Cain and Abel: Getting along was never so hard

Genesis 4

I do not know how many of you have a brother or sister, let alone a younger one at that. I was the younger and I know I probably got on my sister’s nerves every now and then. Here we have the very first account of jealousy ever in life. Cain and Abel would offer up a sacrifice to God. The question comes up well how do we know that the fruit sacrifice by Cain was not what God asked compared to what Abel brought, that of an animal. Now we have to assume that there was a knowledge of what was acceptable to God for sacrifice and that was shed blood from an animal. Cain must have gotten tired of having to use his brothers profession to help and decided to go with his own, fruits of the trees. God rejected Cain’s sacrifice and accepted Abel’s. This resulted in Cain getting jealous and angry at his brother.What Does Sin Do To Us?What did jealousy make Cain Do? It started with Cain becoming jealous of his younger brother and then it went to bitterness and resentment, which resulted in Cain killing Abel. He was full of hate for his brother and wanted him out of his life.God knows everything and knew what Cain did. Because of Cain’s action and God even allowing Cain an opportunity to confess there were consequences for his deliberate rebellion against God. The consequence that Cain received was that there was separation from God.

We Run from God

When we are in sin, running to God is usually the last thing we want to do. Maybe it is the guilt and Satan saying you are in sin and you like it and you will never be good enough for God.God was gracious with Cain and even asked him what was wrong when he rejected his sacrifice. The warning God gave Cain was when you disobey God then sin is crouching at the door vs.7. That is so true, when you are not wanting to listen to what the Bible says or want to do what you want to do, how often is it because of sin?The truth is with Christ you are good enough in God’s eyes. He forgave you for your sins. This is the past, present, and future. God not only forgave you for them but also forgot them as well.Remember the best thing you can do when you are in sin is run to God, if you don’t you will be trapped to sin.I heard this story about an Irish novelist and playwright Samuel Beckett received great recognition for his work-but not everyone savored his accomplishments. Beckett’s marriage, in fact, was soured by his wife’s jealousy of his growing fame and success as a writer. One day in 1969 his wife Suzanne answered the telephone, listened for a moment, spoke briefly, and hung up. She then turned to Beckett and with a stricken look whispered, “What a catastrophe!” Was it a devastating personal tragedy? No, she had just learned that Beckett had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature! 

Verses dealing with jealousy:

Colossians 3:8, Galatians 5:20, 1st Corinthians 13:4-6, 1st Corinthians 3:3, James 1:20, Matthew 5:24, Proverbs 27:4, 1st Timothy 2:8, Romans 12:14-19, and Ephesians 4:31.