YEAR 1, WEEK 45, Day 1, Monday, 4 November 2024

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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Monday, 4 November 2024:

Genesis 4:4-7 – And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 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.”

One of the first, most powerful, and most dangerous sins recorded in the Bible, revisited countless times throughout the remainder of the Bible, is envy. Envy is obviously directed at other people, but ultimately it is directed at God. We are angry because God has given somebody something He hasn’t given us. We are challenging God’s justice and fairness. Resentment creeps in and takes control of us, causing us to sin against God and others. The Bible says that envy destroys us – “rots the bones.” Envy drove Cain to murder. Envy caused the religious leaders of the day to murder Jesus. God calls us to focus on our relationship with Him and to be content with what He has given us rather than to compare our lives with others. Focus on your fidelity to Him, not on your circumstances.

Genesis 4:5-7 – So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 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?

The greatest battle we fight in life is with self, or “the flesh.” We must resist our temptations to sin. The world and the devil are external temptations, but the flesh tempts us from within, making it our greatest threat. Through your Bible readings this year, you will learn how to resist internal temptations.

Cain’s face fell. In his envy, he sulked and stewed in his anger and bitterness. Rather than asking God for help, he started drawing away from God and his brother, likely contriving ways to get even. God uses these accounts in His word to teach us about our sinful condition, but even more importantly, God uses His word to teach us about Himself and His Nature, Character, will, ways, purposes, commands, and promises. Notice throughout this account how God responds to Cain: The Lord invites Cain into a conversation and offers him gentle counsel, hoping the Cain would seek repentance and restoration, and He warns Cain of the dangers of sin. However, Cain refuses to hear God and murders his brother. Notice, once again, God draws near to Cain and tries to talk with Him again, inviting Cain to confess and seek help. However, Cain simply lies to God and tries to cover up his sin. When God punishes Cain, he doesn’t just destroy him, even though Cain refuses to accept responsibility for his sin; rather God shows incredible mercy for Cain and even protects him from being overly harmed by others, leaving Cain an opportunity for repentance; however, Cain’s story ends with Cain leaving the presence of the Lord with no indication of repentance. We should be amazed by Cain’s obstinance, but be far more amazed by God’s grace. God continues to seek out Cain and invite him to repentance, reconciliation, and restoration, all while continuing to mercifully provide for Cain. God showed His love for us in a far greater way by sending His Son into this broken world to seek and save the lost, to invite sinners to repent and to be reconciled and restored. However, many, like Cain, simply refuse to accept God’s invitation. However, even among those who are saved, there often remains sin which hasn’t been surrendered to the Lord, bodies still buried in denial, though the Lord knows exactly what is going on. Pay attention to Gods warning in this account about the dangers of sin, and stop trying to hide your sins before the Lord or make light of them. Confess, repent, and draw near to the Lord in obedience.

Genesis 4:8 — Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

A theme for today’s readings is the heart of worship.

We read in Genesis that, after the Fall, Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. Abel was a herdsman and Cain was a farmer. Eventually, both Cain and Abel brought offerings to the LORD from their respective labors, Cain brought produce, and Abel brought a sacrificed animal. The Bible says, “And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So, Cain was very angry, and his face fell.” (Genesis 4:4, 5)

Now the Bible doesn’t specifically say in Genesis 4 why the LORD found Cain’s sacrifice unacceptable, but it does specifically record Cain’s response – anger, which gives us a clue to what the actual problem was. Some have assumed the problem with Cain’s sacrifice was that it was produce and not a blood sacrifice. However, throughout the Old Testament, we will see that both animal sacrifices and first fruit sacrifices are at times accepted and at times rejected by the Lord, and ultimately neither sacrifice atones for sin –

• Jeremiah 6:20 — What use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
• Isaiah 1:11-15 — What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. “When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
• Amos 5:21-23 — I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
• Hebrews 10:4 — For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

The issue with Cain’s unacceptable sacrifice wasn’t the type of offering presented to the LORD but rather the heart behind it. Cain was going through the motions of worship (ascribing worth and honor to the LORD) without a genuine heart of worship. Outwardly, the ‘religious’ activities of Cain and Abel looked very similar, but inwardly they were completely different. Abel sought to humbly honor the LORD, while Cain offered to the LORD from a heart of pride and expectation (“I did something for you, so you should do something for me. Now, I deserve your blessing.”) Abel was celebrating the worthiness of God, while Cain was attempting to show God his own worthiness. God was first in Abel’s life, but Cain was first in Cain’s life, and while Abel sought to serve and honor God, Cain wanted God to serve and honor him. Jesus called such people “hypocrites,” which basically means stage actor, pretending to worship God for profit.

So, when his sacrifice was not accepted, Cain became angry, and he directed that anger towards Abel in the form of envy. The deadly passion of envy incited Cain to murder Abel just as it incited the chief priests to murder Jesus – “For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.” (Mark 15:10) Envy is resentment of God projected towards others because God has given them what the envious thought they deserved and didn’t receive. James explains, we quarrel and murder because we want what others have, and we don’t have because we don’t ask God for it, and when we do ask God for it, we ask for the wrong reasons, we ask selfishly rather than selflessly. (James 4:1-10) Simply stated, anger, envy, and jealously are contrary to true worship and signal a pride which defies the Sovereignty of the LORD.

Hebrews 11:4 tells us, “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain….” Abel’s sacrifice was merely an outward sign of the faith, hope, and love he had in his heart before the LORD, and God knew his heart. Conversely, 1 John 3:11, 12 says, “For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 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’s offering was unacceptable before he ever approached the alter because he didn’t have a heart for God or others, he was unloving and self-centered.

In Genesis, the LORD warns Abel, “Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” As we will see throughout the entire Bible and as we clearly observe in life, sin is never satisfied, and it grows like a forest fire from a spark. Cain’s anger resulted in fratricide, which impacted Cain’s entire lineage. Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander…. You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 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. So, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 15:19; 5:21-24) We must “rule over” sin by seeking the LORD with all of our heart, not simply going through outward religious activities but rather growing in love for the LORD day by day, a love which is outwardly expressed by loving others wholeheartedly. James goes on to tell us, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (James 4:7-10) Jesus said the greatest, the ultimate commandment is, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) True worship is continuous and starts and ends with love –

• Romans 12:1 — I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
• Psalm 51:17 — The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
• Hebrews 13:15-17 — Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
• Ephesians 5:2 — And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
• Philippians 4:18 — I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.
• Hosea 6:6 — For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Genesis 4:9 – Am I my brother’s keeper?

Another major theme throughout the Bible is that God holds us accountable of taking care of others around us. We are never permitted to act as if we are not responsible for others. Yes, you are your brother’s keeper.

Genesis 4:11-14 — And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 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.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 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.”

When Adam and Eve the ground was cursed. In Cain’s case, he was cursed from the ground. Even with toil and effort, Cain’s farming would no longer yield fruit. This meant he would have to hunt and scavenge for food. Even evil Cain knew that He was helpless without God’s provision and protection. The height of arrogance is for a person to believe that they are in control of their life.

Notice, however, Cain’s response to his punishment – “My punishment is greater than I can bear!” He didn’t say, “My sin is grater than I can bear.” Nor did he ask for forgiveness. Cain was only concerned about preserving his physical life, which is ironic since he just took his brother’s life.

Cain’s life was a mess. In modern vernacular, he was unsuccessful at work and within his relationships. Nothing was working. He could blame the environment (the soil), he could blame God, he could blame his family, he could simply call it all bad luck, but in reality his problem was a heart problem, a worship problem. Cain ruined his life and hurt others due to his self-centeredness and self-pity. He followed his parent’s example and chose his own desires over God, which was revealed first by prideful worship. Cain’s religious activity was self-righteous and self-justifying (“Look how good I am and what I have done for you God; now what are you going to do for me?”), rather than a humble, grateful seeking of the Lord, His will, and His glory.

Cain followed his parent’s example in sin but not in their shame and guilt. Unlike his parents, Cain displays no guilt or shame. Cain is completely callous in his sin. He expresses great grief over his consequences (bad grief), but no grief over his sin (good grief), or the death of his brother, or the pain he has caused his parents, or the offense to God. Cain refuses to accept the reality of himself, and as a result, his relationship with God (which is Life) completely dissolves.

We must understand that ALL our problems are self-induced, not all of our trials, but all of our problems. Christians will go through the same hardships as everyone else in this broken world; however, when we abide in (live in and by) God’s presence and word, God uses life circumstances to draw us closer to Him, to conform us to Christlike character, and to make our lives blossom, all with the promise of indescribable and immeasurable eternal reward. Also, though obedience doesn’t protect us from the effects of living in a broken world, it does protect us from the needless sorrows which come from the avoidable consequences of our own sins. In Christ, we live in the promise of Romans 8:28 for the purpose of Romans 8:29 and the fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer for us in John 17 – no problem!

Genesis 4:15 — Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.

God Himself protects the sinner. We cannot possibly know what God is doing in the life of an obvious sinner. We are called to judge the actions, not the person. Our job is to seek to help others be reconciled with Jesus, not condemn them, even if we must punish them.

Genesis 4:17 – When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.

When people walk away from God, they glorify themselves over God. They build monuments to themselves rather than God. They want people to recognize them and remember them rather than to recognize and remember God. The Christian doesn’t want any credit, any accolades, or any attention. The Christian’s whole life points to Jesus. Christian, be very wary of the vertical personal pronoun of “I.” Don’t try to share glory with Jesus. You were called to be an ambassador for Jesus, not an ambassador for yourself. Do everything in the name of Jesus, not in your own name.

Genesis 4:24 – If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.

A godless people become increasingly obsessed with sex and violence, and they grow a distorted view of justice while viewing mercy as weakness.

Genesis 4:26 – At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.

The Bible shows a division in society right from the beginning between the lineage of Cain who walked away from God and sought their own power, and the lineage of Seth who called upon God. Everyone places their faith in something. Some will trust earthly power, and some will trust God. Within the political cycle, many will be proclaimed as the hope of the nation; how often did you hear people proclaiming Jesus as the hope for our nation? While everyone is preaching politics, hopefully you will preach the Gospel.

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 4 November 2024: Today, pray that God will increase in you a heart of genuine worship and seek to honor God and serve others in all you do today as acts of worship acceptable to the LORD.