The Life of Cain
Cain is the first son recorded to be born of Eve the wife of Adam. He is mentioned in 17 verses in the Bible from both Old and New Testaments. 14 of the verses mentioning Cain come in Genesis 4. The life of Cain is one of tragedy. It speaks heavily to disobedience, a lack of self-control, jealous anger.
Cain worked the ground. Thus, he appears to be a farmer of some sort. There came a time when he brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground. God did not have respect for Cain’s offering. Cain became angry and this disposition showed. God spoke to Cain and asked him why he was angry and why did he look the way he did. He asked Cain if he did well wouldn’t he be accepted? He then instructed Cain that when he didn’t do well that sin would be near. He told Cain sin wanted him, but he must rule over it.
Critical in understanding the life of Cain is understanding the authority of God. Without all the information, it is easy to point the finger at God by our not understanding. How could God punish Cain, someone who had brought him a gift offering? Would it not seem that Cain wanted to please or be pleasing to God through his action? Believe it or not, this same behavior is occurring throughout religious bodies today. Individuals are offering up gifts they believe will be pleasing to God, but are not. How can this be said? Where is the proof of this comparison? Consider the rest of the story, then one of the three verses not found in Genesis 4. The rest of the story of the offering is that the brother of Cain, Abel, “also brought of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions.” Of this the author of the book of Hebrews, writes, “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts…”. “By Faith” what does this mean? Fortunately, we do not have to guess. Romans 10:17 tells us “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”. In other words, acceptable offerings “by faith” to God come from what He tells the hearer. For Cain, the words came directly to him from God. For mankind today, they come from the Bible itself. So, if God commands a specific offering and exactly what He requested is not offered, the offeror is outside of given authority. Bottom line, God will not be pleased. This was the failing of Cain and the reason God had no regard for his offering. Cain did not offer what was requested. His offering was not righteous – not right. This type of action is also the reason God is not pleased by much of modern day worship. They offer what God did not request nor in the manner He has requested.
Sadly, this is not the last failing in the life of Cain. Cain spoke to his brother out in a field and then killed him. The text of Genesis 4 does not specifically say why he killed his brother. However, the New Testament gives us an answer we might have supposed. “We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.” Cain killed his brother because of his own jealous anger. God had warned Cain that sin wanted him. He told him to rule over it, that is to have self-control. So many things flash through our minds as we experience the different feelings of this life. Anger, sadness, desire, lust, joy, exhilaration, envy, jealousy, greed, hunger, and other aspects of living in human flesh all have their potential pitfalls. Solomon wrote that “There is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death.” Cain’s solution to his evil disobedient behavior and his brother’s righteous behavior was to eliminate his brother. What could be wrong with this plan? Kind of like David eliminating Uriah (the husband of the wife with whom David committed adultery and impregnated). Cain was jealous of his brother receiving the praise of God. This jealousy led to his lack of self-control. The lack of self-control added another sin on top of the first one.
Sobriety is often associated with alcohol or drugs. If you are sober, many consider this to be the absence of the influence of these substances. However, sobriety is being clear headed, self controlled, vigilant with your thoughts and actions. It means that despite how you feel, you put yourself in the right state of thinking. Cain failed mightily in both his offering and his killing of Abel because in neither case did he exert control over his thoughts or actions. Cain may be a bad example of how to conduct your life, but he is an excellent example of how not to conduct your life. Walk in obedience and self-control by the authority of God and not by your own feelings, and your life will be an offering that is pleasing to God.