naturally ask, what is the reason for this
difference ? In answering it, let us notice the
place given to in this statement. ‘ ‘ The
Lord had respect unto Abel and his offering
. . . and to Cain and and his offering He had
not respect.” From this we learn that the
man back of the offering was to be considered,
as well as the offering itself. The offering was
important only as it revealed the attitude of
the man. Cain believed in the existence of
God. Cain, remember, was a very religious
man. A much more religious man than lots
of people that we know and see nowadays. He
believed in the existence of God. More than
that, he acknowledged Him as the Giver of all
good things, and more than that, he acknowl
edged his indebtedness to God, and made an
offering to God. But Cain saw no need of the
sacrifice to enable a sinner, man, to approach
a holy God. Hence he brought the fruit of his
field. He could easily have brought a lamb.
Abel saw all Cain saw, and more. He be
lieved in the existence of God. He acknowl
edged Him as the Giver of all good things. He
acknowledged his indebtedness to Him, and
because of this he made an offering. But more
than this, Abel saw himself a sinner, banished
from a holy God, with the curse of death rest
ing upon him. And he made an offering from
his flock of a sacrificial character. Through
the lamb slain and laid upon the altar of God,
he hoped for access to God. This is what is
meant in the Hebrews when it is said: “By
faith, Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice
than Cain.”
Bad Theology.
I want us to stop here and observe in this, two
types of present-day theology. The world is
full of men who believe in God, and worship
Him, but who see no need of atonement for
sin. They deny inbred sin, and claim that all
one has to do is to be faithful in his life and
calling, and serve God the best he can, and all
will be well.
On the other hand, there is the Christian who
realizes his fallen condition —his inherited sin
—and knows that there can be no acceptable
approach to a holy God, or service for Him,
without atonement; and hence he falls in line
with the Christian system which represents
Jesus Christ, as the final sacrificial atonement
for the sin of the world. He accepts this sacri
fice and enters into fellowship and communion
with God.
The offering of Abel, therefore, had in it a
twofold meaning. First, it brought him on
pleading terms with God. Second, it was a
type and prophecy of the final sacrifice and
atonement for sin, made on Calvary.
The Awful Sentence.
Now the result: Cain was wrqth, and his
countenance fell. Then the Lord remonstrated
with him, saying: “Why art thou wroth? and
why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest
well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest
not well, sin croueheth at thy door; and unto
thee shall be its desire; but do thou rule over
it.” Here we see God’s mercy again. He
would put Cain right, even then! But Cain
refuses God’s mercy and slew his brother!
This brings us to the trial and sentence:
“And the Lord said unto Cain, where is Abel
thy brother?” And he said: “I know not; am
I my brother’s keeper?”
And the Lord said, “The voice of thy broth
er’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.”
(Continued on Page 14.)