“And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord.” Genesis 4:16
Dear Ones:
It is one thing to know that God is present everywhere; it is quite another to know that His presence is a reality to us, and is for us. In the story of Cain, scripture tells us that he had a very open relationship with the Lord, the Lord speaking to him again and again. We also see that Cain knew the presence of the Lord in a very real, and personal way. It would be after the Lord spoke to him of his fallen countenance, the result of his anger towards Abel and God, that Cain would yield to the whisper of Satan, and choose to be ruled by him and not God. God would warn Cain by simply putting the truth before him, in love. With respect to “sin,” He would say: “…sin lies at the door. And unto you shall be his desire, and you shalt rule over him.” (Gen. 4:7) Cain did not heed the Lord’s words of warning, and hope. Cain’s anger would again rise within him, and he would kill Able, shedding his blood in a field. With little remorse, and refusing all responsibility for his brother, God would pronounce His judgment upon Cain. Cain would then respond to this by saying to the Lord: “Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and FROM THY FACE SHALL I BE HID.” (v.14) Beyond the physical and mental suffering that will be his lot, as a result of his sin, Cain would know for the first time in his life, and from then on, the deprivation of the recognizable, and gracious presence of the Lord. He will no longer see His face.
What a wonderful contrast to Cain we see in the lives of those, who had faith like Abel. David would write in Psalm 27, “…When You said, ‘Seek My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.'” (v.8) We see here a remarkable realization of the possibility of someone seeing the face of God, in Christ, as He walked on this earth. During His ministry, He told Philip His disciple: “He that has seen Me, has seen the Father.” (14:9) Though we, like Moses, cannot look upon the face of the glorified Lord, and have need to “…see through a glass darkly,” like Moses with the hand of God over his eyes, we can, with our spirits, and by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, know the revelation of the things of Christ to us, “…seeing Him who is invisible.” We perceive the truth and reality of the Lord Jesus, being gripped by what we what we grasp, and are consequently changed into His image.
What is it about the presence of the Lord that is recognizable, and mesmerizing? David would put it like this: “…beholding the beauty of the Lord, and inquiring in His temple.” (Ps. 27:4) Paul would write to the Corinthian believers: “For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face.” (1 Cor. 13:12) To this he would add in his second letter: “But we ALL with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, ARE changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (3:18) It is as we gaze by faith into the written word of God, trusting the “Spirit of wisdom and revelation” in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus, that He reveals the Lord Jesus to our hearts. We perceive Him with the “eyes of our hearts,” and are changed. This principle of transformation is revealed to us in the Old Testament, again in the example of Moses, who would go into the tabernacle to worship the Lord. As Moses worshiped, he would be changed by beholding the glory of the Lord. He did not realize it so much, but those around him did…and feared God, and worshiped Him.
Dear Father, give us never to be deprived of the revelation of Thy presence to our hearts. Enable us to worship Thee, according to your truth, by the Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad