GENESIS 4:8 “A TWIN MURDER”
A) I read that the murder rate in the United States is more than
one per hour every day of the year.
* In all the wars in the nation’s history, 530,000 United States
combatants have been killed.
B) But since 1900, there have been more than 800,000 murders.
* One study found that a baby born in one of America’s fifty largest cities
has almost a 2% chance of being murdered in his lifetime.
* Another study showed that a baby born in the 1970s was more likely
to be murdered than an American soldier in WWII was to die in combat.
THE FIRST RECORD OF A MURDER IS FOUND IN GENESIS 4
A) The first murder in history was a twin murder.
* The murder that ever occurred was that of a brother – I want to suggest
to you that Cain and Abel possibly were twins – Notice Gen. 4:1-2 .......
* You have one conception but two births.
B) The story of Cain and Abel is not only a story of murder, but a
story of anger – We read in v.5 “Cain was very wroth.”
* The word carries the ideal of “burning.”
C) Psychologists tell us that there are several stages
and phases of anger.
* Mild irritation – Indignation – Wrath – Fury – Rage.
* The word “wroth” describes the last stage – Rage.
* We read in 1 John 3:11-12 “For this is the message that .......”
D) John tells us that Cain “slew” his brother.
* We also read in Gen. 4:8 that “Cain rose up against Abel his .......”
* The word “slew” gives us interesting insight into the murder
of Abel by Cain.
E) In both instances the word describes a very violent death.
* It literally means to butcher, to kill a person by cutting their throat.
F) There was a day when these 2 brothers were in the field.
* In a state of rage, Cain violently, brutally, murdered his brother,
cutting his throat, unmercifully butchering him.
* I want us to consider this twin murder and glean some lessons
for all of us.
(1) THE CAUSE OF CAIN’S ANGER
A) What was the seedbed for Cain’s anger?
* What causes anger to develop in our life?
B) One day a man walked into a drug store and said to the druggist,
“I came in to get some more pills for my wife’s colitis.”
* His little boy was with him, and he looked up and said, “Dad, who has
mom been colliding with now?”
C) Our “colliding” with others is often caused by certain things
in our heart and life.
* Notice the spirit of Cain and the breeding ground for his anger.
D) His Anger Grew From A Spirit Of Rebellion
* Notice Gen. 4:3-5 “And in process of time it came to .......”
WE SEE CAIN AND ABEL BRINGING AN OFFERING TO GOD
A) How did they know they were to bring an offering to God?
* No doubt mom and dad, and God Himself had taught them.
B) But notice carefully that each brother brought a different
kind of offering.
* Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground – Abel brought
an offering of the firstlings of the flock.
C) The offering of Abel was received by God and God rejected
the offering of Cain.
* Why? – The offering of Cain was one of the works of his hands – He had
plowed the ground, planted the seed, and picked the fruit.
* The offering of Abel involved the shedding of blood and the giving of an
innocent life for a guilty life.
D) Now I would think that if they had been taught they ought to bring an
offering to God they were also taught what kind of offering to bring.
* Why did Cain bring the kind of offering he did?
* As we read in 1 John 3:12 “Not as Cain, who was of that .......”
E) All he did was out of an evil heart – Cain possessed a heart of rebellion.
* To put it very simply, Cain was not right with God.
* His anger grew from a spirit of rebellion.
ANGER GROWS FROM A HEART THAT IS NOT RIGHT WITH GOD
A) We have often heard it said that if a man is not right with his brother,
he is not right with God.
* May I say, that if we are not right with our brother, it’s because we
are not right with God.
* When a man is right with God it greatly alters and affects how we behave.
B) Our behavior is often a mirror of our heart.
* We often excuse it by saying that’s just the way we are.
* But the truth is, when a man is right with God he doesn’t behave
his normal self, but behaves in a godly fashion.
C) A man right with God is marked by a spirit of reformation.
* A spirit of rebellion marks a man not right with God.
* Cain’s anger revealed a heart not right with God.
* Notice Gen. 4:5-7 “But unto Cain and to his offering he .......”
D) First: God gave Cain a word of welcome.
* He told him that if he would bring the right kind of offering
he would be accepted.
E) But then God gave Cain a word of warning.
* God said that if he didn’t bring the right kind of offering, sin is lying in wait
for him, ready to pounce – It’s out to get him – He’s got to master it.
F) The word “lieth” is a picture of a lion ready to pounce on its prey.
* God was warning him of the danger of not being right with Him.
* Yet we don’t read anywhere that Cain ever made it right – He possessed
a spirit of rebellion.
G) Second: His Anger Grew From A Spirit Of Resentment.
* The spirit of resentment is so obvious in Cain’s life.
* He deeply resented the fact that God had accepted his brothers offering
and rejected his – It ate at him, gnawed in his gut day after day.
THE SPIRIT OF RESENTMENT IS A BREEDING GROUND FOR ANGER
A) Someone doesn’t get their way ... Doesn’t get a certain job or position,
and it is resented.
* I have seen it in church more than once – Someone doesn’t get that class
or doesn’t get to sing, etc.
B) They felt like they should and they become resentful and it breeds
anger, hostility, and bitterness.
* Resentment paves the way for behavior that is inappropriate for a Christian.
C) Third: His Anger Grew From A Spirit Of Rejection.
* Cain’s offering was rejected by God ... This obviously angered Cain
and led to his actions involving his brother.
D) How often we let the actions of others become the breeding
ground for anger.
* What others do often ignites within us feelings of anger, hostility, and rage.
E) What others do and say, often breed anger in our hearts.
* Cain’s anger grew from a spirit of rebellion, resentment, and rejection.
(2) THE CHARACTERISTICS OF CAIN’S ANGER
A) We don’t know how much time passed from the incident
concerning the offerings.
* But apparently several days passed, maybe months or even years.
* But the thing ate at the very soul of Cain until one day it manifested
itself in a tragic way.
B) First: The Violent Explosion Of His Anger.
* Gen. 4:8 “And Cain talked with Abel his .......”
C) He slew his brother.
* In a moment of rage he brutally murdered his brother.
D) Some years back in Los Angeles, a father drowned his 4 children
and later admitted that he did it in a moment of rage.
* Cain’s anger simmered in his heart day after day until one day it
boiled over, and exploded.
E) Anger and rage have a way of making us behave in
such contrary ways.
* It causes us to act in total opposite of the character we wish, need,
and ought to display.
* How often in a moment of rage have we done things and said things
that were wrong.
STORY OF MAN STANDING ON A STREET CORNER
A) I heard of one man that was standing on a street corner with
two other gentlemen waiting on a bus.
* A car came by and splashed mud on his fresh-cleaned and pressed suit.
* He was so angry that he turned and said to the two men standing beside
him, “Did you fools see what that guy did to me.”
B) When we become extremely angry we lose all common sense
and all morals ... We think only of our feelings and wants.
* In Cain’s case, it was not what he was eating, but what was eating him.
* It ate at him and ate at him until he exploded in rage.
C) One man writes: “The man I hate hounds me wherever I go.”
* “I can’t escape his grasp on my mind ... When the waiter serves me
porterhouse steak with baked potato, and salad .......”
* “It might as well be stale bread and water ... My teeth chew the food
and I swallow it, but the man I hate will not permit me to enjoy it.”
D) Is there something someone has done or said that hounds you
every day you live and everywhere you go?
* That’s an awful way to live and furthermore, a dangerous way to live.
* Sooner or later those feelings will surface – And when they surface,
they can burst forth in rage.
E) Booker T. Washington once said, “I will not let any man reduce
my soul to a level of hatred.”
* All too often we let what happens reduce our soul to a level of hatred
and what happens when we reach that point is often devastating.
F) Second: The Vain Excuse Of His Anger – Notice Gen. 4:9 .......
* It’s like Cain is trying to excuse his personal responsibility
and relationship with his brother.
* He said, “Why are you asking me – I’m not my brother’s keeper.”
G) Instead of being his brother’s keeper he was his brother’s
murderer – That he couldn’t deny or excuse.
* We often try to excuse our anger, but I don’t care how you look at it,
condone it, or explain it, it is inexcusable.
* There’s no excuse for such behavior, no matter what the reason – It is sin.
H) As I said earlier, you say, “But that’s just the way I am.”
* Let me say that’s not the way we should be.
I) You say, “But you don’t understand what he/she did/said.”
* Yes, I do understand, but that still doesn’t excuse your behavior.
* Two wrongs don’t make one right.
(3) THE CONSEQUENCES OF CAIN’S ANGER
A) Notice Gen. 4:13 “And Cain said unto the LORD, My .......”
* Cain’s anger and rage was not without a high cost.
* Notice the consequences.
B) First: We See The Unrecoverable – Notice Gen. 4:10-11 .......
* He had murdered his brother – He had taken away his brother’s life.
* His brother was gone forever – He had taken away the one thing that
Abel had that when lost could not be recovered.
C) Someone has said, “Speak when you are angry, and you’ll deliver
the best speech you’ll ever regret.”
* When we explode in rage what we say and what we do is unrecoverable.
D) We can cry, apologize, beg, but it can’t be undone.
* Many a testimony and reputation that has taken 30 years to build
was lost in 30 seconds.
E) The famous physiologist, John Hunter once said, “The first
scoundrel that gets me angry will kill me.”
* Cain not only killed his brother, but he killed himself in many
ways ... He became a living dead man.
F) Second: We See The Unenjoyable – Notice Gen. 4:12 .......
* Cain was a tiller of the ground. This was what brought him joy and satisfaction.
* But God told him that he would be a miserable man the rest of his life.
G) Instead of living a settled and contented life, he would be a fugitive
and vagabond.
* Both words speak of a wandering ... Someone to feel sorry for – Notice Gen. 4:14 .......
H) Cain would live the rest of his life restless, wandering and haunted
constantly with the fear that someone would kill him.
* Anger robs us of peace and joy ... It feels the heart with anxiety
and bitterness ... It poisons the soul.
CLOSE
A) Look at Gen. 4:16 “And Cain went out from the presence of the
LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.”
* What is even worse, he was cut off from presence of God.
* Instead of dwelling in presence of God he dwelt in Nod (wanderer).
B) Anger robs us from enjoying the presence of the Lord.
* Think with me for a moment ... Are the consequences of our anger
and revenge worth it?
* You may get personal satisfaction for a moment, but you lose far
more in the long run.
* If you have anger issues, then bring it to the Lord.
