Cain, Abel, and Me Genesis 4:2-12
Today we’re going back to almost the very beginning. So far God has created the earth and everything on it. God created mankind out of his love to live with him. Mankind exercised their free will and chose an action against what God told them, and as the consequence of this action, Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden of Eden. Now we come to Adam and Eve having children; first Cain, and second, Abel.
Almost everyone looks at Cain and Abel as the continuation of sin, or the escalation of sin in the world. But as I read this, I think the escalation of sin can be traced back to those who committed the first sin, Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve represent the whole of humanity. They are aware that they sinned against God. Scripture doesn’t record that they tried to resolve their sin. Scripture doesn’t record that they rededicated themselves to God. Scripture doesn’t record that they taught their children about their mistake and the necessity of honoring God. It appears they got involved with their responsibilities, their work, and God moved to the outskirts of their lives. The first sin was eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. The second sin is the lack of learning from it and not returning wholeheartedly back to God.
The first Commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Ex 20:3) By listening to the serpent and placing their desires and egos above God, they broke the first Commandment almost as soon as mankind’s feet touched the earth. When mankind puts themselves above God, sin enters. When mankind fails to acknowledge their sin and pass on the lessons of that sin, sin escalates; and we can see that escalation in this account of Cain and Abel.
I was texting with a friend from seminary, and he pointed out that Cain and Abel made offerings to God, So Adam and Eve must have been instructing them in the ways of God. I won’t argue that. Verses 3 and 4, “In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering…” Adam and Eve’s sin is that they instilled the idea that doing what the Lord asks is just rote behavior rather than a heartfelt worship. We see this today in churches where people attend service just because it’s what you do, they have little to no faith involvement in the service.
This lacking in truly worshiping God is seen in how the offerings were presented, the lacking was in the heart of the one making the offering. Verses 4 and 5; “The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering, He did not look with favor.”
At first this looks unfair, but let’s look closer. Verses 5 through 7, “So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry…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…’”
First thing we need to discern is why God wasn’t pleased with Cain’s offering. And to understand we need to look at Luke 21, verses 1-2, “As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.” Luke explains how the widow’s gift was sacrificial and from the heart, while the rich man’s gift was for show, given for the completely wrong reason. God became angry at Cain’s gift because it was given with the feeling of irreverence and derision; it was given grudgingly, as a service. In contrast, Abel’s gifts were given in faith, love, and respect.
Almost every week as we give our offerings I pray they are not given out of a feeling of obligation, but in love and worship. Giving to God, whether money or time, gains us nothing spiritually if it’s an obligation, a begrudged service. Giving to God out of worship gains you blessings and peace. Also, when we give out of obligation, it does nothing to lift our spirits, in fact, it does the opposite. This can be seen in Cain, he became angry at God. He was unable, or unwilling to see the truth of what he did, and why he did it. Cain was unable to admit his own shortcomings and sinful behavior.
All across the world there are those who ignore God and don’t give him what he asks and deserves. All across the world there are those who claim God and still see him as a minor player in their lives. All across the world there are those who maintain that they work for God, and then get mad when they don’t get rewarded for their efforts. And as it did with Cain, this mindset leads to bigger and bigger transgressions.
Verse 9, “Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ ‘I don’t know,’ he replied, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’” Rather than admit his sin, Cain directs his anger at God. He even hints that God is responsible for what happened to Abel by his being unfair, thereby causing his feelings of resentment that led to his actions against his brother.
Have you ever met someone who said, “I used to try to be good, but God never gave me a break. I never got a reward; I don’t even try anymore.” I can tell you I’ve had people tell me things like this. It’s unfortunate they give their life to gain a reward from God, instead of giving their life because they honor God.
Verse 11, “Now you are under a curse and driven ground which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.” Cain continued in unrepentant sin. And here is the first time we’re told the enormity of the consequence for unrepentant sin. “Now you are under a curse…”
God tells us that when one continues to be unrepentant, it places you under the curse. And to make sure we all understand exactly what he means by this, He continues, “…and will be driven from the ground…” The curse is our exclusion from Holy ground, denied entrance into heaven. “…will be driven from the ground that received your brother’s blood…” The curse of unrepentant sin is the denial of heaven and salvation gained through the shed blood of our brother and savior, Christ Jesus.
Verse 12, “When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wonderer on the earth.” When we disregard our sins, when we continue to blame God for our decisions and actions, whatever good we may do in the world yields no reward in heaven, for whatever good we do is spiritually negated by the curse we continue to be under. This is harsh, but we know God is a perfectly just God. Psalm 62:1, “Truly my soul finds rest in God, my salvation comes from him.” Acts 2:21, “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” A perfectly just God gives all mankind the opportunity to turn to him and repent. Luke 16:23-25, “In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. So he called, ‘Father Abraham, send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in the water and cool my tongue” For those who don’t turn to God, there will come a time when we can do nothing to affect our eternity.
Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel show mankind the consequences of putting God in the periphery of our lives. It allows sin to get a strong grip. It allows sin to grow in severity in our lives. They show us how when we claim God in our lives but don’t live our lives for God, it does nothing for our spiritual existence. They show us that when we blame God for our own shortcomings, it garners us God’s anger. And they show us that if we continue in unrepentant sin, we are placed under God’s curse. We will be denied the fruit of Christ’s blood. We will be excluded from heaven.
Let me end with this prayer:
God,
We have turned to you,
We accept your son and the truth of the cross.
We are secure in our place at your table in heaven.
Lord,
We pray for those still unrepentant.
Our hearts cry out to you because of the eternal torment they face.
Lord,
Go to them,
Plant the seed of faith.
And we pray you use us as a means of helping that seed grow.
We pray they will come to repentance
And the reward given through the blood of Christ.
Amen