January 12 Genesis 4-7
In our reading today, we read the tragic story of Cain and Abel. It’s a story of worship, warning, sin, rebellion, and divine judgment. There are many lessons that can be drawn from Genesis chapter 4.
We don’t know the details of how Cain and Able were instructed to worship God. We just find that they both brought an offering to the Lord. Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground, while Abel brought an offering from his flock. God accepted Abel and his offering but rejected Cain and his offering. The wording is very clear - God rejected Cain as well as his offering. Therefore, it wasn’t just the offering - the problem was with Cain.
It could be that Cain attempted to worship God on his own terms and not as God desired him to worship. Again, it is obvious that, at some point, Cain and Abel received instruction about how to worship God. Many people today think that they can worship God their own way and on their terms. One thing to see here is that the heart behind the offering is what God sees and evaluates. Man looks at the outward appearance while God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Hebrews 11:4 tells us that Abel’s offering was “by faith,” and that is why it was accepted. Cain’s offering was rejected because it was not from faith and obedience.
One lesson we can draw from Genesis 4 is that God is not impressed by our rituals or our outward show of religion. God is looking for the heart of worship. Many people still bring Cain’s offering today - church attendance without full devotion, words without faith, outward expression without sincerity. God sees through man’s pretense and hypocrisy. That’s why we must always examine ourselves to make sure that our hearts are right with God.
What happened when God rejected Cain and his offering? He got very angry. Instead of repenting of his sin and bringing the offering that God required, Cain got angry. His anger was expressed in his face. He had an angry emoji on his Facebook response. Cain was angry at God and bitter toward his brother. Why? Because he was rebellious and refused to worship God correctly. He refused to live in obedience to God.
God tried to help Cain get over his anger. God tried to reason with Cain. God asked Cain, “Why are you angry? Why has your facial expression changed? If you do the right thing, will I not accept it?” You see, God - through the Holy Spirit, will reason with us when our heart and mind is not in the right place. I’m thankful for the conviction of the Holy Spirit in my life because He never allows me to be comfortable with sin. Therefore, when I respond to Holy Spirit conviction with repentance, unlike Cain, I am responding to God correctly. We should always yield to God and obey His Word.
God warned Cain of the consequences of not dealing with his sin and rebellion. He warned that “sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Sin is pictured as a wild beast, crouching like a lion to pounce. Cain is told - either master sin, or sin will master you. James echoes this warning in James 1:15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. God’s warning to Cain is His warning to us: Don’t let sin linger. Kill sin before it kills you.
Instead of heeding God’s warning, Cain killed his brother in cold blood. This is the first murder recorded in Scripture. A brother killing his brother. 1 John 3:12 says, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. Cain despised his brother’s righteousness., Jealousy and pride, when not repented of, will lead to destruction.
Genesis 4:1-12 is a sobering reminder of sin’s power. Cain reminds of what can happen when sin rules your heart. May we heed the warning from God when we sin and always bring our sin to God for cleansing (1 John 1:9).