We open our bibles for our study tonight to the fourth chapter of Genesis, the book of beginnings, Genesis Chapter 4. As we come to Chapter 4, we come to the story of Cain, the first person born in the world. Adam, you remember, was created by God directly, and then Eve was created by taking material from the side of Adam. Cain is the first person born into the world. And so with the birth Cain come a number of firsts; the first birth, which therefore constituted the first family; the first sibling follows soon after with the birth of Abel. Some even believe that they were twins, although that can’t be verified in the text. We have the first birth then; the first family; the first sibling. We also have the first family disaster.
The story of Cain also reveals to us the establishment of society, and shows us the flow of sin into human history. We have in the story of Cain the first crime, and the first opportunity for vengeance. We have in the story of Cain the first act, after the fall, of worship; the first sacrifice; the first expression of hypocrisy; the first occasion of false religion; the first act of self-righteousness, and the introduction of common grace. The story of Cain then carries with it a lot of firsts.
But the main theme in the story of Cain is to introduce us to the first reprobate, the first unbeliever. Cain then is the prototype of the doomed person. He is the prototype of the lost sinner. And God always has clear purposes when He records for us stories in the text of scripture. And the account of Cain is given here in some detail in order that we might get a complete characterization of the typical unbeliever. And so, we call this Cain the prototype of the doomed.
Just last week I had the opportunity to be in the great city of Milan or Milano in Italy. And there are in that city many remarkable things to see. There is the massive cathedral of Milan. It is one of the largest cathedrals in the world. The basement or down below the basement of that cathedral is interesting, for it was there beneath the cathedral in Milan in that massive square that Ambrose, the great preacher, baptized St. Augustine, who really was the one who influenced both Martin Luther and, in particular, John Calvin, with regard to the reformation. It is also the city of Milan that contains the great masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci called the Last Supper. We had the occasion to go and see the Last Supper in the little church where it was originally painted by daVinci as a fresco on the wall. It has just recently opened to celebrate the year 2000, which is a very important year in the Catholic church. It is a jubilee year. And there are certain doors to cathedrals that, if you walk through them during this year, you get absolution from your sins. And they are clearly identified outside the cathedral with a sign that says this is one of those doors that provides absolution.
Well, in connection with the absolutions and the doors and the jubilee, they also finished the restoration of the great painting of Leonardo da Vinci. What makes that painting so great is that it was a great leap forward in art. Art with da Vinci went from being one-dimensional to being three-dimensional. He was such an incredible intellect, such a great scientist, that he figured out how to give depth to painting. Up until that time, everything was flat and one-dimensional. But with da Vinci you have depth; you have the perception of depth; you have angles; you have shadows; you have transparency; you have light moving across in all different shades that gives the illusion of a three-dimensional picture. In fact, when you stand and look at the flat wall where the fresco of the Last Supper is, you think you’re looking down a long room and through a window to an outdoor scene. That’s how marvelous it was. Even in its restored condition, it has some of that character. When we walked into this place, we were in several little anterooms, and on the wall there were close-ups of certain elements of the painting; close-ups, for example, of one of the apostle’s garments reflecting its color in a tin plate that had been painted by da Vinci on the table. There were little close-ups of a transparent glass, through which you could see a the person behind the glass or a part of a person. There were small, little blow-up pictures of a — of a cup that cast its shadow on the table. These were very innovative things. And so you look at the little bits and pieces as you go in.
And we were ushered into the room to see this masterpiece, and we were taken up to be very much in front of it, and some of the detail was pointed out to us. But it was after that that the guide said now, step back about 30 or 40 feet, and you’ll get the perspective that da Vinci wanted you to have. This was the dining room of the monks who were in that place, and the Last Supper was painted there because this was the place where they ate their meals. And the dimensions of the picture made it appear as if Christ was at a table at the end of the room eating with his disciples. And the window was behind Him, where they could look out into the scenery of the countryside around. And it’s really not until you step back 30 or 40 feet and look, that you are captivated by the dimensions of this incredible work. There is reason why it has been hailed as a great masterpiece. And there’s a sense in which that is sort of a metaphor for what I want to do with the fourth chapter of Genesis.
We’re going to look at detail. We’re going to see some of the little bits and pieces that are a part of the minutiae, as it were, of the chapter. But always, we want to step back and get the big picture. And the big picture here is what God wants to communicate to us. While God is a God of great detail, and that’s what makes the big picture so clear; as da Vinci was the master of detail, and that’s what made the big picture of the incredible master work that it is. We’re going to look at detail, but only in reference to a better understanding of the big picture. And the big picture is the portrait of a doomed man. That’s what I want you to see even in the detail of this text.
Now, the story of Cain is the story of a reprobate, a story of an impenitent man. It is the story of the undelivered, the doomed soul, the rejecter of God’s gracious salvation. Even the New Testament comments on this account. In the epistle of Jude, Verse 11, we read: “Woe,” or curse or damnation, “…to them! They have gone the way of Cain.” And Jude is associating false teachers who are under divine judgment with Cain. In 1st John 3 and Verse 12, we read this: “Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.”
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
