Stubbornness: Genesis 4:13-16

God will work with our sin if we are repentant, He can do nothing with us when we stubbornly refuse to acknowledge Him.  God understand our imperfection.  God understands forgiveness.  He wants us to know that side of Him.

Only after God hands out the curse does Cain seem interested in conversation.  This is another indication that Cain’s problem was not what he offered as a sacrifice but how he offered it.  It speaks volumes about Cain’s heart that it takes punishment from God for Cain to want to have a meaningful discussion with God.

When Cain does choose to speak to God, he doesn’t express any remorse for his action.  Cain doesn’t admit his guilt.  Cain’s complaint is about the severity of the punishment.  Cain believes the punishment is too much for him to bear.

Given that Cain committed murder, he likely understands what the world can do to people.  Cain believes if he cannot farm and must wander the earth, someone will take advantage of his situation and kill him.  There is no reason to think Cain is wrong, either.  The world can be a cruel place.  The world can take advantage of people without thinking much about it.  Sometimes the worse off a person is only indicates how quickly the world will pounce.

God hears Cain’s objection and responds.  God marks Cain so anyone who comes upon him won’t harm him.  Now, Cain can go about his punishment without worrying about what the world will do to him. The theme of God’s mercy in punishment continues.  God’s punishment doesn’t stop life from happening but rather allows life to continue.

At this point, a little speculation might be interesting.  Cain’s refusal to dialogue with God is haunting.  What if Cain had confessed his sin to God?  What if Cain took the opportunity God presented him and showed remorse for his action?

God’s righteousness would still have needed to be satisfied.  Able’s blood would still have needed appeasement.  Yet, we know God is a forgiving God.  God is a God of second chances.  It is entirely possible that had Cain confessed his actions then God could have found a less severe punishment.  We see God relent frequently in the Bible.

Cain’s action were horrible, but perhaps the saddest part of Cain’s story is his stubbornness.  Cain digs his heels in and refuses to consider God’s mercy.  Cain would rather refuse to acknowledge the error of his ways than experience God’s mercy.  In the end, Cain walks away to follow his own path because he refuses to acknowledge God’s better path.

There is a lesson here for all of us.  God’s ways are always better and our rebellion leads away from those paths.  The quickest way to life is not being stubborn but being repentant.  God will work with our sin if we are repentant, He can do nothing with us when we stubbornly refuse to acknowledge Him.