The More Found in Less
Click below to listen to the reach:
Genesis is packed with firsts.
First light. First star. First plants. First critters.
First provision, first command, first boundary, and first sin.
On and on it goes.
Sometimes we might feel that we’ve read those beginning chapters and heard the stories so often, that there’s little if anything more to be seen for the “first time”. But more of God can still be found in words we’ve read dozens of times. For the Word of God is alive and able to speak a newness that is needed even from pages that appear silent. Pages that gather dust while people dig in other books, looking in other fields. Hoping to find treasure in caves or on sea floors, in old attics or buried chests. But the treasure we need most is held in these quiet pages. The treasure we need most speaks of eternity. And I found one such m-o-r-e as I took my slow walk through Genesis 4 last week. It was tucked within the painful telling of Cain and Abel. Where the first murder follows closely on the heels of the first obedience.
I’ve always focused on the first murder, but I’ve never really paused to see that Abel was the first human ever to obey God fully… and it cost him his life. Such a precursor to the words, “…in this world you will have trouble…”(from John 16:33). Those words came from Christ’s lips as He was preparing the disciples for His departure to Heaven, telling the disciples the Counselor, the Advocate, would arrive and would guide them through the days ahead.
We are living in those “days ahead”.
But way back in Genesis, we get a glimpse of something profoundly “shiny” that helps us understand something deeply important. Like a vein of gold found in the wall of a cave, we can find treasure in most any one of the Holy Pages. But for this sharing, I read it in Genesis 4:8-14.
Let's read it together:
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
The previous verses in Chapter 4 share the details of what led to this murder riddled with jealousy, anger, comparison and disobedience. In short, Abel worked with animals and Cain worked the soil. So when each brother brought their offerings to the Lord, Abel brought from the firstborn in his flock while Cain brought “some of the fruits of the soil”. God looked with favor on Abel’s offering but it is written, “on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.” The Lord then has a talk with Cain and offers guidance to Cain that would bring God’s favor to him. God also warns Cain that if he does not do what is right, “sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” (From verses 3-7)
How patient is our God! He tells, then retells, warns, and offers a good way forward. I’ve often wondered what was wrong with Cain that he couldn’t simply step away from what made sense to him and do what God was clearly asking him to do. Yes, words like stubbornness and defiance come to mind, but I’ve often wondered what was compelling those attitudes in Cain. No serpent chat is mentioned concerning Cain.
But, if it can happen to Cain — then it can happen again. It can happen often. It could happen in my life or yours. So wisdom tells us it’s worth the time and prayer to dig for understanding — to be on guard against the poison that brought Cain down. Those who walk in wisdom warn us that what we think we are “above”, is perhaps the exact place a mudslide will sweep us away. After all, pride comes before a fall. So we look at Abel and applaud his desire to obey. But we look at Cain and wonder… what in the world were you thinking?
Here’s the revealing that helps us see the root, the pit, the mudslide Cain allowed in his life. I’ve pulled it directly from the scriptures above, but this time I’ve only typed out the words that Cain spoke to God… It began coming out after the Lord asked him, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” … “Am I my brother’s keeper?” … “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
Look closely. Can you see it?
“I don’t know,” … “Am I my brother’s keeper?” …“My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
How many time in Cain’s response to God did he, Cain, refer to himself? [underlined]
9 times
How many times did Cain refer to GOD? [bold font]
2 times
How many times did Cain refer to his brother, Abel? [in color]
1 time
In the entirety of all the Lord said to Cain as written in verses 6-14, GOD only referred to Himself one time (v 10) “…your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.”God, the Holy One, only draws attention to Himself once, while Cain puts attention on himself 9 times.
Oh y’all, it’s profoundly clear — Cain was so focused on h-i-m-s-e-l-f, his logic, his troubles, his perspective, his hurt — that even after he had committed murder, he still thought of himself more than he thought of God or of his dead brother.
SELF.
What we think…
What makes sense to us…
What we justify in our heads so that we can feel better about ourself…
Self can compel us to overlook the murder we commit towards others or the dismissal we hold in our hearts towards God.
Self promotes rebellion, refusal to love, denial of wrongs, stubbornness, laziness, anger, rage, idolatry, jealousy, comparison, and death of others while trying to satisfy an insatiable tyrant. The tyrant’s name is spelled, s-e-l-f.
So when we find ourselves being corrected by God, or questioned by others, or disciplined by authority, or held to a higher standard of accountability than our own logic would have required
— do we think more about ourselves?
— or more about those our choices impacted?
— or more about the heart of God?
Cain thought of himself 9 times.
In this world we will have trouble. But sometimes the trouble we face is actually caused by our own unwillingness to see and stop the s-e-l-f logic that brought us down. It’s a muddy slope for sure.
John 3:30 is the antidote to the poison of self — “He must become greater; I must become less.” And it is precisely in that place of l-e-s-s that we find HIS MORE. What a wonderful way to live out our days, wrapped in God’s MORE. No mud on that high path. It’s all good solid ROCK.
