Looking around to see if anyone was around, he took a huge rock and without hesitation smashed it into his rival's skull. Then he quickly picked up a limb with a sharp point and dug into the soil near the lifeless body. Within a few minutes the whole was big enough to roll his victim in and cover him with the soft dirt.
Running from the grave he felt himself shaking all over with rage. He had never felt so strong and powerful before. He smelled the scent of blood on his clothes and noticed he was covered with splatter marks of red and clumps of dirt. He quickly returned home, ripped off his clothes, and threw them away, and then he washed away the blood from his skin.
Time passed slowly over the next day as he waited to see if anyone would notice what he had done. His only thoughts were what would happen to him when they found out about the murder. The feelings of power that he had once felt were now changing into the fear of retribution. What on earth was he thinking that compelled him kill? How could he look his parents in the face again when they found out what he had done?
Genesis 4: 3-10, "After some time Cain brought some of his harvest and gave it as an offering to the Lord. Then Abel brought the first lamb born to one of his sheep, killed it, and gave the best parts of it as an offering. The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering, but he rejected Cain and his offering. Cain became furious, and he scowled in anger. Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? Why that scowl on your face? If you had done the right thing, you would be smiling; but because you have done evil, sin is crouching at your door. It wants to rule you, but you must overcome it.'
Then Cain said to his brother Abel, 'Let's go out in the fields.' When they were out in the fields, Cain turned on his brother and killed him.
The Lord asked Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?'
He answered, 'I don't know. Am I supposed to take care of my brother?'
Then the Lord said, 'Why have you done this terrible thing? Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground, like a voice calling for revenge.'"
Many people know the story of Cain killing Abel so well that they don't read it in the Bible. They acknowledge that murder is bad. And if their family or friends have ever been touched by a brutal murder then they fight to make sure that justice is served with the person being thrown into jail for life, or executed for the crime.
Unfortunately, because most people don't read the story, they miss some valuable lessons that can be learned from what provoked Cain into murdering his brother. These lessons can only be understood when we focus on the purpose of our world in the first place.
In the beginning God created a perfect world that had never experienced sin. When Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan and ate the apple, everything changed; now they had to learn the difference between right and wrong. In order to understand evil you must have examples of what is bad.
Man's freewill brought the number one sinner of all time into the world, the evil tempter and deceiver Satan. Satan has the ability to use every part of this world against people. He uses animals, people, demons and spirits of all kinds to manipulate people into doing his will. He even takes our minds and corrupts how we think over a situation we face in life.
Revelations 12: 9, "The huge dragon was thrown out-that ancient serpent, named the Devil, or Satan, that deceived the whole world. He was thrown down to earth, and all his angels with him."
Satan takes our lives and manipulates us through our desires to be number one. Satan welcomes us into gangs who murder people when they get in their way. He justifies wars telling us in the depths of our minds that we are right even when our conscience tells us that we are hurting lots of people.
God put in plain words to Cain in verse 7 that he had to master sin; He did this by explaining to him what was right. Remember to be mastered by something is to be controlled by it. Instead Cain allowed pride to convince him to willfully murder Abel, instead of mastering sin he allowed Satan to gain a foot hold in his life. A stronghold that would ultimately lead to Cain turning his back on God and what is right.
You can only imagine what Satan must have been telling him during the entire decision process leading up to the murder. "God loves Abel more than you, if you just get rid of Abel, God will only have you to love. Just think the whole world will be yours if you do away with Abel."
Satan is a clever demon who justifies sin in a person's life. He tells them that in order to win they need to get rid of their competition. He is a voice of evil that uses the weaknesses in every man to persuade them to give into wrong.
From that moment on Cain lived his life under a curse because he refused to do right. A curse blinds you to your actions and makes you think the sin you committed was not sin at all.
Genesis 4: 11&12, "You are placed under a curse and can no longer farm the soil. It has soaked up your brother's blood as if it had opened its mouth to receive it when you killed him. If you try to grow crops, the soil will not produce anything; you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth."
God told Cain just exactly what happens when you allow sin to master you. Sin prevents God from being a part of your life. Without God everything about our lives can change for the worse. Cain loved the land but without God it could yield nothing. From one moment of inappropriate behavior everything Cain loved was snatched away and he became a homeless wanderer, a person lost to his real purpose in life.
Cain deserted his love for the soil and began to build cities instead. He invested all his energies into having a good life according to his own abilities. He did what most people do today. He became wrapped up in the world and the things that the world could give him. He didn't need God or even have time for Him.
When you are in a teaching world and you refuse to learn then your life is filled with your own desires. You don't think about others, you only think about yourself. This is the reason why our world is filled with wars. This is the reason why people commit terrible crimes against each other, like murdering their neighbors for money. People kill over foolish arguments. They murder out of rivalry and legal disputes. They commit these terrible crimes against each other because they are blind to the difference between what is right and wrong.
These people have lost touch with their purpose and have totally given themselves to do evil. They don't need God in their lives! They have allowed the god of this world, Satan, to cloud their minds and entice them into doing anything that makes them feel good at the time.
Understanding the purpose behind our world opens our minds into changing the way we handle the problems we face in life. We fight against every thought that entices us to do wrong. We resist sin and Satan flees from our lives.
2 Corinthians 10: 4&5, "The weapons we use in our fight are not the world's (Satan) weapons but God's powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments; we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ."
Change the way you think and you will defeat every evil attack that Satan wages against your mind to make you sin. Replace your thoughts with good thoughts about the person who has offended you. Read your Bible, pray and cast your fears upon God. Jesus Christ is love. If you love, you will do no harm to your neighbor.
Our world is a huge multifaceted game geared to tempt you and ultimately change your way of thinking. Commit your life to God and He will teach you what is right.
The destruction that was left behind after the murder tore the family totally apart. His parents could no longer look at him because of what he did to his brother. In disgrace he fled away never to see them again. He became imprisoned in a hopeless world deserted by his family and shunned by friends.