“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, and you must rule over it.”
Peaceful Co-Existence. If you are from the Cold War era, you probably remember that ideology inspired by the Soviet Union after WW II when they were trying to expand their domination. The thought, the slogan, had little to do with practice.
Coexistence with sin is another one of those unlikely philosophies. Our verse today uses the picture of sin waiting to spring upon one who leaves the protection of their home but God speaking in this verse affirms that Sin isn’t waiting to walk you to the bus but is planning to have its way with you. While the image is of a lion-like animal laying down, it is not resting but rather set to pounce upon the unsuspecting prey.
God’s counsel is that ‘you must rule over it’, not ignore, avoid, run from or any other evasive maneuver.
In this instance, God is talking to Cain before Cain murders his brother Abel. Cain is angry because God desired and then honored the sacrifice of Abel but did not accept the inappropriate (not as asked by God) offering of Cain. God is confronting the anger, Cain’s displeasure toward God, and warns that if Cain does not master his rebellious heart, sin desires to have him. Apart from God, Cain is unsheltered.
What is lying in wait to trip you up today? What will it take for you to stay in step with God?