“We Are Our Brother’s Keeper”
Genesis 4:1-16
We are reading through the book of Genesis. Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which they were told not to do. It just so happens, the tree of eternal life was also located in the Garden of Eden. In God’s mercy, in order to save them from the horrible fate of having to live forever as sinners, God banished them from the Garden and placed cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to keep them from the tree of life.
The next thing we read, Adam and Eve are making love.
Really? Who’s writing this novel? Danielle Steele? The King James Version has the best translation this time for what went on, it reads, “Adam knew his wife.”
The Hebrew word used here is “to know” and reflects the interpersonal manner in which the Bible sees sexual relationships. Like everything, humans have distorted the act of making love, but the Bible sees sex as a means of knowing one another in the building up of a one-flesh relationship. We have no idea whether Adam and Eve had done this before and no reason to believe they hadn’t. There are a lot of things that have been left untold. The story makes a point to tell us about this particular time to tell us about their sons Cain and Abel.
Eve even declares in the first verse of chapter 4,
“With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.”
It was like Eve expected Cain to be the Messiah God had promised. Why not? I am sure the promise was prevalent in her mind. Yet, ironically the son she held in her arms would turn out to be the first murderer.
Next we are told she had another son and they named him Abel, which incidentally means breath or vapor, for we will read Abel did not live for very long. Time passed and both sons brought offerings to the LORD. The Hebrew word for offering used here is minchah, which is the word for offering used in its broadest sense, covering any type of gift man may bring. Neither of the two sacrifices were presented specifically for sin.
Each brother brings an offering based on their occupation. Abel was the keeper of sheep and Cain was a tiller of the ground. Both types of offerings would have been acceptable by God. The book of Hebrews gives us an explanation on why the offering of Abel was accepted and why Cain’s offering was rejected, Hebrews 11:4,
“By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did.”
As we can surmise as we continue to read the story, Cain’s offering was rejected because of his relationship with God. Cain was doing the do’s and his heart was not in it.
The offering wasn’t the focal point for God. God was more concerned with the faith in their hearts than the offering itself. God showed favor for Abel’s offering and did not show favor for Cain’s. However, rather than seek to make it right, Cain got very angry and he didn’t try to hide his anger because we told his face was downcast. His pride took over. He was the first born and his younger brother’s offering was accepted by God and his was not. Rather than own his mistake, Cain chose to get angry.
God recognized it. He says to Cain,
“Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.”
God made it clear that should Cain do well, he would be accepted. God provided Cain with sage advice. Choosing to seek God’s forgiveness provides us with the power over sin ruling our lives. Otherwise, like Cain, the destructive power of sin takes over.
Paul gives a similar warning in Ephesians 4:26-27,
“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil”.
God didn’t tell Cain that his anger was wrong. It was Cain’s unwillingness to get over his anger, to humble himself and to change that was needed.
On the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus went even further, He said, Matthew 5: 21,22
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.”
Cain went wrong at the moment he chose to let his anger take control. Cain did not take God’s advice. He ignored God’s way of escape. Instead we read Cain went to talk with his brother Abel and while doing so, killed him.
This novel is going dark, fast.
Wasn’t Cain considered the Messiah by his parents? Perhaps that is why he thought he could take things into his own hands?
God confronts Cain, beginning with a question, verse 9,
“Where is Abel your brother?”
It’s not like God doesn’t know the answer. God wanted to give Cain the opportunity to fess up and start doing right now that things had gone deadly wrong.
Cain was too self absorbed. Like God didn’t know what had happened to Abel. Maybe it was because Cain knew God already knew the answer that he provided such a flippant response.
We are our brother’s keepers.
There are a slew of verses in the Bible that tell us the way to demonstrate God’s love is to take care of those around us. Jesus even went so far as to tell us to love those who hate us, Luke 6:27-28
“Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you”
In today’s story, Abel hadn’t done anything against Cain, but that’s not why Cain became his brother’s murderer. It wasn’t revenge, it was jealousy.
Jude warns of the way of Cain, verse 11,
“Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain;”
Beware of those who claim they are religious and who pick and choose what they will actually do to demonstrate their religion and then get angry when others question them on it. They also have uncanny ways of twisting their truth so that the godly are criticized, persecuted and sometimes murdered.
God questions Cain on what he has done.
Was Cain even thinking? About anyone except himself? God then tells Cain to
“Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.”
“The Tell-Tale Heart” Thump – Thump! Thump! Thump – Thump!
God took Adam’s curse and amplified it. Bringing forth food from the earth would be difficult for Adam, and now would be impossible for Cain. Adam was driven from Eden, Cain would find no resting place on all the earth, verse 12,
“You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
Check out Cain’s response. It doesn’t sound like he feels badly about what he has done, only about his punishment. He hasn’t learned a thing. The consequences of our sin can make one pity oneself instead of causing one to turn to God.
One way to recognize someone who is living for Christ
is that the individual takes sides with God
against themself.
God must have recognized some truth in Cain’s lament. God chose not to have Cain killed by others, rather out of mercy or out of punishment, so God set an identifying and protective mark on Cain.
The blood of Abel spoke, and it spoke of judgment. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that the blood of Jesus also speaks, Hebrews 12:23-24,
“You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”
Today, because of the blood of Jesus, believers are able to approach God as our rescue, our rest, our joy. I believe Cain would have seen that side of God had he repented of his anger and done what was acceptable of God.
Check in time.
Time to take inventory of your anger
Own it,
then repent of it.
Is there someone or something that has you angry?
David provides us with a great prayer to help us get past the anger and get right with God, Psalm 51: 10-12,
Let’s pray,
“Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me, the joy of your salvation,
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Amen.
