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After man’s first fall there was a dealing from God and a promise. After man’s second fall there was no dealing from God, but there was a way for man to escape this further fall. Genesis 4 shows how Cain and his descendants fell, and it shows how another group of people escaped the fall. In chapter 3 there is only one group of people, but in chapter 4 there are two groups: Cain and his descendants, and Abel and those who succeeded Abel.
Chapter 4 mentions many people who were on the line of Cain, and it also mentions three other persons—Abel, Seth, and Enosh—who were not on the line of the fall.
We need to consider how Abel’s group escaped the fall while Cain’s group fell. The fall that began with Adam and continued with Cain went on at an increasingly fast pace. However, Abel, Seth, and Enosh were not in the fall, because they found a way out and lived in this way.
In order to find the way to escape the fall, we need to consider those who were in Cain’s group. They fell because they followed their own will. Hence, the first step in escaping the fall is to not follow our own will. After man fell, Satan entered into him. Hence, the element of Satan is in man’s self with his opinions and ideas. When man follows his own will, he is following Satan and continuing in the fall. Hence, in order to escape the fall, man must reject his own will, deny his own will, and not walk according to his own will.
Even though Cain walked according to his own will, he did not begin to fall further by committing a great sin; rather, he was attempting to serve God. A similar situation can be found in Matthew 16. Peter loved the Lord, and when he heard that the Lord would die, he was concerned about the Lord. Hence, he took the Lord aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God be merciful to You, Lord! This shall by no means happen to You!” (v. 22). Apparently, Peter was not opposing the Lord; he was expressing his love for the Lord. However, the Lord turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan!” (v. 23). We need to see the significance of this. We should not think that we are walking according to our own will only when we commit sins or do something evil. We may walk according to our own will even in loving the Lord. It was not a sin for Peter to love the Lord, but Satan was hidden in Peter. The Lord did not say, “Peter, you are following Satan.” Instead, the Lord said, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men” (v. 23). The Lord’s word shows that Satan is in man’s thoughts. Setting our mind on the things of men is setting our mind on Satan, and walking according to our own will is following Satan. Therefore, the first step in escaping from the fall is to deny the self.
The Lord’s word concerning denying the self in verse 24 means that we must deny our opinions, thoughts, and intents, because Satan is hidden in them. In Genesis 3 Satan was in the serpent. In chapter 4 he was not hiding in something outside of man, but he was in man’s opinions. Human opinions are the embodiment of Satan. Hence, when a person follows his opinions, he is following Satan. In order to overcome Satan’s stratagem and to escape from the fall, we must deny the self and not follow our will.
In chapter 4 both Cain and Abel served God and presented an offering to God. Cain offered the fruit of his labor from the ground, but Abel killed lambs from his flock and offered them to God. Cain’s offering was based on his own view; it lacked God’s revelation. Abel’s offering was according to God’s revelation, not according to a method that he had conceived.
When Adam and Eve fell, they saw the shame from sin in themselves. Therefore, they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths to cover their shame (3:7). Making loincloths to cover their shame was something according to their opinion and method. However, God showed them the way of redemption by killing a lamb. The lamb died, and its blood was shed on their behalf. When God made coats of skin to cover their shame, Adam and Eve no longer had fear or shame. They must have been deeply impressed that even though they were fallen and sinful, they could live before God in boldness without a sense of shame and without a need for their own work. The loincloths that they made out of leaves could not cover their shame or give their conscience boldness before God. Only a sacrifice that died and shed its blood could give their conscience peace before God, and only the skin of that sacrifice could cover their shame. This must have deeply impressed them.
After Adam and Eve had children, they must have told their children how God created them, placed them in front of the tree of life, and warned them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They must have told their children how they violated this command and offended God. They must have told their children of the fear and guilt that they had felt within and how they had used their own method to cover their shame. They must have told their children of their hatred of the serpent and how God cursed the serpent and promised that a seed of woman would deal with him. And they must have told their children how God killed a sacrifice, shed its blood, and made coats of skin to cover their shame so that they could live before Him in boldness. Adam and Eve must have repeatedly told their children these things. They may be considered the first ones to preach the gospel. Hebrews 11:4 says, “By faith Abel offered to God.” Romans 10:14 says, “How shall they believe into Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without one who proclaims Him?” Because Abel offered a sacrifice by faith to God, he must have heard the story of God’s provision of a sacrifice for man from his parents.
Both Cain and Abel heard the gospel, but Cain did not believe. He put aside what he heard from his parents and refused to take the way that God had shown. In offering to God the fruit of his labor, the produce of the ground, he used his own method. The produce of the ground could not shed blood or pass through death. This means that Cain wanted to please God by his own conduct, work, and labor. He felt that he was good and that the fruit of his labor was something worthy that he could offer to God. He did not have any consciousness of sin; instead, he was proud of himself before God.
This was not the case with Abel. Abel heard the word of the gospel and believed. He knew that man was sinful and that human labor, conduct, and work could not please God. Because man is sinful, there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood (Heb. 9:22). Therefore, Abel was humble, knowing that he was sinful and that only the blood of a vicarious sacrifice could please God. Cain’s offering was according to his own will, without any regard for God’s revelation and instruction. Abel’s offering was according to God’s gospel and revelation. His offering was not according to his own will. Hence, he was delivered from following his own will, which is the first step of Satan’s stratagem to bring man into a further fall.
The second step in escaping the fall is to live for God. Abel was a tender of sheep. At that time God did not allow man to eat meat. God allowed man to eat meat only after Noah and his family came out of the ark (Gen. 9:3-4). The use of sheep as an offering to God and sheepskin as a covering for man’s shame typify the two aspects of Christ’s redemption. Hence, Abel’s occupation was to serve God and live for God. In contrast, Cain tilled the ground in order to produce food. He was for his own living and for feeding himself.
Therefore, the second step in escaping the fall is to live for God. We should not take these things as doctrine. We need to be watchful, because when we care only for our living and food, we are in the fall. In order to escape from continuing in the fall, we must make serving God and living for God our priority. Regrettably, the priority of many Christians on the earth is their living and food. People have committed many evils in order to maintain their livelihood. If we want to overcome evil things, the first step is to overcome our prioritization of our livelihood. We should not live on the earth for food; we should live for God. We should take God as our goal, center, living, and purpose. Living for God is a great salvation.
The third step in escaping the fall is to know the vanity of human life. This is revealed in the name Abel, which means “vanity,” or “dissipating,” like smoke, clouds, or air. Fallen human life is vanity. If fallen man is not saved by God and delivered out of his own will to live for God, his human life is vanity.
Solomon, who was the wisest king, said, “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity” (Eccl. 1:2). He understood that the ultimate issue of human life is vanity of vanities. A human life without God, a fallen human life, is a vain human life. Abel knew this vanity, so he put aside his opinions and disregarded his own living in order to live for God according to the revelation of God. Abel realized that everything outside of God is vanity; hence, he despised everything outside of God and took God as the goal of his living.
The fourth step in escaping the fall is to know the frailty of man. Enosh is another interesting name in Genesis 4. Enosh means “frail, mortal man.” This implies that to escape from walking on the path of the fall, we need to know the frailty of man. We need to know that man is nothing and can break, just as a glass cup breaks easily. This is frailty. Man is frail. Some people do not know themselves. They think that they are smart, wise, and strong, when in fact they have nothing of which to boast. When a car hits a man, he is as fragile as a glass cup. When he is infected with tuberculosis, he must lie down. He may even die from tuberculosis. Man’s life is frail. Man’s name is Abel, but man’s name is also Enosh. Abel means that man is vain, but Enosh means that man is frail. People who dream about their life should wake up. Man is not strong. Man will collapse when he is sick, and he will die if a car hits him. A wife can collapse when she is mad at her husband. She can even get ulcers because of her anger. It is rare for a person to live to be one hundred. The Chinese say that few can live to the age of seventy. Being fifty years old is not yet the twilight hour, but it is already four o’clock in the afternoon. Some people are at eight or nine o’clock in the evening. There is a hymn that says, “Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day” (Hymns, #370, stanza 2). People must wake up from their dreams, because human life is vain and frail. In order to escape the fall, we must realize the meaning of human life. Those who continue in the fall do not know their own human life. In chapter 4 those who were delivered out of the fall knew that human life is vain and frail.
The fifth step in escaping the fall is to call upon the name of Jehovah (Gen. 4:26). Jehovah means the “self-existing and ever-existing One.” Man is Enosh, but God is Jehovah. Man is frail and mortal, but God is self-existing, ever-existing, and eternal. Enosh called upon Jehovah because he knew that he was temporal, frail, and mortal, and he fully entrusted himself to God. Enosh knew that God is eternal, immortal, and reliable, because He is Jehovah.
We need to understand the meaning of the first four chapters of Genesis. The way of Cain is the way of following one’s own will, the way of living for oneself. Those who walked on this way did not know the vanity of human life, nor did they sense the frailty of human life. They felt that they were capable in building cities and inventing cultures, but they did not know that they were taking the way of the fall. Abel, Seth, and Enosh were a different group of people. They did not follow their own will but instead lived by God. They knew that human life is vain, frail, and mortal; hence, they offered sacrifices to God, served God, and called upon the name of Jehovah. This is how they escaped from the fall.
Genesis 5 shows the ultimate issue of the fall and the way to escape it. On the surface, this chapter is the record of a genealogy. However, we should not treat this chapter merely as a genealogy, because God uses words very economically. Every word and every sentence in the Bible is concise. Nothing is written without a reason. This chapter of genealogy must have a deep meaning. We must find its intrinsic significance.
Although Genesis 3 and 4 unveil the two falls of man, they do not show the ultimate issue of the fall. In chapter 5, however, we see the ultimate issue of man’s fall and the way to escape it.
Chapter 5 is written in a very particular way. This account of Adam and his descendants uses three words—begot, lived, and died. For example, Adam died, Seth died, and Enosh died. Except for Enoch, who walked with God and was not, for God took him (v. 24), all the rest died. Therefore, the ultimate issue of man’s fall is death. If someone is going to write our biography, the last word would be either death or burial. A biography usually starts with birth and ends with death and burial. Death is the ultimate issue of man’s fall. No matter how powerful and accomplished a person may be, he will eventually die, because death is the ultimate issue of man’s fall.
The ultimate issue of man’s fall is death. The way to escape death is unveiled in chapter 5.
The way to escape death is to walk with God. Man’s first fall was his overstepping of God. The second fall was man’s putting God aside. In chapter 5, however, there was a man, Enoch, who walked with God (v. 22); he took God as his center and did not turn away from God or abandon God’s will.
What would it mean if we reversed the order of Enoch and God in verse 22 and said that God walked with Enoch? What is the difference between God walking with Enoch, and Enoch walking with God? If God walked with Enoch, then Enoch would have been the center and the lord, but God was the center and the Lord because Enoch walked with God. Enoch did not take himself as the center or assume the headship. Rather, he took God as his center and his head. He followed God and walked with God.
Man fell and ended up in death because he overstepped God and assumed the headship and because he put aside God’s will and followed his own will. As a result, man forsook God, took the way of death, and fell into death. God is life. If we want to escape death, we must touch life; that is, we need to follow God, taking Him as our center, our Lord, and our Head. We should not overstep Him or put His will aside; rather, we should walk with Him.
When we overstep God and put His will aside, we will touch death and fall into death. When we drop our human opinions and focus on God’s will, taking Him as our center in everything, we will escape the way of death. God is life. Hence, when we touch Him, we touch life. This is a practical way.
Genesis 5:21-22 says, “Enoch lived sixty-five years and begot Methuselah. And Enoch walked with God after he had begotten Methuselah three hundred years.” Why did Enoch walk with God after he begot Methuselah? The name Methuselah means “when he is dead, it [the judgment of the flood] will be sent.” If we study the Bible carefully, we will see that the name Methuselah was actually a prophecy. According to Genesis 4 and 6, by the time of Enoch mankind had become extremely evil. Enoch had a God-fearing heart, became a prophet of God, and received inspiration from God, knowing that one day God would execute judgment upon the corrupted generation of mankind. After Enoch begot a son, he must have been inspired by the Holy Spirit to know that his generation would be judged on the day of his son’s death. Therefore, having a God-fearing heart, Enoch named his son Methuselah. God used this name to warn Enoch and the people who were living then that the judgment would come when Methuselah died. No one knew when he would die, but Enoch took heed to the warning. He was in fear and trembling and dared not act carelessly. This is the way that he walked with God.
Enoch walked with God three hundred years, which was six hundred years before the death of Methuselah. Enoch’s life was short, because people at that time lived at least six hundred or seven hundred years. Therefore, Enoch was taken while he was still young and strong. This was God’s mercy to him so that he did not have to remain on the earth. It was sufficient for him to walk with God for three hundred years, so he was taken. Methuselah lived one hundred eighty-seven years and begot Lamech (v. 25). Lamech lived a hundred eighty-two years and begot a son named Noah (vv. 28-29). Noah lived six hundred years, and the flood came (7:6, 11). When the flood came, Methuselah was exactly nine hundred and sixty-nine years old.
Enoch walked with God, and he also believed God’s word. Walking with God means not overstepping God. Believing God’s word means not putting God’s will aside. We know that Enoch believed God’s word, because when Enoch begot a son at the age of sixty-five, he received a revelation from the Holy Spirit concerning God’s will: “When he is dead, it [the judgment of the flood] will be sent.” Enoch named his son Methuselah according to this revelation because he believed this word, and he walked with a heart that feared God.
By walking with God and believing God’s word, Enoch escaped the factors of the two falls. The first fall was due to man’s assuming the headship, and the second fall was due to man’s putting aside God’s will. Enoch overcame these two factors. He did not assume the headship, and he walked with God, taking God as his center. He did not hold on to his own opinions. Rather, he believed God’s word. He believed what God said to him; hence, he took the way of escaping death. If we want to escape the issue of death, we also need to learn these two points. First, we should not overstep God but return to Him and allow Him to be our Head and Lord. Second, we should put aside our views and opinions, believe His word, and accept His will. Then we will overcome the factors of the two falls, and we will escape death. This is the intrinsic significance of Genesis 5.
