Consequences of Nursing Sin
4-19-2015
Gen 4:1-16
Now Adam
knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten
a man with the help of the Lord." 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel.
Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the
course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground,
4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat
portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and
his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The
Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?
7 If you do well, will you not be
accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire
is for you, but you must rule over it." 8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother.
And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and
killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your
brother?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" 10
And the Lord said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood
is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground,
which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12
When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You
shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth." 13 Cain said to the
Lord, "My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, you have driven me today away from
the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a
wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." 15 Then the
Lord said to him, "Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken
on him sevenfold." And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him
should attack him. 16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and
settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
In the story
of sin and misery we see God’s patience and mercy with the unrepentant sinner.
·
Cain is the first person born in sin. There is no indication that they
were twins. Gen 4:1-5, Gen 3:15
·
Cain= “acquire, get, possess.” It is play on words & a declaration
of HOPE and gratitude
·
Abel = breath, vapor. This
is a prophecy of his short existence.
Abel was the
shepherd; Cain was the farmer. Each offering was appropriate to their vocation.
·
There does not appear to be anything wrong with the fruit as opposed to animal
sacrifice.
o Later, God commanded grain
and harvest offerings.
The problem was
not offering but in Cain himself (he was religious). Jude
11-13, Heb. 11:4, 1 Jn 3:11-12
·
Abel is as much of a sinner as Cain but Abel’s righteous & offered in
faith.
o
Sin can reveal itself in what we give to or what we keep from God.
We are not
told explicitly why Cain’s offering is rejected; but instead of repenting &
pleasing God, Cain became very angry with God & Abel. Gen 4:6-7, 1 Pet 5:8, Gen
3:16
·
God graciously seeks out & gently confronts sinful anger & warns
of danger.
o ‘sin
is crouching’ & ‘do well’ imply Cain knew what was right.
·
Eve was talked into sin; even God can’t talk Cain out of sin.
o Cain’s response = He silently
reject God’s counsel & his heart is hardened.
§
The hardening process was set into the human race in the 1st generation
of sin.
Cain directs
his anger, jealousy, and hatred toward his innocent brother. Gen 4:8, 1 Jn 3:15,
·
It is not Abel’s fault that Cain’s sacrifice was not acceptable.
o Sin begins with wrong
thoughts, then wrong feelings, then wrong words, and finally wrong actions.
Like Adam, Cain
tries to hide sin from Jesus Christ. Unlike Adam and Eve: Cain lies & never
admits sin. Gen 4:9-12
·
In Genesis 3 the curse is personalized, intensified (toil harder) & added
to. (wander).
o The ultimate penalty for the
Hebrew is not death, but exile and the loss of family roots.
The repentant
heart response: “the sentence is fair and mercy is undeserved.’ But Cain’s hard heart assaults God's fairness,
kindness, and justice. Gen 4:13-15,
Rom 2:4-5
·
A murderer fears being murdered not an omnipotent righteous God.
o There is no fear or reverence
for God and no indication of sorrow for sin, or regret for Abel’s death, or
thought for parents who lost son…he is only preoccupied with self.
·
Even in Cain's unrepentance, God extends mercy and compassion towards him.
o We are not sure the exact
nature of the sign God gave Cain, but this was mark of grace that God’s protective
hand on Cain in spite of his great sin. Common Grace
Account of God’s
patience and mercy towards unrepentant sinners & the devastating consequences
of nursing sin.
·
Unchecked sin within
will eventually lead to devastation without. Jam
1:14-15, Eph. 4:27, 31-32, Mt
5: 21-22a, 29-30
o Uncontrolled anger/jealousy
resulted in Abel’s death & destroyed Cain’s life.
·
Don’t flirt or dabble with sin, not even in your thoughts.
o The murder of Abel began
with Cain thinking the Lord was unjust with him.
Repent,
and by God’s grace deal now with your sin or soon you’ll find yourself in the grip
of a monster you can’t control…and in a place you don’t want to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.