Cain's Destructive End and Lasting Influence
Hebrews 11:4; 1 John 3:12; Jude 1:11
CAIN’S SAD END
Last time, I said I would finish up the events of Cain's life. The problem is where I left off is Genesis' last word about Cain. Therefore, we would have to go elsewhere to find information as to the conclusion of Cain's tragic life. Hebrews 11:4 confirms that it was Abel's faith that made him righteous. The implication is that Cain’s sacrifice was not done in faith and, therefore, was unacceptable. And, as I talked about last time, it was not Cain's best. 1 John 3:12 says Cain belonged to the evil one, Satan. The fruit of his life bears that out because Jesus said in John 8:44 that Satan was a murderer from the beginning. Jude 1:11 puts the final nail in Cain’s reputational coffin, directly associating his name with murder. Cain’s name is associated with his worst act. And speaking of the final nail in Cain's coffin, according to the Book of Jubilees 4:31 (not in the Bible), Cain was rightly avenged for the murder of Abel, “for with a stone he had killed Abel, and by a stone was he killed in righteous judgment.”
CAIN’S LOWLIGHTS
So, even though I touched on this at the end of my last post, what else can we learn about the life of Cain? Cain’s personality profile in the Life Application Study Bible tells us that while Cain was the first human child and the first to follow in his father's footsteps as far as a profession goes, there are many more negatives about his life than positives. When Cain was disappointed, his default was to react in anger. Rather than seeking to right a wrong, he lashed out rather than embracing repentance. So, he habitually took the negative option even when a positive possibility was offered. Worse, Cain let his anger get so out of control, refusing to heed God's warning of what would happen if he did not, that he became the first murderer ever, murdering his brother and then trying to cover it up and excuse it.
LIFE LESSONS
They go on to say that anger itself is not necessarily a sin. However, I would add that uncontrolled anger that is not directed correctly can become sinful. Said another way, anger is not a sin. Anger can motivate people to do righteous things to correct the wrongs they see or hear about. But if one is not careful, anger can quickly burn out of control, compounding a problem or leading to others.
We also learn from the life of Cain that what we offer to God must be from the heart. God does not want us to approach him half-heartedly. Jesus gave his all for us on the cross. The least we can do is offer our all to him. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:2 that our lives should be living sacrifices to God because of all he has done for us.
The final lesson they talk about is a continued example of what God tried to warn Cain about between the time he offered the improper sacrifice and when he murdered his brother. God warned Cain that if he did not turn from his anger and bitterness, sin was waiting for him to master him. God told Cain to master his sin. Instead of choosing to do whatever he had to do to defeat the things that were trying to keep him down, he allowed those things to fuel him all the way to the murder of his own brother. The consequences of sin can last a lifetime, but they don't have to. You can decide to get off that road and go in a different direction. God offered Cain several exits on his road to destruction. Cain just chose to ignore them all, all the way to his life's destruction and eternal doom. May we learn the lessons from his life so we do not repeat them.
GENESIS 4:25-26
Adam and Eve later conceived again, bringing forth a son named Seth. Genesis 4:25-26 records that Eve saw Seth as Abel’s replacement after Cain murdered him. When Seth grew up, he had a son called Enosh. Then, the passage says something interesting. It says it was then that people began to call on the name of the Lord. With Seth's family line, people started reaching out to God again. That would mean that Cain’s family line continued to drift farther and farther away from God, just as their father had done. The influence Cain passed down ended up not being a good one. It kept going downhill from there because, like Cain, the rest of his descendants did not get off the road to destruction, as we will see when we get to the global flood in Genesis 6 after their centuries of negative influence corrupted the rest of the world except for eight people.
But, as I said, things don't have to end that way. No matter how far down a destructive path one has gone, you can still take the exit. Eternally, that exit comes in the shape of a cross, the cross that Jesus died on to pay for our sins if we are willing to accept the gift of pardon that he purchased on our behalf. In the here and now, getting off the road to destruction may mean taking complicated steps down the narrow road leading to life. What does the narrow road look like? The Bible has plenty to say about that, but for this post, I will focus primarily on what some of the best New Testament passages on the subject have to say about the narrow road.
Jesus told his followers in John 15:18-20 that if the world hates you, and it will, remember that it hated him before you. If you belonged to the world, it would treat you affectionately and love you as its own. But God chose believers to live out of this world because we no longer belong to it. Therefore, we can no longer be one with it and still claim to be his. Because of that, Jesus said the world will hate you. Then Jesus told us to remember that slaves are not greater than or superior to their masters. Therefore, if they persecuted and did wrong to Jesus, and he is our master, they will also do wrong to and persecute you.
During that same message, in John 16:2, Jesus said the world would make us outcasts and that the time would come in the future when those who kill us will think and claim they are offering worship and service to God.
As hard as that might be to hear, Jesus said in John 16:33 told us these things in advance so that we could have perfect peace. While we will have trouble, persecution, suffering, distress, and frustration as followers of Christ, we can act with courage and be joyful, brave, confident, and undaunted because Jesus has already defeated and overcome the world. He has deprived it of any real power.
1 Thessalonians 3:3-4 encourages us not to be upset, disturbed, shaken, unsettled, or led astray by these troubles, trials, afflictions, and difficulties. We must face these troubles because they are unavoidable in our position. Persecution, hardship, and affliction are part of the legitimate Christian life.
But if the narrow road doesn't sound appealing to you and you want to check out, remember what Jesus said about the other route in Matthew 7:13. The wide, broad, spacious, and easy road leads to loss, ruin, destruction, and eventually Hell. That is the road most of the world is always on. Given that, the narrow road, though difficult, sounds much better, don't you think?