[THE FOLLOWING IS A SERMON STEVE PREPARED AND
DELIVERED FOR OUR HOME CHURCH]
Cain and Abel
Genesis 4:1-15, 16, 25
Last week we studied from Genesis, chapter 3, and learned about Adam and Eve and the Fall and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Today we read the first recorded events after the Fall in Genesis 4:1-15 – and they are not pleasant. Read along with me, if you will from Genesis, chapter 4:
(1)
“And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have
gotten a man from the LORD.
(2)
And she again bare his brother Abel. And
Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
(3)
And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the
ground an offering unto the LORD. (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: (5) but unto Cain and to his
offering he had not respect. And Cain
was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
(6)
And the LORD said unto Cain, Why are thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen? (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 though
shalt rule over him.
(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.
(9)
And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s
keeper?
(10)
And he said, What hast thou done? The
voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. (11) And now art thou cursed from the earth,
which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; (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.
(13)
And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
(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.
(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.
(16)
And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the
And for background purposes, I’d also like to read verse 25:
(25)
And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name
Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed
me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
Background - Other Children
Before we dissect this text, I’d like to make a few background points.
A cursory look at the text could leave the impression that Adam and Eve’s first three children were Cain, Abel, and Seth. But, at the risk of looking a little bit ahead in the text, we actually don’t know for sure if Cain and Abel were Adam and Eve’s first two children – and Seth their third son. Eve’s comment regarding Cain’s birth – that she had received a man from the Lord – would seem to imply that Cain, at least, was first boy she had. But we don’t know for sure about Abel being next.
There were apparently other, unnamed, children of Adam and Eve alive in the world at the time of the first murder. Cain was afraid of others killing him, and while I suppose it is possible, he didn’t seem to be referring to only his parents.
Verse 17 mentions Cain’s wife. Since Eve, in 3:20, is called the “mother of all living” we must assume that Cain’s wife was one of his sisters. Obviously prohibitions against marrying between brothers and sisters would not have been possible in the very beginning, as there was no one else to marry. Those restrictions came along later.
If Adam and Eve had at least one daughter at this point in time, it is equally possible that they had more than one daughter. And, while possible, it also doesn’t seem likely that Cain would be fearing his sisters or his possibly even children killing him, which would imply that he at least had other brothers. These brothers could have been born between the time of Cain and Abel, or possibly after Abel, but before Seth.
Possibly Adam and Eve recognized that Abel had a heart for the Lord, while most, or all, of their other children did not. And possibly after the death of Abel, Seth was the next child born. That would explain Eve’s comment in v25 about Seth replacing Abel. But it is impossible to be certain about any of this. The text is not very explicit about the other children.
The Sacrifices
The setting here is the two brothers bringing a sacrifice to the Lord.
Abel
was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
(3)
And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the
ground an offering unto the LORD. (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: (5) but unto
Cain and to his offering he had not respect.
We find here that Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer. I’m assuming here, since the people had not yet been given the okay from God to eat meat – that would come in after the Flood in chapter 9 – that Abel was raising sheep primarily for wool.
Both of the brothers brought a sacrifice to their livelihood to the Lord. However the Lord only accepted Abel and his sacrifice.
Was the problem with Cain – and therefore his sacrifice was not accepted. Or was the problem with the sacrifice – and therefore Cain was not accepted. Or both?
We know from later in the Bible that God only granted forgiveness via animal sacrifices. “Without blood there is no remission” of sin (Hebrews 9:22). All OT sacrifices were meant to point forward to Christ’s atoning work on the cross.
The fact that Abel brought a sacrifice at all indicates that God had probably communicated the need for atoning sacrifice to Adam and his offspring.
If so, then Cain was probably sacrificing what he had already been told was not a worthy sacrifice. Why would he do so? Just a guess here, but if Cain had an issue of jealously towards his brother, maybe he didn’t want to have to go to him to get a sheep.
Besides the sacrifice being of the wrong form, it also comes across in the text as being sort of half-hearted. Abel brought “of the firstlings” – the best – “of his flock and of the fat thereof” – he was trying to give the best to the Lord. But Cain simple brought “of the fruit of the ground”. Possibly he just gathered up some extra vegetables to try to match Abel’s devotional act.
Hebrews 11:4 tell us:
“By
faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he
obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”
This brings to mind another sacrifice in the NT where someone was motivated to try to match someone else’s sacrificial giving by trying to appear more righteous and more giving than they actually were in their heart. Turn with me to Acts 4:32-5:11.
“And
the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that aught of the
things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness
of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus:
and great grace was upon them all.
Neither
was there any among them that lacked:
for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought
the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles’
feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
And
Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is being interpreted,
the son of consolation) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having land,
sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
But
a certain main named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, and
kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a
certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan
filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price
of the land? While it remained, was it
not thine own? And after it was sold,
was it not in thine own power? Why hast
thou conceived this thing in thine heart?
Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearting these words fell down,
and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these
things. And the young men arose, wound
him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
And
it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what
was done, came in. And Peter answered
unto her “Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye
have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of them which have buried
thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet,
and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead and
carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
Here we see two people Ananias and Sapphira, motivated by a desire to appear to be as giving, as righteous, as Barnabas, lie about their sacrifice. As Peter told them, they did not even need to make the sacrifice – their problem was in trying to lie to God.
I believe that is what Cain does here. It does not say that God demanded a sacrifice of them. It says that they brought them to Him “in the process of time”. I think Cain was bringing a half-hearted sacrifice of an unworthy type in order to appear to worship God as much as his brother.
So I believe the problem was with both Cain and his offering.
Cain’s Initial Response and God’s Council
In response to God’s rejection of his offering we read…
And
Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
(6)
And the LORD said unto Cain, Why are thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen? (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 though
shalt rule over him.
In some way which is not directly shared with us, God rejected Cain and his offering. It would seem that Cain could talk directly to God – as primarily only prophets could in later days. However, despite this direct communication with the Lord, Cain, like his parents, is focused on Earthly things, and not on pleasing the Lord.
What is Cain’s response to God’s rejection of his sacrifice. The text says that he “was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” The word “wroth” means to “glow” or “grow warm” – generally meaning to burn in anger, jealousy, or displeasure. We see here Cain’s sorrow and disappointment turning to anger.
2 Cor 7:10-11 describes two types of sorrow…
“For
godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the
sorrow of the world worketh death. For
behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what
carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what
indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea,
what revenge! In all things ye have
approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”
Godly sorrow leads to a repentant heart – a desire to change – to do better. When a person receives a justified rebuke and responds in a Godly manner, it will be an opportunity for growth. As it says in Hebrews 12:11:
“Now
no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the
peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”
Worldly sorrow, by contrast, is sorrow at being caught. Sorrow at being punished. Rather than being an opportunity for growth, it turns into anger at the one who made us suffer. Whether that is the authority figure – in this case God – or it is jealous anger at the one who showed himself better – in this case Abel.
God, of course, knew what was going on in Cain’s heart, and asked him questions to get him to examine himself: “Why are thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen?” He game him some encouragement: “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?”. And he gave him a grave warning: “And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and though shalt rule over him.” The Lord himself was counseling that if we allow ourselves to indulge in sinful responses we may find sin controlling us.
Nevertheless, Cain did not listen to God. He did not examine his heart to determine the source of his anger. He did not try to do better so that he would be accepted. And he did not resist the sinful response that was brewing in his heart.
When a person expresses worldly sorrow it is obvious in the fact that he is not focused on the damage he is done, how he has hurt another, what he can do to make things right. He is focused on his suffering, his loss, and looking for someone to blame. The two different responses are obvious when disciplining children. It is important to point out to them when they are expressing worldly sorrow – and what that leads to. It is important to guide them to godly sorrow – repentant hearts. The same is true for us as well.
Another verse which is pertinent here is from Hosea 6:6:
“For
I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and
the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
I believe God was more concerned with the state of Cain’s heart than with the outward manifestation of his sacrifice. I think the error in form in the sacrifice was important primarily because it showed his indifference and unloving attitude towards God.
Cain’s Subsequent Response
In Matthew 5:22, Jesus says:
“I
say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be
in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall
be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in
danger of hell fire.”
The Bible tells us in 1 John 3:11-12:
“We
should love one another. Not as Cain,
who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his
brother’s righteous. Marvel not, my
brethren, if the world hate you. We know
that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in
death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a
murderer: and ye know that no murderer
hath eternal life abiding in him.”
Just as lust can lead to adultery, and covetousness can lead to theft, ultimately anger can lead to murder. And that is the sad result that we have here:
(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.
What began as a half-hearted effort to look pious, turned into a seething rage, and culminated in the world’s first murder. Sin always has a way of hiding its eventual results.
Ahab & Naboth
I’d like to diverge for a few minutes. There is another passage in scripture which is very similar in many ways to this one. And I think we can gain better understanding by studying both of them in parallel. It is found in 1 Kings 21.
1.
And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a
vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
2.
And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it
for a garden of herbs, because is is near unto my house, and I will give thee
for it a better vineyard that it; or if it seem good to thee, I will give thee
the worth of it in money.
3.
And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the
inheritance of my fathers unto thee.
4.
And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which
Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee
the inheritance of my fathers. And he
laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
We see here King Ahab in a situation where he wanted something and could not have it. And to top it off the reason he could not have it was because the person he wanted it from was more righteous than he, and desired to follow God’s will. This is similar to Cain who wanted God’s pleasure but failed to live up to God’s righteous standard in contrast to his brother. And in this place also, Ahab responded with sulking and pouting – worldly sorrow. As Mr. Cambell pointed out in a previous teaching, Satan can often tempt us where we already have plenty. Ahab was the king and doubtless had much land in his possession – while Naboth would have had comparatively little. Continuing on…
5.
But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is they spirit so sad,
that thou eatest no bread?
6.
And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto
him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give
thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my
vineyard.
7.
And Jezebel his wife said him, Dost thou now govern the
Jezebel in this case was essentially sin personified.
8.
So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent
the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling
with Naboth.
9.
And she wrote in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high
among the people:
10.
And set two men, sons of Belial before him, to bear witness against him,
saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king.
And then carry him out and stone him, that he may die.
11.
And the men of this city, even the elders and the nobles who were the
inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was
written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
12. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
13.
And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial winessed against him,
even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did
blaspheme God and the king. Then they
carried him forth out of the city and stoned him with stones, then he died.
Here, as in the case of Cain – but even more blatantly – we have people pretending to worship God – calling a fast, stoning a blasphemer, etc – but in fact they were doing the work of Satan.
14.
Then they sent to Jezebel saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
15.
And it came to pass when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead,
that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the
Jezreelite which he refused to give thee for money; forNaboth is not alive, but
dead.
16.
And it came to pass when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to
go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
So here again we have a case of world sorrow leading to murder.
Cain’s Confrontation with the Lord
Keep a finger in 1 Kings 21 – we will come back to it.
Returning to Genesis 4, The Lord confronts Cain:
(9) And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel
thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am
I my brother’s keeper?
God is given him a chance to confess – but instead he lies to God and in a disrespectful manner at that. Again, Cain’s true heart towards God is showing through here in his flippant response. So then God says to him…
(10)
And he said, What hast thou done? The
voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. (11) And now art thou cursed from the earth,
which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; (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.
Cain now has an additional curse added unto him. He will find it especially difficult to cultivate the soil. That means he will barely be able to raise enough to eat. And he will have to be continually on the move searching for new soil.
Cain’s Complaint & God’s Mercy
In response, Cain complains…
(13)
And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
(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.
Essentially, woe is me. There is still no indication of true sorrow for what he had done. There is still no care for his sin against his brother or against God. Cain is still thinking of himself. Yet even so, God shows mercy to him:
(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.
(16)
And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the
I don’t know what kind of a mark God put on Cain and I don’t exactly know what a sevenfold vengeance for murder could be, but apparently it was enough – as there is no record of anyone trying to kill Cain.
Ahab’s Confrontation with the Lord
I now want to return to our story with Ahab…
And here, also as in the case of Cain, we see God confronting Ahab about his sin.
17.
And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
18
Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of
19.
And thou shalt speak unto him, saying:
Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And
thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs
licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.
20.
And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?
Ahab’s initial reaction is rebellious, but he continues to listen to Elijah…
And
he answered, I have found thee: because
thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.
21.
Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will
cut off from Ahab him that p[a]sseth against the wall, and him that is shut up
and left in Israel.
2.
And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like
the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast
provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.
23.
And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the
wall of Jezreel.
24.
Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in
the field shall the fowls of the air eat.
25.
But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in
the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
26.
And he did very abominable in following idols, according to all things as did
the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
So, like Cain, Ahab is given a very serious – and well deserved – judgement. But here we see a very different reaction than Cain’s…
27.
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes ,
and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went
softly.
28.
And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
29. Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before
me? Because he humbleth himself before
me, I will not bring the evil in his days:
but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.
Wicked King Ahab humbled himself at the Lord’s rebuke and God showed mercy to him.
There are two key aspects of God that can be seen in both of these narratives. One thing that shines though in both of these examples is God’s righteousness - in not allowing sin to continue without confrontation and consequences. The other is God’s mercifulness. Both Cain and Ahab deserved nothing but immediate death. Ahab repented and God relented. Cain begged for a lessening of his sentence and the Lord granted it.
These are two illustrations of what Jesus tells us in Luke 6:35, that God “is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil”.
God is rich in both righteousness and mercy. The Lord’s righteousness should drive us to his mercy – since we can never satisfy his righteousness in our own power. As it says in Romans 2:3-4:
“And
thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest
the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness
and forebearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God
leadeth thee to repentance?”
And again later in Romans 9:14-16:
“What
shall we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? God
forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will
have compassion. So then it is not of
him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.”
I think the most important thing here is God showing mercy to one who deserved nothing but judgement. And frankly we should all be thankful for that – because we don’t deserve much better ourselves. But God who is rich in mercy will forgive us because of Jesus’ shed blood – if we will but give up fighting against him, repent, and seek his forgiveness.
Ephesians 2:1-9 says:
“And
you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time
past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of
disobedience: Among whom also we all had
our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as
others. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath
quickened us together with Christ, by grace ye are saved; and hath raised us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in
the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace, and his
kindness toward us, though Christ Jesus.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: not
of works, lest any man should boast.”