創世記4:1-7

4:1 有一日，那人和他妻子夏娃同房，夏娃就懷孕，生了該隱（就是得的意思），便說：「耶和華使我得了一個男子。」
4:2 又生了該隱的兄弟亞伯。亞伯是牧羊的；該隱是種地的。
4:3 有一日，該隱拿地裡的出產為供物獻給耶和華；
4:4 亞伯也將他羊群中頭生的和羊的脂油獻上。耶和華看中了亞伯和他的供物，
4:5 只是看不中該隱和他的供物。該隱就大大地發怒，變了臉色。
4:6 耶和華對該隱說：「你為甚麼發怒呢？你為甚麼變了臉色呢？
4:7 你若行得好，豈不蒙悅納？你若行得不好，罪就伏在門前。它必戀慕你，你卻要制伏它。」

Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” ² Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. ³ In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. ⁴ And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, ⁵ but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
⁶ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? ⁷ If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

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    該隱表現出人性的弱點，尤其是他所預備的祭物不被上帝看重時，「就大大地發怒，變了臉色」！人都希望被看重，不要被拒絕。被拒絕的時候，覺得好像被羞辱。努力沒被人接受，好像白努力一場。這種感覺，讓人非常洩氣！

    該隱是大哥，好勝心是比弟弟強的，自視是非常高的，從來沒有去考慮上帝到底喜悅的是什麼，只覺得自己是很用心準備，上帝一定要接那不可以捨棄。這種「大兒子」的心態也常常發生在教會，總覺得自己是很熱心、很努力事奉上帝。但是從來不會想到，上帝不是要我們憑著自己的才幹來事奉，而是要倚靠主耶穌的恩典來服事。這是有很大的差別：因為我們自義來服事上帝，是以自我為中心，把榮耀歸給自己，承擔不起上帝得拒絕！然而倚靠主耶穌恩典服事，是想到自己是無能，惟有上帝能，會將榮耀歸給上帝，也承受了上帝得拒絕，因為清楚主權在上帝不是自己！

    所以，上帝對該隱說：「你為甚麼發怒呢？你為甚麼變了臉色呢？你若行得好，豈不蒙悅納？你若行得不好，罪就伏在門前。它必戀慕你，你卻要制伏它。」

    所謂「行得好」就是要倚靠耶穌基督所完成的恩典為基礎來服事上帝，而不是倚靠自己的努力和才幹！但是要有這樣的認識，必須透過聖靈的啟示與引導，不是人的教導。人的教導總是以自我為中心，不是以基督為中心！

箴言22:14

淫婦的口為深坑；耶和華所憎惡的，必陷在其中

The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit;
    a man who is under the Lord’s wrath falls into it.

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    在聖經當中看重婚姻的關係，不可以讓「性關係」在婚姻之外，所以特別提醒：「淫婦的口為深坑」！

    人落入深坑得下場，通常是人無法發現，無法拯救，救活活餓死在那裡，這是非常悲慘的事情，所以不要受到「淫婦」（陌生或外來的婦人）的引誘，因為這是耶和華懲罰人的方法之一，不要傻傻自投羅網！

    求主保守我們藉由婚姻得忠誠發展到信仰的忠誠，牢牢記住：「以色列啊，你要聽！耶和華─我們上帝是獨一的主。你要盡心、盡性、盡力愛耶和華─你的上帝。」（申命記6:4-5）

創世記3:20-24

3:20 亞當給他妻子起名叫夏娃，因為她是眾生之母。
3:21 耶和華上帝為亞當和他妻子用皮子做衣服給他們穿。
3:22 耶和華上帝說：「那人已經與我們相似，能知道善惡；現在恐怕他伸手又摘生命樹的果子吃，就永遠活著。」
3:23 耶和華上帝便打發他出伊甸園去，耕種他所自出之土。
3:24 於是把他趕出去了；又在伊甸園的東邊安設基路伯和四面轉動發火焰的劍，要把守生命樹的道路。

²⁰ Adam^[c] named his wife Eve,^[d] because she would become the mother of all the living.

²¹ The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. ²² And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” ²³ So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. ²⁴ After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side^[e] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

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    上帝讓人無法接近生命樹，是要人不必一直存在犯罪的狀態之下，使人不讓罪惡轄制到永遠。所以，說到死亡若能夠了解一些事情，那死亡反而是恩典，雖然人心不甘願。

    因此，人要享受永生就必須解決罪惡的問題，不然永生所帶來的是無限期的痛苦，倒不如不要永生，也因為這樣，我們不可以支持「靈魂不死」的看法，不然人的苦痛是永恆的，有違背上帝愛的屬性！

    感謝主！上帝有設立耶穌基督裡的救恩，使我們透過耶穌基督承受永生是充滿福樂，而不是愁苦！祂讓犯罪者雖然面對火不滅、蟲不死的地獄，但是這樣的命運是短暫不是永遠的！因為上帝不喜悅人一直承受痛苦！

創世記3:14-19

3:14 耶和華上帝對蛇說：你既做了這事，就必受咒詛，比一切的牲畜野獸更甚；你必用肚子行走，終身吃土。
3:15 我又要叫你和女人彼此為仇；你的後裔和女人的後裔也彼此為仇。女人的後裔要傷你的頭；你要傷他的腳跟。
3:16 又對女人說：我必多多加增你懷胎的苦楚；你生產兒女必多受苦楚。你必戀慕你丈夫；你丈夫必管轄你。
3:17 又對亞當說：你既聽從妻子的話，吃了我所吩咐你不可吃的那樹上的果子，地必為你的緣故受咒詛；你必終身勞苦才能從地裡得吃的。
3:18 地必給你長出荊棘和蒺藜來；你也要吃田間的菜蔬。
3:19 你必汗流滿面才得糊口，直到你歸了土，因為你是從土而出的。你本是塵土，仍要歸於塵土。

¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed are you above all livestock
    and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
    and you will eat dust
    all the days of your life.
¹⁵ And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring^[a] and hers;
he will crush^[b] your head,
    and you will strike his heel.”

¹⁶ To the woman he said,

“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
    with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
    and he will rule over you.”

¹⁷ To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’

“Cursed is the ground because of you;
    through painful toil you will eat food from it
    all the days of your life.
¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
    and you will eat the plants of the field.
¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow
    you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
    since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
    and to dust you will return.”

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    雖然大家都在推諉，但是上帝是公義的，祂也更有公平的做為，祂使男人、女人和蛇都接受處罰，犯罪的結果就是受到上帝的懲罰。但些懲罰中，也讓人看見希望！

    正如在這裡提到「女人的後裔」，就讓我們想到主耶穌是從同女馬利亞所出，是真正的女人的後裔。也唯有這位真正的女人後裔，才能勝過魔鬼，才能救我們脫離罪惡，讓我們得著永生！

    雖然男人和女人犯罪受到上帝的懲罰，都要受永死之苦。但是惟有靠耶穌基督得拯救，我們才能出死入生，上帝之所以這樣做，是發自祂愛的屬性，是祂自己主動來做的，感謝主！