Sin is crouching at the door

Genesis 4:1-10 NASB

Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, "I have gotten a manchild with  the help of  the Lord."  Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.  So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground.  Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering;  but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.  Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?  "If you do well, will not  your countenance  be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it."  Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
  Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?"  He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.

My thoughts -

Yesterday we had Adam and Eve. Today we have Cain and Abel, another familiar story of sin.

I can relate to Cain more than I would like to be able to. No, I haven't killed my brother. (As a twin, though, growing up that always seemed like a live option for either of us.) But I am constantly plagued by jealously and insecurity.

Cain and Abel both gave offerings to the Lord. As much as I like things to be egalitarian it is clear in this passage that Abel's offering was better. Cain gave a portion of the fruits of his labor. Abel gave the first and best portion of his. God was pleased with Abel's offering and not with Cain's.

I am sure that stung a bit. No one likes to have their work looked down upon, even and especially if there is reason for it. No one likes to feel inadequate, even and especially of their work is inadequate. Cain got butt hurt. It happens. No one likes to be reprimanded, even and especially if there is a good reason for the reprimand.

So God asks Cain why he is angry. God then rebukes him and offers that if he does well then he will be lifted up. And then God offers Cain this warning. Sin is crouching at the door. Sin wants you. It longs for you. It is desperately seeking you and it's about to have you. Don't let it. You have to master it.

Cain did not get the affirmation he was looking for from God. Instead he goes to his brother. Whatever happened while Cain and Abel were talking, ultimately it led to them being in a field and Cain killing his brother.

I like affirmation. I think we all do. It is good to hear a "well done" every now and then. It is good to have our work praised. It is good to know that we are doing the right thing and we are doing it well. But we are not always doing the right thing. And we do not always do it well. And sometimes others are just plain better than us. It is easy to become jealous. It is easy to let that jealousy enrage us. It is easy to make those people our enemies. It is easy to hate.

I have a hard time sometimes celebrating the success of others, especially if that success seems to come at my expense. This is a natural thing, but not what God desires. This breeds jealousy, bitterness, and hatred. Sin is crouching at the door. I need to be aware when I am jealous and bitter and master them.

No, I'm not likely to kill my brother like Cain did. But Jesus sets a different standard than physically killing. Jesus says that if we hate someone that's the same as murdering them. We dehumanize. In our hearts they are as good as dead. And this is what jealousy leads to. Bitterness, hatred, and death.

Cain would have done well to receive God's rebuke, acknowledge that his offering was inadequate, and done better next time. Cain should have accepted responsibility for his actions, humbled himself, and corrected them. Instead he blamed his problems on his brother, whose offering was well received, and ultimately in a jealous rage murdered him.

If Cain had listened to God's rebuke and the warning against sin he would still have a brother and would live in a reconciled relationship with his brother and with God. Instead he refused to heed God's warning and instead committed and atrocity and received a curse.