QT 7/24/2025 Gen 4:8-16, Fighting the flesh

Genesis 4:8–16 (ESV) —

8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 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.” 13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 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.” 15 Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. 16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

 

NOTE: It seems that the sin of bitterness or wanting what another has, ran deep in Cain. Not only does he kill his brother in the context of wanting a chat, but he then lies to God. His concept of God, for being a first generation believer is very weak (to believe he could lie to God). God had warned him earlier about his sin, therefore he should have known that God could see through him. And then he complains that his punishment is too great, what did he think his sin was? After the flood, God allows capital punishment when it is administered by a group. Cain complains that he might get killed (but he is allowed to kill!?). Cain's work in the ground is taken to a new level of frustration -- not only does he experience the frustration of weeds (Adam's punishment), but the yield is less than it could be for the rest of his life. He is marked man, and I am not surprised that he moves away from his family.

 

It is hard to say when this happened. Since the descendants of Adam lived long, 800-900 years, this could have happened at any time, even 300-500 years after the fall. God allowed Eve to be very fruitful and since the DNA had not been compromised by the environment yet, intermarriage did not cause certain birth defects or blood diseases. There could have been a fairly large population by the time of the event.

 

The bible does give some insight on this event:

Hebrews 11:4 (ESV) — 4 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. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.

1 John 3:12 (ESV) — 12 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.

Jude 11 (ESV) — 11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion.

Abel was commended as righteous. Cain was evil, his deeds were evil, and he, like Balaam, was out for personal gain.

 

While hopefully none of us would ever consider murder, we are like Cain. We get bent out of shape when things don't go our way. We covet riches and gain. But we, Christians that is, also seek good and contentment because we know it is better for our soul. There is a battle going on within us between our flesh and the Spirit. The more we feed the Spirit, the better we do in living a righteous life. What does the Holy Spirit desire?

Colossians 3:16–17 (ESV) — 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

We need to feed on God's word if we want to transform our mind.

 

PONDER:

1. How much time do I spend in God's word?
2. Do I meet with God in word and prayer each day?

 

PRAYER: Father, you alone have the power to transform us. Someday, we will be like you-although how I do not know. We will not have our sinful flesh to tempt us to sin. We will be free from temptation. But for now, we struggle against the flesh. Protect us from the evil one and his schemes. Use us for good in our area of influence.