City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

1 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 contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Genesis 4:1-7 (ESV)

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

Matthew 5:21-22 (ESV)

¹³ No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:13

Reflection

When I went to look for examples of preaching and teaching explaining this story of the first murder, I tended to come up short.  Rather, I found lots of examples of people telling the story of how Cain killed Able.  Sorry, that would be Abel.  Yes, the same letters, but the “e” comes before the “l.”  But fear not.  I did not let that get in the way of me doing some additional research.  First, I went back and read the verses.  When I slowed down to look, I noticed that my verses only go to Verse 7, which is before Cain does the evil dead.  Sorry again, that would be “deed” not “dead.”  Verse 7 is the fork in the road.  Will he listen to the leading of the Lord, or will he turn inward and trust in his own judgement?

Cain is outdone by his younger brother.  The Bible says that God has “no regard” for Cain’s offering.  So, he did not even get partial credit. Cain’s countenance fell, and it is this state that placed him in the most danger. It is not God’s intent for us to live is fallenness and self-pity, for God says that if he tries again and does good, he will be accepted. Oh, now it is getting deep.

You see, it is one thing to live your life throwing a bone to God, to “maintain” your standing.  It is a completely different thing to say, “Lord, I give you all and accept any and all correction you have for me.” If you look at Cain’s offering on its own, you can see that he is offering God something from the productive part of his life. But when God indicates that the offering is not worthy, Cain can see that there is something in his life that falls short. I think we can all relate to that, but what about being willing to change your life so that the production of your life is acceptable to God?  This means that all acceptable offerings to God will be on His terms, and not yours.

Verse 7 sits on the bed next to us each morning when we rise.  It follows us down the highway, as we drive to work.  It watches the words we speak throughout the day.  And it comes home draped around our necks in the evening.  And all that time it asks us, “will you be faithful?”  “Will you be obedient?”  “Will you be true?”

Application

If we approach our lives constantly thinking about obeying a bunch of rules, I think we will find that we follow Cain in most cases.  To be faithful, to be obedient, to be true, we must live lives of fellowship with God.  We must overcome sin, but it must be done through the leading of the Lord. 

Prayer

Dear Lord, I recognize that sin is always crouching at the door of my house, but I also know that You have promised that You will not leave me to be an orphan.  So, I take courage that You will lead me out of every temptation.  I pray for the strength and wisdom to follow You at all times, that I might overcome sin and be made into the shape of Jesus.  In His name, Amen.