Friday, February 10, 2006

Cain's Mentality

csldailydevotion

10 Feb 07

Devotion 8 : Genesis 4 - The Mentality of Cain

1 Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man." 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"

10 The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."

13 Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."

15 But the LORD said to him, "Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Why was God so unfair to Cain?

Cain was “forced” to kill his brother because he was jealous of God’s favor over Abel. If God had been kinder towards Cain, Abel could have been spared. If God had not been unfair towards Cain, if God had assured Cain of his effort, Cain could have been more worshipful…

Have you ever thought about this passage this way?

I have. And I have learnt to term this thinking as Cain’s Mentality!

Cain’s Mentality, an effort to justify our action without consideration of God’s nature! It is a man-centered approach to God in times of crisis or calamity as well!

God knew Cain! God knew Cain’s ugliness within him. He was disqualified even before the sacrifice was given. He was not equally regarded by God because he was not even equal with Abel before God. God saw through his evilness, his wickedness, his revengeful nature. Thus no amount of sacrifice would draw God to him.

Yet we see the mercy of God when God spoke to Cain in v6 and 7 - God reminded Cain of the reality of sin crouching at the door!

God warned Cain despite His foreknowledge of Cain, i.e. that Cain would kill his brother.

Thus when Cain sinned by killing his brother, he did so through yielding to his evil being.

God is just when He judges.

Thus, when we sense the lack of favor or intimacy with God, or even during times of crisis, it is good to ask the Holy Spirit to search and test our hearts lest there are evil ways within us.

Finally, we need to return back to accept the Sovereignty of God – He is good and He is in control!

And the Sovereignty of God is… He always leads us into Victory!


CSL

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