The Crouching of Sin (Genesis 4)

The Crouching of Sin

Genesis 4

Sunday, October 11, 2026 — Land O’ Lakes Bible Church

Introduction

Please take out your Bibles and open with me to Genesis 4 as we prepare to cover the entire chapter this morning. If you are using one of the Red Pew Bibles, you can find it beginning on page #4 of that Bible.

In the Felidae Family, that is the cat family, you have the genus the Panthera or big cat portion. Each of these in the genus Panthera are known for their crouching down and sneaking up on their prey, waiting to pounce on them by surprise to get the kill.

Surely, we have all seen this in some shape or form. Whether it was while watching National Geographic and the hunting scenes of these big cats.  Or your exposure to this crouching attack was in watching that of Nala in the Lion King as she crouched to chase Timon or Shere Khan in the Jungle Book. My wife even pointed out, some of you may have even seen this own crouching to pounce from your own house cats.

The crouching is a clear sign of a predator awaiting to pounce and attack. As remarkable as it is watching these big cats as part of nature, it is another thing when you yourself are the prey of that which is crouching. And that is what I want us to consider this morning from Genesis 4, the crouching of sin that is waiting to pounce on us and devour us.

Sin being the want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.[1]And it is here in Genesis 4, personified as a crouching animal waiting to devour its prey. Sin that entered creation following one act of disobedience in the eating of the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the midst of the garden of Eden. A sin that had cost Adam and Eve paradise where all was very good as they dwelt in the land of flourishing and God’s good provisions and walking with the Covenant LORD himself!

But sin would not stop just with ruining the very good beginning. It would not stop with just bringing judgment on the woman and the man. It would not stop with just them being exiled from the garden. Sin would continue to be at work, seeking to have dominion over man, which we turn our eyes to now. READ GENESIS 4.

Main Point: Sin’s desire is to ensnare and rule more and more over us; therefore, we must heed the word of the LORD and call upon his name for help.

1. The LORD’s Warning to Cain (4:1-8)

The LORD’s Judgment Against Cain (4:9-16)

The Wicked Advancement of Sin (4:17-24)

The Calling on the LORD (4:25-26)

I. The LORD’s Warning to Cain (4:1-8)

Despite learning of the marital strife that had entered the world between the man and his wife, we learn that Adam knew his wife. V.1…

In saying that Adam knew his wife, we are saying that the two of them exercised their one flesh union by coming together as one and being intimate with one another. For to know one another in this way is to know each other in an intimately personal way that is meant to be only between a man and his wife. A good reminder for any who ever think of sex as something casual and for the world to define. For to know one another in this way is to draw near to one another and for the sake of bearing fruit and multiplying and filling the earth.

As is such here in Adam knowing Eve. For Eve conceives and gives birth to a son, her firstborn son. And she names him Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.” For Cain, קַיִן, and gotten or created, קנה, are similar in the original Hebrew language. It is in the naming here of Cain, that Eve recalls and hopes in the promise of Genesis 3:15. She hopes Cain is this promised snake crushing seed of the woman that has now come.

Then Eve bears another son. V.2… The name of this second son, Abel carries the meaning vanity, that word repetitively used in the book of Ecclesiastes. Eve here is either thinking Abel’s birth is pointless because Cain is the promised seed. Or she already realizes Cain is not the promised seed and feeling hopeless.  

Regardless, we see here two sons, one named out of hope, the other out of hopelessness. One we are told is like his father in a worker of the ground in that of Cain and then Abel is a keeper of the flock, that of sheep or possibly even goats. This setting up offerings to the LORD. We read there in V.3-5…

Where Cain was name as one provided, one given, he now finds that his offering is rejected. Abel on the other hand who was named as one of vanity, was found in regard by the LORD in his offering.

A humbling reminder that the LORD does not act according to our logic and purposes, but his own. Now, some here have wanted to force that the LORD had regard for Abel as one who brought a blood offering, while Cain only brought that of the ground, a fruit or grain offering.

This comes because of what we know from the New Testament:

Hebrews 9:22 (ESV)

Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

But this is not the reason that Cain’s offering is rejected. For this was not a sin offering, but a general offering. An offering that could include that of grain or fruit, just look through the first few chapters of the book of Leviticus on the various offerings.

The reason Cain’s offering is rejected, while Abel’s is accepted has to do with the heart of each offering. For consider Abel’s offering. He brought the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions to the LORD as his offering. This showing that Abel found it right and good to bring the first and best of that under his care to the LORD and give to him as an offering. A display that Abel’s heart and desire sought the LORD as one who was righteous.

Cain on the other hand, brought an offering of the fruit of the ground. Nothing here mentioned of it being of the first fruits, as Abel’s firstborn. Further, Cain’s heart is revealed here in his response in learning that in this disregard of the LORD for his offering, we are told that Cain became angry and that his face fell.

The anger and the fallen face of Cain reveal to us something of Cain’s expectation in his offering to the LORD. He presumed it would be accepted, even if offered half-heartedly and not that of the first and best from the ground.

A sobering reminder to us what worship requires. Worship is not to be done half-heartedly and a going through the motions. Worship by its very name means a declaring of one’s worth and value. For Abel, this means a declaring in his offering of the first-born, a valuing the LORD first and most supreme as his High King, an act of true and loving devotion. Cain on the other hand, goes through the motions of worship and not valuing the LORD first and foremost in the bringing of his offering.

Saints, this is one of the reasons we try to encourage you each week to prepare your heart ahead of our LORD’s Day gathering. That you may come not out of mere obligation and duty but prepare your heart to come with delight in our God and to enjoy him! Lest we come like Cain and find our offering of worship disregarded, because we come under false pretenses, going through the motions and thinking that our simply being here is what the LORD expects. The LORD desires more than just our offerings, but our very hearts in those offerings.

As we see though, even in this half-hearted worship, the LORD is patient. For here he does not dismiss Cain but warns him. V.6-7…

The LORD addresses Cain’s anger and fallen face, telling him that he has no need to be angry and have a fallen face if he does well. For if he does well, he will indeed be accepted. But if he doesn’t do well, he must beware. Cain must beware that sin is crouching like a predator in the doorway. It is crouching and waiting to pounce on him and devour him, therefore he must rule over it, he must have dominion over it lest it have dominion over him.

Sin is not passive; it seeks to kill and destroy. It is like venom once in the blood stream, deadening the nerves and the flesh, infecting the blood stream as it works to bring about death. And therefore, sin should never be taken lightly. It should be ruled over.

Yet, we will not rule over sin in our own strength or wisdom. For the poison of sin is too deep within our hearts. We need a great work to bring about our salvation from the poison of sin that is working death in us. We need the hope of the Snake Crusher of Genesis 3:15.

The hope that was to be looked forward to in the day of Cain, and that we now look back in seeing fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

For Jesus was the one whose heel was struck by the serpent upon the cross where he was pierced and died. Yet, it was in his death that he brought about the crushing of the head of the serpent. For in his death, Jesus did not die on account of his own sin, but he bore the curse of death for the sin of others. He became an offering for sin, an offering who was spotless and without blemish in order to remove the guilt and shame of our sin and bring about our salvation. And we see the acceptance of this offering in that Jesus did not remain dead, but on the third day rose again, defeating death, defeating the curse of sin, and then later raised to be seated next to the right hand of the Father.

Jesus brings the hope to escape the snare of sin and to enable us to no longer be under its dominion, but to rule over it. For though he has now ascended, he has not left us on our own, but given us a helper for this very work, that of his Spirit.

Romans 8:12–14 (ESV)

12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

We rule over sin by the aide of the Spirit of God at work in us. Through the Spirit, we subdue sin and kill sin that remains in us as we become more like Christ in the process of our sanctification.

Therefore, as we seek to rule over sin as Christians, then we pray for the ongoing work of the Spirit in us, in that of killing sinful desires and conforming us more to the ways of Jesus by bringing us under the obedience of all he has commanded as found in the pages of Scripture.

Presuming though, not all here are Christian, let me turn to you friend who isn’t a Chrisitan. For you, see how sin has continued to pounce on you and seek to devour you. Ensnaring you with its desires all while its poison runs deep. And even as you recognize the snare of sin, you have to this point resisted the aide of another and tried to rule sin by your own power. You have tried to be like the person drowning, all the while refusing the life raft thrown to you. Stop your frantic flailing, see the life raft of Jesus that has come to rescue you from the dominion of sin.

Friend, heed this warning that Cain received, sin is crouching and wants to continue to rule over you. Rule over it by coming to Jesus, lest the poison of sin and its consequences continue to devour you. That’s point #1, the LORD’s warning to Cain and us about the crouching of sin.

II. The LORD’s Judgment Against Cain (4:9-16)

Despite the LORD’s warning, Cain failed to take heed and listen. V.8…

Cain’s anger and envy were not ruled over and therefore devoured Cain, leading him to acting on these sinful desires to cause him to kill his own brother, Abel out of jealousy.

A ruling over that would become more than Cain could handle. First comes his refusal to confess sin. V.9…

Previously, Adam and Eve were reluctant to confess their sin and sought first to self-justify their sinful actions. However, they finally did, though reluctantly. But Cain, he completely resists the notion of confession. For in being asked about his brother, he declares not to be responsible for him, that he is not his brother’s keeper.

Sadly, this idea of refusing to be a brother’s keeper is an increasing concern among the world, including within the church. We seed this play out as church membership becomes less common and even resisted. We see this in the idea that gathering and belonging to a church is optional and not necessary for the Christian life.

Now, some of you might be thinking, wait Kyle, that’s a stretch. I assure you it’s not. And the reason it’s not, the same mindset is at work in these as was in Cain. I’m not responsible for anyone nor is anyone responsible for me. That is what is at the very heart of this modern-day resistance to the concept of church membership. I don’t want to be responsible for anyone, nor do I want to be responsible to anyone. It’s me and Jesus and that’s all I need.

Friend, how did that work out for Cain? He refused to submit to the LORD and his warnings of the danger of sin crouching for him. And yet, we do the same. For the LORD has graciously given us his commands and the aid of one another to help strengthen us in carrying these out in our lives. The gift of brothers and sisters to stir us onward and to warn us of dangers lurking in the corner, yet we refuse to heed these dangers and the help of one another in our pride and in our foolishness. Yet, in judgment Cain would feel the loss of such community and declare it to be more than he could bear. V.10-12…

Cain had refused to confess and through off all responsibility. And so, he finds himself under the curse of judgment. Judgment of further difficulty in working the ground. For the very ground that Cain had worked, that had now consumed his brother, would not yield its strength to Cain. It would be more difficult than just now the thorns and thistles that infest the ground. And on top of this, Cain would be forced to wander as a sojourner of the earth. But note the response of Cain in this judgment, V.13-14…

Cain failed to heed the warning of the LORD about sin crouching and ignored it but now complains about the consequences being too great. Complaint about his work being now harder and now being driven away from the face of the LORD.

Cain reminds me here of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man who cried out in the judgment of hell begging for a cooling of the tongue and that an angel would go and warn his brothers. He too had failed to heed the warnings of the LORD before it was too late.

Cain and the Rich Man then serve us as warnings. They serve us by warning us of the heaviness of sin and the judgment that comes against it. Cain said it was more than he could bear. And yet, Cain was not without warning, and therefore his punishment is just.

Let us then, friend and saint alike, not fail to hear this warning of sin and the weightiness of its consequences. Let us then not ignore those sinful desires that creep into our hearts that we often let slide by thinking them to be just normal. Letting that jealousy of a loved one, of a neighbor, of a friend, a fellow church member that creeps in go unchecked and ignored. Those angry outbursts that flow out of you, whether towards your spouse, your children, the person who disagrees with you. The problem is not them; it’s the desires of your own sinful heart working against you. For this jealousy and anger quickly moves from being disgruntled to strife, tension, quarrels, fights, and more. We must then seek to put sin to death in us, lest it rule over us and kill us.

And let not God’s common grace to you lead you to dismiss these warnings and that of coming judgment. For consider Cain in V.15-16 …

He was under judgment and in exile, yet God’s common grace still came upon him in marking him and keeping him safe from those who would take vengeance upon him on account of Abel.

Therefore, though you may be experiencing God’s common grace in the here and the now, that does not mean you will escape judgment on the day of the LORD. Confess and repent of your sins, turn as you come to Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. And keep with this, unless we like Cain say our punishment is more than we can bear.That’s point #2.

III. The Wicked Advancement of Sin (4:17-24)

Sin devoured Cain and left him sent away from the presence of the LORD and into the uninhabited world. A world that now too will be filled with the likes of its father. V.17…

In us learning here that Cain had a wife and knew his wife here, then we can presume that while only Cain and Abel’s birth are mentioned here in Genesis 4, that there were others being born to Adam and Eve as well as the earth was being filled with mankind. With Cain then being married to his sister. An exception to the beginning and not the norm for humanity. And from these two begins the line of Cain and the advancement of sin. V.18…

We move from those firstborn of Adam and Eve down to the seventh generation of humanity in this one verse. But what of this line, V.19…

We see sin increase down the family line of Cain where we move from a man and his wife becoming one flesh to that of polygamy, of a man having more than one wife. And though it is not spelled out, this is to be understood as sin given the created design and what we know from the rest of the Bible.

And in this sinful line comes much art and music and leisure. V.20-22…

Through the line of Cain, we have the father of musicwith the lyre and pipe, one who forged instruments of music and possibly weaponry.

We must see here then the danger of the leisures of this world. For while they are not always bad in and of themselves, a wrong use and pursuit of them can lead our hearts further from the LORD as we are caught up in leisurely activities and pleasures.

Note how this plays out with the line of Cain. V.23-24…

Cain’s vengeance slew his brother and cost him more than he could bear. Lamech, his descendant, has no regard for human life at all and only has respect for himself.

Therefore, here in the line of Cain, we see those who pursue not the glory of the LORD, but their own glory. This starts with the birth of Cain’s son, Enoch. For Cain here names the city after his son, Enoch as he seeks to build a name for himself and his descendants, a glory seeking that will culminate in Genesis 11 with the tower of Babel.

A clear sign here that Cain his line are not of the seed of the woman, but the seed of the serpent. For they all pursue their own glory instead of that of the LORD’s. They continue to advance sin and reject the goodness of God as they disregard both God and those in his image as sin continues to devour. However, despite the grimness here so far in Genesis 4, not all hope is lost. That brings us to point #4.

IV. The Calling on the LORD (4:25-26)

V.25… We return to Adam and Eve and find Adam knowing his wife again, and we are told of a third son born to them, a Son named Seth, a name sounding like appointed. One appointed in place of Abel who Cain killed.

Here Eve was forced to learn that God’s promise had not been lost, but it would come in time, his time, not hers or that of humanities. That she must wait upon the LORD. A lesson that we must all learn.

We must learn to wait on the LORD patiently and trusting for him to move according to his purposes and in his timing. Whether it is in regard to seeing us becoming an effective light in our community as a church or for the salvation of our children or for his bringing about of relief in the midst of hardship. We must wait upon the LORD and trust in him.

At the same time of this new appointed son of Seth, we see the beginning of another family line, the line of Seth. V.26…

Where Cain and his line were consumed with self-worship, the people in the days of Seth and Enosh began calling upon the name of the LORD, יְהוָה.

True worship began to take place. As the people called out to the LORD and praised him, hoped in him. And that is the difference between Abel and then Seth, and that of Cain with his descendants. Cain did not rightly worship the LORD. He worshiped him out of obligation and false pretense, but first Abel and now here in the days of Seth and Enosh, people called upon the name of the LORD, they gave right worship to the LORD.

The LORD does not desire our offerings, especially offerings given from a wrong heart, from false motives. There are those who even now continue in this path of Cain. They go through the motions of worship. They even attend church, they serve, they give, but not out of desire of worship, but begrudging duty.

Beloved, the LORD does not desire those of the religious hypocrisy crowd. He desires those who delight in him and worship him, recognizing him for who he is, our Great Creator, our Sovereign King, and our Most Gracious Redeemer!

Therefore, if we are to be accepted before him, if we are to beware of sin and rule over it, we must call upon the name of the LORD for both our salvation and in our ongoing worship! We must heed the word of the LORD and rejoice in it! For this is that which is good and right and pleasing to the LORD.

Let’s pray…

[1] Baptist Catechism, Question 17.