The Bible narrates the account of the first family. Sin had entered man’s life and now he was banished to live a life of pain, sorrow, grief and toil. Only in the innocence of their youth, they could not yet fathom the terrible price. Yes- they were banished from Eden, the man and his wife. And only just coming to terms with the banishment, they have begun to adapt to a new life separated from a loving God. A new joy entered their life in the form of their twin boys- Cain and Abel. Both of them with unlimited potential and both brought joy to their parents.

But lurking beneath was man’s enemy- Satan- who was not satisfied with the fall of man. Now, that Adam and Eve, having lost paradise, and condemned to sorrow in a fallen world, Satan was about to up the ante.

As time passed, Cain and Abel grew up and pursued the professions they fancied, Abel, a shepherd and Cain, a farmer. We see that an offering for sin was established from the beginning. When Adam sinned, blood was shed to cover the sin temporarily. So Abel followed the example and brought a blood offering. And the Lord was pleased.

Genesis 4:1-11

Now the man had marital relations with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created a man just as the Lord did!” Then she gave birth to his brother Abel. Abel took care of the flocks, while Cain cultivated the ground. At the designated time Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground for an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought some of the firstborn of his flock – even the fattest of them. And the Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering, but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased. So Cain became very angry, and his expression was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast? Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.”

Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?” But the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!

The problem with Cain’s offering

While Cain, as a farmer, was just as beloved as Abel, an offering of fruit of the ground could not cover sin. It did not meet the requirement. So Cain’s first mistake was that he sought to do things his own way rather than follow God’s way. A life for a life- unfortunately was the price of sin. But even when Cain realized that he should have brought a sin offering rather than just an offering, he was insulted and angry. He became mightily inflamed.

God spoke to Cain, nudging him to do the right thing but also warning him of the power of sin. If you follow the instructions or be obedient to the requirements,  “if you do right”, then you will be covered. BUT, if you entertain the thoughts that come knocking at the portals of your mind, the sin the lies ready to crouch on you like a tiger will enter in and devour you. You will be its desire and sin will rule over you.

What a warning!

The Betrayal

But as we know, Cain yielded himself to sin, and slew his brother. Several things jump out at you in this passage.

1. Abel was obedient, loving and was doing the right thing. Yet- he was murdered. Why does a good God, who was pleased with Abel’s offering, not stop Cain from murdering his brother…..for ABEL’s sake?? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is it that people who follow the rules end up reaping sorrow after sorrow. These questions can only be answered in the simple phrase- HE IS ALPHA AND OMEGA- FIRST AND LAST-BEGINNING AND ENDING- HE KNOWS ALL AND HAS PURPOSE IN ALL- IT IS ABOUT GOD AND NOT US. IT IS HIS STORY. Imagine the wailing of parents finding a dead son. The fear, the pain, the sorrow, the guilt- everything rolled up into a ball and flung at them so that all they could do was bend over and scream. Screams that did not penetrate a seemingly deaf heaven. Abel still lay dead. The first physical death was not Adam’s- it was his son. In other words, the sting of death made its way into the first family to inflict as much pain as possible. And Satan made known  that he was now man’s master.
2. Sin lies at the door but it takes a willing hand to open the door. The door is our minds. The mind has always been the battleground where struggles are conceived, strategies are devised and wars are won and lost. Cain invited sin in by dwelling on envy, jealousy and anger. In the end, his preconceived attack on his brother constituted premeditated murder. Had he followed the warning, he would have closed the door and turned away from the temptation. For us today, we need to arrest the thoughts that enter our minds and bring them in subjection to the Lordship of Jesus Christ- because they are seeds sent by the enemy of our souls. Once these seeds take root, they are slowly cracking our defense, our armor and our will, unlocking the door for the “crouching tiger” to enter and to take over.
3. But the murder did not just end there, Cain sought to cover his sin with his own arrogance and self deceit. Did he not know that God sees and knows everything?

“AM I MY BROTHER’S GUARDIAN?”

The answer is yes.  How does this narrative impact the Body of Christ today? Unfortunately, the one who inspired the first murder still exists today and comes against the people of God like a “roaring lion”. 1Peter 5:8-9- “Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour. Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering.”
It is time to stop the infighting in the Body of Christ. Where brother is out to get brother, where envy, jealousy and the spirit of Cain have abounded. The Bride of Christ continues to cut of her own limbs in the name of selfishness. We need to put on the mind of Christ. We need to take seriously the saying “WHAT WOULD JESUS DO” and follow through. For certainly the servant is not greater than the master. YOUR MASTER IS DETERMINED BY WHOSE SEEDS YOU CARRY. IT IS TIME TO TAKE HOLD OF THE WORD OF GOD AND ALLOW THE SEED OF THE WORD TO ENTER IN AND BEAR FRUIT THAT WE MAY BRING GLORY TO GOD AND TO HIM ALONE.

THE CRUX OF THE MATTER

IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE DELIVERANCE THAT GOD HAS PAID SO DEARLY FOR- WITH THE BLOOD OF HIS OWN SON- WE NEED TO DEAL WITH THE SPIRIT OF MURDER. THE REVIVAL THAT WE LONG FOR CANNOT COME UNLESS WE DETOX OUR MINDS, DETOX OUR THOUGHTS, DETOX OUR TONGUES– THAT LITTLE MEMBER WHICH HAS SPREAD SO MUCH FIRE. FALL ON OUR KNEES IN HUMILITY AND SEEK OUT THE TRUTH…. THE BLOOD OF TOO MANY OF GOD’S SONS AND DAUGHTERS ARE CRYING OUT FROM THE GROUND! AS WE FALL TO THE GROUND IN TRUE REPENTANCE, THE ANOINTING WILL MANIFEST- AS WE SEEK HIS FACE AND SEEK OUT OUR FALLEN BRETHREN, WE WILL HEAR HIS VOICE AND THE HEALING WILL COME.