Why did God address to Cain some questions? What do His words in verse 7 mean?
God asks Cain these questions not because He needs information, but to to encourage Cain to recognize his sin and repent. This is very similar to God’s question to Adam: “Where are you?”—God urges a person to name their sin and to see what is happening to them.
The phrase “sin lieth at the door” means that sin is already near, like a predator ready to pounce if Cain gives in to anger and envy. Knowing what Cain is feeling, the Lord tries to point this out to him and warn him. The problem is not that God has “closed the way” for him, but that Cain is on the brink and still able to choose good. “And thou shalt rule over him”: this phrase means that Cain must rule over sin, rather than allow it to rule over him; he still has the possibility to resist and a chance to amend his ways. But, as we know, he did not take it. Perhaps each of us encounters similar warnings in life, but whether we understand them and stop in time is our choice.
