Tuesday: The Crime
Read Genesis 4:3-8. What is the process that led Cain to kill his brother? See also 1 John 3:12.
Cain’s reaction is twofold: “Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell” (Genesis 4:5, NKJV). Cain’s anger was directed, it appears, at God and at Abel. Cain was angry with God because he thought that he was the victim of an injustice and angry with Abel because he was jealous of his brother. Jealous of what? Just the offering? Certainly, more was going on behind the scenes than what is revealed in these few texts. Whatever the issues, Cain was depressed because his offering had not been accepted.
Cain slays Abel
God’s two questions in Genesis 4:6 are related to Cain’s two conditions. Note that God does not accuse Cain. As with Adam, God asks questions, not because He doesn’t know the answers, but because He wants Cain to look at himself and then understand the reason for his own condition. As always, the Lord seeks to redeem His fallen people, even when they openly fail Him. Then, after asking these questions, God counsels Cain.
First, God urges Cain to “do well,” to behave the right way. It is a call for repentance and to change his attitude. God promises Cain that he will be “accepted” and forgiven. In a sense He is saying that Cain can have acceptance with God, but it must be done on God’s terms, not Cain’s.
On the other hand, “if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it” (Genesis 4:7, NKJV). God’s counsel has revealed the root of sin, and it is found in Cain himself. Here, again, God is counseling Cain, seeking to guide him in the way he should go.
God’s second word of counsel concerns the attitude to take toward this sin, which lies at the door and whose “desire is for you.” God recommends self-control: “You should rule over it.” The same principle resonates in James, when he explains that “each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed” (James 1:14, NKJV). The gospel offers us the promise of not only the forgiveness of sin but victory over it as well. (See 1 Corinthians 10:13.) In the end, Cain had no one to blame for his sin but himself. Isn’t it generally that way with all of us as well?
| What does this unfortunate story teach us about free will and about how God will not force us to obey? |
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God's qualities of love, mercy, and long suffering is noted here in this study as he deals with cognitive rational minds in clay pots, as in Cain.
God always acts consistent with his divine nature, and Justice is also part of that nature.
However, Justice is not acted out by God immediately, as Sin and/or Righteousness must be fully matured.
Matthew 23:32, Genesis 15:16, James 1:14-15, Rev 17:1,
2Peter 1:1-12, Ephesians 1:3-14
Shalom 🙏
I really hope that there will be a discussion of the question: "what was the PROCESS that lead Cain to kill his brother?"
I'm thinking:
The Setting: Cain thought/behaved incorrectly in his relationship w/God and God called him out on it in a compassionate and thought-provoking manner.
1. Cain was 'enticed and drawn' by his own way of doing things and attitude, (James 1:14).
2. Cain refused to 'suffer in his body/mind' by repenting for his waywardness and realign w/God's mindset/heartset. (1 Peter 4:1-2)
3. Cain 'despised the light' that God enticed w/His questioning. Cain also despised the healthy example that Abel's actions provided. (John 3:20)
4. Cain gave into his selfishness and tried to remove the dejection he felt by works of the flesh. Since he could not kill truth, Cain killed the human example he compared himself with. (James 1:15)
What do you think?
Hi Dorothy....
Blessings in Christ ...
You already mentioned the process In your comment !
James 1:14 shows the process of ALL deliberate sins.
Process:
The seed is planted (desires in our thoughts)
The desire is conceived (premeditated, planed)
The evil deed is birthed (executed in actions by our body)
It's called first degree murder !
And as the sin was first degree murder, It was not accidental, or self defense but like Satan's killing of Jesus.
Those likewise in history, are considered to be the seed of Satan in motivation.
Hope this helps.
Shalom in Christ 🙏
I think I would look at disagreement with God's ways as a seed. Children who do not agree with the rules and practices of their parents are more likely to disobey them , though some will obey for other reasons. The seed of disagreement was seen earlier when the fruit was considered 'good' by a human, when God said it was 'off limits'. Do we see the same thing in Cain who did not agree that Abel's offering was 'good' and his was 'not good'? God said sin would follow unless he did right. Perhaps he had another opinion about doing what was right.
Good thoughts Priscilla....
The enmity between two seeds in the history of mankind.
Scripture says enmity between You (Satan) and the (Women) and their seeds. Genesis 3:15
The seeds are NOT biological in nature of course, but conform to the motivations of Satan or God's ways as you said (by God rules)
Its a MINDSET, where ultimately the women's seeds will be perfected in the MIND OF CHRIST, and overcome Satan's ways.
Romans 16:20, 1 Corinthians 2:16
Definitely not biological as some would say, but by motivation/disposition. (God's way)
Psalms 45:7, Heb 1:9
Be bless with Christ in you 🙏
Wow where did all that come from
Cain was a farmer
Cain brought an offering
Cain built an alter and presented his offering
I would think he loved God to do that
He brought what he had and it wasn’t good enough for god
Show me before genesis 4 where they were told to kill a lamb
I’ve heard a dozen explanations
Even his punishment was harsh
He was shamed
He resented it
He was angry he wasn’t good enough
Angry and jealous enough to kill
Today someone would be protesting he matters
Where is our loving merciful God
Many others killed since Cain some were even honoured
Love is blind (1 Cor 13:5-7 NIV). And here in the story of Cain and Abel we see for the first time in the Bible that Hate is blind too.
The dictionary says that "blind hate" is hating someone who doesn't exactly know why you hate them. Or hating someone you haven't even met. Indiscriminate. A negative emotion that doesn't care where or who its target is.
1 John 2:9-11 talks about stumbling around in the dark when not loving a brother, blinded by darkness.
Cain's crime began with non-submission to God. Turning away from God's Word is the birthplace of self-righteous anger. Our passage in James 1:14-15 reveals to us the progression: (1) turning away from God's Word toward one's own humanistic/evil desires and works; which leads to (2) sin - self-righteous anger, self-pity, jealousy, focus on self, sulking; which leads to (3) death - rage, murder, coercing and bullying others into submission and slavery, acting out the expectation that others obey oneself. All sin (thinking and acting separately from God's will, putting self first) always leads to destruction.
In Cain's story, we find something else between Steps 2-3: God's mercy. God shows up to reason with Cain (Genesis 4:6-7, Isaiah 1:18; Deut. 30:19; Deut. 32:29 KJV) God rejected Cain's offering but God did not reject Cain! God always tries to show us the lurking beast of willfulness before it overwhelms us.
One last thought on Cain's crime...wasn't it the same as the religious leaders against Jesus? Jesus said, "They hated me without reason." (John 15:23-25; Ps 69:4) Jesus always did good and not evil, but they still opposed Him. Their blind hatred was so entrenched that even while Jesus was raising Lazarus from the dead they wished Him dead to stop the crowds from following Him (John 11:45-53). They did not dispute that He had extraordinary powers, on the contrary they wanted to get rid of Him because He was clearly connected to a Power they did not have. They were jealous. Just like with Cain, Jesus showed them that He knew their angry thoughts (Matt 9:4-7) and asked them questions to wake them up to the darkness inside of them. They were fully blind. The crowds, too, were so blinded by hate for the Romans that when Jesus took a little boy's lunch and used it to feed over 5,000 people, all they could think about was taking Him by force to make Him their king to free them from Rome (John 6:1-15).
Dear LORD, may we not have minds like concrete, thoroughly mixed and permanently set. May we be soft to the stirrings of Your Holy Spirit. Please heal us. In Jesus' name, Amen!
The consequence of Eve choosing to ignore the LORD's advice about the knowledge of good and evil was that her desire would be for her husband and he would rule over her.
Now we hear the LORD telling Cain that sin is ready to pounce on him and its desire is for him but that he should rule over it.
Why is sin described as a wild animal ready to devour Cain? 1Peter 5:8
Did Cain understand what the LORD meant by "sin", do we?
According to Paul it is the opposite of the righteousness of the LORD - His character and His Principles- which have been revealed to mankind since Creation. I believe Paul's words could also have applied to Cain.
Romans 1:16-23
16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek. 17For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
What humans term 'anger'* is an interesting phenomenon to unpack and reflect upon. At it's core, what we term 'anger' inherently arises in response to us perceiving that something is not as we expect it should be. Thus, there is (or we have) a reference point for what we believe/feel should be. That reference point may be correct, or it may be incorrect. It will come as no surprise that God always operates from 'the inherently correct' reference point - but humans, especially when under the influence of the Kingdom of Darkness, are vulnerable to holding faulty reference points. Because God's reference points are inherently the correct ones, they are termed "righteous" which means 'pure rightness' or what inherent ought to be because it is the only right thing/way possible.
While God is portrayed in scripture as expressing anger, it is important to keep in mind that all we have to grow in our understanding of God is our human language and our associated human language concepts. God's anger is qualitatively different to our anger - and such is reflected in the Hebrew words depicting God's anger - a slow flaring of the nose that is at odds with the human tendency to be swept up in our anger. Further, God's anger always reflects the flavour of grief for the other - where as human anger all too frequently reflects a hurt of the self that seeks in turn to inflict or see hurt experienced by the other. This characterises the kind of 'vengeance' humans seek. Also, human anger typically sweeps us up in it and we are essentially along for the ride - hence being highly vulnerable to reacting in ways we may later regret. There are further differences between human and divine "anger", but hopefully these give you some starting points for further reflection.
Solomon's counsel "in your anger, do not sin" (react lawlessly) attests to these above unfortunate realities and to the need to grow in our understanding of anger and, relatedly, in our practice at exercising self-control - a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and an essential necessity as a maturing follower of Christ (Matthew 16:24).
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* Hopefully you can see that human 'anger' is a spectrum of intensity ranging from annoyance/frustration through to 'blind rage'. God's 'anger' is not on this spectrum - another example that His Ways are on, and therefore reflect, a qualitatively higher 'platform'/reality.
I appreciate the lesson writer’s advising, not judgmental tone as he discusses the matter of ‘The Crime’. Yes, when I take Gen.4:4-5 as the focus for my attention, it leads me to conclude that pride, anger, and disappointment might have overtaken Cain as he lashed out against his brother. But what is underlying this is what everyone alive needs to come to terms with – one’s unbridled temperament and dispositions to engage with life in general.
Everyone has to carry his own cross, and if Abel would have remained alive, who knows what his cross would have looked like. If we get caught up in the obvious and superficial, we will miss that which God is teaching all of us – that everyone needs to find refuge in His loving care.
‘Sin lies at the door at all times’; it is relentlessly pursuing the righteous as well as the unrighteous. What makes the difference in outcome? Yes, self-control may be the first step. Though I think without applying God’s help by having faith in His Word generating hope that this ‘race of life’ can end in glory, this will not be enough to withstand temptation.
I think that, first and foremost, it takes the power inherent in believing that our heavenly Father loves us and wants our best to resist the lure to go after that which is causing us, the living soul, harm – living according to what we perceive to be right and wrong, good or bad.
Man needs to understand that everyone, also the strong ones, maybe them even more than the meek, will need to draw close to the Creator of all life in order to live life most abundantly and so manifest the Glory of God.
I was talking to a lady who quit smoking. Now that requires a lot of self control unless you turn control over to God. She informed me that she prayed and asked God to remove her craving and He did. I do believe she transfered the self control to God control in her life.