Cain And Abel Series

As we continue in our Dust to Life series, we will be looking at Genesis chapter 4 today, the account of the first two brothers in human history: Cain and Abel.

Genesis 4:1-16

1 Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have obtained a male child with the help of the LORD.” 2 And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground. 3 So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit of the ground. 4 Abel, on his part also brought an offering, from the firstborn of his flock and from their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering; 5 but for Cain and his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his face was gloomy. 6 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why is your face gloomy? 7 If you do well, will your face not be cheerful? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” 8 Cain talked to his brother Abel; and it happened that when they were in the field Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 Then He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to Me from the ground. 11 Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is too great to endure! 14 Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and I will be hidden from Your face, and I will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 So the LORD said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him seven times as much.” And the LORD placed a mark on Cain, so that no one finding him would kill him. 16 Then Cain left the presence of the LORD, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

We can observe in this passage that…

? God cared for Cain

? Cain could care less

? God’s mercy continued

1. God cared for Cain

In verse 1 Eve said in effect, “God made man, and now with the help of the Lord, I have made a second man!” Martin Luther believed that Eve thought that she had given birth to the divinely promised child. Some scholars believe Eve was boasting in her ability to produce a man just like God did.

There is this recurring theme throughout many of the narratives in Genesis, namely, the attempt and failure of humans to obtain the blessings that only God can give. God promises human beings a blessing, and they push it aside in favor of their own attempt to obtain a blessing without having to wait on God for it. For example, those who tried to build the Tower of Babel in order to build a name for themselves or Sarah trying to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promised “seed” (16:1–4) on her own. In any case, Eve saw Cain as a work of God and then we see that she gives birth to Abel. What’s interesting is that Abel’s name means vapor - only here for a moment. Though it was true that he lived a short life - he lived a life of faith and virtue which still speaks today.

As they grew up, Cain worked the ground like his dad and Abel was a shepherd. We don’t know how much time passed before this event happened but we know it most likely at the end of one of the grain harvest seasons. Cain brought his offering of the fruit of the ground to God and Abel brought the first born of the flock as his offering to the Lord (vv. 3-4).

Where did they bring the offering? Most likely to the entrance to the Garden of Eden because we see throughout the Old Testament that the sacrifices were always brought to the entrance of the tabernacle and the temple. Cain brought “an offering of the fruit of the ground,” Abel brought God the best —“the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions” (v. 4). Both offerings were perfectly acceptable before God but the question at this point here is, why was Abel’s offering accepted this time and Cain’s not? The rabbinic commentators note that “fat” and “firstborn” mean that Abel gave God the choice from the flock, Abel gave God the best, but Cain was indifferent about his offering. The difference was their heart attitude. Does this speak to us?