Today, May 5th, 2021, I learned I have been misinterpreting Genesis 4:7 my entire life!

Genesis 4:6  ¶And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Who or what is the “his” and “him” of Genesis 4:7? I always thought it was referring to sin. But when listening to an audio version of Genesis 3:16, it struck me how similar the words are which the Lord used to speak to both Eve and Cain.

Genesis 3:16b … and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Then I read what the 18th century Bible commentator Adam Clarke had to say about Genesis 4:7.

Unto thee shall be his desire, &c. — That is, Thou shalt ever have the right of primogeniture (the exclusive right of inheritance belonging to the eldest son), and in all things shall thy brother be subject unto thee. These words are not spoken of sin, as many have understood them, but of Abel’s submission to Cain as his superior, and the words are spoken to remove Cain’s envy.

Wow! God was telling Cain he shouldn’t be envious of his younger brother Abel! Cain was the firstborn and he was Abel’s superior. Cain had the birthright, not Abel. But in spite of the Lord’s encouragement to him, his envy of his younger brother still got the best of him and he killed him. In spite of the fact the Lord tried to lift up Cain’s spirit so he wouldn’t sin, Cain’s pride and jealously caused him to sin anyway! So sad!

God speaking to Cain.

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