Tuesday, February 28
| Genesis 4:1-16 |
| 1Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have produced a man with the help of the Lord.” 2Next she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. 3In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? 7If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.” 8Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. 9Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10And the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen; your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! 11And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” 13Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! 14Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.” 15Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him. 16Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. |
| When I read the word Genesis my initial thought is ‘in the beginning’. But the beginning of what? I would likely say the story of creation, but this story is yet another beginning. In this beginning I recognize the early telling of the importance of listening and then what could have been an acknowledgment of wrongdoing and asking for forgiveness. We know the story of Cain and Able. But what sticks out is God’s warning in verse 7 ‘…sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.’ God knows what Cain is considering and tries to get him to change his course, but Cain does not listen and then the unthinkable. And to make it worse, he lies which results in him being a ‘fugitive and a wanderer on the earth’ (verse 12). Could this story have had a different ending had it not been ‘in the beginning’? I believe it could have. Consider what we learn in Exodus 20: 13 ‘Thou shall not murder’. No room for misinterpretation there, but what if Cain still ‘…rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him’ (verse 8)? We learn next in Proverbs 28:13: ‘Whoever conceals their sin does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.’ Had Cain known it was that ‘easy’ to acknowledge his sin and ask for forgiveness, would he have been forced to live as a fugitive and wanderer? My belief and faith in God tells me ‘No’, this would not have been his fate. Prayer: Dear God, we are imperfect people living in an imperfect world. Help us to confess and seek forgiveness from those we have wronged, including You, so that we may put the ‘wandering’ behind us and live in your mercy forever. Amen.—Cecelia Byers |