Cain and Abel
Do not be like Cain, who
belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him?
Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.
1John 3:12
Read Genesis 4
If you want to listen to God this morning you need to step back from the brutality of the text and understand the processes in Cain’s mind that lead to sin. I am not belittling murder but I am aware that all sin is sin. We have come to this point in church life for a reason and it is not much fun to talk for two weeks about sin but it infects every aspect of our thinking and we have come together to learn. And learning, if it is to be of any value involves change. So look for what resonates in your life and repent and be transformed by the Holy Spirit.
There are some issues around Genesis 2-9 which make the story appear to be mythological. Questions like
Is sex evil as it only follows the fall? Rubbish! God created us to be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Genesis 1:28. Sex was created by God and therefore was good. It’s pleasure is meant to be for married partners not for satisfying animal desire. It is the icing on the cake of the long-long commitment of Godly marriage and should go with the day in day out faithfulness of husband and wife, until death do us part. It comes at the beginning of chapter 4 simply because sex here yields a new life – Cain and later Abel. In simple words, they were a normal married couple blessed with children. The nightmare that follows is down the road and is the pain of parenting in a fallen world.
What a bout questions like:
Who did Cain and Seth marry?
How come Cain builds a city? Who lives there? Who is going to hunt Cain down?
What was good about Abel’s sacrifice and what was bad about Cain’s?
Are these stories myths and legends like Robin Hood or real events? Are the genealogies exact or representative?
Where does Neanderthal Man fit in the Biblical text?
The danger is that we concentrate on what is not in God’s word, rather than what is.
So I am going to say to most of those questions, I don’t know. I could speculate, but little is gained by it other than an excuse to debate what we cannot know.
It is possible that Adam was the only homo sapiens but it is also possible that he was not unique as homo sapiens but he was God breathed. And that is the vital distinction that sets the sons and daughters of Adam about the animals. He is made in the image of God and he is God breathed. We are not advanced animals we were created to relate to God, fellowship with him, to share eternity with him. As we will see next week, only Noah and his family survived. the flood and therefore any other homo sapiens would not have survived.
As to who they marry, incest would not necessarily be a problem. In fact our current understanding of genetics suggest we all share a common heredity as well as great diversity. The business of the city is to with the difficulty of translation. The word means any settlement. It is more to do with Cain trying to establish a base in his wanderings, rather than a population.
But I speculate. Lets look at what matters to God.
First, the huge change from chapter two and three. In chapter 3 we have hints of what God intended in relationship with him. walking in the garden, relaxing together. Now Cain and Abel feel the need to make a sacrifice. The difference is shattering. From conversation to ritual appeasement. From God is here to God is there. From a God I know to one I must seek to please, somehow. That is the medium term consequences of sin. It separates us from God, he is no longer our friend, he has become someone to fear, to seek to please, he is distant. When Jesus came, he reverses this shift to the ritual sacrifices, fulfilling their pattern and breaking down the curtain of separation. More about that this time next year!
So they are constrained by their desire to seek God to bring sacrifices. Or was it that they were hoping that if God is placated their struggle would yield a harvest and the rest that they so desired?
Verse 2b is an interesting statement because Adam was a horticulturalist and Cain followed in his Father’s footsteps. Abel, however, launched out into herding flocks. Which begs another question. What did he keep sheep for? Clothing or milk or meat or any combination of these three? My I point out that he would not of done it for some romantic notion of making the rural scene. He did it to survive. The curse is that ‘by the sweat of your brow you will eat your food’
So they both offer sacrifices to God of the produce God has blessed them with.
So why was Abel’s sacrifice approved of and not Cain’s sacrifice?
I offer you 5 options:
(1) God prefers shepherds to gardeners. This seems improbable in the light
of 2:15 where Adam was appointed to work in the garden of Eden.
(2) Animal sacrifice is more acceptable
than vegetable offerings. While blood sacrifices were obviously regarded as more valuable, every
stratum of the law recognizes the propriety and necessity of grain offerings as
well.
(3) God’s motives are inscrutable: his preference for Abel’s sacrifice
reflects the mystery of divine election. Clearly the preference for Abel does
anticipate a frequent pattern in Genesis of the choice of the younger brother
(cf. Jacob/Esau, Isaac/Ishmael, etc.), but this type of explanation should only
be resorted to if the text gives no other motives for divine action.
(4) The motives of the brothers count more than the sacrifice. Inspired by Hebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered God a
better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man,
when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though
he is dead.
Some, including Calvin, suggest
that it was the differing motives of the two brothers, known only to God, that
accounts for their different treatment.
(5) The quality of the gifts reflect their
differing attitudes. The commonest view among
commentators, ancient and modern, is that it was the different approach to
worship that counted and that this was reflected in the quality of their gifts.
Whereas Cain offered simply “some produce of the land,” Abel
offered the choicest animals from his flock, “firstborn” and “their
fat portions.” The sacrificial law underlines frequently that only
perfect, unblemished animals may be offered in sacrifice (Lev
1:3; 22:20–22, etc.). “I will not offer burnt
offerings to the Lord … that cost
me nothing” (2 Sam 24:24). Since this is the first
account of sacrifice in the Old Testament we might well expect an
allusion to this fundamental principle in this story. At the heart of ritual of
any type is our motive and our attitude.
If
you came this morning and have gone through the motions. If tonight you miss
the Communion because you can’t be bothered or turn up and endure it, then the
ritual becomes a judgement rather than a blessing.
Jesus
speaking to the lady at Jacob’s well, said John 4 verse 23 - 24 (NIV)
Yet a time
is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in
spirit and truth,
for
they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his
worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
Paul
writes about the communion in these very terms: 1 Corinthians 11 verse 28 - 32
(NIV)
A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognising the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgement on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgement. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
So
it is correct actions coming from a right attitude and motive that the writer
to the Hebrews sees as acting ‘by faith’.
Abel’s sacrifice is accepted, Cain’s is rejected. That is not the end of the story. What matters is how Cain reacts and acts. Rejection creates some nasty thoughts from inadequacy through to injustice. And that applies whether it is a sacrifice to God or a failure at an interview or just being ignored by a friend. We blame ourselves for failing and are angry because our pride is hurt. We are depressed because we have failed. We look for reason why it is not our fault we did not succeed.
So
if you know the feelings, this passage speaks to you. And God says:
"Why
are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 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; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
The first question is why the anger? This becomes clear as the story progresses as Cain is angry but he takes it out on his brother. The question for you, when you are angry, is why are you angry? Who or what is the cause of your anger? If it is God, you need to argue it out with him. Here the anger about being rejected by God become sibling jealousy. Cain fails initially to give to God what is right but he follows it by turning that into jealousy and ends up committing murder. One sin breeds others when it is not faced up to.
Here Cain’s problem is his relationship with God, not Abel and God gently tries to move Cain on.
We do need to read these lines carefully. In fact many commentators want to translate it differently to avoid the feel that God is giving Cain a stark choice. Here is one such translation:
Is there not forgiveness of
sin, if you do well?” “If you do not do well, the croucher
(demon) is at the door.”
“Its desire is for you, but you must
rule over it.”
You see Cain’s problem was that he gave God less than the best because he was trying to placate God, rather than worship him. What is right now is repentance and a right sacrifice – the first fruits and the best of them. As in the Adam and Eve story, he is at a turning point. If he seeks God there is forgiveness of sin, if he does not, the devil takes control and who knows what might happen. Well we do know his danger becomes jealousy, his jealousy vengeful and his anger leads to murder.
We all have the same choice. When we are angry, we have to fight the anger, we have to speak to God and get the cause sorted, and we have to give it over to God. At the time our desire is to get mad, we compose speeches and letter and our minds are filled with plans for vengeance. But God is calling us back to himself. It will be painful and apparently hopeless but is the Jesus way.
Hang on did I say hopeless? That rings a bell. A Psalmist wrote a poem about anger and depression. We call it Psalm 42. In fact it could have been written with this story in mind.
Let’s read it
READ Psalm 42
This is not an easy answer. It is the spiritual battleground of our lives. But I want to pick out a few hints before we move on. . Know your story The Psalmist reminds himself of what God has done in the past. I think we need to frequently rehearse our story of what God has done for ourselves as well as to be ready to tell others.
Be with Godly people. SO that they may encourage you with their stories of God, and their prayers for you.
Tell God how you feel and what pains you and depresses you. Prayer is about being honest to God. He knows your thoughts so let your words reflect your thoughts.
Hope in God. Hand over all vengeful feelings to him. Call on him to vindicate you. Leave him to sort the mess out, trust him to find and way and show you it.
So what does Cain do? Does he listen to God? No! He goes to Abel, perhaps thinking to sort it out. We don’t know. It probably was not premeditated but anger and frustration boiled over and Abel lay dead.
Jesus said “Matthew 5 verse 21 - 22 (NIV)
"You have heard that it was said to the people long
ago, 'Do not murder,
and anyone who murders will be subject to judgement.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgement. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca, ' is answerable to the Sanhedrin.
But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.”
There’s a way back to God from the dark paths of sin
There’s a door that is open,
that you may go in,
at Calvary’s cross is where you begin,
when you come as a sinner to Jesus.
We need to be at the foot of the cross, offering our anger at our brother and sister, surrendering our desire for vengeance and seeking the cleansing from sin and the power to resist it.
Cain did not.
And he faced judgement, just as his parents. The language is the same, the ground is cursed and he even moves east of Eden. Adam and Eve were driven from the presence of God, Cain from the company of others.
Sin brings the curse. Jesus takes the curse and by repentance and faith we come into a restored relationship with God.
So we move on to communion. We are reminded of the sinfulness of sin, let us be reminded of the greatness of the restoration in Christ. He bore the curse for the idolatry, the adultery, the murder, the jealousy, the lies, every sin we have committed. Let us confess them to him and receive forgiveness and healing.
Return to top