Part 2

Genesis 4:6-8

 

CAIN REFUSES GOD’S COUNSEL 4:6-7

 

Genesis 4:6-7 Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.“

 

Cain’s anger made him vulnerable to the Enemy’s attack.

 

God said in effect, “Your anger is caused by sin which is crouching at your door, and like a wild animal, it is ready to pounce on you and cause harm to you and to everyone around you.”

 

Pursue peace with all men, and holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness spring up and cause trouble, defiling many (Hebrews 12:14-15).

 

That expression “crouching at the door”, is related to a Hebrew word which means “demon”. That is why some Jewish versions of the Old Testament translate that phrase: “Sin is the demon at the door.”

 

God had offered Cain some free yet perfect advice. He had better master his anger or it would be his undoing, but Cain did not want mastery over his sin.

 

In spite of Cain’s bitter anger, God graciously promised that He would yet do well if he would do what was right.

 

We can only assume that both Cain’s offering and the attitude in which he gave it were wrong and violated what God demanded in worship.

 

If Cain continued in rebellion to worship God his way, “sin” was crouching at his door and would have him. He would truly become a seed of the Serpent, using “sin” as his obedient slave to oppose the revealed will of God.

 

What power sin has over our lives if we do not put it to death! Sin begins as a thought, which if not resisted becomes a desire, which if not stopped becomes an action, which if continued becomes a habit, which if not put to death becomes a destiny.

 

James 1:15 Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

 

We must deal with sin at any cost:

Matthew 18:8-9 If your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter eternal life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire of hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter eternal life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the eternal fire of hell.

 

THE FIRST MURDER – Cain kills his brother in anger 4:8

 

Then Cain spoke with his brother Abel. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

 

Cain spoke with his brother Abel, and as God’s first prophet (Luke 11:50-51) Abel no doubt revealed Cain’s bitter anger and sought to get him to comply with God’s directive. But that made Cain’s jealous heart hate Abel even more.

 

Seeds of pride, jealousy and hatred produced their bitter fruit in Cain. The enmity of the old Serpent completely poisoned Cain’s soul when God would not receive his offering, and it would not rest until Abel’s blood was spilled.

 

Oh how God’s word is true:

The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God (James 1:20).

Proverbs 27:4 Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?

Proverbs 29:11 A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.

Proverbs 29:22  An angry man stirs up strife, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins.

 

Ecclesiastes 7:9  Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

 

As Cain and Abel talked together out in the field, with Abel no doubt urging repentance while Cain accused God of petty favoritism and his brother of self-righteous presumption, the argument finally became so bitter “that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.”

 

1 John 3:12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.

 

The first murderer of the human race (Cain), drew his inspiration from the “the evil one” (the devil) and was being held captive to do his will. Jesus said of the devil that he was “a murderer (literally man-slayer) from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him” (John 8:44).

 

From the very beginning of the history of the human race the devil had murder in his heart, and he actually plunged the human race into physical, spiritual and eternal death.

 

The fall of man together with all its consequences points back to the devil as its author.

1 John 3:12 is in the context of believers loving (and not hating) their brothers. The story of Cain shows what failure to love one’s brother can lead to—sheer murder—and thus stresses that all hatred is embryonic murder.

 

Matthew 5:22 You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.

 

It is apparent that the first slight entrance of sin into the world through the mere eating of a forbidden fruit had soon resulted in much more bitter fruit—namely, the crime of murder.

 

So the first death was not the result of God’s general judgment on sin, what we call natural causes. It was the result of one human being killing another. It was a callous, ruthless, violent act.

 

Right from the beginning of human history, we see Satan striking at the seed of the woman, corrupting her first-born son and moving him to kill her second, thus trying to prevent the fulfillment of God’s promise in Genesis 3:15.

 

The first murder was also the first martyrdom. It was the result of hatred toward God and his faithful, obedient follower.

 

Jesus refers to Abel as the first person to die for his faith:

Speaking to the Pharisees Jesus said upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah (Matthew 23:35).

 

John tells believers in 1 John 3:13 Do not be surprised if the world hates you. For the same reason Cain hated his brother, so the world hates Christians. The world’s actions are evil, while those of true believers are righteous, and therefore the world acts from envy and anger against them.