MURDER MOST FOUL (GENESIS 4:1-18)
There is a beautiful Hebrew legend of how the location of the Jerusalem temple was determined. Two brothers lived side by side on adjoining lands in the past. One was the head of a large family, and the other lived alone. One night, the former lay awake and thought: “My brother lives alone, he has not the companionship of wife and children to cheer his heart as I have. While he sleeps, I will carry some of my sheaves into his field.”
At the same hour, the other brother reasoned: “My brother has a large family, and his necessities are greater than mine. As he sleeps, I will put some of my sheaves on his side of the field.” Thus the two brothers went out, each carrying out his purposes and each laden with sheaves, and met at the dividing line. There they cried and embraced each other. The place they met was the very spot the altar of the Jerusalem temple was placed years later (7,700 Illustrations # 3214, Paul Lee Tan).
Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. The older Cain was a gardener and the younger was a shepherd. And Adam and Eve’s marital conflicts in Eden were taken up by Cain, who was outraged at Abel’s sacrifice. The first sin of man in the garden was disobedience against God, and the second was bloodshed against brother. It’s been said, “Sin never stands still- it always continues to grow.” The sin against God was, inevitably, spilled over to man.
Abel’s sacrifice was acceptable to God, Cain’s was not, and the outcome was jealousy and envy, anger and hatred, foul play and cover up. What did God see in Abel that was missing in Cain? Why was Abel commended as a righteous man? How should we approach God, please and dignify Him?
Sacrifice Your Gifts in Faith
4:1 Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man." 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. 6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." (Gen 4:1-7)
Cyrus, the founder of the old Persian Empire, once had captured a prince and his family. When they came before him, the monarch asked the prisoner, “What will you give me if I release you?” “I will give the half of my wealth,” was his reply.
“And if I release your children?” “Everything I possess.” “And if I release your wife?” “Your Majesty, I will even give of myself.”
Cyrus was so moved by his devotion that he freed them all. As they returned home, the prince said to his wife, “Wasn’t Cyrus a handsome man! What impressive soldiers he had! Did you get a view of the big palace, the busy city, and the beautiful streets?”
With a look of deep love for her husband, she said to him, “I didn’t notice. I could only keep my eyes on the one who was willing to sacrifice himself for me.” (Adapted from www.sermonillustrations.com “sacrifice”)
The single evident reason why Abel’s offering was pleasing to God is found in Hebrews 11:4: “By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.”
Abel’s sacrifice was better. He was considered a righteous man, and his deed was highly regarded because it was offered in faith. To sacrifice is to give something pleasant, pleasing and pleasurable completely to God. Abel on his own and decided by himself to offer fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. Fat portions do not mean lard! Abel gave the best of his first farm stock. Sacrificing any kind of animal requires skill, work, and strength. When offered in faith, it was a costly, bloody and holy sacrifice.
The younger Abel offered after Cain, but he did not follow in his older brother’s practice, and he had no idea what God said to Cain. Abel offered his gifts in faith, but the absence of faith is unbelief, which was how Cain offered. The word “believe” means “live by” - Cain did not live by what he offered. God expects us to live by what we offer, so He looked with favor on Abel and his offering, and not on Cain and his offering. Picking fruits require little effort, offering first fruits of the soil, and not just some fruits, did not even enter Cain’s mind, and receiving matching yield and getting just desserts for his budget gift made him upset.
Rabbi Simlai tracked the history of the commandments in the Bible and noted that Moses gave 613 commands - 365 yes’ and 248 no’s. King David then reduced them to eleven in Psalms 15, followed by the prophet Isaiah (33:14, 15) who condensed them to six, and later Micah 6:8 asked a question and shortened them to three: “What does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” The last of all, Habakkuk summarized them all to one, namely - “The righteous will live by his faith.” (Hab. 2:4) (7,700 Illustrations # 1495).
This is Paul’s thunderous message in Romans 1:17.
How was unbelief negatively manifested by Cain - inside, outside, and upside? Verse 5 says Cain was very angry. Cain was not just angry, or angry for just a moment, or angry for the right reason. He was very angry. Inside Cain was an intense, wild, fiery rage that would not die down.
On the outside, Cain had a drop dead face: his face was downcast The NASB said Cain’s countenance fell. Cain did not look good, his jaw had dropped, his face was sour and he could not recover when things did not fall into place.
The upside for Cain was that the Lord tried to talk him out of his rage (vv 6-7), even though it was in vain: “Then the LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”
In the words of Martin Luther, the famous church reformer: “You cannot stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.” (Dallas Willard, Spirit of the Disciplines 117)
The foremost reason why Abel’s offering was pleasing to God was because it was offered in faith.
Show Love for Your Brother
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let’s go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don’t know," he replied. "Am I my brother’s keeper?" 10 The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 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."
(Gen 4:8-12)
When Leonardo do Vinci was working on his masterpiece “The Last Supper,” his biggest challenge was to paint the face of Jesus and the twelve apostles. Beginning with the apostles, he painted with joy, ease and interest. But when it came to Judas, mischief, resistance and vindictiveness came upon him. He thought long, hard and ill over Judas’ face, and remembered a guy he disliked, a man he hated and was still angry with.
The painter relished the opportunity to get back at him, decided that the time had come and used his enemy’s face gleefully, freely and triumphantly for the likeness of Judas. Happy with setting the record straight, he finally turned to paint Jesus’ face, but when he attempted to paint the face of Jesus, he failed. He tried a few times, this way and that, but the outcome was a blank. Finally, he gave up, wiped out his enemy’s face from the painting of Judas, and then only did he complete his classic work (Adapted from Kenneth Budd QQ 173).
Cain never had it so good. Derek Kidner commented: “While Eve had been talked into her sin, Cain will not have even God talk him out of it” (Kidner, Genesis 74, IVP). God appeared to Cain, reasoned with him, warned against anger, sin, and obsession, but after God was out of sight, he misled his brother to a field and killed him with his bare hands. Cain was angry, and that anger turned into deadly rage as he spilled his frustrations, unleashed his anger, and blamed his misfortunes on Abel. Abel was, essentially, the first martyr in the Bible. George MacDonald was right: “It is not by driving away our brother that we can be alone with God.” (3,000 quotations on Christian Themes 8, Carroll E. Simcox, Baker Book House 1975)
The Bible used two words together in front of the word Abel to qualify their relationship- “his brother” Abel (4:2, 8) – twice, once each in verse 2 and 8. Further, God hinted three times to Cain the identify of the victim – he is “your brother” Abel (9, 10, 11)? The only instance Cain used the word “brother” was to say sarcastically, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” Cain dropped his brother’s name from the phrase “my brother Abel,” decried his responsibility, and disputed God’s question, His interference, and the designation of brother.
The consequences were swift: Cain would work endlessly (4:12), wander aimlessly, and watch fearfully all his life. Before, Adam toiled painstakingly for bread and butter, but now Cain would work overtime for crumbs. Man would be restless, wayward, and unsuccessful. Finally, they had to look over their shoulders, watch their backs, and fear for nothing.
Why was Cain’s sacrifice unacceptable to God? The single evident reason is from 1 John 3:11-12: “This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.”
Cain had no love for his brother. Cain was jealous of his brother’s success, envious of Abel’s position before God, and plotted to obtain, possess, and corner God’s love. Someone said, “The man who blames others for his problems hasn’t begun his education. The one who blames himself has begun his education. And the man who blames no one has finished his education.” Cain’s tilling fields had now become Abel’s killing fields and burial ground. Abel was not Cain’s enemy in life, but now he was Cain’s conscience in death. Cain would become a fugitive; he would plead for God’s protection, run from imaginary enemies and even fear his own shadow.
Strengthen Your Hope in God
16 So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. 17 Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech. (Gen 4:16-18)
When God created the donkey and told him: “You will work tireless from sun up to sun down, carrying heavy bags on your back, you’ll eat grass, you will not have intelligence and you will live 50 years.” The donkey answered: “I’ll be a donkey, but living 50 years is too much, give me only 20 years.” And God gave him 20 years.
God created the dog and told him: “You will look after the men house, you will be his best friend, you will eat whatever they give you and you will live 25 years.” The dog answered: “God, living 25 years is too much, give only 10. God gave him 10 years.”
God created the monkey and told him: “You will jump from branch to branch, you will do silly things, you will be amusing and you will live 20 years.” The monkey answered: “God, living 20 years is too much, give me only 10 years.” And God agreed.
Finally, God created man, and told him: “You will be Man, the only rational being on this earth, you will use your intelligence to control other animals, you will dominate the world and you will live for 20 years.”
The man answered: “God, I’ll be man, but living 20 years is not enough, why don’t you give me the 30 years that the donkey refused, the 20 years that the dog did not want and the 10 years that the monkey refused.”
And God said, “So be it. You will live 20 years like a man, then enter adulthood and spend 30 years like a donkey, working and carrying the load on his back, then when your children leaves home, you will spend 15 years like a dog, looking after the house and eating whatever is given to you, then you will retire, and spend 10 years like a monkey, jumping from house to house or from children to children, doing silly things to amuse your grandchildren.”
God had banished Cain to a nomadic life, but the lesson was quickly forgotten, and Cain did the opposite and settled down (4:16). Verse 16 records, “So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” Man, as usual, was antagonistic to God, egotistic to others’ detriment, and humanistic to the core.
Man lived the kind of life he wanted, a life without God, opposed to God’s directive. Before too long the temptation of the flesh took over, their hearts were in the wrong places, and Cain’s children retrogressed from monogamy (4:17) to polygamy (4:19).
William Ward Ayer was right: “We are all dangerous folks without God’s controlling hand.” (Frank Mead, 12,000 GOD) Cain’s descendants forged a future for themselves by their bare hands, for the better and the worse, for prosperity and perversity, collectively and godlessly – from Lamech the first poet (4:23) to his son Jabal the first builder and herdsman (4:20) and Jabal’s brother Jubal the patron of music and arts (4:21) and half-brother Tubal-Cain who was skilled in craftsmanship and industry (4:22).
Men were occupied with exploring their potential, entertaining themselves, and escaping punishment at all cost (4:23-24). Man’s progress, the history of civilization, and the course of society reached another predictable instance of murder, self-justification, and evasion: “Lamech said to his wives,” Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.”
Man without God has a curiosity for everything, is capable of doing anything and would stop at nothing.
However, the hope of a godly line was found in Seth – a child of hope and promise in place of Abel: “Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, ‘God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.’” Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD (v 25-26).
Someone said, “Hope is the light that illuminates the darkness.” Victor Hugo, the author of Les Miserables, said, “Hope is the finger of God written upon every brow. Actually, hope is optimism based on God’s promises. The godly line of Seth called on the name of the Lord (24). Seth was the offspring of redemption, the providence of God, and the hope of mankind.
Conclusion: The great Russian writer, Fyodor Dostoevsky, said: “If God does not exist, everything is permissible.” Man, left by himself, lives for himself and leans on the design of his mind, the desires of the flesh and the determination of his hands. Only personal faith, brotherly love and godly hope please God.
How about you? What sacrifices do you bring to God today? How have you approached Him? Begin with brokenness of spirit (Ps 51:17), next reconciliation with others (Matt 5:23-24), then indebtedness to God (Ps 50:23), followed by neighborly conduct (Heb 13;16) and finally, godly living (Rom 12:1).
Do you come to God a broken and contrite heart? Have you reconciled with your brother? Do you thank Him for what He has given to you? Do you do good and share with others (Heb 13:16)? Finally, is your body a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God?
Victor Yap
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