Sin is Like a Predator Waiting to Kill You
How God described sin to Cain.
You remember the bad guy in The Jungle Book, right?
Shere Khan was the murderous tiger hunting Mowgli. Mowgli’s friends try to hide him from Shere Khan, but the tiger relentlessly searches for the boy. Mowgli eventually has to face the bloodthirsty predator. But if you’ve never seen the movie, I won’t spoil the ending.
The way God describes sin to Cain in Genesis 4 illustrates sin as a dangerous predator waiting to pounce on its victim.
How God describes sin to Cain.
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 contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7)
The Easy-to-Read Version captures the idea here - it says, “Sin is ready to attack you.”
God is not providing a general warning to Cain about sin. He’s illustrating how dangerous the situation is for Cain.
Imagine a tiger silently stalking its prey through the jungle. The clueless deer stops at the local watering hole for a refreshing drink of water. Meanwhile, the tiger crouches just a few feet away - preparing to spring upon its unsuspecting prey.
At this moment, God steps into the picture and warns Cain (the deer in our illustration), “Hey! There’s a tiger (sin in this illustration) right there about to rip you to shreds!”
Because of Cain’s anger over his brother’s offering being accepted and his being rejected (Genesis 4:3-5), he had opened the door for sin to “attack” him.
Sin is the suicidal action of the human soul against itself. The image also implies that sin isn’t simply a passing action; sinful actions create a dark reality in your life that stays with you. Sin creates bad habits; it creates distorted affections. These things control you, and you start to lose control of yourself. You’re surrendering to something that wants to kill you. - Keller, Preaching, 172-173
How Peter described the devil.
Peter similarly described the devil.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
Just as God warned Cain about the murderous desire of sin, Peter warns Christians of the devil’s desire to “attack” and devour them.
We must be on guard and “resist” the devil by submitting to God and drawing near Him (James 4:7-8). It is hopeless to try and resist the devil on our own - we must stand “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” if we are to be protected against the devil’s attack (Ephesians 6:10-11).
While sin is compared to a hungry predator waiting to kill and consume you - Jesus Christ is the Savior who sets us free from sin (Romans 6) and protects us (John 10:27-30).
We are safe if we keep following the Shepherd.
I have seen what God and Peter described...in action. NOT for the weak of heart. This is a powerful read.
Not only are we to follow, but we are to give our first and best to Him. Cain gave whatever he could find, Able was murdered because he gave his first and best, and sinful jealousy enraged Cain.