GOD’S DIVINE COUNSELING
Genesis 4:1-16
Genesis 4:1-16
4 Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
INTRODUCTION
The greatest counselor in the world is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
The second person in the Holy Trinity is also our counselor
John 14:26
26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you
Every believer has two persons of the trinity who are involved in counseling, Jesus who is seated at the right hand of the Father, and the Holy Spirit who indwells us.
In the world, there are many who claim to be counselors without any Biblical qualifications. I am not downplaying the value of any counselor.
However without divine guidance in some cases may lead people in the
Wrong direction.
In the text before us, God counseled Cain, the first-named son of Adam and Eve. It should be noted that before judgment, Satan was not given counseling, and Adam and Eve were not counseled. God does not tell us why He started with Cain. I can only suggest that it involved a lack of faith outside the Garden of Eden.
THE NEED FOR COUNSELING
Genesis 4:2-5
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
It seem clear to me that fellowship between the first family and God the Father had been re-established. Adam and Eve taught their sons the importance of worship and bringing a sacrificial offering to the Lord (Jehovah). They had a personal relationship with Lord because He communicated with the two sons.
Either the sons were taught or the word came directly from God what an
Acceptable sacrifice was. Abel brought the fat of the firstborn of his
Flock.
Hebrews 11:4
4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
Cain brought fruit of the soil which was from his occupation. Whatever he
Brought to God as a sacrifice was not acceptable. I suggest that Cain knew
What was an acceptable offering but brought what satisfied his flesh.
Abel’s offering represented a blood sacrifice for sin. Just as in the garden
God (Elohiym) killed an animal as a covering for sin.
The point is that God wants our best. God expects an offering that recognizes our sinful nature in need of repentance. An offering of faith in the mercy of God toward us. He does not want anything we deem Acceptable. God is not pleased with us or our offering if it does not meet His standards. God does not tell us what was unacceptable about Cain’s offering. The point is, it was unacceptable.
The Hebrew word for favor in verse 5 is sha’ah which means respect or regard. God had no respect for Cain’s offering
Cain’s mood after the rejection was one of anger and his facial features were one of resentment. When people are upset it often shows in their faces. Just as God pays attention to our internal and outer selves, so should we in dealing with others. We must learn to read the room to determine when our words affect others. We are human and our emotions reflect our mental state.
We have a choice how we handle correction and rejection. We can see it as a sign of love and respect or become angry as if we have been wronged. We can go forward in a positive mood and learn from our experience or stay in a mood of rejection and blame others.
THE NEED FOR DIVINE COUNSELING
Genesis 4:6-7
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”
Anger is defined as a feeling or showing strong annoyance, displeasure, or hostility.
In my years of living, my anger has been due to a negative emotional response to something or someone that affected me.
Several things I see in verses 6 and 7
1. God pays individual attention to each of us
2. God knows your emotions and what caused you to be emotional
3. Anger shows up in your attitude and is expressed on your face and in
The tone of your voice.
4. Cain knew what was right and made a choice to do wrong
5. Cain became jealous or envious of the approval of his brothers
Sacrifice and the disapproval of his own by God
6. Cain knew when he brought the sacrifice that it was unacceptable
Before God spoke
7. God advised Cain to do what was right and his offering would be
Accepted.
8. God told Cain that His anger was do to his wrong and he needed to
Control it
9. God told Cain that if he did not control his anger, it would control him.
10. Acting in anger is sin.
11. We all have been given the ability to control our anger.
WHO CAN I BLAME FOR MY ANGER?
Cain did not accept His failure to do as God commanded him. It is not
Anyone’s fault if we fail to do what we know is right. Like his parents,
When confronted by God, Cain would not accept the fact that he was wrong.
When our failures are pointed out to us, we must see them as needing improvement. The one who loves us should freely point out our wrongdoings, not as criticism but as a pathway to improvement. We should never agree with what is wrong by being silent.
Wrong is sin and the influence of Satan in your life. Satan is always at your
Door desiring to destroy you We have a choice to be masters over sins or
Let sin master us. Jesus has won the battle. It is up to us to stand in victory.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF IGNORING DIVINE GUIDANCE
Genesis 4:8-11
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.
Often, when we are angry, we do or say something that hurts the ones
We love. Cain was angry with God or himself, and he took his pain out on
His brother. Anger has a way of escalating to acts of violence. It all starts
With an attitude of disobedience, doing what is wrong, not accepting your
Actions, blaming others, and then hurting someone.
Cain planned and killed his brother because he was jealous of Abel’s acceptable offering by the Lord. He lured his brother to a place where
He thought his parent wouldn’t see and acted on his escalated rage
And killed his brother.
The truth is that God sees everything. He knows your heart before you act.
God will not change your will to do wrong but will confront you in your sin
And make you aware of His presence.
When confronted by God, Cain lied about his actions to deceive Him.
God immediately proclaimed the guilt of murder that would haunt him forever. You can’t deceive God, and you can’t deceive yourself.
GOD’S PUNISHMENT FOR AN UNREPENTANT SINNER
Genesis 4:11-16
Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
A SUMMARY OF CAIN’S PUNISHMENT
CURSED FOREVER
DRIVEN FROM HIS HOME
WORK WITHOUT PROFIT
WANDERING IN HIS SIN
FORCED TO LIVE IN MISERY ‘
PROTECTED FROM DEATH IN MISERY
CAIN’S OBJECTIONS
PUNISHMENT TOO HARSH
PUSHED OUT OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
PREVENTED FROM SEEING HIS PARENTS
FEAR OF BEING KILLED BY OTHERS
GENERATIONS OF MEN AND WOMEN MULTIPLIED
In verse14, what men were Cain afraid that would kill him?
The Bible does not always present a chronological timeline. The Bible does not say Cain and Abel were the first children of Adam and Eve.
From the time Adam and Eve were locked out of the Garden could have been hundreds of years before Cain and Abel were born. Adam lived 930 years.
According to an algorithm by the Bible Sojourner there could have been
100 plus million people born doing Adam’s life span
What the Bible does say is Adam and Eve were given the desire to have
Sex in the Garden and commanded to be fruitful and multiply. God did say
He would greatly multiply Eve’s pain during childbirth. How would Eve know
What childbirth pain was?
Genesis 4:25-26
25 Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” 26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.
Genesis 5:4-5
After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5 Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.
Some have suggested that Adam and Eve had 33 sons and 23 daughters.
God gave Cain the insight in his sinful state that there would be other families born in the world. And some would want him dead.
Cain and Seth married their sisters to continue the population growth.
This was not unusual because Sarah was Abraham’s sister.
Eve said God has given me a man child. This may indicate she had daughters before Cain and Abel.
In Summary, God planned the population of the Earth. He knew in the
Beginning, there would be two classes of people; the saved and
The unsaved. In the Garden of Eden, Jesus was introduced as the woman’s Seed that would crush Satan over the head. Since a woman does not have a seed, the supernatural birth of a Savior was proclaimed.
THANK GOD THAT HE KNEW OUR SIN AND OUR NEED FOR A PERFECT SACRIFICE, THE DEATH OF HIS SON.
VICTORY IS YOURS, CLAIM IT IN FAITH
