TEXT: GENESIS 4 : 9 – 17, 13 & 17
VERSES OF EMPHASIS: GENESIS 4:9 – 17
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 has 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 earth.’
*13. “And Cain said unto the Lord, my punishment is greater than I can bear’.
14. “Behold, thou has driven me out this day 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 kill me’.
15.“And the Lord said unto, therefore whoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And he set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.’
16.”And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden’.
*17.”And Cain knew his wife; and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son Enoch”.


TITLE OF SERIES: A DISH OF HOPE
TITLE OF SERIES 1: IF FALLEN MEN BUILT CITIES
Our Bible Character: CAIN.
An average Christian has a bible hero or heroine, a faith mentor of some kind. Infact, there are quite a host of them spread all through the bible from Genesis to Revelation, starting from Abraham till the time of the Apostles of Christ, who actually did exemplary feats. As a matter of fact, sizeable number of them appeared in the hall of Patriarchs of faith in Hebrews.
Hence, readers coming across this, might be wondering, why Cain after all? Of all the godly character in the bible, why Cain? Why not the great Abraham, or Jacob, or Isaac, or even Samson. Why Cain, a murderer with no precedence.
Yes our biblical character for this series is Cain the murderer, the envious, the cursed of the Lord. Yes? the one subjected to a lifestyle of wondering; the one to live all his life a vagabond, having been pushed away from the centrality of God’s grace and sentenced to the imprisonment of wondering with hard labour. That’s our biblical character for this series.
The reason is found in the book of 2Timothy 3: 16&17, which actually happens to be the operational belief of FAITH BANQUET WORD OUTREACH from where this series, A DISH OF HOPE is coming from
2Timothy 3: 16 & 17 reads:
“All scripture is given by the inspiration of God – and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”.
“That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works”.
GOD’S CURSE ON CAIN: HIS EPIC REACTION
The bible explains that God placed heavy doses of curses upon Cain, because, he killed his brother out of envy and bitterness of rejection. God cursed Cain to a perpetual life of wondering with a bitter spice of hard labour for his sustenance to be guaranteed, since the ground would no longer yield her best for him.
Well, It is not the deed of murder by Cain that is important, infact from all indications, detestable was the fact that he did not show remorse, let alone ask for forgiveness. In all aforementioned, nothing could be further from Christianly virtues: definitely not the ill offering he gave that was rejected, never the bitterness of envy roused by the pains of rejection, and certainly neither the eventual murder nor the show of lack of remorse is worthy of emulation. However, the reaction of Cain to the curse heaped upon him, from the Almighty himself is of great import. Infact, it is significant in so many fronts, as we will see in the course of the progression of this series.
In verse 13 of Genesis 4 we read Cain said, in reaction to the curses God released upon his life and said. “Cain said unto the Lord my punishment is greater than I can bear”.
Here is someone, who just committed murder. Who just earned a justifiable sentence of aimless wondering?
He did not tell God, he wanted to die. He did not start to seek for pity party. He simply accepted his fate, but stood his ground and went ahead to claim his rights, well, no longer as a child of God, but as a creation of God.
Ordinarily, one would have expected Cain to see no reason to live any longer. Here is someone outside the centrality of God’s grace telling God his punishment was too much for him.
Yet there is a man of God in the bible, who told God he wanted to die, just because, God did not do things his own way, Jonah.
The bible said, God asked Jonah to go to Nineveh, the great city by God’s reckoning, to preach to them; perhaps they would turn from their evil way, back to God in repentance. He first refused to go. Eventually, when constrained having slept in the belly of a big fish for three days, he went grudgingly. The people, to his disappointment, repented and sought for forgiveness and mercy and the Lord obliged them, but it displeased Jonah that God had mercy on his creation. He desired passionately to die.
Just like so many of us children of God today. We want things done quickly, fast and now, it does not matter weather, it’s the will of God or not and if God will not do it. We give up on him. We cast away our confidence; we sometimes swap faiths or beliefs. We start to look for damning alternatives outside of God.
Cain, a murderer, stood his ground, he did not commit suicide. He did not jump into the river so as to get drowned. He went on, under a heavy curse from the Almighty himself.
Interestingly, his reaction paid off, God gave him a cover of protection. He enjoyed a seal of protection; that even the president of the most powerful nation of the world cannot access. Meanwhile, there are children of God in our world today that cannot step out to the super market without, fierce-looking, riffle-wielding security details. They only have the form of godliness but deny the power of the sons of God thereof.
Verse 17 reads:
“And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city and called the name of the city, after the name of his son Enoch”
Waoh! A cursed man who just activated the periphery of God’s mercy achieved a feat, of monumental value. He built a city; he named it after his son, Enoch, leaving a legacy of Proverbs 13:22 “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children. He didn’t resign to fate. He didn’t underestimate the mercy of his maker, even if God was no longer his father, he still remained his creator. The truth is, whether you are a saint or sinner, your sustenance is in the hand of God. But you must open your mouth and ask for it.
How many of us know the profit of the earth is for all? Eccl 5: 9 said so. “The profit of the earth is for all”. Someone will say why? Because “God rains on the just and the unjust alike”, yet he enjoined us in Mathew 7:40 to ask so that we can be given, to knock that the door might be open, to seek so that we may find.
The blessing of God is for all, but for the asking.
Curiously, there is a man of God in 2 Kings Chapter 4: 1 who left a legacy of indebtedness. We thank God for the bail out from Prophet Elisha.
Your situation is also common but the lesson to learn from Cain’s reaction is in multiple folds. The truth is; there is no situation that you have found yourself today that should call for giving up on God. No condition is big enough to make you cast away your confidence. If Cain, cursed directly by God did not commit suicide and even under the heavy burden of curses from the Almighty, forged ahead and still achieved; leaving a legacy for his son, then, you are not excusable. You must start to ask in true confidence and genuiness of faith not in fear and trembling like one who is not sure. The scripture said “we should come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy in times of need. God has not given us the spirit of fear, but that of power, love and sound mind.
Check out all the patriarchs of faith in the bible. Look at the backgrounds of men of God like David, Jephthae, Joseph, Samson, and even Job. At one time or the other they had challenges of rejection and abandonment, but they persevered and were vindicated at last.
LESSONS FOR US AS CHRISTIANS
1. UNDERSTANDING IS KEY
For a man who will sail through in this life, of whom Jesus Christ, our hope himself said; …“in the world, you will see tribulations” You must have understanding. No wonder the scripture says: Proverb 4:7 “Wisdom is the principal thing, get wisdom, in all thy getting, get understanding.
Hosea 6: 1-3”……Then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord”
What are we certainly going to know? That God can never leave us his children nor forsake us.
Luke 11:13 says, “If you being evil know how to give good gifts, how much more, your father in heaven” When we follow on to know, we will know that surely there is an end to negative challenges and our expectation of long lasting rest, flourishing/lifting shall not be cut off in Jesus name.
I believe this made the whole difference for Cain, a murderer. He knew even in his cursed state, he was still entitled to God’s sustenance. Afterall, he must be sustained first, before he could serve his sentence of wondering, for only the living wonder. So understanding who we are to God as royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar generation is important. If we must get there. As we keep following on to know, God will continually shed light to all the dark areas of our lives in Jesus name.
2. ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING:
It is a common saying that attitude determines altitude. Compare the attitude of Cain to that man of God I mentioned earlier. Prophet Jonah demanded to die, just because his ego had been supposedly bruised. Jonah was not actually the only man of God who became victims of their attitudes. There are a couple of supposed children of God who could not sail through to the end because of attitude.
Check the attitude of Cain after painstakingly listening to his punishment. He braced up to serve. He didn’t curse God in return, to push God to kill him. He did not take poison. Just one thing he asked from God, that God should keep him in safety. God granted his request. He left the presence of God. By sheer dint of hard labour, he got married; his status notwithstanding, had a son, struggled to build a city and achieved one of the cardinal feats of a good man. He left a legacy for his son, a memorable monument. No poor man can build a city!
All these made possible because of his attitude to life and living. Just because Cain believed there is no situation that could not work to the advantage of him who refused to give up and lose hope. The scripture says “as a man thinketh in his heart, so he is”.

Compare his attitude to that of Prophet Eli in the book of 1 Samuel 3 1-18

“And he said, what is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide anything from me of all the things that he said unto thee”
“And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, it is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good”
Prophet Eli, who is supposed to know that God is quick to reverse his wroth if you show genuine remorse. A prophet who should know that God is not interested in the death of sinners. He chose to go deviant by saying, it’s his problem, let him (God) do what seemed right to him. For those of us who are students of the bible, we all know that singular attitude, affected him and his generations to come.
What of the 12 spies sent to Canaan in the book of Numbers 13:1-33. In one accord they gave evil and defeatist report, except Joshua and Caleb and we all knew the end.


ON A FINAL NOTE:
If fallen men could build city, how much more you and I, at the centre of God’s grace and mercy. If while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Why should we think, he will abandon us now that we are in Him. If he rains on the just and the unjust in this world, why do you think he will deny you that good things you deserve. If the profit of the earth is for all, why will God withhold yours as his children? He makes all things beautiful in his time, and surely there is an end and your expectation shall not be cut off.
But you must always seek and live by the understanding of your person in Christ, through belief and confession, for “they overcame by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony”.
You should shape your attitude aright. Don’t sign off on God. Don’t throw away your confidence, it has great recompense. At last, we shall all have testimony in Jesus Mighty name
See you next series….

Brother Adedayo Ore
Faith Banquet Word Outreach.

this is worth reading..