Sin is Always Crouching
December 4, First Wednesday of Advent
Light first purple candle - the Hope Candle
I was the only child of my parents for almost three years. I was the light of their life, their darling daughter…and then my brother, Ben, came along. My mom said that I had a hard time with jealousy from the beginning. So much so that some of my hair began to fall out! That’s right, at two and a half years old, I was already struggling with jealousy of my brother, frantic to find my place in the changing dynamics of my family.
In today’s reading, we’ll follow along with the story of Adam and Eve’s first two children, Cain and Abel. I’m not sure if Cain’s jealousy of his brother started as early as mine, but his is a case study of how disappointment and jealousy unaddressed can lead to dark places.
Read Genesis 4:1-16.
The first two sons of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, were living out part of the cultural mandate God gave to their parents, to steward God’s creation. Cain was a farmer, working the ground within the limitations of the curse on Adam and all humanity after the fall. Abel was a shepherd. I’ve wondered as I’ve studied this story, how it became apparent to the first family that the livestock animals needed tending, in particular the sheep. We know that after handing down the consequences of their sin to Adam and Eve, “The LORD God made clothing from skins for the man and his wife, and He clothed them.” (Gen. 3:21) Scripture doesn’t specify what animal’s skin was used, but what we do know is that an animal had to die in order to cover Adam and Eve’s sin. We also know that sheep are characters in God’s story throughout Scripture, used as sacrifice, food, clothing and metaphor:
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way.
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6
Both sons brought offerings to God from their labors, but only Abel’s was accepted as pleasing and righteous. Why? Cain brought “some” of his harvest. Maybe it was the leftovers? Or an insignificant portion? Abel sacrificed some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. Maybe God preferred shepherds over farmers? Or God had demonstrated that only blood sacrifice was acceptable? While those lines of reasoning might make sense to us, that Cain’s output was incorrect but Abel got it right, that couldn’t be further from the actual reason for God’s rejection of Cain’s offering.
Over and over in subsequent Scriptures, God emphasizes that He looks on the heart and values it over behavior. For example, when God instructed Samuel to go to Jesse’s home and anoint the new king of Israel and Samuel thought surely it was one of David’s older brothers, “the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the LORD sees, for humans see what is visible, but the LORD sees the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7) So then why does God reject Cain’s offering?
Take note of Cain’s emotional response following his humiliation, “Cain was furious and he looked despondent.” (Gen. 4:5) God sees Cain’s heart and understands his wrestling with identity and authority better than Cain understands himself! God asks him a couple of questions: “Why are you furious? Why are you despondent?” Cain’s emotional response communicates that he is not well, but he doesn’t respond to God’s questions. He is embarrassed that his sacrifice was rejected, jealous that somehow his baby brother’s sacrifice was. Anger is churning within him, if he speaks he will explode! God continues to draw near and instruct His son, who is standing at a crossroads; “If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” (Gen. 4:7)
In His kindness and love for Cain, He paints a picture of sin’s progression:
Insecurity and/or Arrogance begets Failure begets Humiliation
begets Jealousy begets Anger begets Murder begets Lies/Cover Up
Unfortunately, Cain refuses to receive correction from the LORD, takes matters into his own hands, allows his passions to rule him and murders his brother. The ripple effects are vast. Imagine his parents’ disbelief, outrage and grief as they discover that their Abel is dead at the hand of their firstborn. And then God’s judgment on Cain - while he would have an identifying mark on him so that no one would kill him, Cain would never reap another grain harvest and would wander the earth restlessly. Most grave, Cain went out from the LORD’s presence. How sad and severe.
There seemed to be no hope for Cain or humanity, for that matter. How would the first couple’s offspring learn to rule over the sin always crouching at the door of their hearts? Hope for change would not come from their own ability to master their passions. The sin progression in Cain would be the first of thousands of generations to prove that we humans cannot do the right thing for the right reasons consistently. Hope would be realized in a baby, born to live the perfect life no one before or since could live and become the perfect, pleasing, acceptable sacrifice the LORD God could not reject.
Sing the first four verses and chorus of O Come, O Come Emmanuel:
1 O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
2 O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o'er the grave. Refrain
3 O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight. Refrain
4 O come, O Key of David, come
and open wide our heavenly home.
Make safe for us the heavenward road
and bar the way to death's abode. Refrain
Reflect on Romans 5:8-10, “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have been declared righteous by His blood, will we be saved through Him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life.”
Pray and thank God for His justice and His mercy.
Blessings,
Gay B Brown