Why MURDER? Couldn’t Cain have dealt with the problem much more easily by simply correcting his own problem with God? Could he have not spared his own reputation and the life of his brother by adhering to the suggestion of the LORD?
The answer is, of course he could have. It would have been much more simple and effective if Cain realized his own mistake. Cain was more worried about what his brother was doing, how his sacrifice looked, and what his relationship with God was like and he failed to focus on the REAL problem, HIMSELF! Instead of dealing with the real problem, he looked around to find somebody to blame, just like his father did when God ask Adam why he ate of the fruit. Adam pointed at Eve and Eve pointed at the serpent. But the reality is that Eve allowed herself to be deceived by her OWN lust and Adam ate out of his OWN lust as well. They would never have been rejected and cast out of the garden if they would have dealt with the problem, THEM! They never dealt with the “I” and instead pointed at the “YOU”.
Cain murdered his brother because he blinded himself through bitterness, hatred and a refusal to deal with personal problems. Cain had enough problems on his own, but in his mind it would be easier to kill his brother and do away with the basis of comparison. If you eliminate the only other “competition”, you’ll always be first place even if it’s not the best. Once Abel is out of the picture, whom else would God receive a sacrifice from? Cain felt that once Abel was gone he could continue bringing his fruits, he wouldn’t have to change anything, he wouldn’t have to deal with the REAL problem and he could just go on as if nothing ever happened. Cain did not want to change his own routine and because Abel had a greater revelation of what God was looking for it threatened everything that Cain always thought would do. And because Cain did not want to change and deal with his own unacceptable offering, he became a BROTHER MURDERER.
There is a process that one must go through in order to be willing to take the life of another. Murder is the act of killing someone and justifying it psychologically. The perpetrator justifies his actions by explaining that the cause for murder was greater than the life that was taken. Murder at its root is grounded in selfish desire and self-justification
Cain is the first example of murder and yet many people have been murdered since then. He is the root example of what can lead to killing your only brother. It wasn’t a brother problem and it wasn’t a God problem, it was a Cain problem. Cain did not allow himself to be humbled, accept his own failures and deal with them. Instead, he looked around for another person to blame and the one he found was his brother. Cain allowed such hatred into his heart, that he had no more regard for family.
I’ve always been amazed to think that Cain was so ruthless that he would murder his very own brother. But this is the result that will come when one is not willing to deal with they’re own issues. It was much easier for Cain to blame someone else than to change his own habits and ways. The scripture declares that Cain became wroth, which means to be full of wrath and hatred. Cain was past the point of reason and making sense. He came to the place of disregarding natural affection and characteristics. He dulled his senses and his ability to listen to God was impaired.
God was sure to curse Cain for his actions. God established from the beginning, that sinning against your brother and killing him will only lead to more heartache and pain for yourself. Now instead of God accepting Cain’s sacrifice He cast him out into the earth to seek out his own path. God also cursed the ground that it should not yield forth its strength to him and he marked him for everyone to see and he cut him off from fellowship.
Murder will always leave you cursed, frustrated and alone.
To be continued…
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