Back to the beginning - and this is always a reminder that from the very beginning we blamed our sin on someone else. Adam blamed Eve AND God (it was the woman YOU gave me), and Eve blamed the serpent. It's much easier that way - to not assume responsibility. But healing only begins when we 'confess and forsake'. God's mercies are new every morning. We have the choice to accept those mercies, or live in the past.
And then, as part of the curse, we women will always struggle with 'being the boss of our husbands'. But he 'is to be our master'. But as Paul points out to us later, 'husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church'. How did Christ love the church? By sacrificing His life for her. So it all comes back to the fact that if we live as God intended us to, putting others before ourselves, allowing the Holy Spirit to control our lives, there will be unity. And apart from a daily submission to His will and His Spirit, we have nothing to look forward to but strife. Simple but hard.
As I read about the struggles of Cain and Able, I thought about the struggles of parenting. Our children make wrong choices and then get mad at us when we respond to those choices. Here is how God addressed Cain's "temper tantrum":
4:6 “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? 7 You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”
Obedience. It's a common theme throughout the Bible. If you do what is right, if you obey, you will be accepted. But if not, sin will control you. But we have a responsibility to 'subdue it and be it's master'. Again, Paul talks of this in Romans, saying we are a slave to whatever controls us. A slave of obedience unto righteousness, or a slave of sin unto death.
As I read this next section I thought of our day and age. It seems things have gone back to the way they were in the beginning:
6:5 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 6 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. 7 And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” 8 But Noah found favor with the Lord.
And why did Noah find favor with God?
9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time. He consistently followed God's will and enjoyed a close relationship with him.
How do we find favor with God? By consistently following His will and walking in obedience to Him. In describing what Noah did in building the ark, three times it says "So Noah did exactly as the Lord had commanded him." Obedience. Listening to God and obeying Him. Noah must have had the privilege of hearing God speak to him personally, but today is no different for us. Even though we don't normally hear an "audible" voice, He truly speaks to us from His word. What do I want for my life? I want a close relationship with God. Which means the best I know how I need to closely follow His will and live in obedience to Him.
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