Worship Should Cost You Something! {Genesis 4&5}
12:00 AM
Hey Girls!!
Are you
all as excited as I am!? This year is going to be GREAT!! I can honestly
promise you that if you stick to this study, if you dig and pull out all you
can find about our great God; names, character, etc. you will find yourself
worshiping Him more and falling more deeply in love with Him this year! This
journey is A Call to Worship Him in 2018!
There are two important posts in these chapters
and I couldn’t leave one out, so my post will be in two parts, but I pray
you’ll be thankful I shared both when I’m finished! I’m going to begin in
chapter 5 and work backwards!
Genesis, chapter 5 holds a perfect example that
if you are willing to dig in God’s word, you’ll come up with amazing
treasure!
Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, "Think
not that I have come to destroy the Torah and the prophets; I have not come to
destroy but to fulfill.
And an example of this can be found in the genealogy
of Adam through Noah. This is one of those chapters which we often tend to skim
over quickly as we pass through Genesis, for it's simply a genealogy from Adam to
Noah, BUT God will always rewards the diligent!
One quick example is found in the name Methuselah who lived the
longest of any man.
Methuselah comes from muth, meaning "death",and from shalach, which means "to
bring", or to send forth. The name Methuselah means, "his death shall
bring". Enoch must have been given a prophecy of the
coming Great Flood, and was apparently told that as long as his son was alive,
the judgment of the flood would be withheld; but as soon as he died, the flood
would come and sure enough, the year Methuselah died, the flood came. Therefore,
Methuselah's life was actually a symbol of God's mercy in forestalling the
coming judgment of the flood.
Now Let’s Take a Look of Each Name from Adam to Noah:
Adam means man.
Seth: appointed. Eve said, "For God hath appointed me
another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew."
Enosh: mortal, frail, or miserable. It is from the root anash,
to be incurable, used of a wound, grief, woe, sickness, or wickedness.
Kenan: sorrow or elegy.
Mahalalel: blessed or praise; and El, the name for God. Thus,
Mahalalel means the Blessed God. (Often Hebrew names include El, the name
of God, as Dan-i-el, "God is my Judge".)
Enoch: teaching, or commencement. He was the first of four
generations of preachers. In fact, the earliest recorded prophecy was by Enoch,
which amazingly enough deals with the Second Coming of Christ (although it is
quoted in the Book of Jude in the New Testament):
"Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of
these, saying, "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his
saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly
among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of
all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against."- Jude
14, 15
Methuselah, who we have already mentioned. Enoch walked with God after he
begat Methuselah. It’s believed Enoch received the prophecy of the Great Flood, and
was told that as long as his son was alive, the judgment of the flood would be
withheld. The year that Methuselah died, the flood came.
Lamech: a root still evident today
in our own English word, lament or lamentation. Lamech suggests despairing.
Noah which is derived from nacham, to bring relief or
comfort, as Lamech himself explained in Genesis 5:29.
Now let's put all the names together! (Read the message on the right)
Pretty cool, huh!? Jesus was already planning to
come down to teach and rescue us when His creation began. There is so much treasure just like this
waiting to be discovered in His word for those willing to search for it!!
Now, before we move on to Cain and Able, I thought it would be helpful to see just how long each Patriarch lived and how their lives overlapped. 
Cain and Able also have a very important message
on acceptable worship!
"By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks." -Hebrews 11:4
1. Our worship "by faith" can leave a legacy for others to follow! Only we must worship in Spirit and Truth!
"Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions." -Genesis 4:3-4
2. Our worship must cost us something! Our Best!
Cain had sin in his heart - Able worshiped through a pure heart; a clean heart.
Cain just gave an offering - Able gave his best!
And each of us need to examine our hearts each day as we worship Him to make sure that we're not just giving God some of our time, talent, love, etc.But giving Him the first of everything! Are you giving Him your very best each day?
"And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard"- Genesis 4:5
3. True worship by faith receives God's approval!
O Father, I know more often than not, I'm not giving you my very best with a pure heart, yet like Cain, I'm expecting You to settle for less than my very best! Forgive me, Father, and help me to grow in my faith this year giving You my very best as an act of true worship, for You are worthy of nothing less. Amen.
"By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks." -Hebrews 11:4
1. Our worship "by faith" can leave a legacy for others to follow! Only we must worship in Spirit and Truth!
"Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions." -Genesis 4:3-4
2. Our worship must cost us something! Our Best!
Cain had sin in his heart - Able worshiped through a pure heart; a clean heart.
Cain just gave an offering - Able gave his best!
And each of us need to examine our hearts each day as we worship Him to make sure that we're not just giving God some of our time, talent, love, etc.But giving Him the first of everything! Are you giving Him your very best each day?
"And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard"- Genesis 4:5
3. True worship by faith receives God's approval!
O Father, I know more often than not, I'm not giving you my very best with a pure heart, yet like Cain, I'm expecting You to settle for less than my very best! Forgive me, Father, and help me to grow in my faith this year giving You my very best as an act of true worship, for You are worthy of nothing less. Amen.
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