Good Morning All,
Genesis 4:7; “If you do
well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at
the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
This is one
of my favorite verses in the Bible. “Sin
is crouching at your door;” it sounds so ominous; it sounds so threatening and
yet it is so true, and we miss it often.
This verse is part of God’s warning to Cain before Cain killed
Abel. As we look at the story of Cain
and Abel this verse is kind of haunting in the background.
Many of us have a vague view
of Cain and Abel. We have all seen the
artwork that shows an angry, violent Cain attacking Abel. Abel is often portrayed as smaller, weaker
and, in some drawings, all most effeminate.
Yet this is probably a very incorrect view of these two.
Abel was the nomad. He wandered and cared for his sheep; moving
them from pasture to pasture, looking for water and new grass. He would have walked and had to carry some of
the sheep at different times. He was the
one wandering from place to place moving with the seasons and the rains.
Cain was the farmer; he was
the one who was settled and “civilized.”
He went on to build the first city.
This is an existence which requires a steady and reliable food and water
supply. It would lead to government and
the arts. Not exactly the image that we
tend to place on Cain, the violent and crazed murderer. Yet this is probably a point of this verse
that we need to understand. Sin,
especially our sin, tends to come from unique or hidden places; from places we
do not expect. It can creep into our
relationships as we begin to see ourselves as the important one in the
relationship and soon we have sin crouching at our door. We are jealous of our neighbor; we feel we
are “owed” something (money, power, respect); sin is crouching at the door.
What God is telling Cain, and
us, is that it is easy for our sinful nature to take over and cause us to
sin. It is always crouching at our door
just waiting for the opportunity to strike.
If we are not diligent, if we do not pay attention sin will strike. Even when we know what is right, we sometimes
do what is wrong because sin crouches at our door. Our only hope is to trust in God’s Word and
to focus on his grace as the method to fight temptation, to avoid the sin that
is crouching at your door.
We will face trials every day,
yet God provides for us an escape from our temptation. God promises to be with us and to protect us
from the assaults of the devil, who is always crouching at your door seeking to
cause you to trip and fall. Yet God will
forgive us and draw us back as we repent and turn from the sin that is
crouching at our door.
Father, we have sin
crouching at our door often. Guide us by
your Spirit to defend against it. Help
us to see it and to avoid it. Be with
those who are especially being tempted by sin.
Help us to aid them in their struggles.
Use us to bring them back into your heavenly family. In the precious name of Jesus, our risen
Savior, we pray amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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