CAIN AND ABEL

 

Cain And Abel

Genesis 4:1-15

Living Bible

4 Then Adam had sexual intercourse with Eve his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to a son, Cain (meaning “I have created”). For, as she said, “With God’s help, I have created a man!” 2 Her next child was his brother, Abel.

Abel became a shepherd, while Cain was a farmer. 3 At harvest time Cain brought the Lord a gift of his farm produce, 4 and Abel brought the fatty cuts of meat from his best lambs, and presented them to the Lord. And the Lord accepted Abel’s offering, 5 but not Cain’s. This made Cain both dejected and very angry, and his face grew dark with fury.

6 “Why are you angry?” the Lord asked him. “Why is your face so dark with rage? 7 It can be bright with joy if you will do what you should! But if you refuse to obey, watch out. Sin is waiting to attack you, longing to destroy you. But you can conquer it!”

8 One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were together there, Cain attacked and killed his brother.

9 But afterwards the Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother? Where is Abel?”

“How should I know?” Cain retorted. “Am I supposed to keep track of him wherever he goes?”

10 But the Lord said, “Your brother’s blood calls to me from the ground. What have you done? 11 You are hereby banished from this ground which you have defiled with your brother’s blood. 12 No longer will it yield crops for you, even if you toil on it forever! From now on you will be a fugitive and a tramp upon the earth, wandering from place to place.”13 Cain replied to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 For you have banished me from my farm and from you, and made me a fugitive and a tramp; and everyone who sees me will try to kill me.” 15 The Lord replied, “They won’t kill you, for I will give seven times your punishment to anyone who does.” Then the Lord put an identifying mark on Cain as a warning not to kill him.

 

I.  INTRODUCTION

The narrative tells us that the brothers presented offerings to God. Abel’s offering was accepted while Cain’s was rejected. The hatred, jealousy and anger arising from Cain’s rejection marked the entrance of hatred and murder into society.

Cain’s treacherous act of murder is just a miniature image of the history of the world. History, as we know it, is the story of the wars, battles, fights and bloodshed of mankind. History is the space in which Cain’s primitive weapon becomes ultimately the guns, pistols, rifles, and bombs which are instruments of death.

II.  THE BIRTH OF CAIN AND ABEL 4:1-2

“...Eve conceived and gave birth to a son.  The first child of Adam and Eve was Cain. Eve gave birth to another son, the second son named Abel.  

“And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of soil. One becomes shepherd and the other a farmer.

III.  THE REJECTION OF CAIN 4:3-5

The sacrificial system of worship seemed to have begun here. This is the first sacrifice recorded in Scripture. There is no record if after the fall,  Adam and Eve offered sacrifices to God. It is possible that they did, otherwise their two sons would not have offered sacrifices to God, for it is only logical for them to follow their parents. Adam and Eve must have trained their children to worship God. The point is Mankind began worshipping the one true God but because of sin, worship deteriorated into idolatry, polytheism and other pagan practices. (cf. Rom. 1:18-32). Man has not evolved from many gods to one God, but de-evolved from one God to many gods because of sin.

“... Cain brought of the fruit of the ground as his offering to the Lord. This makes sense because he was a farmer. And Abel, also brought of the first born of his flock and its fat portion. This also makes sense because Abel was shepherd. Here the similarity ends. And the Lord accepted Abel’s offering, but he rejected Cain’s

Why was Cain’s sacrifice rejected? There are diverse theological views. Some Bible Commentators think that Abel and Cain must have known that in approaching God, a sacrifice of an animal is the right way(cf. Gen. 3:21). So Cain’s Crops or produce of the land were not acceptable to God, for God was teaching them  “that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.” So Cain should have purchased a sacrificial animal from the proceeds of his farm produce as his offering. The Christology of this view is that the shedding of blood of the animal sacrifice looked forward to Christ who shed his blood on the cross for the remission of sins. Other Commentators offer the view that Cain was flippant in his offering and didn’t put much care or value to his offering unlike Abel who gave the best portion of his flock.

Another view is that there was nothing wrong with the sacrifice of Cain when he offered his crops. Jewish law in fact recognizes crops and produce as fitting sacrifices or offerings. (Leviticus 2; 6:1414-23) The problem was Cain’s attitude. God saw what was in Cain’s heart.

There is something much deeper than the type of sacrifice, for it was one of attitude. Cain did not offer his offering in faith  (cf. Heb. 11:4). God saw Cain’s attitude. Perhaps he did not give the best of his crops or perhaps he ignored the requirement of animal sacrifice. Either way God saw the attitude of Cain’s heart.

“And Cain was very angry and dejected.” The rejection of the offering caused Cain to get angry and resentful. He became so jealous that his whole facial expression changed. He was angry at God and at his brother. He hated and was jealous of his brother Abel.  But the real problem was his heart attitude. When anger, hatred and jealousy grip the human heart, they change the whole personality of the individual and even the facial appearance. The problem with Cain’s worship was his heart was wrong.

IV.  THE PATIENCE OF GOD WITH CAIN 4:6-7

“Why are you angry?” the Lord asked him. “Why is your face so dark with rage?”   God patiently asks Cain this question in order to bring him to repentance, for anger is a serious thing and can have devastating results if not curbed.

God reminded Cain that his dark and bitter countenance could brighten up with joy if Cain would do what he should. That is, he should do the right thing. He should change his attitude and offer sacrifices with humility and repent. Then God went on to warn Cain. If he refused to obey he should watch out  because sin was waiting to attack him. God even had an encouraging word to Cain, if Cain had only listened and obeyed God. God said, Cain could conquer his hatred and anger. And then God went on to explain to Cain, “If you do what is right will you not be accepted?” It was not too late for Cain to reform his way.

And then another warning from God. “If you do not do what I right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you but you must rule over it. This is a very fair even loving warning. If Cain refuses to repent and accept God’s way of sacrifice for sin, then sin will grip him, for it couches at the door of one’s life like a lion, ready to jump, seize and destroy. If hatred and jealousy fester, soon a person will find himself controlled by a power greater then he can handle.

V.  THE MURDER OF ABEL BY CAIN 4:8

“And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field,” Cain apparently planned the murder of Abel by drawing him into a field away from anyone who might witness  his devious act of murder. Yet, he could not hide from God who saw it all.

“Cain attacked Abel his brother Abel, and killed him.” Apparently Cain did not heed God’s warning to him. He refused to repent, he nursed his hatred and conceived a plot to murder his brother. This, he thought, was the way to get even. Abel became the victim of his brother’s hand.  This murder began with hatred. Every outward act of sin first resides in the human heart (Matt. 5:21-22).  All war is the result of hatred, jealousy, envy and strife that is in every man’s heart. Only Christ can change the venality of the heart.

Cain’s act of murder placed him in the ungodly line of descendants that would oppose the godly line of descendants from which the  Messiah would come. According to Gen. 3:15, there would be these two lines.  Abel represents the godly line.  Cain represents the ungodly line. (cf. 1 John 3:11-12).

VI.  THE HEARING: Genesis 4:9

God asks Cain, “Where is Abel thy Brother?” God knew the whole situation but asks this question to make Cain confess his guilt before God. God still wants to bring him to repentance. Some Commentators offer the view that God was being fair to Cain that though He knew him to be guilty as sin, He still gave Cain due process, the opportunity to explain.

Cain’s defense, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Cain, knowing that he is guilty, refuses to accept responsibility for his brother.  While he denied it, he was totally responsible for his brother. “And now art thou cursed from the earth. . .

VII.  THE JUDGMENT OF CAIN 4:9-15

“The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground.” The ground soaked with the blood of Abel cries for justice.

“Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

Cain was a farmer of great pride and success but now he will not be able to get any ground to produce. There will be nothing but frustration, sweat, tears and toil for him. Cain lost his “green thumb.”

“Fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.” Due to his fruitless labor, Cain shall be banished and homeless. He will become a wanderer on the earth. He will become a fugitive, vainly seeking to find something satisfying. He will be lonely, empty and restless all the days that he lives.

“My punishment is greater than I can bear.”  Cain was cursed to a meaningless existence, which is fate far worse than death.

Even then God showed His continuing love by placing a protective mark on Cain before he was banished to the land of wandering.