And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shalt be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. (Genesis 4:6-7)
And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary His mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Luke 3:34)
From Genesis to Revelation we see a pattern emerge: when righteous persons submit themselves fully to the desire of God, wicked persons respond in anger and rage. It was God Himself who exposed the pattern: 1) if the way of righteousness is not taken, then sin will overtake the soul; and 2) sin seeks to derail us, but we are called to be active overcomers.
God has given us the capacity to live our lives free from sinning. How? By intentionally choosing to live our lives bound to holiness. The apostle Paul picks up the theme in Romans 6, verses 14 and 15: “Sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law but under grace. What, then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that the one you yield to is the one you obey, either sin that leads to death or obedience that leads to righteousness?” What was the angel’s salutation to Mary? “Greetings, Mary: you are highly favored, the Lord is with you, you are blessed!” (see Luke 1:28) Her commitment to righteousness was commended by God.
King Herod’s commitment, though, was to himself. Upon hearing that a Child in his region was destined to be the king of the scattered Jewish diaspora, Herod sought to ensure that no king would emerge. In his rage he extended a wave of infanticide in and around Bethlehem, determined to derail God’s righteous Light. Herod, in serving the devil, manifested the action we find in Revelation 12 verse 4: “… the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”
The irony of Herod, and Cain, and some people living in the world today, is that this deep rage co-exists with a feigned demonstration of worship. Cain’s murder of Abel was preceded by a presentation of an inappropriate offering to God, which God rejected (Genesis 4:3-5). Herod’s edict to murder all children under the age of 2 was preceded by a falsely stated desire to worship: When you find the Child, come back and tell me so I can worship Him too (see Matthew 2:8). The apostle Jude gives us a list of identifiers that expose persons who choose “the way of Cain”:
- They do not earnestly contend for the faith (verse 3);
- They use their God-given graces as a means of seducing people (verse 4);
- They deny Christ (verse 4);
- They demonstrate unbelief in God’s power even after God has rescued them multiple times (verse 5);
- They walk away from God’s presence and embrace darkness (verse 6);
- They give themselves over to sexual relations outside of the marriage covenant (verse 7);
- They defile themselves, disrespect authorities, and speak ill of their leaders (verse 8);
- They trade authentic worship for their own sense of how to approach God (verse 11);
- They conduct their unrighteous acts in the community of faith, without fear of reprisal (verse 12).
Simeon, in his prophetic blessing, gave Mary the whole story. Yes, your family is blessed: but know that many will respond to your righteous Son with rage.
Mary was a righteous servant of the LORD, and she agreed with what God said. Herod was a selfish servant of the evil one, and he resisted what God said. Two camps then... two camps now.
Lord, we long to hear Your commendation on the Great Day. Please give us hearts and lives that walk in agreement with You. Yes, righteousness is our deep desire. Form it in us, we pray, for the sake of Jesus and His kingdom. Amen.
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