# 57 Away From the Presence of the Lord

The Book of Genesis Day 57 Ge 4:16 Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. How can anyone go “out from the presence of the Lord?” The Lord is omnipresent! He is everywhere! The Psalmist writes in Ps 139:7,8, “ Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. God is present from heaven to hell and everything in-between! (Except apparently in the land of Nod where Cain settled. Just kidding, apparently the idea here of “presence” is something else.) In the Hebrew language this word comes from a root word that means “to turn.” The idea, is to turn to face or look upon. Though God is still present (even in the land of Nod) He is no longer looking at Cain of facing him. The implication is that Cain will be on his own. God’s back will be turned to his affairs and Satan will have free reign with him. We see this in other portions of Scripture and it isn’t very pretty. When Judah was carried off into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar, they were removed from the “presence” (let’s call it what it is, the “blessing” of the Lord. 2Ki 24:20 says, “He finally cast them out from His presence.” We also read of Job, where God turned His face away from Job for a time and let Satan have his way (within God-ordained limits) and of course God turned His face to the nth degree with His only Son Jesus Christ on the cross! “My God, My God, Why hast Thou forsaken Me?” God had good loving reasons to do these things. All of them resulted in ultimate blessing and restoration, even though His loving heart must’ve ached for Judah, Job, and Jesus! God voluntarily turned away for a time and allowed the enemy to “work over “ His loved ones. It appears Cain, voluntarily left the protection of God. How foolish! That’s like being in a room with a policeman and a thug and asking the policeman to look the other way while the thug works you over. How foolish to walk away from the presence and protection of God, yet people do it all the time! There is a favorite blessing of many children of God found in Scripture. It goes like this: Nu 6:24-27, "The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace."' 27 "So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them." What would you rather have spoken over you? This blessing, or, “okay Satan, he’s all yours!” Would you rather have God turning to face you or God turning away from you? Reflect: If you could be present in different places at the same time, where would you go? How is tough love illustrated in the turning away of one’s face? Have you ever had to implement tough love? Pray: Father, help us to trust in You in all life’s circumstances! Take not Thy Holy Spirit from us. Protect us, turn Your face toward us and grant us peace.