Genesis 4:1 “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare
Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.” Genesis 4:2 “And she
again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a
tiller of the ground.”
Tilling the ground and keeping the sheep were both honorable trades. It
seems both sons worked.
Genesis 4:3 “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought
of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.” Genesis 4:4 “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:”
So many do not understand the reason why God appreciated Abel’s
offering, and did not accept Cain’s. I believe it had something to do with
the Lamb sacrifice. God would require a firstling of the flock (lamb)
sacrifice connected with forgiveness of sins. God required the blood of a
lamb for sacrifice. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of
sin. Hebrews 9:22 “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood;
and without shedding of blood is no remission.”
We do not fully understand why this is necessary, but we do understand
that from the beginning this was so. God Himself killed an animal and made
aprons for Adam and Eve (sacrificing for them). When the law was given, much
detail was given about the necessity of a Lamb sacrifice.
Cain’s offering was earthly. It had no blood sacrifice.
Genesis 4:5 “But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And
Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.”
It is a very dangerous thing to get angry with God. God does not have
to explain the reason for the things He does. We just have to comply with
His wishes. He (Cain) was not just angry with God. He was jealous of his
brother. His jealousy drove him to commit another more serious sin. It is
dangerous to harbor jealousy. It generally leads to additional sin, even
now.
Genesis 4:6 “And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? And why
is thy countenance fallen?” Genesis 4:7 “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.”
God judges the heart. He saw that Cain’s heart was full of sin,
jealousy, and even murder. God would not require something that was
impossible to do. Cain was trying to take a short cut.
He offered what was easy to acquire and would cost him very little.
Cain brought an offering of his choice, rather than an offering that would
please God. So many times we choose to do what we want to do, and not what
God has called us to do. When we fall on our faces in failure, we want to
blame anyone, or anything, except ourselves for our failure. God has a
perfect plan. We are not happy until we fit into that plan.
God even mentions, to Cain, that Cain was the firstborn and would
actually rule over his brother, if Cain would straighten up and do what was
right. God reminded him that, even then, he was plotting in his heart a
terrible sin.
Genesis 4:8 “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.”
Cain’s jealousy had now come to produce a terrible sin. When they were
alone (no arbitrator) Cain killed Abel. This terrible sin is prominent in
families even today. Statistics tell us that 25% of the murders, or 1 out of
4 murders, are committed by members of the family. In fact, the immediate
family. Brothers are very seldom alike and jealousy springs up many times
when parents show a special love for one over the other. From the meaning of
their names, Abel-breath, Cain-acquired or smith, spear)it appears that Eve
favored Cain. There is never a reason to murder. Killing in war, or to
defend yourself, is not murder. Jesus said that when you hate your brother
that you have committed murder already in your heart.
Genesis 4:9 “And the LORD said unto Cain, Where [is] Abel thy brother?
And he said, I know not: [Am] I my brother’s keeper?
Cain’s answer to God was an angry response. Cain probably thought, if
he could get rid of this brother, it would put him in better standing with
God. (No competition)
How many times today do we hear this cry, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
In God’s sight, yes, we are our brother’s keeper. If we see a brother in
need and turn our backs, God will count it against us. The same in reverse
is true. If we help others, we will be blessed of God for it. “In as much as
ye have done it to the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me.”
(Part of Matthew:25-40)
In Matthew 10 verse 42, we read in Jesus’ own words. “And whosoever
shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only
in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose
his reward.”
Yes, we are our brother’s and sister’s keepers. Some people have the
wrong impression about wealthy people. Most of them that I know are very
generous people, willing to help when they see a need. It is not their
wealth that sends them to hell. It is the worship of their money. I love the
Scripture in 1st Timothy 6:17-19, that explains how a person with wealth
should handle what God has entrusted to them.
I Timothy 6:17 “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be
not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who
giveth us richly all things to enjoy;” I Timothy 6:18 “That they do good,
that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to
communicate;” I Timothy 6:19 “Laying up in store for themselves a good
foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal
life.”
You see, there is not anything wrong with having money. The sin occurs
when we put that money ahead of the things of God through greed.
The U.S., as a whole, has one really good thing going for it. It is a
charitable nation. We help the suffering of the world. In 1st Peter 4:8, it
tells it all, I Peter 4:8 “And above all things have fervent charity among
yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.”
Genesis 4:10 “And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy
brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.”
This is the first murder in the Bible. Not only had Adam and Eve lost
Abel in physical death, but they had lost Cain (he was a murderer).
This is a strange statement that God made here. (Abel’s blood cried out
to God from the ground).
Our lives are dependant wholly on the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Then
life, in this sense, is in the throne of God to purchase our salvation for
us. Without the shedding of blood there is no life, as we already mentioned
from Hebrews 9:22.
Genesis 4:11 “And now [art] thou cursed from the earth, which hath
opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;” Genesis 4:12
“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.”
There is a little bit of difference in the curse here for Cain, and the
one for Adam. Adam, himself, was not cursed, just the earth, but in this
instance of Cain, God had spoken the curse on Cain, as well as the ground.
This made it doubly hard for the earth to produce for Cain. Cain would move
from place to place looking for a more productive field to plant on, but he
would not find one. His crops would fail wherever he was. The blessings of
God had been revoked and now there was a curse instead. Man’s sin is the
greatest curse of life. It makes him a wanderer (running from sin) and there
is no place to hide.
In verse 13 we hear Cain cry out for mercy.
Genesis 4:13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment [is] greater
than I can bear. Genesis 4:14 “Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from
the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a
fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, [that]
every one that findeth me shall slay me.”
No one wants to face his punishment. Everyone looks for a scapegoat, or
a way out. Self pity had entered Cain. No where do we see remorse for what
he had done. Instead of improving his position with God, he had caused a
terrible rift. His fears of having someone do the same thing to him were
overwhelming. He knew he would be looking out over his shoulder constantly.
Never would he be able to find a place of peace and rest. It is as if he
blamed God for what had happened to him, instead of realizing his sin and
repenting.
Genesis 4:15 “And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth
Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark
upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.”
This is a strange verse. When I looked up the word “mark”, hoping to find the
exact meaning, I just realized that whatever it was, it was to draw
attention to Cain. It was so they would take note of him for what he had
done. Many believe that Cain was turned black (there is no solid evidence,
that I could find, for this). Had God wanted us to know what the mark was,
He would have told us. We see the awful cost of vengeance as well (7 fold).
“Vengeance is mine saith the Lord.”