First Blood

Didn't get to it yesterday, but I was unsure of whether or not I'd get to write on Sundays or not. Sundays typically involve a lot of running around and socializing, so I end up with not a lot of time. If it ends up being impractical to write on Sundays, I may switch Friday to a New Testament day just to get a couple of them in a week. But for now, back to Genesis.

[Genesis 4:1-5]
Another passage we hear frequently, since it leads to some killing to keep the kids in Sunday school interested, and it also makes a good offering message.
We're introduced to two of Adam and Eve's sons, Cain and Abel. Abel keeps sheep and Cain is a farmer. It came offering time and, from the way it's described here, it sounds like Cain went "Oh, yeah, here's some fruit" while Abel made it a point to use the firstborn and the best. So God was happier with Abel's than with Cain's. Here we learn that God doesn't like to be an afterthought, and that God doesn't like that vegetarian crap.
Where your money goes says a lot about where your priorities lie. Making it a point to remember your tithe and offering as soon as money comes in is a good way to train yourself to be more giving, and put God first in other areas. Honestly there's not a lot to say here that hasn't been said a million times already.

[Genesis 4:6-7]
God says "Look, if your offerings don't suck we won't have a problem. Chill out." Just like his parents, Cain is already exhibiting the lovely human tendency to pretend he is the only person in the universe that does not have a problem, and that all of the crap he's brought on himself is somehow everyone else's fault. He offered an inferior sacrifice that he knew full well was second-rate, and when God didn't care for it he gets mad like God is unfair and like he deserves just as much praise and appreciation as Abel, who actually put some effort into it. He then gathered up his friends and started the Occupy Eden movement.
God warns him that, if he does well, he'll be fine, but if he doesn't then it's a slippery slope. When you start giving in, sin is waiting at the door for that opportunity to drag you further. Even in the fallen world before Jesus, God implied that Cain had the power to not sin. Now even more, we have the power to resist temptations and have no one to blame but ourselves when we mess up. Like Cain, we have a tendency to get angry when we mess up and look for anyone to blame but ourselves, but we don't see any temptation we cannot beat, so it's on us when we fall in.

[4:8-12]
And it only took two generations for the first murder to happen, and probably only three before the first generic cop show that lasted a couple seasons and that guy from that one movie you loved in it so you watch the first season trying really hard to convince yourself it's not terrible.
Cain tries to cover up what he did, by apparently hoping that God didn't see what went on and just saying "Nope. Don't know what you're talking about." It seems they were not yet fully appreciative of how God can see everything. As punishment for defiling the ground with his brother's blood, that ground will no longer give him food, so he has to spend the rest of his life wandering and trying not to be killed by a bunch of angry people that just discovered what murder was thanks to him.

[4:13-15]
Cain seems to think this is unfair and that he can't handle it (He just won't stop whining...) and tries to prove by repeating the punishment back verbatim. I guess arguing skills hadn't been invented yet. But Cain does point out that he'll probably be killed on sight by most people now. God realizes there aren't a ton of people to go around at the moment, so a killing spree breaking out right now would probably be really bad for the outlook of human history. To make sure these wonderful creations don't immediately murder themselves out of existence 30 years into the project, God puts special protection on Cain and vows that anyone who kills him will have much scarier retribution done to them. Even though Cain screwed up and deserved to be killed, God had a plan that was bigger than that. God will get things done, even if someone messes up.