Seething Jealousy and Blind Rage Lead to . . .Murder?

The sin of Cain and the mercy of God: Genesis 4:1-16

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil. 3So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD, 4while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock.
And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.
Genesis 4:2-5

A moment of decision with momentous consequences

Seething jealousy. Blind rage.

Have you ever made a good decision under those conditions?

Cain and Abel both offered some of their livelihood to the Lord. We know that Abel presented the best of his firstborn, and presumably, with a joyful heart. By implication, Cain probably didn’t meet any of those criteria–perhaps he brought produce that wasn’t in prime condition and did it begrudgingly.

The Lord wasn’t pleased with Cain’s offering and allowed him to return to God’s favor. However, his anger was far too great. Cain became sullen and likely brooded on the unfairness of the situation. After all, he was the firstborn! Surely, that should count for something! What right did God have to be so picky, anyway?

Cain’s anger was probably first at God for denying him the blessing. Then, jealousy toward his brother overtook him. He was not about to let that younger upstart overshadow him! Something had to be done, and the young man plotted to take his vengeance.

If I hear God, I will obey.

God knew what was in Cain’s heart before it was even a plan. In a direct, loving confrontation, He said “Why are you angry and why has your countenance fallen? 7If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you to master you, but you must master it.”

Have you ever heard someone say, “If God tells me directly, I will certainly obey Him!”

Hmmm. Adam’s family had the closest possible connection and conversations with God since the fall. Let’s see how well that reasoning held up.

Cain gave in to the sin and God gave him over to accomplish the fulfillment of that desire, which resulted in cold-blooded, premeditated murder.

Punishment that is beyond what I can bear

God brought the consequences quickly. Notice similarities and differences between the repercussions of Cain’s disobedience and his parents’.

	Adam and Eve	Cain
Curse	On the ground so it will grow thorns with the crops and require hard work to cultivate	On Cain so he will not be able to grow any crops
Driven out	From the garden and from the Tree of Life	From the land and from the presence of God
God’s protection and provision	Animal skins to cover their shame through a substitutionary death; the promise of a redeemer to crush the serpent; guarding the Tree of Life so they would not live forever in sin	A mark on Cain’s forehead so no one would kill him; the promise of sevenfold vengeance from God for all who harm him

Divorced from the source of idolatry

The Hebrew word for drive out is gârash which means to drive out from a possession; especially to expatriate or divorce. God divorced these three from the place of their sin and disobedience. He also separated them from the source of their idolatry.

Adam and Eve ate the fruit out of the desire for attributes they thought they could obtain apart from God (wisdom, being like God, knowing good and evil). Cain apparently kept his best fruit for himself (pride, greed, seeing himself as equal to God?) instead of offering it to God. In both cases, the fruit and its qualities, and the human’s own desires were placed above God and His direct instruction.

Cain’s revenge on Abel was far greater than Abel’s “offense” of doing the right thing. In future posts, we will see that pattern continue with successive generations becoming more wicked and more determined to silence the righteous ones.

Grace that is far greater than all my sin

The good news is that Jesus provides His grace that is far greater than the worst we could possibly do in disobedience! In His death and resurrection, He has already reversed the curses and the consequences of sin.

Jesus is the spotless lamb and the firstfruits of the harvest. In Him, we have become the perfect offering to God as we align with His ways.
God looks with favor on us because Jesus is the complete sacrifice for our sins. We don’t have to try to figure out what pleases God; we can look to Jesus and see God’s pleasure in us.
Jesus has mastered sin and conquered it on our behalf. When we trust Him, He is the power to overcome evil thoughts and wickedness.
Jesus is our joy and delight. He is the one who can lift our countenance and turn our hearts to life instead of death.
The Lord gave believers a new heart and spirit. Even when we sin, we know that our true desire is to love and honor Him and we can seek forgiveness and restoration.
Jesus became a curse on our behalf. Through Him, all the curses resulting from sin have been broken.
Jesus was unjustly murdered to bear the penalty for the sins of 100 billion people. Now, we are seen as righteous and don’t have to die eternally for our own sins.
God marked and sealed us with the Holy Spirit. By this we are set apart for God, and cannot be killed in the spirit.
God will take His vengeance on the wicked in His time. His retribution will be perfectly matched to the evil they have done. His grace and mercy to His children, however, will be abundantly beyond all we can ask or imagine!

Cain presents a terrific example to validate Jesus’ words that equate anger with murder:

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.
Matthew 5:21-22

How easily anger consumes us and becomes a raging fire that results in great damage to another person. Jesus also tells us that we will be accountable for every careless word (Matthew 12:36) and that the power of death and life are in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21).

The answer to this vicious cycle is Jesus Christ. In Him we have life and we can be life-givers to those around us.

Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.
Psalm 42:11

I would love to hear your thoughts on this post. If you want to receive my writings in your email, please click Follow so we stay connected!