On the Prowl

As I have traveled through life, it has been drilled into me that even before I breathed my first breath, I was and ever will be a sinner...   that even though the eternal chains have been made as though they never were, I am still a slave...  that I have no choice at all in the matter and I will always be the victim of sin and I will never overcome it.  For this reason, Genesis 4:7 really catches my attention, "...Sin is crouching at your door; and it desires to have you, but you MUST master it."  This is Ha-Shem speaking to Cain, just after He refuses the gifts given by Cain, in favor of those given by his brother Able...

 The whole idea of Sin crouching at my door paints the picture of laying in wait to catch me off guard with my vulnerabilities in full exposer.  Ha-Shem told Cain exactly what was waiting for him and commanded him to take domain over it.  There is that word again from Genesis 1, "domain"...  Sin made out to be a living, breathing entity within the world we live in, within the world that is bound to our domain by divine ordinance.  And as a living thing, Sin and all its components MUST bend to our hands as we follow Ha-Shem's direction for our lives.  Ha-Shem does not tell Cain that it is pointless and he has no hope of overcoming his tormentor, but rather directs Cain to take charge over the sin and overcome it.  Ha-Shem delivered this prowling predator into Cain's hands just as He did the lion, bear, and Goliath into David's...  Just as He did Jericho into Joshua's...  Just as He did all Sin that ever was and ever will be into Jesus'...

 We tend to think of Sin as a state of existence or an action against Ha-Shem.  What if it is more than that? Could it possibly be something we can evade or even defeat as if it were a lion on the prowl?  Paul talks about making the flesh a slave of the Spirit that all one does is holy and righteous in Ha'Shem's sight. But he also talks about the war within between what we desire to do and what we desire not to do.  The war within reveals to us two different paths...  On the one hand, we have the Tree of Life and on the other is the Tree of Death.  It is the same decision first made by Adam, and their sons Cain and Able... and now the choice that we too must make.  You see, we are no longer slaves as it is often drilled into us, but rather we are set free and the battle has been delivered into our hands before it ever began.  Ours is not to fight the war but to make a choice: The Tree of Life or the Tree of Death.

 As we continue through chapter 4 of Genesis, we come to find Cain's response to Ha-Shem's ordinance to overcome Sin, and rather than choose Life, he laid himself down to forfeit the war which Ha-Shem had already won... Genesis 4:10 "...What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground..."  The Hebrew word there is "Domim" or "Domiym" it literally means bloods; and there is an interesting Midrash on this.  It is believed that when you kill a man then you are guilty of more than just his death; when you kill a man you are guilty of the deaths of all of his descendants for all of time; likewise, if you save a man you have not only saved him, but all of his line throughout all of time...  In Genesis 3 we received the 1st promise of the Messiah who will restore all of mankind to the presence of the Ha-Shem.  And here in chapter 4 we receive a bit of a glimpse as to how this will happen.

 Jesus died but once, but because of His death, His life, His ministry, His mission; we are all redeemed.  For he came and restored Adam and through this, there was a ripple down into every single person who was born of Adam's line; and Jesus' blood began to flow through Adam's veins... and through their children's veins...  from generation to generation all who live lives of faith and holiness inherit this gift...  that it is no longer sinful blood that flows through me, but the blood of Jesus which restores me to Ha-Shem's presence that He should call me "Son", "Brother", "Friend"...  Because Adam is redeemed, so too are all of their son's and daughters for all of time...  And as we read in Romans 5, Just as through one man Sin was given power in this world; so too through one man was all of Sin's power stripped away...

As the blood of my brother seeps into the ground it too, like Able's, cries out to Ha-Shem...  claiming my sin, testifying to HIm that His blood flows through me and it is mine that seeps into the ground...   That with His death, my sin is gone...  With His death, I am Holy...

 Some thoughts and questions to guide our meditations...

 Man has free will to direct His life as He chooses...  Why does Sin get the blame for my mistakes, when it is I who surrender my birthright to it rather than "Master it" by the hand and direction of the Father? What must be done in order that I reclaim my birthright as a child of Ha-Shem...  a brother of Jesus?

 What directions have I received from Ha-Shem and ignored or failed to follow?  How have I, like Cain, fallen prey to the Sin, and how have I like Able overcome it? Am I the victim or the offender?  Was I ambushed by the deceiver?  Did I follow him willingly?

Where is Ha-Shem directing me to go?  What is He directing me to do?  How do I get there?  I grew up with my parents teaching me "Delayed Obedience is Disobedience"...  How swiftly do I pursue the Ha-Shem's direction?  How is my sluggishness keep me from obedience to the Ha-Shem's direction?  How does it lead to me being feasted upon and consumed by Sin?

 So often we act out of rage and slavery to our emotions or feelings instead out of Holiness and service to Ha-Shem.  When we act out of anger and disobedience the Scriptures equate these actions to 1) hardening our hearts against Ha-Shem, 2) Building ourselves up as idols to be worshipped above Ha-Shem, and 3) Cold Blooded Murder...  What is the hardness in my heart?  Where did it begin?  how does it relate to the Sin that lies in wait by my door?   Who have I killed?  Where is the blood of my brothers which I have spilled?  Who are the victims of my own actions? What can I do to right these wrongs?  If anyone should ever discover what I have done, will Ha-Shem protect me as He did Cain, or shall I become Sin's next meal?

 Is the Tree of Life or the Tree of Death at the heart of my aims each day?  Do I strive to embrace the victory Ha-Shem has already given me through His son, Jesus?  Do I forfeit Ha-Shem's gifts and lay myself down for Sin to consume?  Do I take domain where Ha-Shem directs or do I give it away recklessly?

 If the Scriptures truly are the Breathed Word of Ha-Shem then every element within is His Promise, every element within has His power to sculpt the whole of the world around us, and if we so choose, they have the power to sculpt us as well...