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?
Hebrews 11:4 says,
By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain...
Abel offered his sacrifice by faith. He knew about God’s promise to Adam and Eve, his parents, that someday a descendant would arrive and even though the serpent would wound His heal, this descendant would crush his head and defeat the curse of sin and death. Abel was offering the sacrifice by faith as a way to thank God for the promised redemption and salvation.
Cain, on the other hand, didn’t come to God in faith. He presented his offering as an obligation and came on his own self-prescribed terms. How do we know this? By his angry reaction toward God and jealousy toward his brother. Cain’s spirit was arrogant, which the subsequent event will reveal. When God didn’t favor his offering, Cain got angry and put on a mopey face.
God asks Cain: Why are you angry/depressed? And why is your face gloomy? Cain didn’t answer. God knew what was going on in his heart and knew that his anger would lead to self-indignation, bitterness, jealousy, and revenge. God didn’t want Cain to fail and so He intervenes. He speaks to him because He wanted to save Cain from the consequences, he wanted to give Cain a way out.
What did God see and how did He warn him? He said:
Sin is lurking at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it (v. 7).
The Torah interprets this verse as, “Sin is the demon at the door,” linking this scene back to the serpent in the Garden. Sin is crouching like a tiger, making itself look smaller than it really is, hiding itself, keeping itself out of view, waiting for the right time to overpower you.
Last week different people gave examples of what we do to cover our sin and shame so that we feel good about ourselves: we hide behind intellectualism, work, success, busyness, ministry. How often are we tempted to trivialize seemingly little sins, to rationalize it, put it in a dark recess of our mind. Sin hides itself, like a crouching cat, making itself look small and insignificant.
How often do we downplay sin? It’s no big deal, I can handle it - but it is right at the door and will overpower you. What are some of those “little” sins that want to master you?
What about judging others or holding a grudge? Judging others makes you feel superior to them. If you remain angry in your relationships (with your mom or dad, sibling, friend, or spouse) and don’t handle conflict or hurt God’s way, it will overpower you.
Self-pity is another sin that will overpower and poison you. Self-pity keeps you from seeing what is good around you, makes you ungrateful causing you to whine and complain. Self-pity makes you feel entitled and dissatisfied. It could be fear of people that overpowers us.
Fantasizing about the future can overpower us - fantasizing about your career, material conditions, a spouse, visualizing your future or your children’s futures, “how much better life will be if only…” We know there’s nothing wrong with dreaming about the future, about having goals, making a difference in this world but if you’re not vigilant, your goal and ambition will become a god in itself and will overpower your life. You’ll give more time and energy to this end than focusing on God and what’s pleasing and acceptable to Him, finding His purpose and goal for your life. If we get angry with God when we don’t get our way, ignore what our Creator is telling us, sin is crouching at the door.
If you knew that an enemy was on the other side of your front door, waiting to ambush you, what would you do about it?
But God cared for Cain and gave him a choice. You can master this sin - you can keep it from ruling over you. You have the choice and don’t have to give into it. Cain’s circumstance is like a repeat of Adam and Eve’s in the Garden of Eden. They could have chosen life, Cain could have chosen life, and you and I can always choose life in any given situation.
That’s why Jude warned us about going the way of Cain (v. 11). We need to be aware of sin’t subtle, slippery slope that slowly moves us away from God. No one has to take this path.
Like the Psalmist we can pray:
How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me (Ps 19:12-13 NLT).
We need to take time to examine our lives. Where are you with God? Are you spending time in God’s presence, in communion with God’s Word, in fellowship with God’s people? When God’s Spirit speaks to you, do you take it to heart knowing God cares for you? This was not the case with Cain. God was intervening but it didn’t matter what God said to him because...
2. Cain could care less
There was no changing Cain's mind, he already had a plan. He hated his younger brother because of his own choices. V. 8 tells us that Cain talked with Abel and while they were out in the field, he attacked Abel and killed him. Why? Cain was full of envy and anger because God blessed Abel's offering and now that anger had run its course. Dietrich Bonhoeffer believes Cain did this “out of hatred for God.”
Just like in the Garden with Adam and Eve - God shows up and asks a question to get a confession out of Cain: “Where’s your brother?” Cain outright lies to God, denies any knowledge of Abel’s whereabouts, and takes no responsibility for his brother. God then asks Cain, “What have you done?” This is the same question He asked his parents. But then continues, “Your brother's innocent blood is crying out to Me from the ground!” His death demands justice. Abel’s blood, like the blood of many, still cries out to God for justice in the midst of an evil and unjust world. As one author said, these cries “only increased the burden of the curse.”
God is the One who creates life and has the right to determine when that life should end. Murder deprives God of what is rightfully His. Are we shocked of Cain’s evil? Tim Keller asked, “How often have we murdered people in our minds?” How often have we assassinated someone’s character - the character of our own brothers and sisters? How often have we said about other people’s situation: “Not my problem.” But how you and I treat each other is how we treat God. Jesus said: “Whatever you do for one of these brothers or sisters of Mine, even the least of these, you did it for Me” and “to the extent you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for Me, either” (Matt 25:40, 45).
Now for the second time judgment fell. Now Cain, like the serpent (Gen 3:14) was cursed.
? All relationships with his family were broken,
? the earth, which received his brother’s blood, would be his enemy, and
? he would be banished from God’s presence and live like a fugitive.
We see no repentance, nor remorse, only terror and self-pity for having to suffer the consequences of his sin. Cain could care less about the unacceptable sacrifice to the Lord, could care less about his younger brother, and really only cared about himself. He was only fearful about the other family members who would recognize him and kill him for what he did. Yet God heard Cain’s anguished cry and despite Cain’s actions...
3. God’s mercy continued
Even though Cain brought his offering with a careless attitude, God didn’t turn away from Cain. When sin was at the door, God didn’t leave him without a way out. Even after Cain murdered his younger brother with such hatred and indifference, God would place a mark on him to protect him. We don’t know what kind of mark it was, but it was a sign of God’s incredible continued mercy.
Cain was cursed and separated from God, yet God protected him and let him live. Because of God’s mercy he was able to build a town for himself, raise his family, and prosper and yet there’s no record of Cain ever repenting for his sin. As one Theologian said:
This was the most merciful thing God could do and does for those He knows will never come to Him, who will never change. Can you imagine - God cares for the unrepentant. He cannot allow them into his presence but at the same time He will let them live out their lives.
Are we like Cain or Abel in our hearts?
Are we like Cain, serving God on our own terms, and resentful and angry when things don’t go our way? Are we harboring anger and resentment against a family member or a brother or sister in the church? Are we angry when others receive God’s favor?
Or are we like Abel, thankful for God’s goodness and grace? Thankful for what we have, living by faith, and giving God our best?
Hebrews 11:4 says:
By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which it was testified of him that he was righteous (upright, in right standing with God), and God testified by accepting his gifts. And though he died, yet through [this act of] faith he still speaks.
Even though Abel’s life was short, his faith still speaks. Abel’s blood speaks and calls out for justice from God. Our own sin demands justice from God, and it was our sin that crucified Jesus. Yet the blood of Jesus speaks of mercy, a better and nobler and more gracious message than the blood of Abel which cried out for vengeance (Hebr 12:24). Jesus’ blood shouts , “forgiven, reconciled, accepted, adopted, clean, secure, the way is open to God.”
No Cain is beyond God’s grace and mercy - Jesus’ blood washes away all the hidden sins, past, present, and future for all who come to Him. He took all the sins and consequences of the Fall onto Himself. He is the perfect second Adam, the perfect Sacrifice who overpowered sin and death. God invites us into His very presence, to die to ourselves, and experience resurrection life. He is the One who overcame the curse and overcomes the sin that’s crouching at the door. He cares so deeply for each one of us and His mercy continues.
