Daily Scripture Reading Genesis 4:1-24

Iron sharpens iron. Likewise, men sharpen men. When we interact with other people, sometimes our flaws and shortcomings are exposed. In some cases, we become aware of our sin and shortcomings through exposure to people who are better and more righteous than ourselves.

What should we do when that happens? Today, we will learn what we should not do.

After Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree, they were punished. Women were given pain during childbirth. Men were assigned painful labor in order to eat. Yahweh also drove them out of the Garden of Eden so that they would not eat from the Tree of Life and live forever.

Gen. 4:1 ¶ Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a man with the help of Yahweh.”

Gen. 4:2 And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground.

Gen. 4:3 So it happened in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to Yahweh of the fruit of the ground.

Notice the word “an”. Cain brought some of his produce. It doesn’t say he brought the first or the best, it only says he brought an offering.

Gen. 4:4 Abel, on his part, also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And Yahweh had regard for Abel and for his offering;

In regards to Abel’s offering, we see the words “firstborn” and “fat portions”. In contrast to Cain who simply brought some produce, Abel brought his firstborn animals. He gave the best to Yahweh.

Animals die, so if you have flocks, you need your animals to give birth so that your flocks do not die out. When Abel brought his firstborn, he prioritized giving an offering to God over providing for his future. He had faith that his animals would produce a second offspring; thus, preventing his flock from dying off.

Since Abel brought his first and his best, Yahweh had regard for Abel and his offering.

Gen. 4:5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.

Yahweh rejected Cain’s offering because Cain did not bring his best.

Gen. 4:6 Then Yahweh said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?

Ponder the answers to Yahweh’s questions. Why was Cain angry? Why was he downcast? Yahweh had essentially rebuked Cain, but instead of repenting, Cain got angry. Was he angry at God? Was he angry at Abel? He should have been angry at himself. Cain had the ability to fix the problem. All he had to do was bring his best to God.

Gen. 4:7 If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is lying at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

God rejected Cain’s offering, thus rejecting Cain, so Cain was downcast. God warned Cain that if he did the right thing and repented, his countenance would be lifted, but if he refused to do the right thing, then he would be tempted to sin.

Gen. 4:8 Then Cain spoke to Abel his brother; and it happened when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

Why did Cain kill Abel? Abel did nothing to Cain. Abel did not criticize Cain’s offering. Cain killed Abel because Abel’s righteousness made Cain look bad. Instead of repenting, Cain decided to fix his problem by eliminating the person who was doing the right thing; thus eliminating the person who was making him look bad.

Unfortunately, this has been common all through human history. When people fall short of God’s standards, instead of trying to meet God’s standards, they attack the standards. If a person is convicted of sin by the righteous acts of another person, instead of repenting, they attack and denigrate the person whose actions make them feel guilty.

Gen. 4:9 ¶ Then Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Gen. 4:10 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to Me from the ground.

Ponder the phrase “blood is crying out to Me”. Think of all the people who have been murdered over the centuries. Is their blood crying out to God? If so, the sound is deafening.

Gen. 4:11 And now, cursed are you from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

Gen. 4:12 When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.”

Gen. 4:13 And Cain said to Yahweh, “My punishment is too great to bear!

Gen. 4:14 Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from Your face I will be hidden, and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and it will be that whoever finds me will kill me.”

Gen. 4:15 So Yahweh said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” And Yahweh appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one who found him would strike him.

This demonstrates God’s mercy. Cain was afraid of being killed, so Yahweh appointed a sign which would protect Cain. Yahweh promised that anyone who killed Cain would be receive seven times as much punishment.

Gen. 4:16 ¶ Then Cain went out from the presence of Yahweh and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Gen. 4:17 ¶ Then Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch; and he built a city and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son.

Gen. 4:18 Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

Gen. 4:19 And Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah.

Gen. 4:20 And Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and have livestock.

Gen. 4:21 And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.

Gen. 4:22 As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

Gen. 4:23 ¶ And Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah,

Hear my voice,

You wives of Lamech,

Give ear to my word,

For I have killed a man for striking me;

And a boy for wounding me;

Lamech told his wives that he killed a man who had struck him and he killed a boy who had wounded him.

Gen. 4:24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold,

Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

Lamech declared that he killed those who wounded him because if anyone attacked him, he was going to respond with something 77 times greater than that which was done to him. Lamech deliberately inflicted greater revenge than God inflicted on those who attacked Cain.

Iron sharpens iron. Likewise, men sharpen men. When we interact with other people, sometimes our flaws and shortcomings are exposed. In some cases, we become aware of our sin and shortcomings through exposure to people who are better and more righteous than ourselves.

What should we do when that happens? When that happened to Cain, he got angry and killed the person who was more righteous. That is somewhat of a natural human reaction, but that is not what we should do. Instead, we should repent and fix our sins and shortcomings.

What are some occasions when the good behavior of another person made you recognize your sin?

Did you do the right thing and repent, or did you do the wrong thing and attack the person who exposed your sin?

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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”