Am I My Brothers Keeper?
Genesis 4:3-13
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect And Cain was very wroth and his countenance fell
6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth and why is thy countenance fallen
7 If thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him
9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper
10 And he said What hast thou done the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;
12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear
When Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden, God didn’t abandon them. He blessed them with many children; the first was Cain. Her second son was Abel. Cain was a farmer and Abel a herdsman.
Now there came a time when Cain and Abel brought offerings to the Lord,
Cain from the fruit of the ground and Abel the firstlings of his flock.
God accepted Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s.
We are not told why God rejected Cain’s offering but He did.
Genesis 4:6-7, “And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
God was trying, just as he still does today, to get into the heart of Cain and reason with him concerning his mistake. God was giving Cain a time to confess and make it right but Cain would not.
God’s words to Cain carry a warning to each of us.
Don’t get mad if I reject your offering to me! Learn from it and do it right the next time and it will be all right. If you don’t learn from your mistakes, then sin hangs around the door to your heart, just waiting for you to open up and let him in.
He desires to rule over your heart and destroy your life. Don’t be angry with your brother. It’s not his fault that you were rejected.
Abel’s heart was right. He wanted to help Cain to please God.
If Cain had responded correctly to God’s words, he would have had an acceptable offering the next time. But Cain would not listen, just like so many people we know.
God knew what the problem was He asked Cain, “why are you angry and why has your countenance fallen?”
God will always give us an opportunity to explain why we are acting the way we are, even though He knows and there is a reason behind this.
Cain was wrong in what he was doing. He wasn’t admitting he was wrong instead he was following the example set by his father and mother, put the blame somewhere else.
Cain didn’t answer the question. God knew why Cain was angry and why his countenance was fallen.
Cain had a big attitude problem.
God asked Cain, “if you do well,” this is a promise of restored fellowship, “will not your countenance be lifted up?”
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?
What God tells Cain and us, if what we do is the right thing to do we will find joy in it?
What Cain did was not fitting and proper. Then God told Cain, here comes a warning “if you do not do well sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
God is trying to convince Cain either he must take control of his anger or his anger will take control.
Ever done something that was not the right thing to do and there seemed to be a voice inside you telling you it wasn’t the right thing to do.
This voice is often referred to as your conscience. The question is not what is this voice, but who is it.
The voice is the Holy Spirit. God does not want anyone to perish. If He is a just and loving God and He warns people of the dangerous ground they are about to walk on. How does He do this, through the Holy Spirit?
“If you do not do well sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Sin is a state, a condition. Cain was in that state, condition.
But he has an opportunity to escape.
Satan will take control of his heart and mind. In this instant it is God speaking to Cain, there is a struggle going on in Cain’s heart, a struggle between good and evil. The evil will use his anger and control him. Before Cain can do what is right he must control his anger.
Anger is an emotion.
Emotions are not easy to control and can be deceiving. It takes the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome
Peter struggled with anger.
Lu 22:31 And the Lord said Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as
8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother
There was some sort of restoration in the relationship between Cain and his brother. But something occurred in the conversation and the anger that seemed to be under control raised its ugly head and Cain killed his brother Abel.
It was a terrible crime, the first murder.
Not long after that God approached Cain with a question that the all-knowing one already knew the answer to. He said, "Cain, where is your brother, Abel?"
Cain’s response is classic. "I don’t know! Am I my brother’s keeper?"
The lie that has already taken root in the mind of Cain? In satisfying himself that his actions were appropriate, he has already begun to justify the murder of his brother by believing,
"He’s not my responsibility, I have enough to take care of myself."
This is the same excuse many of us use about those around us that are in SIN, LONEILENESS, "Hey, it’s not my responsibility! Am I my brother’s keeper?"
I heard a story about a guy who applied for a job as an usher at a theater in the mall. As a part of the interview process, the manager asked him, "What would you do in case a fire breaks out?"
The young guy answered, "Don’t worry about me. I can get out fine."
That’s exactly how many in today’s world respond to a lost and dying world around them. If you asked them "What would you do if Jesus came back tomorrow?" they would probably respond, "Oh, don’t worry about me. I’d be fine." But what is all to easy to forget is that you’re an usher! It isn’t enough just to get out yourself. You are responsible for helping others know the way.
God offers Cain an opportunity to confess to what he had done and ask for forgiveness, when He asked Cain, “Where is Abel thy brother?” Cain rejects the offer with the answer “I do not know,” an out right lie.
Cain was both a liar and a murderer.
Cain’s answer “am I my brother’s keeper?” is a charge brought against God by Cain,
It is a denial of responsibility. We all have the responsibility to be concerned about the welfare of our brothers and sisters, but it is generally neglected.
Some people are thrilled with the prospect of being their brother’s keeper. Just the thought of getting to meddle in the affairs of others makes their pulse race with excitement.
They can’t wait to identify a problem in the life of somebody so they can tell them how to take care of it.
To those who love to point out others faults Jesus said, "Mt 7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
(Make sure that the plank in your own eye is out of the way before you go trying to pick the speck of sawdust out of your neighbor’s eye.")
I think the other extreme is "The way other people live their life is up to them." Those who follow this philosophy think it’s highly offensive to go sticking your nose into other people’s business.
They think it’s important just to keep their own nose clean and let others worry about themselves.
This is the person you are very likely to hear asking that classic rhetorical question from Cain: "What, am I my brother’s keeper?"
God asks, “What have you done?” Once more God gives Cain the opportunity to confess what he has done and Cain remains silent a sign of rejecting the offer.
This is the same QUESTION that God asked EVE Gen. 3:13
Even in his condition as a murderer, God was giving Cain one last chance to turn around.
The love of God for man knows no bounds but God knows when the heart of a man has gone too far and grown too hard to ever turn back to him in repentance. Cain had reached that point!
GOD’S JUDGMENT IS HANDED DOWN,
“now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.”
The curse for Adam’s disobedience was on the ground but for Cain it is on him.
What a tragedy this was. This not only was the first murder, but this was the very first time that any man, made in the image of God, had died.
One day that power of death shall be broken.
One day there will be no more dying, no more graves, no more leaving our loved ones in a cemetery to never see them again. No!
One day soon Jesus, who has already taken the keys of death and hell from the devil, will shake them in his face in victory.
Death and the grave will be cast into the Lake of Fire too.
That’s when eternal life will reign forever under the power of the Resurrection!
12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear
We see Cain was punished for what he did.
Cain was a farmer and from this day forward when Cain cultivates the ground his labors will no longer be productive and provide the necessities of life.
From this day forward he will be a vagrant and wanderer, he will have no permanent residence.
He was given time to repent. Will he?
Cain’s response to the sentence is a complaint; his punishment is great to bear.
Cain saw his murdering Abel as no big deal.
Now he sees the punishment as unjust, not deserving, when in reality mercy was extended to him.
Was this part of God’s plan for Cain’s life?
Cain was given the opportunity to be more than a vagrant and a wanderer.
He chose to his own way and does his own thing and he paid the penalty.
He had no one to blame but himself.
When we choose to disobey God’s law and the law of nature we will pay the penalty.
God’s love reached out to Cain for a confession of his sin. God already knew where Abel was and what Cain had done. His eyes see everything. He knows the heart of every man. There is nothing hidden from him.
But Cain only became more arrogant. “How should I know where Abel is. You’re God, you should already know. Besides, it isn’t my day to keep up with him.”
This is the power of un-repented sin in the heart of a man. It condemns him to a life that is unfulfilling and desperate. It condemns him to separation from the love of God, the face of God and the presence of God in his life.
