Cain: The All Consuming Power of Sin (e)
Genesis 4
James R. Davis
"Sin is seldom named or even mentioned in our culture, or even in Christian communities. Christians have found nicer terms to use, such as ethics. Using more positive language, a teacher spoke to his students of "binding moral duties" but they even rejected moral commitment as actions for motivation or self- interest. Their opinions are representative of a denial of morality, and therefore, sin. Perhaps it's time that we went back to square one and began to rethink our understanding of sin." (From: "Sin no more?" by Robert E. Burns. U.S. Catholic, Dec 1989. Page 2.)
I like to think of the first six chapters of Genesis as sort of a preface to the Bible. I think of these chapters as an introduction to the rest of the Bible. These chapters serve as an introduction to God's redemptive work and the effects of sin. In very brief style you read about creation, the beauty of a world without sin, man and woman, and how good everything was. Then sin is introduced, and immediately we see the destructive forces of sin on Adam and Eve's family and on through Cain and his descendants. Then you read of the violence that sin brings, and how it culminates in Genesis chapter six with God's plan to destroy the world. In six brief chapters, we get a glimpse of the all-consuming power of sin, and of God's plan to redeem mankind from the power and effects of sin. To me this is a preface of what the entire Bible is about.
Those chapters are intended not only to introduce us to God but also to introduce us to sin. In those brief chapters, we catch a glimpse of how and why God is working through his Word to stop the evil forces of sin. More time and space is given to the evil forces of sin in the beginning chapters than any other thing. It is extremely important that we understand sin and its all-consuming power. Nowhere is that more graphically illustrated than in the effects and affects of sin on Cain and his descendants.
Cain was a tiller of the soil. He knew what it was to cultivate the ground, plant the seed and wait for the harvest. But there was another kind of seed that was planted and cultivated in his heart. The seed of sin had been planted in Eden. Cain was the first person totally consumed by sin. In brief form, Genesis chapter four begins to unveil the consequences of sin on humanity. In Genesis chapter four we see the seed of sin planted in Cain's heart. We see Cain become a permanent follower of "that old serpent, called the Devil." (Revelation 12:9; John 8:44) God had warned Cain that sin was at the door of his heart and it desired to consume him. That is exactly what we see sin doing in chapter four.
James warns us about the consuming power of sin. "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1:15) It begins with lust. Lust comes in many forms but the basic forms are lust for wisdom, recognition and pleasure. Lust to be your own God, lust to be as wise as God and lust to fulfill the pleasures of the fleshly appetites. Those are the avenues through which Satan tempted Eve. When these desires are allowed to take control, they bring forth sin and when sin is through with you, it will leave your life in ruins. You will be separated from everything that could have ever been near and dear to you. You will be left a shell of a person.
God Warns Cain of Sin's Danger
God tried ever so gently to reason with Cain. If you do well will you not be accepted? If you do not do well, the sin that is knocking on the door of your heart will consume you.
Whatever else sin did to you and me, it created in us a black hole drawing everything to itself. It is like a vacuum; it sucks everything to itself.
1 Pet 5:7-10
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
There is no substitute for self-control and alertness when it comes to sin. God says sin is standing at the door desiring to come in as master. Peter portrays sin as a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Sin is not satisfied with living in one room in your heart. It wants full run of the house. It wants in the closets, attics and basements and the whole nine yards. Sin is not satisfied until it completely masters the whole of your life. Sin initially damaged Cain's relationship with God. It convinced Cain that the damage was irreparable. Yet, it was not satisfied until it destroyed Cain's relationship with his family. Jesus said, "Whoever is angry at his brother without a cause is in danger of the judgment." (Matthew 5:22) John says that Cain killed his brother because his own deeds were evil and his brothers were righteous. (1 John 3:12)
Sin Is Progressive
Sin's first priority is to refocus your thinking on self. The Bible presents only two ways to focus your life, focus on self or focus on God. A life focused on self is like that black whole in space sucking everything to it. When we focus on ourselves, sin helps us develop many philosophies to place self at the center of our world. Everything is done to enhance self. Whereas a life focused on God has an outward focus. This is a life that is focused on God and treating others like we would like to be treated. (Matthew 22:37-39)
Cain very subtly focused his sacrifice on himself. All he could see was the work of his hands. Cain preferred to offer God the fruits of his labors. He had a green thumb, and bloodstained hands had no appeal to him. He was like many today who acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God. But they refuse to submit to Him as Lord. They wish to come to God on their own terms. The Bible is clear, there is no approach to God except through that which Christ has earned through his death on the cross.
In order to change your focus to an inward focus, sin seeks to harden the heart. The Hebrew writer says, "But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (Heb 3:13) Sin makes a man's heart stubborn. Well, how is a heart made stubborn? It is simple, through deception. To make a heart stubborn, give the heart a delusion that distorts the reality. The heart is deluded by developing a hard shell around it that makes it impenetrable to outside forces. All a harden heart knows is what it feels, thinks, wants and what its needs are. All of this is distorted because its focus is limited to self. It has difficulty understanding the needs of any one outside itself. The hard shell is hard to see through.
How does sin distort reality? Initially, as we have said through changing your focus. Then you allow the heart to become angry at anything that conflicts with what it feels it thinks, needs or wants. Anger is an excellent way to distort reality.
Gen 4:4-5
But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.Everyone has had the misfortune of having to deal with an angry person. I am sure that many have had the misfortune of dealing with each of us in our anger. Have you ever tried to talk rational with a person who is burning with anger? If you have, you know that reasoning doesn't work. Have you ever been to a foreign country where everyone else spoke a different language than yours? When they spoke you had no clue to what they were saying. Even sign language seems to fail. Well, when you speak rationally with an angry person, the same thing happens. It is like one of you is speaking Chinese and the other is speaking Russian, and neither of you are bilingual. That person can't understand your language and you can't understand hers. An angry person can't understand reason.
By the way, I have learned that raising the voice doesn't seem to increase their understanding either. I used to think that that would work. The problem is not wax in the ears. The problem is that in their anger their eyes sort of become crossed and this seems to distort their hearing and the heart is waxed over. A hard heart closes the eyes and closes the ears to all outside stimuli. Jesus puts a different spin on this.
Matt 13:15
For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.Some people think that the way you convert souls to Christ is to make them mad. They are actually harder to teach that way. If you want to set someone up for a fall, do something to them that will make them angry. That is a great tool of the devil. Anger is the opposite of self-control and it is a dangerous thing. It will move you to do what you wouldn't do in a more rational moment.
A person in an angry rage is easily blinded to reality and therefore easily deceived. Cain was angry. Do you notice the subtle switch? Cain was actually like many of us, he was angry with himself, but the pride of our heart refocuses that anger on someone else.
Sin Refuses Responsibility
Sin refuses responsibility by persuading an angry heart to look outside itself for a cause for its anger. In Cain's anger he was deceived into believing that his anger was somebody else's fault. Sin won't allow you to take responsibility for your behavior.The last thing a man in a rage wants to do is to accept responsibility for his anger. Someone made him angry. It is not his fault. Cain's evil heart moved Cain to lure his brother into a field and when no one was looking, he killed Abel. God's displeasure with Cain had nothing to do with Abel. But an angry heart looks for a place to vent itself and Abel was its target.
Sin refuses responsibility by convincing its victims that their sin will not be discovered. This is sin's way of deceiving us into believing there will be no consequences for our behavior. So Cain deceives Abel and kills him thinking that no one would see.
Gen 4:8-9
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"2 Cor 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.Eccl 12:13-14
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.Job 22:12-17
"Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see how lofty are the highest stars! Yet you say, 'What does God know? Does he judge through such darkness? Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.' Will you keep to the old path that evil men have trod? They were carried off before their time, their foundations washed away by a flood. They said to God, 'Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do to us?"Sin Brings Judgment
How gracious God was to seek out Cain and to gently confront him with his sinful anger. But Cain focuses his anger and slays his brother.
Gen 4:9-10
Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?" The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground."Cain's insolence is incredible. Not only does he lie in denying any knowledge of Abel's whereabouts, he seems to rebuke God for the question. Some suggest there may even be a sarcastic play on words to the effect, "I don't know. Shall I shepherd the shepherd?"
The ground was cursed on account of Adam and Eve. (Genesis 3:17) Now the earth has been stained with the blood of man. Now that blood cries out to God for justice. Now God comes in judgment to confront Cain with his sin.
Genesis 4:11-12
"Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."This is the first time that we see the temporal effects on an individual for his sin. This was a specific judgment on Cain for his sin. It was different from the ground being cursed (3:17), that was a general curse of sin on everyone, here we see God passing judgment on Cain. The judgment was a personal judgment against Cain.
Sin Says that Life Is Unfair.
As we look at Cain we do not see his anger diminishing. We see an individual that anger consumes. There is no repentance, and the anger only deepens. Notice that he is angry about his circumstances. So he blames God for the harsh judgment. Most sinners will not face the fact that their circumstances are self-created. In other words, God was telling him that his anger was his own fault. If you do right then you will feel better about yourself.
Gen 4:13-14
"Cain said to the LORD, 'My punishment is more than I can bear. 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.'"Notice the focus continues to be self: "My punishment . . . I can bear . . . you are driving me from the land . . . I will be hidden from . . . whoever finds me will kill me." Hell forbid him to ever think about what he had done.
God assures Cain of his protection and places a mark on Cain that will be a sign that no one must take his life. God assured Cain that while human life meant little to him, He valued it highly. He would not even allow Cain's blood to be shed at this time.
Genesis 4:15
But the LORD said to him, "Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.Sin Becomes Defiant.
To further blind, sin becomes defiant. A partial genealogy is given of Cain's descendants. Moses employed this, I believe, to evidence the ungodliness of Cain and the sinfulness of man commenced at the Fall.
Cain settled in the land of Nod. After the birth of his son, Enoch, Cain established a city named after his child. It would seem that the founding of this city was an act of defiant rebellion against God, who had said he would be a vagrant and a wanderer (4:12).
Genesis 4:19-24
"Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute. Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain's sister was Naamah. Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times."We must pause to observe that even man at his worst is not without the ability to produce that which is deemed beneficial to mankind. To the ungodly, the line of Cain was the source of much that was praiseworthy. But the real fruits of sin are revealed in the words of Lamech to his wives.
Lamech brings us to the point in the history of man where sin is not only committed boldly, but boastfully. He bragged to his wives of his murder. "If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold." You see the arrogance. "If you kill me then you will be avenged seventy-sevenfold."
God spoke these words to protect Cain from being killed from the hand of man. Lamech twisted and distorted them so as to boast of his violence and hostility. Here man has quickly plummeted to the bottom of the barrel! Sin has consumed society.
Jude 1:11-13
Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.Sin Brings Death.
The all-consuming power of sin is seen in Cain's descendants. The irony of the way of Cain is clearly marked. Those who are evil cannot stand those who are truly righteous. They claim brotherly love but they fail to practice.
There is a better way.
Heb 11:4
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.