Jenkins Cain, Ishmael, David...

1. Auflage 2012
ISBN: 978-1-62309-265-8
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 175 Seiten

This book is outlining the personality type of men according to atypical Biblical characters.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Jenkins, Jacqueline

Leseproben

Chapter 1

CAIN

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the LORD." (Genesis 4:1)

Who is Cain? How is he portrayed in the scriptures? What exactly do the scriptures reveal? In searching the scriptures, we will learn volumes about the character and special traits of Cain. Let's go back to the beginning where all things begin – the Book of Genesis.

As we all know, Cain was the first born of Adam and Eve. In fact, he was the first individual to be born naturally, i.e., via the birth canal, as Adam was formed from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7) and Eve from one of Adam's ribs (Genesis 2:21). Cain's name means "acquisition" or "possessed."

Cain's character traits and much of his life's story are located in the 4th Chapter of Genesis. Let's take a glimpse at what the Bible conveys about the caliber of man that he was.

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the LORD." Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."

Genesis 4:1-7

We get a snapshot of who Cain is in the above scriptures, exposing fragments of his characteristics. First, we see Cain as a tiller of the ground, or a farmer. He farmed the land because the ground was cursed yielding thorns and weeds resultant of Adam's fall (see Genesis 3:17-19). Whereas Cain was a farmer of the land, his brother Abel was a shepherd or keeper of sheep.

Genesis 4:3 says, "In the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of fruit from the ground to the Lord and Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. God had respect for Abel's offering and did not respect Cain and his offering." Therefore, we have God accepting the blood offering from Abel and rejecting the bloodless offering of Cain. Why did God accept one offering and reject the other? Although there have been numerous personal points of view rendered to this question, let's go to the Word of God for our answer.

From The Message: Hebrews 11:4 – "By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That is what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice." (Emphasis added)

The giving and the acceptance of the offering was all centered around faith, i.e., what Abel believed, according to the Word of God. Cain's offering was not "mixed with faith" and therefore God rejected it. It is as simple as that! "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6). God took no pleasure in Cain's offering due to the absence of faith in the giver of the offering. Therefore, he gave a "faithless offering" just like some of us have done and continue to do. I am sure we can even probe a little deeper to discover other reasons why his offering suffered rejection, but that is not the purpose of this writing.

At the onset, we notice Cain was a person who did not move in faith – he was "faithless." Sisters, you will not get the Cain-type to see through the eyes of faith, as he is "faithless." You can talk until you are blue in the face or until your vocal cords shrivel up, but you cannot get a "faithless" person to catch a glimpse of what you perceive through the eyes of faith.

Let's go on a little further into the scriptures before totally dissecting the characteristics of Cain.

Cain had a temper (Genesis 4:5). The Bible says that Cain was very angry and his countenance dropped because God did not accept his gift. The Message states, "Cain lost his temper and went into a sulk." Lastly, the Amplified Bible says, "So Cain was exceedingly angry and indignant, and he looked sad and depressed."

Cain was a pouter and he had no problem expressing his anger to man or even to God. He was extremely temperamental and unpredictable. Can you imagine aligning yourself with someone who is grossly unpredictable in the worst way? Hum….

After Cain acted out (pouted), God asked him why he was angry and why his countenance had fallen. In today's vernacular, God would have said something like this, "Cain, what's up? Why are you tripping? Why are you looking so down in the dumps? If you do the right thing, don't you know that I will accept you and your offering? On the other hand, if you choose not to listen to what I am saying, sin is waiting for you, right at the door of your heart. Sin's desire is for you, but you must rule over sin and conquer sin or it will conquer you and dictate your every move."

The Cain-type is a lascivious person. He has no restraint. He lacks self-control. As this type is one who struggles with self-discipline, this character flaw will eventually lead him into a destructive mode. (Had obedience been one of Cain's character traits, he could have averted future devastating encounters that were soon to come.)

After God's conversation with Cain, the Bible is silent as to his response. I am more than certain he walks away with his little "funky" attitude, refusing to bring his disgruntled spirit and volatile temper under submission; after all, he is a pouter.

Incidentally, he allows that explosive attitude to fester in his spirit. Therefore, he is not one who shakes things off easily. In other words, he retains things. He grasps or clutches a grudge with such tenacity that it deafens his hearing and blurs his vision to such an extent that he cannot see or hear wise counsel. In this case, because he had difficulty in releasing his jealousy and anger, the bitter roots of these traits grew rapidly in his spirit.

So what happened? Inward rage and perhaps his disdain for Abel ignited his temper wherein he formulated a scheme to assassinate his brother. However, what Cain did not comprehend was this: Abel was not the problem! His problem was a sick and twisted heart condition, a lack of faith and love for God, and the things and people of God. Cain was in need of a severe heart and attitude adjustment; without such, Satan would be leading him straight down the path of no return. Cain mistakenly determined that Abel was in his way. He saw Abel as the problem.

Some of us are launching attacks, i.e., accusations against our sisters or brothers in the Body of Christ believing that they are the culprits of some, if not all of our problems with God and/or the Church. Therefore, we devise a scheme and try to take them down either by character assassination, outright lies, gossip, or by avoidance. Watch out! This type of venomous spirit will expose the accuser for who they really are. It will also hinder the accuser from basking in the presence of God. We will discuss this point shortly.

Now 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 killed him.

Genesis 4:8

After God speaks to Cain, Cain engages in a conversation with Abel. Unbeknownst to Abel, Cain has murder on his mind. He has an ulterior motive, which is about to materialize in the worst way. Cain's venomous attitude rose up in him while in the field and he killed his brother, all because he never dealt with the issues of his heart.

The Cain-type is one who can slick someone into thinking that everything is okay and that he is all right with everything. Watch him! He will turn on you!

Unsuspecting Abel has no idea what is brewing in Cain's wicked heart. Because he is totally oblivious to the intents of his brother's heart, Abel ventures out on a stroll with his brother, a walk from which Abel will never return. Abel will never come to the fullness of his life expectations or the dreams once nestled in his heart. Cain has murder on his mind and kills his brother. I John 3:12 calls Cain a "wicked one…"

The Cain-type is a murderer. Once again, he will cause you to think that all is well with him, and that he is at peace with you. However, he will stab you in your back in a split second.

He has total disregard for human life. You can observe this trait in the irreverence Cain has for his own brother's life. This is the brother who he has played with, sat down and dined with, and perhaps joked with previously. Please remember this: people laughing and playing with you may have an entirely different agenda than what you think, especially the Cain-type.

The Cain-type will take you for a ride from which you will never return the same. He will take you to a place, be it a fixed location or a place in your mind, where you will be...