Genesis Session 9

A tale of brotherly… murder? An opera of jealousy, rebellion, homicide, and exile? Yes… that is a quick summation of what we can expect in Genesis 4.

Cain and Abel… two brothers who took on two different trades and who had two different views regarding what it meant to honor God.

We know very little concerning their childhood. We know they were sons of Adam and Eve and that they came into the world after sin had entered the world.

Adam and Eve were the only people to know what the world looked like without sin. They were the only two who experienced perfection in the garden… the rest of the world would only know life in sin.

Why is this important to note? Because we are going to see a display of emotions in Scripture tonight that had not yet been mentioned in the Bible.

What is the first emotion highlighted after sin entered this world?

Shame was emotion number one. Shame was realized immediately after Adam and Eve sinned. Genesis 3:7 is where we see it. They realized they were naked… nakedness referring to shame.

Before sin there was no shame in their nakedness… only innocence. There existed no immorality, lust, or embarrassment.

What is shame?

Defined, shame is a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety

Shame is a powerful emotion that can cause people to feel defective, unacceptable, even damaged beyond repair.

Shame is a discrete, basic emotion, described as a moral or social emotion that drives people to hide or deny their wrongdoings.

Adam and Eve undeniably experienced this emotion first within the now sin reality.

What came next? What was the second emotion given to us in Scripture in the very next verse? Fear was emotion number two.

Genesis 3:8 shows us the action behind the emotion, Genesis 3:10 names it directly. They hid from God because they were afraid.

Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by being aware of danger : a feeling of being afraid. What danger were they afraid of? They had disobeyed God. They knew the consequence that was coming.

So why all this talk of emotions tonight?

In Genesis 3, we see the emotions that RESULTED from the first recorded sin in Scripture. In Genesis 4, we are going to see the emotions that would LEAD to the next recorded sin in Scripture.

Emotions… are POWERFUL influencers on our lives! They help us to put into words… how we FEEL. We all know what different emotions feel like, and we know what can happen when our feelings take charge of situations.

Emotions are not sinful. Emotions were given to us by God. However, emotions can be swayed by sin. Sin plays on our emotions… on how we feel… in order to influence a person in the wrong way.

Cain and Abel is an interesting story of emotions gone out of control. And the really interesting thing about this story is… it all starts as the two brothers set out to honor God… to worship the Lord through giving.

The Heart of the Matter

Genesis 4:1–7 NIV

1 Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Cain was a farmer, and Abel a shepherd. Both set out to please the Lord through the giving of an offering… but only one is successful. WHY?

Scripture makes clear that Abel’s offering came from the firstborn of the flock. This was NOT the case with Cain’s offering.

What is significant about the first fruits? Why is this such a big deal to God?

Because you are NOT guaranteed a second or third fruit. It is an act of faith… it is an act of trust. Instead of Giving God what is left over, God receives the first, the choice fruits.

God is worthy of such GIVING. God is worthy of such WORSHIP. The firstfruits BELONG to the Lord.

This is an act of love and proper stewardship.

Abel HONORED God with the first. Cain “honored” God with the left overs.

God responded accordingly.

God looked upon Abel’s offering with favor.

God did not look at Cain’s offering with favor.

This response made Cain angry and his very demeanor changed.

Now, I would argue that before there was an offering issue, there existed a heart issue. Cain’s heart was NOT in the right place.

He gave an offering to God to honor God true enough. But Cain’s offering was given in the way Cain saw fit… and not in the way God had instructed.

Verse 7 gives some interesting insight. Look at what God says to Cain in response to Cain’s emotional state.

Genesis 4:7 NIV

7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Consider this… Adam and Eve violated the command of God when they ate fruit from what tree? The tree of the knowledge of good and evil… RIGHT AND WRONG.

This knowledge had now been obtained through sin. Cain knew the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, and he chose the latter.

Here’s the deal, church. God will never look at SIN with FAVOR. NEVER.

No matter how “good” the excuse might be, sin will NEVER be favorable in the eyes of the Lord!

If we desire for God to look at us with favor, then we must choose to steer away from sin! Cain made a mistake! Cain’s issue is with God, not with his brother… and God even tries to warn him of what was coming if a heart change didn’t happen immediately!

“Sin is crouching at your door” God said. Cain was struggling and God was calling out… his heart. Cain’s heart led him in the wrong direction once… and if left unchecked… it would lead him wrong again.

Cain felt his offering was good enough. His feelings were misleading. Now… his feelings were leading him even further from the truth.

He failed to meet God’s standards. Once again, Cain would take matters into his own hands. Instead of choosing repentance, Cain would opt for… revenge.

A Heart Unchecked...

Genesis 4:8–16 NIV

8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Abel had NOTHING to do with Cain’s issue… but Cain, in his fury and jealousy… deceived and murdered his brother. Then… he lied to God regarding his actions. Once again, Cain tried to skirt the responsibility of his shortcomings. But God… would call him out.

God warned Cain the first time but Cain failed to heed the warning. Now Cain must face the consequence of the sin he committed against his brother.

One sin led to another.

First, Cain sinned against God for not doing what he knew to be right.

Second, Cain sinned against his brother by taking his life.

Both were sins in the eyes of the Lord and both came with consequence.

God did not receive Cain’s offering with favor.

God exiled Cain from where he was and from the fruit of the ground.

The exile would lead to something very interesting… something we will look at in depth next week.

The point is: a heart left unchecked is a heart that is headed for danger.

Sin will be sin. Sin is out there. Sin is lurking. Sin desires to bring destruction and hardship to those who would allow it access to their lives.

The devastating results are clear.

Abel lost his life. Cain could not control his jealousy and rage.

Cain lost his family, his home, his trade… and worse yet… “went out from the Lord’s presence.”

How destructive can unchecked emotions become in our lives? They can lead a person to spiritual and physical ruin!

Feelings can and will be misleading. Feelings might try to convince us of “REALITIES” that are nothing more than DECEPTIONS.

Remember, it all started when Cain FELT like his offering was good enough… but he KNEW it to be wrong.

His feelings continued to lead him in the wrong direction.

Abel’s faith led him to favor with God. Abel had NO CONTROL over how his brother saw him. Abel had no control over the feelings Cain had regarding him.

Cain was not his brother’s keeper… but he was his brother’s murderer. He wanted what Abel had with God… Favor. But he lacked the faith that Abel had in God.

Application

Feelings can be deceiving. Feelings can be avenues in which sin tries to enter the picture.

Emotions are not sinful… but if left unchecked… they can lead a person to sin.

So how do we “check” our emotions? Against what standard must we measure the condition of our heart?

God gave the answer to Cain. Acceptance is found in doing what is right. When our feelings try to move us in the wrong direction… our knowledge of what is right MUST kick in.

There are times when our feelings will be aligned with doing what is right. But there are times when the two appear to be going in opposite directions.

Anger… jealousy… rage… are all feelings that tend to lead a person away from doing what is right. That is why we must take passages like James 1:19-21 to heart.

James 1:19–21 NIV

19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Your anger… will lead you to spiritual failure.Anger leads us away from God’s righteousness.

However, acceptance of His Word will SAVE YOU.

It will save you from the potential consequences of your anger.

It will save you from the known consequence of sin.

But acceptance of His Word comes through faith… not feelings.

We may feel like going one way… but I pray that we will listen to our faith that leads us in God’s way.

God warned Cain of the impending danger. James tells us to “get rid of all moral filth and evil that is so prevalent.”

We need to take such warnings… to heart.

Live by faith… not by how we feel.

Do what we know to be right… for the sake of honoring God and steering clear from sin.

When we mess up… take responsibility for our actions.

If Cain would have been truthful with himself, he would have realized that Abel had nothing to do with his failure. He could have remedied the situation… but instead he shifted the blame. In doing so… he incorrectly cast judgement on another and sealed his fate as a wanderer.

Here’s the deal: Cain was wandering away from God before he ever offered his grain offering. His failed attempt to honor God only exposed… his heart.

Where is your heart at today? If you are being real with yourself… who or what is governing your heart? Is it how you feel? Or is it your faith?

Make a choice to place your faith in control. Allow the Spirit of God to guide you and be mindful of your emotions. Honor God by placing your full faith in Him.