Genesis 4:7: If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
There are countless reasons God’s Word, the Bible, should be cherished. For me, one of the most appreciated aspects about the Holy Scriptures is it tells the raw and unmodified truth. Sadly, in a world that has been fogged up with rampant with lies and deceits, the concept of an ultimate truth is becoming more difficult to either see or even comprehend is possible. Thankfully, the Word of God offers a sanctuary of truth. The thing about the truth is it delivers both the good new and the bad news. Bad news, however, can be a welcomed thing because it can bring needed warnings of approaching evil.
The context of today’s verse is an early demonstration of the grace of God. We are in the earliest of stage of humanity. Adam and Eve have been created, they have sinned and been banned from the Garden of Eden, and they have produced at least two children – Cain and Abel. At some point, the two young men were motivated to bring an offering to the Lord. The Lord respected Abel’s offer of the first born of his flock, but he did not respect Cain’s offer of the fruit of his land. Cain is not happy with the Lord’s reaction, which is a testimony to the fact that despite that the sin was in their genes from their parents, a relationship with God was still available.
Via an early proof that God knows our thoughts and actions, He asks Cain what his problem is. We now arrive at today’s verse, and we read of some good Fatherly advice. Basically, the Lord tells Cain if he does well – meaning stay true to what is good in the eyes of the Lord, He will accept Cain. The advice, though, is not complete. I love this about God because He lays out the consequences of disobedience. He tells Cain if he does not do well, sin lies at the door. Moreover, sin doesn’t just lie at Cain’s door, but it has a desire for Cain.
Desire is an important choice of words. Who doesn’t like to be desired? That question, though, is an important one to understand before answering. The reason we should be careful with those who desire us is what is the motivation of their desire? Is it to seek what is best for us, or seek what is worst for us? When it comes to sin, since its wages, or consequences, is death, we can quickly conclude that sin’s desire for is rooted in evil and our destruction. The Apostle Peter makes this point about Satan, the devil, in chapter 5, verse 8 of his first epistle, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” When asked by God in the first chapter of Job where he had been, Satan responds, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
God’s desire for is rooted in His love for you, and His desire to redeem you and enter into the relationship He had in mind when His thoughts of you were created. God is good and God is love, so we can find hope that His desire for us is a good thing.
God’s final piece of advice to Cain demonstrates God’s good intentions as He offers him hope that despite this anything but trivial pursuit of sin, he should rule over it. Cain chose not to believe God’s advice, held onto his anger, and ended up killing his brother Abel. Sin’s pursuit of Cain was successful, but only because Cain chose not to believe God’s Word. As a follower of Jesus Christ, you are given the power of God via the Holy Spirit to overcome the weaker power of Satan. But, it’s your choice to believe and act on the belief. You can pursue God for His greater good power, or you can surrender to the pursuit of Satan and suffer the consequences. It’s your choice. What is it?