By“And the Lord said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him. Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.” — Genesis 4:15 - 16 NKJV
One disastrous decision a person can ever make in life is to leave the presence of God. In our terms, it means to disconnect yourself from where God has planted you or excommunicate the faith of God. It has ripple effects, but those effects aren’t usually immediate.
It’s just like uprooting a tree. All the leaves will be green the day that tree was uprooted. The sap in the stems and branches can sustain the green colour of the leaves for a few days. From then, they start withering. You are sourced from God. So if you decide to live in this world, which belongs to God, without God, you’re doing yourself great harm.
After Cain killed Abel, God approached him as a judge, not as a Father. He judged Cain’s sin very well. But Cain thought His chastisement was disadvantageous instead of edifying. So, he left the presence of God and went to Nod.
Right from Genesis 4:17, the Bible tells us that Cain started to build a city, a thing God never created him to do. Five generations after Cain, one descendant called Lamech introduced polygamy (which is never the idea of God) into the world. And also, his children started raising livestock (Jabal), making music pipes (Jubal), and weapons of war (Tubal-Cain).
In today’s language, I’d say Lamech introduced marital unfaithfulness, Jabal introduced what I call “work to survive” in the world. Then, Jubal brought about worldly music (because in those days, those people weren’t calling upon the name of God). And then Tubal-Cain introduced fatal machinery.
All these things happened outside the presence of God, which means the inventions came from people with wicked hearts. Cain never thought his rebellion would end him and his generation like this, but it happened.
Maybe you’ve done something wrong, and God is disciplining you. Avoid misinterpreting God’s chastisement. Don’t leave God’s presence like Cain because of guilt or immaturity. I mean, don’t disassociate yourself from the church no matter what. It’s only a matter of time you’ll realize your decision was wrong. God is with you, and sometimes, when He chastises you, it’s for your future benefits, not for now. Trust Him.
You’re a blessing.
Devotional Code: KGD // 2022 – 110
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