“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight …”
(Ps 19:14, NKJV)
We are currently examining how believers can suffer from lawlessness, to such an extent that the sacrifices that we bring before God are perverted and become “sin among you” (Deut 15:9; 23:21; 24:15). We use the example of Cain to explain this further.
What gives Cain such an applicable prototypical value is that his name in Hebrew means “craftsman”. In some of the earlier teachings we extensively covered the false horns opposing the horns of the bronze altar, noting that those “craftsmen” (as Zach 1:19-21 refers to them) scatter believers. These “deceiving spirits” are obviously sent to create or construct something. The fact that they work with iron or wood is a possible clue – they work with materials that are hard(ened). Thus it can be argued that when an individual enters the Kingdom of God without his heart of stone being broken there cannot truly be authentic remorse or repentance. When remorse is hidden from your eyes (Hos 13:14), your heart remains hard and you fall prey to this trap (Prov 28:14). In this state it deeply affects any sacrifices you make before God.
We find that in Hebrew the word Cain has at its core meaning also notions of to “buy, possess, acquire, to cause to possess”. Cain as “tiller of the ground” (Gen 4:2) became the symbol of the spiritual man who operates his faith on a carnal level, ultimately only reworking the contours of his own flesh, unable to bring forth a pleasing sacrifice (Gen 4:12). Tiller means, amongst other things, “to be enslaved, to serve the self”. When these sacrifices of religiosity are brought, they open the door for deceiving spirits to enter your spiritual temple, hardening the heart even further, making you bent on the law and cooling your love for God. Then you start wandering around like Cain (Gen 4:12b), having strayed from the truth, loose from your purpose in Christ, because you did not guard over the sin that lay in wait for you, desiring to enslave you.
James 1 clearly explains this process in verses 13-16 – “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.” Do not stray from the true path …
In verse 22 he gives the key to escaping this state many believers find themselves in – “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” If you constantly receive revelation but do not implement it in your life, you may fall prey to the spirit of deception. The believer believes that he is in alignment with God’s way, while in reality he is outside of God’s order. If we do not fully embrace all that God says, obediently doing all He has asked, we open the door for this subtle yet deadly deception. 1 Sam 15:22 – “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.”
- Sela: Ask forgiveness for waywardness in your walk of faith, and get rid of the spirits of deception that cause you to stray.
- Read: Jos 12 Est 5; Isa 28 (the last Scripture is especially important in the context of this teaching!)
- Memorise: Isa 28:18
- For a deeper understanding: Read pp 38-47 in Thomas Merton’s The Living Bread.
