Cain murdered his brother, Abel. As a result, God passed judgment on him, and he couldn’t settle down for the rest of his life. Let’s look at what led him to this condition.
Genesis 4:3-7 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
God did not show respect for Cain’s offering, but instead of repenting and making things right with the Lord, Cain became angry with his brother. Cain immediately transferred all of his emotions onto his innocent brother, rather than to face what he himself had done to the Lord. The word ‘angry’ in Hebrew can also mean incensed, and jealous. This was Cain’s first reaction.
There is a spiritual principal here: Jealousy is a principality that is over anger, hatred and murder, in that order. We see this same scenario played out with Joseph, son of Jacob, and his brothers. First, they were jealous, then they became angry, then they hated him, and finally they attempted to murder him. This brings us to why God said, “sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
In the original Hebrew, the scripture says, “at the door sin lies, and for you is its desire.” What was lying at the door of Cain’s heart was the principality of jealousy, and this evil spirit desired to get into Cain, and to work through him. Once Cain opened the door to this principality, he became angry, then hated his brother, and then murdered him.
When God told Cain he should ‘rule over’ this sin, He was literally telling Cain he had the power to overcome, and to exercise his dominion over this sin. Cain chose not to even try to respond to what the Lord told him to do. Instead he projected his anger and emotions on his brother which opened a door in his heart, and from there this principality was able to rule over Cain.
Genesis 4:8-12 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”
The word ‘wanderer’ is translated as vagabond in some versions of the Bible. Cain was the first murderer, and the Lord pronounced judgment on him. Part of that judgment was to be a wanderer on the earth. This means he cannot settle down, he has to keep moving from place to place.
1 John 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
In the verse above, God equates hatred with murder. The same judgment the Lord passed on Cain is the same He delivers to those who murder today. The only difference is that when Jesus had His ministry here on earth, He raised the bar, and equated hatred to be equal to murder. The judgment of God still stands, but it now includes hatred as well as murder. This shouldn’t be surprising, since the principality of jealously is over anger, hatred and murder.
Matt 5:21-22 You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
Do you have difficulty settling down in a place? Do you find yourself constantly having to pack up and move due to finances, and other reasons? Do you wander from job to job? Then you need to examine yourself and find out if you have hatred in you. If so, you need to forgive, sincerely repent, and work to get all the hatred out of you. Then see if your situation changes, and you are able to settle down in one place. This, of course, does not apply to everyone. Some people, such as military and their families, have to move continuously, it is simply part of the job. However, for victims of abuse it can be a constant aggravation to have to keep moving.
For survivors of severe abuse it is common, and understandable, that they hate the ones who harmed them. Many have not forgiven their tormentors yet. This is not about seeking justice, but rather getting right with God, trusting Him to be the judge, and setting your own life free from anger, hatred, rage, and the consequences of such emotions.
You cannot overcome the negative emotions until you first forgive. When you do not forgive your abusers, you are not only in rebellion to God and His word, but you leave the door open for the principality of jealousy, which can manifest in many different ways. Not only that, but you will pay the consequences of being a vagabond upon the earth. When you do not forgive someone, you yourself can find no peace, you leave yourself open to bitterness, and that will affect all your relationships and family for years to come, possibly even generations. Also, when you are holding onto unforgiveness and anger, you are in direct rebellion to God, and cannot grow spiritually until you surrender to Him and His perfect ways. Forgiveness is the first step in the healing process, so without forgiveness, you are not going to find true healing.
Romans 12:19-21 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Matthew 5:43-45 You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven…