Genesis 4:1-26 continuing…

“And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden” Genesis 4:13-16 (KJV).

Some things to note concerning the curse of Cain:

• He is marked by God;
• He becomes a fugitive;
• He is out of God’s presence – this does not, however, mean that God does not know what Cain is doing – Cain cannot come into God’s favor;
• He can no longer harvest food from the ground – anything he would sow would not serve any purpose. It would amount to nothing.

It seems that Cain was more overwhelmed by the loss of his crops, than he was not being in God’s presence any longer. First John 2:15 says, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him”, he is therefore “out from the presence of God”. What a sad estate for a man, woman, boy or girl to find themselves. To become so hung up on the world and its “Pleasures” to forget about God and be “Out of the presence of the LORD”.

You will notice that it was Cain who went out from the presence of the LORD. When we find ourselves out of God’s presence it is not because He has moved; but we have. All it takes to get back into His presence is to go back to where we got out. Not necessarily a place, but an heart attitude.