05/22/2008 Genesis 4:8

05/22/2008

Genesis 4:8 - 15 (HCSB) ⁸Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

⁹Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”

¹⁰Then He said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground! ¹¹So now you are cursed _[with alienation_] from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood you have shed. ¹²If you work the land, it will never again give you its yield. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

¹³But Cain answered the LORD, “My punishment is too great to bear! ¹⁴Since You are banishing me today from the soil, and I must hide myself from Your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, whoever finds me will kill me.”

¹⁵Then the LORD replied to him, “In that case, whoever kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” And He placed a mark on Cain so that whoever found him would not kill him.

Here we have the very first recorded murder. Cain out of some petty jealousy apparently plots to kill Abel, his brother. We don’t know whether these boys were twins or not, but since their birth is mentioned at the same time, we can assume that there is significance in the fact. It is possible that the two boys were at constant rivalry. If they were competing for their parents’ attention or even for the approval of God, it seems there was some contention between them.

Cain lures Abel away from the family and into a field, possibly one where he was raising crops; he killed Abel, leaving him in the field.

When God comes to Cain, He does the same thing He did with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; He asks them about their actions. Remember that God already knows what has occurred, but it is important for us to face our sin.

“Where is your brother?” God asks, but Cain gives that reply that has become cliché “Am I my brother’s keeper.”

Not only does Cain deny knowing his brother’s whereabouts, he also implies no wrongdoing on his own part. He still has not faced his sin.

God replies “Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground!” From this passage (and a few others), several denominations come to the conclusion that the soul is in the blood and thus refuse blood transfusions. The Jews had a law not to eat any meat with the blood in it, thus we have the Kosher laws about curing meat. I do not share this conclusion about the soul being in the blood. I believe that God uses this symbolism because remember, Cain was a farmer, a worker of the soil and the fact that Abel was murdered in a field and bled out into the ground has significance to Cain’s vocation.

Nonetheless, since Cain will not confess his sin, God presents the situation to him. And then pronounces Cain’s punishment: he is banished from society. Now keep in mind that Cain is one of the first two born sons of Adam and Eve. Cain is an adult, but we don’t know exactly how old. But from the genealogical records that follow in Genesis, we know that the succeeding sons did not begat children until well into their 100s. So, it is completely likely that by the time Cain reached adulthood, Adam and Eve, could easily have had at least 25 to 30 other children and possibly up to 60 (considering no more twins). If any of these children had children of their own, then the family group could have easily been well into the hundreds. Talk about your large families!

Cain is banished from his family and furthermore, no matter how hard he tries, the land will never again produce for him. He is reduced to a hunter-gatherer.

But just like us, Cain immediately begins to whine that his punishment is too harsh. I would think that just punishment would be death, so for him to be allowed to live I find to be merciful. But look what Cain says next.

“Whoever finds me will kill me.”

I find this fascinating. Cain killed Abel with premeditation and seems unremorseful, but is now scared for his own life. So God places a mark on Cain so that whoever came upon him would immediately know who he was and what the mark represented and would not kill him. I have heard a lot of speculation about what this mark was. But since there is no further explanation of it in the scripture, I think we should give it no further attention either.

The focal point that I want to bring out is actually a verse just preceding this event.

Genesis 4:6 - 7 (HCSB) ⁶Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you furious? And why are you downcast? ⁷If you do right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

Cain’s offering was not accepted and he was mad about it. God confronts Cain and offers the suggestion that Cain should do what is right—or what?

“Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

It is clear that Cain did not master the temptation but allowed it to mature into greater sin.

We endure constant battles with temptation. We have the opportunities to master it or submit to it. Furthermore, we have the *ability* to master it if we so choose. Which will you choose today?

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