Begin Again: "Forgiveness" - Pt 1 (Genesis 4:1-16)

1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. 2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth , and his countenance fell . 6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well , shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well , sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him . 9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said , I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? 10 And he said , What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. 11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. 13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass , that every one that findeth me shall slay me. 15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. 16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD. - Genesis 4:1-16

We live in the days foretold by our Lord, when offenses would abound. People, even those who are members of the body of Christ, are easily offended and do not seek forgiveness or offer it. The very first murder recorded in the Bible is about what happens when we allow the spirit of offense to divide us. As children of God, we are to live at peace with all people (even our enemies), however, this seldom happens in the church universal. 

As it says in James 4, we covet what others have and rather than ask the Lord for what we think we need, we slander or gossip and otherwise murder our brothers and sisters with our tongues..

How different Cain's circumstances may have been if he had simply asked the Lord to help him to present an acceptable sacrifice, or offering, to God? Of course, Cain was so envious of Abel, and hated him so much, that he would never consider humbling himself enough to ask Cain what he did that made his offering more acceptable to God.


Pride keeps us from admitting that we need help. That is why the Lord is so opposed to pride that he resists the one who is prideful. Pride tells us that we are better than others and keeps us from living at peace with them. Pride keeps us from forgiving others for the ways that they have offended, or otherwise wronged, us.


The spirit of offense often masquerades as a spirit of entitlement; a belief that we are better than another because we've been deserving (in church all of our lives, for example); while the offending party is undeserving (continually stumbles into sin, for example). Yet, when they are blessed more than we are, we become angry with them. Instead of reasoning together with the Lord (i.e., seeking His mind about what has happened in the life of the offender) we believe that our judgement about the offending party is the correct one, and oppose them to demonstrate and justify our ill-will toward them (our envy or jealousy).


That same spirit was at work when the prodigal son returned home after spending his inheritance on sinful indulgences. His older brother could not understand, or forgive, his father's acceptance of the brother who had done nothing to deserve, or earn, his father's favor. The same holds true for the woman with the alabaster box. She was rebuked by those who had already written her "off" as a sinful woman; yet, she was accepted by our Lord. In both cases, those who took offense with the offender (the one who had fallen into sin), did not seek forgiveness from the offender, or from the Father. They felt justified in withholding their acceptance of the "sinful" brother or sister.


If we are to love, as Jesus has asked us to love one another, we cannot do so while harboring a spirit of offense. 

Personal application: Think of someone that you do not show the love of God toward? Examine your heart. What keeps you from being supportive or encouraging of them? Ask the Father's forgiveness for whatever He reveals to your heart. Ask the Father for ways to support and/or to encourage those who irritate or offend you.


For an Inductive Study on the above Scripture reading, please visit the Bible Study for Busy People blog.