Joe Dude's Bible Thoughts: Genesis 4

I like how Eve still gives the LORD praise for her son even after that whole garden incident.

It doesn't seem totally clear why the LORD didn't like Cain's offering but liked Abel's based on the text I read. It's almost certainly a heart issue, which is all over the Bible. The way my kids and I talk about is that "God wants your best". No leftover crap. I have to be really careful about that in my own life and put God first, not on the back burner. I'm sure I screw that up a lot more than I think.

See how God warned Cain first? He does that so often with us before we stubbornly choose to sin anyway. Then we get convicted and cry out to God. We don't even need an "I told you so. Listen next time, smart guy." We have to be vigilant. Sin just wants to devour us whole, and once it gets its claws into us, it's trouble.

The answer to Cain's question, "Am I my brother's keeper?" is "Yes, you are." Romans 14:21 says "It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble." Paul was very willing to deny himself freedoms he had for the sake of his brothers.

Trinity pointed this one out to me. She's a smart cookie. God showed mercy to Cain by putting a mark on him instead of outright killing him or allowing others to kill him. I never thought about that before. I need to stop more often and think about what certain actions show about the character of God. He certainly is merciful and gracious, both of which are shown in spades through Jesus Christ!

But notice what happened with Cain. He "went away from the presence of the LORD." That's exactly what sin does, separates us from God, and that's a terrible thing.

This is a fun one people ask sometimes: "So where did Cain's wife come from?" Well it seems pretty obvious that if you start with two people, you have some brother/sister relationships going on, or God started by creating more than two people. I don't really see the second one in anything I've read, so we'll assume the first.

The end is cool, I forgot about it -- "at that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD." I don't know any more than what those words say, but it definitely reminds me that we have this innate desire to worship and fill our lives with something greater. We all worship and fill up our lives with something -- who or what that something is fairly important. If its not the one true God, it's a false one!