The Breakdown

Introduction

I recently rewatched the movie Castaway with Tom Hanks. If you’ve never seen it, Hank’s character is some higher level operations manager for FedEx to help expedite their process. On a flight to an international hub somewhere in the Pacific, his plane goes down and he alone survives.

He is now a castaway on a random island. Completely alone. The movie progresses to show how he survives. Most notable to me, was the acceptance of his new norm and learning and living this new life until rescue comes. 4 years he lived on the island with his friend Wilson, a volleyball he makeshifts into resembling a human face. Rescue comes and of course all that was his life back home has moved on. Another new norm must be now figured out.

As we enter into chapter 4 of Genesis, I was struck with a reality. Mankind now has to live in a new normal. A life with sin and brokenness present. Something they have never had to deal with before.

The narrative of chapter 4 and beyond is displaying a few things.

How do we live life with sin now a present reality?

How is God working in that reality?

The decaying of family and society because of sin.

Sin’s breaking down of mankind’s relationship with God.

Today, I want to examine some themes related to these questions and to help us see that we can learn how to live right with God despite our sin and it’s effect in our lives and this world through Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Read Genesis 4:1-16

Context

V.1-3

Life continues on the text tells us. Adam and Eve fulfill the command of God to be fruitful and multiply. She excitedly proclaims she has had a male child, but curiously adds with the Lord’s help.

I believe, she is hopeful that this son would be the promise of God as I believe most women after her hoped theirs would be the One who would crush the head of Satan.

Cain’s name means to acquire or get; relating to a blessing and hopeful fulfillment of God in His promise. Then comes along Abel. His name means breath or temporary. Certainly a foreshadow of what is to come. And testifies to the brevity of life both physically and spiritually humankind has experienced.

The brothers each have specific tasks, both the relate back to their father and what he first did in the Garden and continued in Eden. We also see in the text the establishment of some sort of offering in worship to God. The specifics are not given to us, but assumes the existence of an offering system.

V.4-7

Then comes the build up of the conflict. Both brothers offer a sacrificial offering and one is accepted above the other. Why? We don’t fully know. Some suggest that Cain’s offering was lesser than Abel’s, yet grain offerings and animal offerings would both be acceptable to the Lord based on the Levetical Law.

The issue seems to be one of attitude behind the worship. Abel goes above and beyond- firstborn of the flock, offering fat, etc. Cain just brought some produce.

If I could be so bold to use this example: Jenny loves flowers. I love finding her different flowers. She will tell you I do not like to get her roses. To me they are common, normal. I want to find flowers that are different. Why? Because I am showing that who she is to me is valuable. She is worth the time and effort to seek out what is unique, not common.

Their approach to the Lord is different. One shows deep concern for how he worships and what he brings to God, thus concern for Who he worships. The other seems to do so more out of obligation. The heart of worship is broken in Cain.

Cain is furious as this and the Lord issues a warning. Sin is crouching at your door, like a predator about to pounce it’s prey. Interestingly, the first edition of the Jewish Publication Society’s Torah translated it: “Sin is the demon at the door.”

If we accept this, it shows the continuation of Gen. 3:15 with Satan’s work to bring about disruption and destruction to humankind.

God’s advice, master this sin or it will master you. I believe this is an invitation to seek the Lord’s intervention in Cain’s life. Learn in this moment how to be obedient to what He desires or face the hard road of disobedience.

V.8-9

Cain refuses, and in a premeditated act based upon jealousy and anger, he kills his brother. The first victim of sin in death. The first experience of death for humankind. It wasn’t peaceful, it wasn’t honorable, it was ugly and destructive.

The death that sin brings is always ugly and destructive.

Reminiscent of Gen. 3:9 God questions Cain about Abel. God knows as verses 10-12 reveal, but the Lord is offering a chance for repentance. Cain lies, and speaks to the Lord in an insolent manner, almost sarcastic in tone.

I remember a time when I got a spanking from my mom for something I did as an older child. I looked back at her and said, that didn’t even hurt. Her response? Wait until your father gets home. Instant regret. The tone, the insolence didn’t get me anything I thought it might.

The predator that is sin caught it’s prey in Cain. Once the decision was made to act, it warped his mind. The reality is that Cain is his brother’s keeper. He is to be a protector of the image bearer of God, despite it now being marred by sin.

He didn’t caretake of the creation as he should, instead like Satan he destroyed it.

V.10-12

The Lord issues a judgment to Cain. Further blessing is removed in the curse upon him. Cain and his family live in the fertile area of Eden, but now he will be pushed further away from that. The result is even more toil in his work to produce. He will also be this restless wanderer. Likely, he will have to wander as he toils in trying to provide through the ground.

Judgment for his sin is set. It is a gracious judgment as death could be his true ultimate judgment. Yet, God shows grace.

V. 13-16

Cain responds to God with a statement of seemingly how unfair God’s judgment actually is. Cain doesn’t either comprehend the fullness of his sin or he doesn’t care.

The life of unrepentant sin has no place for blessing from the Lord.

Again, Cain should probably face death from this protest against the God of the universe, yet God brings mercy.

God places some kind of mark on Cain to extend protection to him. If we believe Cain is young in this sinfulness, it makes sense why God would be merciful. It makes sense in the midst of his judgment. Learning to be reconciled to God and others is new to life.

As humanity will grow, Cain will be safe from the them. Cain is driven further away from blessing, but ultimately from God. Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden, but not Eden. Cain is now expelled from Eden and comes to a land called Nod.

Nod means wandering or fugitive. In his unrepentance, Cain must now live in the very life he established for himself from his decisions.

Themes of Gen. 4:1-16

The decision to obey or disobey begins with our valuing of God. (v.3-5)

Worship is about what we value. What we value most, will be celebrated, praised, adored, and treated with utmost honor.

Learning to live in a world where sin is ever present in humanity and in the world is going to require learning how to obey or disobey even more than ever did.

The Lord’s establishment of offerings to Him is the first worship act we see in Scripture. This isn’t related so far to atonement of sin as the law will later describe. Perhaps it is, but for now we can understand this to be worship.

How will people honor the Lord by how they value Him?

Cain’s attitude, his valuing of God appears to be lesser in the kind of gift he presents and how. And it is here where the decision to obey or disobey God begins. Everything that follows in this narrative stems from this moment right here.

In order to fight against sin, our hearts must see something greater than what we are pursuing. Thus, our worship of God is the battle ground for that.

I spoke this truth to our children on Wednesday night. When Jesus says, “what you treasure there your heart will be,” the reality is your life is a reflection of what your heart treasures.

When we treasure God above all and it is reflected in our worship- not just singing, but in attitude and “heartitude”, sin becomes less of a desire.

Worship is about tuning our hearts to the heart of God. It is ascribing to Him the glory and not another. It is gaining understanding of who He is and what He desires.

The songs we sing, the Scripture that is heard and taught, the prayers lifted, the gospel proclaimed are all acts of worship that fight a very real spiritual battle that informs our hearts and minds of our Creator God and His redemption.

When we know the God of the Bible, our lives will be devoted to this God.

Our value of God impacts our submission to Him. (v.6-7)

Cain responds with jealousy and anger toward his brother and God for the acceptance of Abel’s offering and the rejection of his.

God in His grace, extends the warning that sin in crouching at his door. If you don’t master sin, it will master you. To be mastered means we submit-either to our sin or to God.

First, understand that sin seeks to dominate you.

Sin is not a puppy you get to hold that licks your face and is all soft and cuddly. It can start like that or look like it. What happens is it grows up and becomes a wild animal that will maul you and kill you.

Have you ever been to the zoo with a young child and near the big cats section? When our boys were younger there were times when I just knew that lion or tiger was looking at my sons at snacks. This is how sin and how Satan views you in sin.

Clearly by verse 8 Cain does not want mastery over his sin. He chooses to be mastered by it.

Second, these verses give us insight into God’s grace. He extends it so we will submit to His will and power. I don’t think God is expecting Cain to master sin alone, but invited him to learn and trust in the power of God to master it.

Conviction of sin that comes in guilt is often dismissed, reviled even. We misunderstand that it is not for shame we feel it, but by grace from a loving God who is seeking our rescue.

He is making us aware of the spiritual death we reside in to bring us to life. Just as we read this morning, Ephesians 5:14 “14 for what makes everything visible is light. Therefore it is said: Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

When we value God as greater than anything it impacts our submission to Him. When He is our highest authority, when He is our salvation, and the complete focus of our hearts; we should find that submission to Him is easier.

Our value of God impacts our value of people. (v.8-9)

We know from the New Testament that Jesus commanded us to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength and that we are to love our neighbor as ourself.

He connects the vertical relationship to the horizontal ones. Cain is caught in his sin, trapped and acts on it even more. No longer is he is brother’s keeper and he can now destroy human life, the very brother he has.

Even when asked about his brother by God, Cain responds with an insolent, sarcastic tone. A tone that says, “I don’t really care about your creation. I don’t honor/value You or my brother enough to even care to confess and repent and be made right.”

I said it earlier, the death that sin brings is always ugly and destructive, particularly toward others.

How you and I relate to our children or spouses. How we relate to our coworkers. How we relate to people in our community. It is all dependent upon how we value God.

Perhaps we won’t have the inclination to kill someone physically, but we certainly are ok with our words. The internet is filled with words that bear intent to kill. Each word like a bullet from a gun to pierce the heart of another. Rumors that are spread at the possible detriment of another’s character, perhaps even their job, is no different than picking up the rock to smash the head of another.

Apathy to the salvation of another. Apathy to the growth of a fellow Christian. Ignoring the sin of fellow Christians to keep the peace are no different than Cain’s act.

We often need the reminder that singer songwriter Brandon Heath many years ago:

Give me Your eyes for just one second. Give me Your eyes so I can see, everything that I keep missin' Give me Your love for humanity Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted . The ones that are far beyond my reach. Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten. Give me Your eyes so I can see.

When we value God properly we begin to take on the mind of Christ. A mind that sees and loves others as God loves them.

Our misvalue of God has consequences. (v.10-15)

Cain is faced with the consequences of his actions. Our misvalue of God has consequences. Those consequences are typically to fall into sin and then face the consequence of that sin.

If God did not issue some sort of judgment, would He be just? No! Often we can blame God for the consequences of our sin, when in fact they are just.

Why do we do that? Because we misvalue God.

Recently the cartoonist and creator of Dilbert passed away. Your might have heard the story. He had cancer and in his final message he writes,

Next, many of my Christian friends have asked me to find Jesus before I go. I'm not a believer, but I have to admit the risk-reward calculation for doing so looks attractive. So, here I go:

I accept Jesus Christ as my lord and savior, and I look forward to spending an eternity with him. The part about me not being a believer should be quickly resolved if I wake up in heaven. I won't need any more convincing than that. And I hope I am still qualified for entry.

To be clear, I am not the final judge of anyone’s salvation. However, I do not see in Scripture that says to admit the risk-reward calculation of salvation and gaining eternity with God. I see belief in the person and work of Jesus who is the only One capable of removing our the guilt of our sin, our sin, and providing us with His righteousness.

What I hear in Mr. Adam’s statement sounds like a misvalue of Jesus and the misunderstanding of the consequences of unbelief or disingenuous confession . Jesus is nothing more than a fail-safe, not a Savior and Lord. I pray his confession was something genuine, but if he is wrong, the consequence to that is grave.

Christ Connection

Jude 11 speaks of the way of Cain. The way of Cain is one that does not treasure God and lives in a life of sin and separation from God. The way of Cain leads to death. The way of Cain is the way of Satan. Despite Cain being the offspring of Adam and Eve, he is the offspring of Satan spiritually.

However, the way of Jesus leads to life.

Hebrews 12:24 “24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel.”

Abel’s blood cried out to God from the ground, protesting against his murder and appealing for vindication, but the blood of Christ brings a message of cleansing, forgiveness, and peace with God all who place their faith in Him. (FF Bruce, The Epistle To the Hebrews, 361)

Jesus reverses the curse of sin. Jesus reverses the heart of a person to value and honor God. The salvation of Jesus reverses the consequences of the curse. Jesus doesn’t come to harm people, but to shepherd them.

The Christ Connection is that Jesus is the antithesis of Cain and ultimately us.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

How do I glorify God From This Text?

If you don’t know Jesus as Savior and Lord, you must believe, confess, and surrender to Him.

Until that time, you will live the way of Cain.

Evaluate: Does my life reflect/mirror what my heart treasures? Is that first Jesus or the things of this world?

Evaluate: Do I value the Lord enough that I am willing to confess and surrender my sin unto Him?

Have I wronged someone- spoken ill, created or sustained rumors, harbored anger/resentment, physically harmed- in my life that I need to make proper amends with so I glorify God?

Conclusion

I mentioned the movie Castaway at the beginning of the sermon and how this man lived on the island for 4 years in his new existence. I also mentioned rescue came. However, his rescue didn’t come on it’s own.

Hank’s character decided it was time to leave and after learning how the tide worked and wind directions, he makes a raft to get out to sea. The movie’s 3rd act is him on the sea, desperately trying to survive. Eventually a ship passes by and he is rescued, mind you he is in pretty bad shape.

We cannot get out of the way of Cain until we recognized the way leads to no where. We can’t just live in the reality of sin, we must be rescued.

Far too many choose to live on the island of sin. Live on the island of their consequences with no redemption. I am not saying you earn your salvation, but you certainly have to wake up to the reality that when we see and believe the value of God above sin and it’s brokenness; we will pursue that above all else.

Once our hearts are regenerated in Jesus, our ability to decide to obey or disobey rests on how we value/treasure the Lord and we are willingness to be rescued by Him.