Genesis 4:1-26: The Danger of Ignoring God

Introduction

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How do you get to a point in life where you think it’s justifiable to murder?

In this room, none of us have murdered, but we’ve struggled with anger. We’ve struggled with hatred. There may be some people in your life that are dead to you - someone you are so angry with that you treat them as if they are dead.

Gen. 4 shows us how ugly sin can be. Gen. 3 was bad - Adam and Eve defy God and eat the forbidden fruit. Gen. 4 is worse. Their firstborn son spirals out of control.

Gen. 1-11 shows progression of sin - a world spiraling out of control because a world chooses to ignore God.

Everyone of us confronted with a choice: embrace God’s way and find a life of joy and purpose or ignore God and find your life spiraling out of control.

Are you ignoring God this morning? Let’s get to the heart… From this story I want to show you three tragedies that happen inside of you when you start to ignore the God who loves you. What happens in you will lead you to sin in destructive ways.

When you ignore God His warnings won’t seem that convincing.

Gen. 3:15 - a promise that a child would be born that would crush the head of the serpent. Assume that Adam and Eve knew the promise and longed for a child to be born that would fix what they had broken.

Imagine the birth of the first child. Eve’s painful labor but the joy of holding the first baby ever born, and the hope that maybe this child would be the fulfillment of the promise. Cain = to get. “God has given me a man.”

Second child is Abel. Abel = breath or vapor. That’s what his life would be, and ultimately what all human life would be. (Ecclesiastes)

Both grow up and work respectable professions: Cain follows in footsteps of father. Abel is a shepherd.

Both present a sacrifice to the Lord. Don’t know how they know to sacrifice, but they bring sacrifices as an act of worship.

Bring sacrifices from what they did. Based on the later developed sacrificial system, God was honored by both animal sacrifices and sacrifices from the harvest, but when Cain and Abel bring offerings, Cain’s is rejected and Abel’s accepted.

Why is Cain’s rejected? Text isn’t clear, but maybe a clue in vs. 3-4. Cain brings some of the land’s produce while Abel brings firstborn and fat portions - according to sacrificial system, God delights in the best.

Sacrifice a matter of the heart - Cain bringing an offering because he was supposed to vs. Abel bringing an offering because he wanted to. A heart of worship vs. a heart of obligation.

Cain’s attitude like some of ours – “God, I’ll worship you on your terms, and I expect you to accept my gift and accept me on my terms.”

When Abel’s sacrifice is accepted and Cain’s not, Cain was furious. He doesn’t get it… Mad at his brother, but more likely mad at God.

Then, a warning of grace.... vs. 7 accepted = word play. Cast down vs. lifted up. OR, God accepts right sacrifices. God to Cain: “You know what I want. I want your best.” Not what Cain chose. “If you hold on to anger, sin... Like a resting wild animal that’s hungry for you… Don’t stir it up...”

In grace, Cain is warned. Because he’s been warned he can’t claim helplessness or ignorance. He’s accountable to the warning.

BUT Cain ignoring God… God’s warnings not that convincing.

God’s given you some warning indicators as well:

Check your heart. Bored with God? No joy in worship? Duty rather than devotion? Warning that you’re drifting. Sin is crouching at the door. Be careful.

Check your attitude. Jealous of other believers who seem to have their act together? Angry at the person that God seems to be blessing? Your negative attitude toward others is a warning. Sin is crouching at the door. Be careful.

Check your ears. God is speaking, but you’re not listening. You know His Word, but you refuse to respond. Sin is crouching at the door. Be careful.

In grace, God is warning, but are you listening?

When you ignore God His grace won’t seem that amazing.

Clear warnings, but Cain ignored. God spoke truth, but Cain believed a lie.

Cain believed the lie that God loved Abel more than Cain. Truth: Cain was absolutely loved by God. Wasn’t a matter of love but a matter of obedience.

Cain didn’t trust God, but he trusted his anger. His anger told him the way to make it right wasn’t to obey God but to kill his brother.

vs. 8 - Premeditated, violent… Moses uses economy of words. Moses doesn’t tell us how, but you can imagine the brutality of it as hatred and rage emanated from Cain. Adam and Eve ate forbidden fruit. Cain ruthlessly murdered his own brother.

vs. 9 - Mirrors Gen. 3 - Just like God came looking for Adam and Eve after they ate from the tree, God came looking for Cain.

An opportunity to fess up, but Cain doesn’t. Instead, he lies to God. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

God: “I know… Your brother’s blood cries from the ground...” No sin is hidden from the eyes of God. (Heb. 4:12)

vs. 11-12 - Cain placed under a curse. Adam and Eve weren’t placed under a curse, but the serpent was (3:14). Moses intentionally linking Cain to Satan. Cain created in image of God, but his heart and actions revealed that he imitated Satan much more than he imitated God - evil, murderer, no remorse or repentance.

Cain’s punishment - this farmer would be fruitless. He would live as a restless wanderer. Instead of having dominion over the earth, it would have dominion over him. Always an exile...

Cain’s response: “My punishment is too great!” Not repentance. Instead, self-pity. He realizes the seriousness of his sin… “If I don’t have your protection, I’ll be killed… I can’t survive without you...”

Cain knows he needs God, but he didn’t want to live God’s way. Is that you?

God marks Cain so that he wouldn’t be killed. (Who knows what this means…) BUT… a mark of grace. God not only spares the life of a murderer. He also protects the life of a murderer.

Today, he’s protecting your life as well.

What Cain fails to see is the grace of God. Two questions for you:

Do you ignore grace?

You don’t understand what God has done for you.

You complain when you don’t get what you think you deserve.

You have no desire to repent of your sin and walk in a relationship with God.

You want God’s stuff, but you don’t want God.

Do you embrace God’s grace?

You can’t believe what you’ve done, and you can’t believe what God’s done.

You can’t stop praising.

You can’t stop pursuing. You want to know. You want to grow.

For some of us grace isn’t so amazing anymore. We’ve forgotten what God has done for us. See again how gracious God has been to you.

When you ignore God His desires won’t seem that desirable.

God’s desire was for man to live in relationship with Him, subduing the earth, and producing godly offspring.

God’s desire was to fill the earth with people who represented Him.

But, that’s not what happens. Adam and Eve’s son fills the earth with descendants that represent the enemy - successful but godless.

Cain settles in land of Nod - “wander” The land won’t produce for him. He builds a city.

A city and great family accomplishments. Jabal was the first nomadic herdsman. Jubal was the first musician. Tubal-cain made bronze and iron tools.

Cain’s family looks successful, but they are godless. Lamech devalues marriage (vs. 19) and Lamech devalues life (vs. 23-24). From bad to worse…

Your faithfulness is far more important than your successfulness.

If you’re always asking the question, “What’s best for me?” You might be successful in life, but you won’t be faithful. What’s best for me… success, education, job, etc. You can have all of that and die separated from God.

But, if you’re constantly asking, “What’s best for God and His Kingdom?” you’ll be on the path to a faithful life, and if you life for what’s best for God and His Kingdom, it will be best for you.

The key to life: what’s best for God and His Kingdom is always what’s best for you.

Gen. 4 seems so hopeless until you get to vs. 25-26.

God gave Adam and Eve another child… (another offspring… hope isn’t gone…)

“At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord...” From the line of Seth will come people like Enoch who walked with the Lord and was taken up by God. And Noah… who believed God against all odds. On down the family line would be people like Abraham, Ruth, Jesse, David, and ultimately Jesus.

Gen. 3:15 - God made a promise, and that promise would be fulfilled in God’s time and in God’s way.

Jesus lived completely opposite of Cain – lived selflessly rather than selfishly. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. John 6:38

Jesus shared the same fate as Abel – died at the hands of Cains – you and I are in that number. But His death purposeful – Abel’s not. He died at the hands of sinners for sinners – for the selfish, for the murderer, for the ungrateful ones. He died taking the penalty for your sin. He took your curse so you could be acquitted. GRACE! 

God confronted Cain. Abel’s blood cried out from the ground. “You’re guilty. You’re condemned. You’re punished.” Jesus’ blood cries out – “You’re forgiven! It is finished! There’s no condemnation!” It cries out not in the defeat of death but in the victory of the resurrection – He rose from the dead defeating sin and death. Have you trusted in His death and resurrection for salvation? Receive His grace and embrace it – let His grace change you – take you from self-centered to selfless. 

Believer – Repent of self-centeredness. Ask God to help you overcome the sin crouching at your door. Ask Him to show you His grace anew. Ask Him to help you leave a legacy of godliness for your children.