The Man Who Smart Mouthed God

Genesis 4 tells us a story about Cain. When God rejected his offering of fruits and veggies, Cain was very angry. God confronts him and asks what is wrong, saying, If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door (verse 7a).

The next we know, Cain kills his brother Abel.

God again confronts him, Where is Abel thy brother? (verse 9)

Cain responds with a lie, I know not. Then, he directs a smart remark to God: Am I my brother’s keeper? (verse 9)

Are you shocked that Cain talked to God like that?

When I was a teen, I smart mouthed my mother. My father overheard and, rightly so, was furious with me. He said something like, “Don’t you ever talk to your mother like that again!” I never did. I was so ashamed. I never wanted to hurt my parents like that.

Cain talks that way to God. He disrespects God to His face!

Let’s backtrack a little and analyze what actually happened.

God doesn’t accept Cain’s non-blood offering. Cain has decided to worship as he pleases, even though he obviously knew that God required a blood offering, like his brother offered. The Bible says without shedding of blood is no remission (Hebrews 9:22).

God sought out Cain and talked to him. (verse 7a) Notice that God goes to Cain. Then Cain, instead of responding in repentance and deciding to do right, takes out his anger on the innocent man, his brother Abel, who pleases God. (This happens all the time. When a person doesn’t want to play by God’s rules, he takes it out on someone who’s doing right. Sad.)

In this context, Cain kills Abel. (This shows how sin poisons a person’s brain. Cain only had one brother at this time, only one companion besides his parents. Cain thinks only of his own feelings, and in that moment of anger, he slays his brother.) 

When he’s caught, he lies, and he sasses God.

Lessons from this story:

• Obey God’s laws. You’ll be much happier. (Yes, Abel died, but he pleased God. Until the moment of his death, he had a clear conscience before God.)
• Respect God. God deserves our greatest respect. He is perfect, and He is good.
• When we do wrong, we should repent. (1 John 1:8-9)
• When we do wrong, we can expect punishment. (Cain was doomed to be a fugitive and a vagabond . . . in the earth, verse 12.)
• Remember that God extends grace to all sinners. (God protected Cain from being murdered—which he deserved. God wanted to restore Cain to Himself.)

Isn’t it wonderful that God reaches out, even to people who worship as they please and not as God pleases?

Isn’t it beautiful that God takes the initiative to restore people to Himself?

Isn’t it a blessing that even murderers can be forgiven, if they accept Christ as Savior? 

I think so.

By the way, do you think Cain ever repented? I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Mirrors, Lookingglasses, and More

I love mirrors! I use them for decorating in the place of pictures or paintings. They bring light and reflection inside. They amplify rooms. The “picture” they provide moves with the inhabitants. Mirrors offer an added dimension.

The Bible mentions mirrors (called lookingglasses and glasses in the KJV) several times. These references seem to indicate hand mirrors and not something big, hung on a wall. (I guess you couldn’t hang them on a tent wall!) Sometimes, the word for mirror is a metaphor, and other times, it’s the literal object.

The first reference to mirrors is in Exodus 38:8. The ladies worshiping at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation gave their mirrors to be used for the laver (washing basin) for the Tabernacle. In those days, hand mirrors were made of very polished brass.  The women’s mirrors were melted down and made into something new—something to be used in the purification ritual for Aaron and his sons. You might say they gave up their vanity for purity.

In Isaiah 3, God compares the nation of Israel with some pretty gaudy women. He didn’t approve of these women (an allegory about Israel) for their attitudes and their pride. This story is symbolic of Israel’s attitude towards God. In this parable, God takes away the women’s accessories and ornaments, even their mirrors. (Verse 23) In this case, it wasn’t a willing act from the women; it was forced upon them.

Let’s go to the New Testament. You may have thought of this passage already. I love it, especially since it speaks so clearly to women. I’m going to change the male pronouns to female, so that you can easily apply this passage to yourself. The changes are marked by parentheses:

For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, (she) is like unto a (woman) beholding (her) natural face in a glass: For (she) beholdeth (herself), and goeth (her) way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of (woman she) was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, (she) being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this (woman) shall be blessed in (her) deed (James 1:23-25).

Can you imagine waking up in the morning and looking at your face and hair in the mirror, and then you do absolutely nothing about yourself? You just walk away and start your day? Not many of us would do that! The most natural thing is to want to “fix” ourselves. We do whatever it takes to better our appearance. We look in the mirror in order to know exactly what needs to be done and for guidance in cleansing our faces, applying makeup, and combing our hair.*

In James 1, the Bible is the mirror. We look into God’s Holy Word to see how we actually are and to see what we need to fix. Then, we don’t just walk away. We use His Word, the mirror, to guide us in doing what needs done!*

Just as mirrors give an added dimension to the home, so the mirror of the Word of God gives depth to our spiritual lives. Without its true foundation, we would be wandering and floundering spiritually. But, when we look into the Word (the mirror) and we obey what we find there (James calls it “doing.”), we have the free conscience of knowing we’re doing right. We can go through our day in confidence. Just as we do our hair and makeup in the morning and walk out the door with confidence, we “do” our spiritual selves with the help of the Bible.

May we all make effective use of our spiritual mirror!

*Copyrighted paragraphs from my new book, His Ways, Your Walk: Bible Applications for Women.