Genesis 4:6 - Meaning and Application

God is here reasoning with Cain to show him the sin and foolishness of his anger and displeasure, and to bring him back to a right spirit before worse trouble followed. This shows God’s patience and gentle goodness, that he would deal so kindly with such a bad man in such a bad matter. He does not want anyone to perish, but wants all to come to repentance. In the same way, the father of the prodigal son reasoned with the older son (Luke 15:28, etc.), and God reasoned with the Israelites who said, “The way of the Lord is not fair” (Ezekiel 18:25).

God first leads Cain to examine the cause of his displeasure and ask whether it was truly justified: “Why is your face downcast?” Notice two things here. First, God sees all our sinful passions and discontent. No angry look, envious look, or sulky look escapes his eye. Second, most of our sinful anger and inner unrest would fade if we honestly asked why we feel that way. Why am I angry? Is there a real cause, a fair cause, a strong enough cause? Why am I so quickly upset, so deeply angry, and so hard to calm?

To bring Cain back to his senses, God makes it clear that Cain had no reason to be angry with him, because God had acted by the fixed and right rules of his government, suited to a time of testing. He sets before people life and death, blessing and curse, and then gives to each person according to their works. He treats them according to the way they have treated his ways, and that is how their judgment will be. Those rules are just, so his actions under those rules must also be just. He will be proven right when he speaks.

God set before Cain life and blessing: “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” Yes, certainly. Either, if you had done well, like your brother did, you would have been accepted as he was. God is not unfair, does not hate anything he made, and does not withhold favor from anyone except those who have thrown it away. He is an enemy only to those who have made themselves his enemies by sin. So if we fall short of his approval, we must blame ourselves. If we had done our duty, we would not have missed his mercy. This clears God in the ruin of sinners, and it makes their ruin even more serious. There is no lost sinner in hell who, if he had done well as he could have done, would not have been a holy saint in heaven. Soon every mouth will be shut by this truth.

Or the meaning may be this: if now you do well, if you repent of your sin, change your heart and life, and bring your offering in a better way, if you do what is right and do it rightly, you will still be accepted. Your sin will be forgiven, your comfort and honor restored, and all will be well. Here we see the effect of a Mediator, one who stands between God and man. We do not stand under the first covenant, which left no room for repentance, because God has dealt with us on new terms. Though we have sinned, if we repent and return, we will find mercy. This shows how early the gospel was preached, and how even one of the worst sinners was offered its benefit here.

God also sets before Cain death and a curse: “But if you do not do well,” that is, since you did not do well, since you did not offer in faith and in the right way, “sin lies at the door.” This may mean, first, that sin had already been charged to him, and he had been looked on and rejected as a sinner. Such a heavy charge would not have stood against him if he had not brought it on himself by failing to do well. Or it may mean, as it is usually understood, that if he would not do well, if he kept clinging to his anger instead of humbling himself before God, then sin lay at the door.

That could mean further sin. Anger was already in his heart, and murder was waiting at the door. Sin tends to go downhill, and people move from bad to worse. Those who do not worship well, but are careless and half-hearted in their devotion to God, expose themselves to the worst temptations. The most shameful sin may be right at the door. Those who do not keep God’s ordinances are in danger of falling into every kind of evil (Leviticus 18:30). Or it may mean the punishment of sin. Sin and punishment are so closely linked that the same Hebrew word can mean both. If sin is kept in the house, the curse waits at the door like an officer ready to arrest the sinner the moment he steps out. It seems to sleep for a while, but it is waiting at the door, and when it wakes, it will be clear that judgment has not been delayed. Sin will find you out (Numbers 32:23).

Some also take this as a hint of mercy. If you do not do well, sin, meaning the sin offering, lies at the door, and you may take advantage of it. The same word can mean both sin and a sacrifice for sin. Though you have not done well, do not despair. The remedy is near. The atoning sacrifice is not hard to find. Take hold of it, and your guilt, even the guilt attached to holy things, will be forgiven. Christ, the great sin offering, is said to stand at the door (Revelation 3:20). Those who deserve to perish in their sins are the ones who will not go to the door to seek their share in the sin offering. Looking at all this, Cain had no reason to be angry with God, only with himself.

Cain also had no reason to be angry with his brother. “Unto you shall be his desire,” meaning Abel would still show Cain the respect due to him as an older brother, and “you shall rule over him,” as the firstborn, just as before. God’s acceptance of Abel’s offering did not pass the birthright over to Abel, which is what Cain feared, nor did it give Abel the higher rank and power that belongs to the birthright (Genesis 49:3). God did not mean that, Abel did not take it that way, and there was no real danger of it harming Cain. Why then should Cain be so enraged?

Notice two things here. First, the difference God’s grace makes does not cancel the order God has set in daily life, but preserves it and requires us to do the duties that come with it. Believing servants must still obey unbelieving masters. Authority does not rest on grace, and religion does not excuse disloyalty or disrespect in any relationship. Second, the suspicions that civil rulers have sometimes held against true worshipers of God, as though they were dangerous to the state, enemies of Caesar, or harmful to kings and provinces, are unfair and unreasonable. Whatever may be true of some who only call themselves Christians, true Christians are the best citizens and the quietest people in the land. Their desire is toward their rulers, and those rulers will rule over them.