Genesis 4:1-16
Book of Genesis • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. 2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
We are unsure why Cain and Able decided to bring an offering to the Lord. God had not recorded a command of any type of offering as of yet, at-least not that we see in scripture. It’s possible God had given them a command that had yet to be recorded or that they did it of their own desire.
Either way God did not accept Cains offering but he did accepts Abels. I want to look at why.
First lets look here, it says that Cain brought some fruit of the ground. but Abel brought the “firstlings”. Just in this comparison you get the idea of one who brought something, and another who brought the first, Able picked the first of the product and cain just brought something.
Immediately you see the contrast, Able’s heart was in the offering and cain’s heart was not. (Remember, God sees the heart!)
12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
John brings Cain in as an example of someone who’s heart was evil, He says why did he murder? because His own works were evil and His brother was righteous. Cains offering was rejected not because it was fruits of the ground instead of an animal. The offering was not the issue at all, the issue was the heart. Cain would have been better off to not bring an offering than to bring one with a corrupt heart.
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
Abels offering was not only done out of a right heart, it was done out of faith! Abel had faith in God and His plan, Cain’s desire was for his own plan, putting faith in his works rather than God’s that is why cain did not give of his FIRST FRUITS, instead he just gave some!
6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Countenance fallen = depressed. Cain was Angry and depressed but it was his own sin that caused the issue. Cain was angry that his sin did not live up to God’s standard. God instructed cain, He used this as a teaching moment, God did not attack Cain, God pointed out the sin in Cain’s own heart and told him this is what he must overcome. Obviously we can not overcome our own sin without the power of God! our faith in God and in God’s plan gives us the power to overcome the sin in our lives. Able was living this out and instead of cain watching and learning, Cain grew jealous and angry.
8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? 10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
This shows not just how evil his heart was, but how he did not know who God is. Cain replies to God with and arrogant heart as if he can hide the truth from the all knowing God! God immediately calls out this sin and puts Cain on the spot. Truth is staring Cain in the face, you might think he would immediately drop to the ground and come clean with all he had done.
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
Notice Adams curse had to do with the ground as well, God told Adam to get food from the ground, now it would be hard word! For cain he says now it’s going to be impossible. The ground will not bring anything forth for Him, leaving him to wander around and become scavenger (someone who eats whatever leftovers he can find on the ground or in the trash).
He will be a homeless, fugitive that will never see a “full” belly or restful night again.
13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
Cain responds now with remorse, not because of his sin, but because his “punishment is greater that he can bare”! This shows where his heart is still so far from God! This is not repentance, we are not seeing a turning from his ways to God’s ways, we are seeing a fear of the consequence but no repentance (turning to God).
15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. 16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
Cain feared for his life, obviously by this time the earth had been populated with enough people that Cain was afraid one of them would take revenge. Look at God’s response, Honestly we see a character of God that we may not fully understand and that characteristic is mercy. God is not giving Cain what he deserves, Cain deserves the death he is afraid of, instead of giving it to him, God promises protection from such a fate. This is amazing to me, the first murderer in scripture is given an order of protection from God.
This evil man deserved death, now notice God did not let the sin go and just ignore it, God pointed out the sin and dealt with it, but God was patient and full of mercy in his dealings.
So how do we Apply what we just saw about God, to our relationship with God?
1. Know that God sees the heart, you can’t hide it. If you doing a service for the Lord with the wrong heart, you might as well not do it, get your heart right with God.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
2. God is Just (can not let sin go without punishment) and your actions have consequences.
4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
Jesus died so that those who repent and believe in Him will be saved! This salvation removes the punishment of sin which is eternity in Hell separated from God! Don’t be like Cain, unchanged and determined to follow his own path until death. Repent, change your direction from your own path, to follow Christ in new life. A life changed by the grace of God to live for Him instead of yourself!
3. God is patient and gives mercy. Every day you wake up is another day of God’s mercy giving us more time to choose to repent and follow Him! If you have not changed course to follow Christ in new life, today God’s Mercy has granted you one more opportunity to change the course of the rest of your life. Nobody knows when this Mercy will end and when your last chance will be. If you see Christ working to draw you to him, submit to His call and turn to him with faith for salvation.
