CAIN, JEHOVAH, YOU & I

CAIN, JEHOVAH, YOU & I

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Romans [ESV] 12:9-21 Love sincerely. Hate evil. Hold on to what is good. Be devoted to each other like a loving family. Excel in showing respect for each other. Don't be lazy in showing your devotion. Use your energy to serve the Lord. Be happy in your confidence, be patient in trouble, and pray continually. Share what you have with God's people who are in need. Be hospitable. Bless those who persecute you. Bless them, and don't curse them. Be happy with those who are happy. Be sad with those who are sad. Live in harmony with each other. Don't be arrogant, but be friendly to humble people. Don't think that you are smarter than you really are. Don't pay people back with evil for the evil they do to you. Focus your thoughts on those things that are considered noble. As much as it is possible, live in peace with everyone. Don't take revenge, dear friends. Instead, let God's anger take care of it. After all, Scripture says, "I alone have the right to take revenge. I will pay back, says the Lord." But, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink. If you do this, you will make him feel guilty and ashamed." Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil with good.

1Corinthians 2:12-14 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

  Exactly what do we know about Cain other than the common knowledge that he murdered Abel?

·         Cain is mentioned 20 times in 17 verses, 18 in OT, 2 in NT.

·         Cain was the elder brother. Gen.4:1-2

·         Cain was a farmer/gardener. Gen.4:3

·         Cain liked to do things his way. Gen.45a

·         Cain had a problem with immature unreasonable anger. Gen.4:5b-6; 1Cor.13:11; Eph.4:26

·         Cain refused to hear, trust God and repent. Gen.4:7; Heb.11:1-4

·         Cain didn’t love or reverence Jehovah or man, in his egocentric wroth murdering Abel. Gen.4:8; 20:11; Eccl.12:13; Mt.22:36-40; ICor,13; Heb.11:1-4; 1Pet.3:17

·         Cain, unlike his parents, didn’t accept Jehovah’s absolute omniscience. Gen.4:9

·         Cain emulated his parents’ deceptiveness. Gen.3:7-13; 4:9

·         Cain was a childish whiner designing the event to be all-about-poor-little-me. Gen.4:10-14

·         Cain benefited from Jehovah’s compassionate wisdom, protection, and allowance to prosper. Gen.:15-26; Josh.15:57

·         Cain’s works were evil though not because fruit and veggies are bad, but because of emulating his parents’ flagrant knowledgeable disobedience. Gen.2:16-17; 3:1-3; Heb.11:1-4; 1Jn.3:12

·         Cain unto this day is held up before us as an example of evil greediness. Jud.1:4-13

  The life of Cain is a lesson to pass on to others. (2Tim.2:1-2, 12-13; Heb.2:10; 6: 5:11-6, 6:1-2)

  A closing thought question this morning: So, if God’s tells us not to besmirch ourselves by our acting in vengeance, why didn’t He execute Cain? And what does our answer tell us about us in association with God, or not?

EBB4