by Tad Lindley
The Bible is full of “firsts”! In Genesis alone we find the:
•First day (1:1-5)
•First sin (3:6)
•First murder (4:8)
•First musician (4:21)
•First metalworker (4:22)
•First rapture (5:24)
•First rainfall (7:12)
•First time people ate animals (9:3)
•First nukalpiaq, Nimrod (10:9)
In the New Testament we find many other “firsts”, including:
•First mention of the term “born again” (John 3:3)
•First outpouring of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:1-4)
•First church service (Acts 2:14-36)
•First baptisms in Jesus’ name (Acts 2:41)
•First Gentiles to be born again (Acts 10:44-48)
But did you know that the Bible also includes a much more obscure “first”? I have probably read the Bible through 30 or 40 times, and I just caught this on Monday night in a home Bible study: the very first time a person became cumilnguq.
What is cumilnguq?
For my non-speakers reading this, cumilnguq will be an unfamiliar concept. The word sounds similar to if you were to say, “Jew-milling-ook,” in English. Yugtun.com defines cumilngu- like this: to be peeved over being surpassed or bested by someone. In translating words, it is hard to capture the fullness of the meaning. When a person is cumilnguq it is readily apparent in their face, their actions, and their attitudes.
The first person in human history to get cumil…
We were deep into home Bible study the other night and we were reading about the history recorded in Genesis and I realized, “Whoa! This is the first time in human history that someone got cumilnguq!” Of course by now you may have realized that I am talking about Cain. Here is the proof: When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected. “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected?” (Genesis 4:3-6 NLT)
Cain shows up to church with a bad attitude
Read through that again. Cain showed up to church with a lazy worship. He had been instructed to worship by offering an animal sacrifice, but instead he brought potatoes or some other vegetable. God rejected the offering. Cain got cumilnguq. Because Jesus is a God of mercy, he confronted Cain and asked him to repent, “You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” (Genesis 4:7 NLT) The Lord is telling Cain, “Look, you can repent and make this right, but if you don’t, sin is waiting to devour you.
The tragic end of the cumilngulriit
Cain refused to repent. He clung to his bad attitude, rejecting the mercy of God toward those who repent. He simply could not let go of his resentment at his brother for being honored by God for doing what was right. Sin devoured Cain: One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him. (Genesis 4:8 NLT) You can read further in your Bible, and you will find that Cain finished his life cursed, and presumably stepped out into hell at the end of it. We cannot go through life cumilngu- and expect that we will be saved in the end.
Cumilngukuvet
If you struggle with frustration and unforgiveness, you do not have to die that way. Pay close attention to what the Lord said to Cain: You will be accepted if you do what is right… If we focus on doing what is right, whether we feel like it or not, we will find that our attitude will follow our actions. I am not talking about being fake, I am talking about getting so hungry for God and his salvation that we quit letting our emotions open the door to sin in our lives.
Even if we have killed someone in anger, can we still be saved?
Cain’s anger caused him to kill. So far as we know, he died lost. But I find some other people who had killed a man in anger, yet they managed to be saved when they repented, were baptized in Jesus’ name, and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. When they realized they had killed an innocent man in anger, they asked Peter and the other disciples what to do in order to get right with God. Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)
Reverend Tad Lindley is a minister at the United Pentecostal Church in Bethel, Alaska.