The Cain Stain in Us All

Sin is incredibly productive in its destructiveness. Sin works harder than we can imagine to make life worse. It is always looking, always on the hunt to see if it can get you into something new, something deeper, or just bring more people along with you. Today, we are going to see an example of exactly this. What we may view as an extreme example of becoming a murderer because a church service didn’t go well, is really an example of the compelling power of sin and how we ought to take it seriously. It is worth our looking at what sin is capable of so that we take appropriate action when it shows up in our own lives. If we never stare at the possibilities, we might not even know what kind of danger we are in. 

It is only by knowing the seriousness of a thing do we take appropriate action to deal with it. We are going to see the awesome possibilities of sin and yet the overwhelming power we have access to in order to deal with it. Today we are going to be looking at two points: Sin desires to rule you and Sin will not rule God’s plans. 

Sin desires to rule you 

Let’s see what chapter 4 of Genesis has for us. In brief, as one commentator put it, “The subject matter of Genesis 4 is the spread of sin from the family to the society" (Ross, 152). We are going to watch sin start in one person and then make its way on down the family line getting worse and worse as it goes. 

But things didn’t start that way. 

Our chapter opens with a birth announcement: Eve has had the first baby in the world and with it the note of hope that a God is faithful to His promise. Indeed, Eve is going to have children, and she recognizes God has been good to her. The word “Cain” actually sounds like “gotten” in Hebrew, giving us the idea that Eve sees Cain as a gift. This is the way to look at children, as the Psalms will later declare that children are a heritage from the Lord (Ps 127:3). Another child is also born to her, Abel. Not much is written about him other than that he is the brother of Cain, a word that is going to show up again and again. We are really highlighting the relationship that exists between the brothers which will make the story’s conclusion all the more horrifying. 

No time is spent on their boyhood, as we jump straight into what they do for a living and their approach to God. One commentator notices perhaps some early hints about where the story is going by the mentioning of jobs they do, "… Cain lines up with an occupation that resulted from the fall (3:23), but Abel with men's and women's original purpose of having dominion over animals (1:28)" (Ross, 156). But where their occupations only give you a hint about their character, what really reveals their hearts is the way they worship. 

There are varying opinions on why Cain’s sacrifice was rejected while Abel’s was accepted. I think though that one scholar really got it right when he says, "The person is highlighted more than the offering itself. Hebrews 11:4 puts the emphasis on faith as the reason for the difference between the two offerings: 'by faith Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain'' (Belcher, 80). Another adds, "In each case the person is mentioned before the offering, which suggests that the kind of offering is not as important to the story as the attitude of the person making the offering" (Ross, 157). 

Something is not right with Cain, and apparently he knows what it is. God tells him that if he does well he will be accepted (v 7), but if not, sin is crouching at the door. The word “crouching” here, actually has the idea of a wild animal lying back and resting. This doesn’t mean that it is safe, it just means that the animal can stir at any moment if opportunity presents itself (Matthews, 270).

Do you all have the orb weaver spiders hanging out all over your houses yet? These spiders are so ferocious looking, just big enough to look extra dangerous (don’t worry, they aren’t—I looked it up), and build these large webs over windows and doors. When you see one out there, even though you know that it isn’t hunting you, you step into the house a little faster when the web is right there, don’t you? Heaven help you if you didn’t see a section of the web and it gets caught in your face! Ugh! Now, if you are less of a wimp than I am, imagine a black widow spider in the same position. That thing can really mess you up! 

That’s the image that we should think about when it comes to our sin. Sin is like that spider hanging out over the door, that snake warming itself under your porch. If you go lingering near that spot, you just might have it pounce. It might not immediately, but the longer you stay there, the more likely that attack comes. 

Now, many say, “What is the worst that can happen? People sin every day.” It’s true, but here is at least one example of this going very bad very quickly. The Bible jumps to when Cain goes out and kills his brother. There isn’t a lot of setup. Cain just gets Abel out into the field, presumably away from the rest of the family and kills him. One scholar put it this way: "Whereas Eve had to be talked into her sin by the serpent, it appears that Cain would not be talked out of his intended sin, even by the Lord himself" (Ross, 158, quoting Kinder, 74). Knowledge of what was right and wrong didn’t stop Cain. Direct warning from the Lord didn’t stop Cain. Cain was ready to sin, and it grew to murder. One minute Cain was going through the motions of worship (though obviously, his heart wasn’t in it), the next, he’s hiding a body. When Cain got up that day and lived his life, he looked no different than Abel on the outside. Cain was at church. So was Abel. But inside, that sin was already crouching. 

This problem doesn’t stop in the Old Testament, by the way. I know enough pastors and seminary professors with stories that make this one seem tame. If you’ve paid even the slightest attention to the news, you’ve got stories, too. In almost all of them, someone is saying, “How did that happen?” I’ll tell you how it happened, because it is right here in this text. Cain’s sin, and in some way or another all sin, starts as a worship problem. Cain was going through the motions, but the heart wasn’t there. When you are no longer awed by God and His Word, you are vulnerable. When you are no longer seeking God first, making Him your priority, you are in danger. When your heart is focused on something else, sin is always waiting by the door. It doesn’t give up. It’s happy to wait, to repose, to just hang out until you are ready—or rather, not ready. Not ready to resist. Not ready to kill it. God warned him! And today He warns you. Don’t play around with this stuff. People die. 

The text goes on, as God, the Master of the Leading Question, confronts Cain. Just like last time, God is fully aware of the situation, but listen to Cain’s response. Cain straight up lies to God and then acts like God is stupid for even asking. But Cain was his brother’s keeper. Later on in the Old Testament, rules are established for the community to band together, not tear each other apart (Matthews, 274). So far gone was Cain that he didn’t even care about the human being in front of him, much less God. Cain didn’t act as his brother’s keeper. But God will. One commentator put it this way: "It is no empty sentence that the blood of the victim cries out; there is someone there to whom it cries out" (159, Quoting Westerman, 305). Justice will not be denied for God is just.   

So Cain’s punishment begins. Notice that, like the snake of Genesis 3, Cain himself is actually cursed (Ross, 154). The ground was already cursed due to Adam, now Cain himself is going to be cursed so that the ground no longer works for him at all. Cain will be sent away from God’s presence, not meaning that he will go somewhere God can’t, it just means that God’s blessing presence will no longer be around Cain. Cain is obviously distressed, but he isn’t saying things like, “I’m sorry, I’ve sinned!” It is more of, “I’m afraid for myself.” It is worth noting that the Bible doesn’t record every single one of Adam’s sons and daughters (Calvin, 215), as Genesis 5:4 tells us. There will be those who will want revenge on Cain.

But God is going to stop the cycle of bloodshed. Instead of allowing someone else to murder Cain, God places a mark on Cain to protect him. We don’t know what that is, but it obviously worked because Cain goes on to have descendants. Cain leaves here and goes to the land of Nod, literally “wandering.” 

Unfortunately, sin just doesn’t stay put. It actually continues down in through Cain’s family. At this point, we simply pause to answer an extremely common question: Where did Cain get his wife? The quick and simple answer is Cain married one of his sisters. At that time, they were the only humans around, so this was what needed to be done. Later on, God would condemn that practice for reasons beyond the scope of our time here. 

Anyway, we see Cain has quite a cultured family. The descendants of Cain include people who invented things like mobile ranching, metal forging, and, like, music! Things you’ve probably heard of! As one commentator put it: "These developments come from the ungodly line, which shows that unbelievers are able to understand the way the world works as established by God even while not necessarily acknowledging God as the ultimate source of these blessings. Thus, believers can learn things from unbelievers while recognizing that their faulty presuppositions will keep them from understanding many basic things about the world because they do not acknowledge God. The appropriate response is not rejection of these developments but instead we should seek to use them within the framework of believing God and giving Him the glory... The line of Cain shows technical ability but moral failure" (Belcher, 82). 

But by far, the most famous descendant was Lamech. The original gangsta rapper. Here, we see Cain’s evil come to be exaggerated as things go on. Here this man is perverting marriage, disregarding life, with little hope that this family is going to get any better. 

Sin will not rule God’s plans. 

We might think that the snake has dealt a brutal one-two punch. He got the first child of promise to kill the second child of promise, thus taking both out. But God is faithful. So faithful. Here God provides Eve with another son, Seth. Here, she explicitly says that God has provided me with a seed, echoing the very promise of verse 15. And to him another son was born, and this was the family who began to call on the name of the Lord, or proclaim his character and nature. In short, here comes the little line of worshippers. Seems insignificant next to the murdering founders of modern culture as we know and depend on it today, but it is with the line of Seth that hope is reborn. Cain’s line is rich, but in God’s economy, bankrupt (Ross, 166). 

This is our calling. In a culture that is like the line of Cain, we proclaim the name of the Lord, the true hope against our sin. One commentator put it this way: "Abel's blood, even the best and dearest, never brings salvation in the presence of God; instead it increases the burden of the curse. But Christ blood 'speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel' (Heb. 12:24). Thus the Bible speaks of two kinds of blood and their voices before God: one of these is millionfold, and its message is accusation, while the other is the blood of the One, and it brings healing." (162, Quoting Gerhard von Rad, 22.). 

Has that blood spoken for you? If we are honest, we are Cain in this story. Our sin killed the Innocent One, and rather than taking vengeance on us, He offers us forgiveness on the basis of that very murder. God will not be ruled by sin! 

So what is our takeaway? 

Watch for sin. It never stays small and it never stays with you. It will always travel, always magnify, unless you bring it to Jesus to kill it. Unless you are worshiping the Lord, sin will take His place. But keep worshiping God, don’t let the discouragements, pains, yes, even your own sins, keep you from lovingly treasuring Christ. Shout, if you have to, the character and nature of God to yourself, proclaim the name of the Lord to yourself, remember the gospel, and you will see sin’s grip weaken on your heart. 

Image by Michal Kryński ​