Soon after Cain murders his younger brother Abel, G-d confronts him and then as a punishment sentences Cain to be a restless wanderer on the earth. He will be banished from G-d’s presence and be considered an outlaw wherever he goes.
Genesis 4:16 goes on to state the following;
“So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.”
The Hebrew word “Nod” literally means “to wander” or “wandering”.
However, it doesn’t just mean wander in the physical sense of moving from one place to another with no clear objective.
There is a strong sense of restlessness or a lack of peace like life has no meaning or purpose.
This connotation can also be seen in our English phrase “to nod off” which means to become dozy due to an intense lack of interest or severe boredom.
Fellow believers, isn’t this what we were like before coming to Hashem?
Weren’t we just wanderers?
Weren’t we just simply passing the time?
We had no clear cut goals or direction.
We had no reason to live.
Life was boring and dreary.
No wonder a G-dless world turns to money, drugs, alcohol and sex to fill that void inside that never seems to go away.
Isn’t it also true that there is no one more miserable than a believer who has backslid away from G-d and has again become embroiled in the cares and worries of this world?
I can vouch from personal experience that there is nothing more depressing than that dark lonely feeling that occurs after one deliberately disobeys God.
It is during such times that I feel so lonely and begin to worry that maybe G-d has forever abandoned me.
On the other hand, when you are in obedience to G-d, there is nothing greater than the peaceful reassurance that results.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.-1 John 3:12
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