Genesis 4 – How to Stop Playing the Anger Game
1. The Game – “I don’t care and you can’t make me!”
I have never really had a problem with anger, but the closest I have come was in a classroom. Teaching in a highschool can be very stressful, and I had put some guys on detention and was supervising them. They had behaved badly in class but were equally disruptive in the detention room, swearing, acting tough and defying anything I said with a smart comment. It was a game and I fell for it hook, line and sinker, getting madder by the minute. It’s a game commonly played in a classroom and if you could give it a name it would be “Make me!” or “I don’t care and there’s nothing you can do about it!” If they had been in the garden of Eden and told not to eat the fruit they would have said to God “You can’t make me do anything! I’ll do what I like and I don’t care what you think!” If they had a vehicle to drive it would have been a motorbike and they would have worn the Hell’s angels stickers on the back of their leathers. I almost lost it. I wanted to slap them around and I was yelling. Everyone of us is capable of murder. I didn’t want to kill them, just rough them up a little.
In Genesis 4 Cain kills his brother Abel. It didn’t take long for the first murder to happen, only one generation away from Adam and Eve.
It’s interesting that Cain and Abel bring an offering to the Lord. Why? God didn’t tell them to do it. There’s no law that says they must do it. They just did. Abel’s offering was accepted and Cain’s offering was not. Why was Cain’s offering unacceptable? Did he bring rotten fruit and veges in defiant rebellion against God rather than bringing the best of the crop? Or was this a sin offering where he needed animals for sacrifice? We are not told, but we are told that God considered that Cain had not done the right thing and his attitude was also out of line.
Why did he come in the first place? It beats me! Why do some people come to Church when it is clear that their lives are up the creek and they don’t really have any relationship with God, nor desire one? I don’t know! To gain points with God? Maybe. Whatever reason Cain had, it didn’t go down well with God. Nobody can expect to come to God with their own agenda, their own works, efforts, fruits, ways, religion, or ritual. It doesn’t work that way. You have to come to God on His terms, not by trying to impress Him with our imperfect thoughts and ways.
It seems that God established something with Cain and Abel that’s important. He will never accept you apart from the shedding of blood. The blood of Christ Himself was shed so that you could be accepted by God, the perfect and only sacrifice necessary. You want to bring something to God? First go to the Cross and accept the sacrifice that was made for you. Then instead of bringing something, leave it at the Cross. Try to bring the fruit of your own good works and it won’t cut muster with God.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT) says, “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”
There are two verses thus far in Genesis where animals are sacrificed.
1. Animals were sacrificed to clothe Adam and Eve. After they had sinned by disobeying God, it seems God clothes them with animal skins. Even then their sins were paid for by the sacrifice of another.
2. In the second example, animal life is sacrificed as an act of worship.
The “Preacher’s Outline and Sermon Bible – Commentary” says “The clearest explanation as to why Abel offered an animal sacrifice and was approved by God is that God did institute salvation by animal sacrifice with Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve were bound to have taught their sons to approach God through animal sacrifice. But only Abel approached God properly. Cain, as so many down through history, rebelled and did not.”
Submit your Agendas to God and be accepted on His terms, not by parading your own good works.
2. The Target – Blame it on God and the world
In Genesis 4 Cain and his inadequate offering was not accepted by God. Cain was furious, and his rage showed up on his face. Not the right reaction. Better if he had repented and got right with God and his brother.
I like the way God tries to get Cain to get over the anger game and do something about his relationship with God. He says “If you do what is right, you will be accepted.” (Genesis 4:7). God asks Cain some questions. God already knows the answers but He is trying to get Cain to evaluate his situation,
“Why are you angry?”
“Why do you look so dejected?”
God does the same thing with us. He stirs us to think about what is right and wrong with our relationship with Him. The right response for Cain was not anger but repentance.
Sin desires to have you. The sin of offering God your own goodness and works, or ritual to God, the sin of personal goodness and righteousness rather than Christ’s righteousness —wants to enslave and devour you, to possess you. Self sufficiency isn’t the answer.
Cain lost it and got angry at God and Abel. The only difference is that he takes it all out on Abel. This is not only the first murder but it is the first time a human being dies physically. It isn’t accidental. It’s a deliberate, horrible, premeditated, first degree murder.
Again, God in His gracious way gives Cain opportunity to confess what he has done,
In Genesis 4:9-10 (NASB95) the Lord says "Where is Abel your brother?"
God knows where he is. He’s giving Cain opportunity to confess and admit the enormous crime that has been committed against Abel.
Cain foolishly and perhaps callously says, "I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?" The answer to that question by the way is “Yes, you are!” and by the way we are called as Christians to be our brothers keepers as well, to encourage those weak in the faith, to spur on those who are doing well. We are our brother’s keepers of the orphans and widows, and of those who are depressed, divorced, lonely, sick, poor, dying or suffering.
Cain must have known that you can’t hide things from God so this is even more evidence that Cain is in stubborn rebellion against God.
Not wanting to give up on Cain, God says "What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.” This again tells Cain that God knows exactly what has happened and now he is giving Cain another chance at confession. God always gives us room to admit our sin and get right with Him. Sure there are some consequences to pay but we can know forgiveness if we are willing to confess and repent.
Cain obviously says nothing, and God goes on to judge him for his rebellious actions.
Take every opportunity to admit when you are wrong and to get right with God quickly. We can’t fool God.
3. The Family - Who would want to be Cain’s wife?
There are a couple of things left in Genesis 4 that fascinate me. Where did Cain get his wife from in verse 17. Who’d want to marry a known murderer. You’d have to be careful if you served him a salad. It might bring back painful memories and he might get mad.
The only place I can find that explains where Cain’s wife came from is found in Genesis 5:4 – “After the birth of Seth, Adam lived another 800 years, and he had other sons and daughters.” James Montgomery Boice says that if only one half of Adam’s children lived, and if only half of the living got married, and if only half the married had children, then, even at the three half-rates, the population would still number more than a million at Adam’s death (Genesis, An Expositional Commentary, Vol.1, p.211f).
Later, marrying your sister became illegal (Leviticus 20:17) but at the beginning it is obvious that Cain had no other choice in a life partner other than a sister. There were no worries with genetic defects and deformities in the children. Genetic decay was yet to come. They lived a lot longer then as well.
Cain "dwelt in the land of Nod". (Genesis 4:16) When I was a kid I used to read books about a little guy called Noddy. I am always reminded of Noddy when I think of the land of Nod.. According to one commentary I read “The "land of Nod" (erets nodh) actually means the land of wanderings, restlessness, rootlessness.” There is a sense of restless wandering for someone who does not know God.
Cain becomes the first land developer and real estate agent. He began to build a city. It seems like not only did his sister join him but also some other people who wanted to associate themselves with Cain. Maybe they also wanted to rebel against God.
Cain walked away from both God and his family. He wanted to do his own thing. It seems that his family line carried on his rebellion against God. Cain named the city after his son, Enoch. He is still into glorifying his own name and his own good works apart from God.
Strangely enough there is some indication in the line of Cain that they still wanted to be connected to God. It comes out in their names which end in El. El is a name for God. There is Mehujael meaning purified or formed of God. Then there is Methusael meaning man of God. Lamech means man of prayer or youth. It’s clear that if you name your children with names which include God’s name, then there is still some desire to include Him. Perhaps it’s just in a religious way, but there is still some God consciousness there. Remember that Cain brought a sacrifice to God so he must have been religious. It’s just that he does not want to honour God by coming to Him on God’s terms.
Genesis 4 goes on to describe the family tree of Cain down to a man called Lamech who had 2 wives – the first bigamist. Now Cain’s line boasts of both murder and bigamy. Lamech also kills someone in self defence so we can add another killing to the family.
As I said, Adam and Eve had other children. Seth comes along and in Eve’s mind he replaces the loss of Abel. In his line there is no murder. In fact it says “then men began to call on the name of the Lord”.
Call upon the name of the Lord and ensure that your children come to know and love God,
