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Beginnings Part 5 – Cain and Abel
February 17, 2013
Bo Weaver at The Bridge in Wilder, KY
In a message titled Broken World, Matt Woodley tells the
following story.
When I was about ten years old, my dad, a medical doctor,
received a special gift from one of his patients: a beautiful
globe with shiny sequins.
The globe spun around on its base and played one of my
dad's favorite songs.
My dad proudly demonstrated how it worked as he grabbed
it by the base, slowly wound it counter-clockwise, and then
released it, letting it spin clockwise while playing beautiful
music.
He told us, "You can touch it but don't wind it because you
might break it."
A week later, while my dad was at work, I found the globe
and brought it to my room.
And although I heard my dad say, "Don't wind it up," I
decided to wind it up anyway.
I gave it a little twist and let it play.
It played, but only for five seconds.
So I gave it another twist and another twist and five more
twists and then—snap!
The globe separated from the base.
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I tried desperately to put it back together again.
I tried gluing it. I tried taping it.
Finally, as I stared hopelessly at the two pieces of the globe,
I realized it was broken beyond repair.
So I went into my closet, shut the door, and hid.
This story illustrates what we talked about last week when we
explored the fall of man.
God had created a world that He had declared was, “Very
good.”
He gave to the first man and woman but one prohibition; and
that was that they not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil.
We saw last week how the serpent tempted Eve and how she
took and ate from the tree and then gave to her husband, and he
ate, as well.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed the command not to eat from the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, this world that God had
made and called, “Very good,” was broken.
This world has been broken ever since.
All the pain, all the suffering, all the conflict and all the evil in this
world can be traced back to this fateful moment when Adam and
Eve committed what R.C. Sproul calls “cosmic high treason”
against God.
 In that moment of rebellion Adam and Eve died
spiritually as they were cut off from the life of God.
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Where once they enjoyed open fellowship in the presence of God,
after the fall we see them hiding from the presence of God.
Where once Adam and Eve enjoyed perfect peace and harmony
toward each other, with the entrance of sin into the world:
 They became antagonistic toward each other
Adam says to God; “This woman you gave to be with me,
she gave me of the tree, and I ate” (Genesis 3:12).
Further consequences of Adam and Eve’s rebellion included:
 Increased pain in childbearing for women
 The ground was cursed and would bring forth thorns
and thistles causing man to have to eke out a living by
the sweat of his brow
Not only this, but with this first sin:
 Adam plunged the entire human race into a fallen
state
Everyone born after him would be born with a sinful, fallen
nature.
Sin, like a computer virus infected the entire human race causing
man to be programmed toward evil.
As Paul writes in Romans:
“…through one man’s disobedience, the many where
made sinners.” – Romans 5:19
This is the Bibles explanation for all the evil that is in the world.
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Without an understanding of the fall we could never make sense
of this world.
Without an understanding of the fall we cannot understand the
inhumanity of man against man, or make sense of all the
suffering that is in this world.
This is the answer to the age-old question; “If God is good –
why is there so much evil in the world?”
Folks, this world isn’t as God intended it to be.
We live in a fallen world.
The world in which we live is broken.
There was something in the news last week that reminded
me of the state of this fallen world.
When 4,200 people boarded the Carnival Cruise Ship
Triumph, they were expecting a relaxing four-day cruise in the
Gulf of Mexico.
When the ship lost power as a result of a fire in the engine room
– they said goodbye to a relaxing cruise.
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The loss of power knocked out the ships sanitation system,
causing toilets to overflow.
The stench of overflowing toilets caused people on the lower
decks to carry their mattresses topside where they made tents
out of bed sheets under which to sleep.
Many elected to sleep in a steady rain rather than return to the
wretched conditions below.
People on the upper decks fared better.
Sylvester Davis, spoke by phone from aboard the cruise liner,
saying he and others had been forced to exist in hellish
conditions.
He said the food on the powerless vessel was “hit and miss,” as
passengers were fed cucumber and lettuce sandwiches.
Davis also said all on the ship were forced to urinate in buckets
and “poop” in plastic bags.
He said feces and urine were everywhere throughout the vessel.
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This is the picture of a passenger holding up a biohazard
bag which served as a bathroom on board
He stated when the ship would tilt one way or the other that
urine and feces would run out of the bathrooms and spill into the
hallways.
He said the unbearable stench was vomit inducing.
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Gerry Cahill, the company’s chief executive, told reporters he is
going to personally apologize to passengers for the conditions
they were forced to endure.
“I know conditions on board were very poor… I know it was
difficult. I want to apologize for subjecting our guests to
that,” he said.
I don’t know how much good that’s going to do.
Passengers were promised a full refund and discounts on
future cruises!
When I heard of this awful ordeal – I thought about the world in
which we live.
Most of us would like to have a “cruise ship” experience in life,
where there is plenty to eat and the conditions are wonderful.
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And some do alright – getting through life with relative ease and
comfort.
But for much of the world life is anything but easy – and for some
it is truly hellish.
The fact is we are sailing on a crippled cruise ship!
The world in which we live is broken.
The people in this world are fallen.
This becomes evident with the very first person born into this
world.
We read of this in Genesis 4.
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore
Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.”
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The name “Cain,” in the Hebrew is ka-na and means “to get,
or acquire.”
Can you imagine the wonder and awe Eve must have felt when
she held in her arms the very first human baby born in this
world?
Adam and Eve were created fully mature, so they had never
seen, nor had knowledge of a human baby.
It must have been a wonderful experience for Adam and Eve,
even as it is for every parent who holds a newborn baby for the
first time.
Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel
was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
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The name “Abel” is the Hebrew word heh'·vel – which means
“breath.”
This name no doubt comes from the fact that Adam and Eve have
come to understand that children born to them have the breath of
life in them, even as they themselves have the breath of life
within them.
And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain
brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4
Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat.
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This phrase, “in the process of time,” means literally, “at the
end of days.”
It can refer to the “end of a day, a year, or an unspecified
period of time.”
I believe here it is just pointing out that an unspecified amount of
time has passed; perhaps a good amount of time since the birth
of Cain and Abel.
I’ll tell you why I believe this in just a bit.
This is the first record in Scripture of man bringing an offering to
God.
Cain, being a tiller of the ground brings an offering from the fruit
of the ground.
Abel, being a keeper of sheep brings an offering from the
firstborn of his flock.
And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did
not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry,
and his countenance fell.
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At first glance, it may seem that God is being arbitrary when he
accepts Abel’s offering but rejects Cain’s.
It doesn’t seem fair that God would accept one and not the other.
Is God rejecting Cain just because he’s a tiller of the ground and
is therefore bringing an offering from the fruit of his own labor?
I take you back to the phrase in verse three: “… in the process
of time,” or “at the end of days, or after many days.”
I take from this that this is not the first time Cain and Abel
brought an offering to the Lord.
I am inclined to believe that this is something that has been
going on for some time and that this is the first time Cain has
deviated from the regular practice of also bringing an animal from
the flock, even if it meant he had to buy it from his brother, Abel.
The Bible does not tell us everything in the stories it relates to us.
Some things remain a mystery, but some things can be deduced
from what God has revealed elsewhere in Scripture.
We know that Hebrews 9:22 says:
“… without shedding of blood there is no remission (of
sin).”
We also know that After Adam and Eve sinned by partaking of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil that God slew an animal
and covered them with the skins of that animal.
Scholars believe this provided more than just a covering of
clothes for Adam and Eve, but that God was providing the first
sacrifice for sin when He slew the animal.
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If this is the case, then God had communicated to Adam and Eve
from the very first sin what was required for forgiveness.
God had said, “In the day you eat thereof, you shall surely die.”
While it is true that Adam and Eve did die spiritually the moment
they partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it is
possible that God, in His mercy, allowed for the death of an
animal in their place, making this the first sacrifice for sin.
From this time on, I believe it can be safely assumed that any
sacrifice Adam and Eve and then later, Cain and Abel brought to
God was an animal sacrifice that allowed for the shedding of
blood.
What I believe is going on here is that Cain, in his own prideful
arrogance and rebellion is saying;
“I can give to God what I want to give to God.”
“The fruit of my hands is just as worthy a sacrifice as
any lamb.”
What is missing here is a proper understanding of sin and of
Cain’s own sinfulness.
What the full revelation of Scripture teaches us is that man, in his
fallen state and by his own self-effort is completely incapable of
being acceptable by a holy and righteous God.
Paul put it this way in Romans chapter 3:
“There is none righteous, no not one…” (Romans 3:10).
The prophet Isaiah communicates even more graphically when he
says in Isaiah 64:6:
“… all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.”
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Cain is the picture of a person seeking justification before God on
the basis of what he can do; on the basis of what he can produce.
It’s the first picture of a person approaching God on the basis of
“works righteousness.”
God’s response is anything but arbitrary.
God is not being petty or petulant.
God is saying:
“Cain, I’ve shown you how to approach Me.”
“You know what is required.”
“It is on the basis of the shedding of blood that a person can be
accepted by me.”
Why?
Because sin demands death.
“The wages of sin is death.”
But God in His mercy allows for the death of another; at this
time, the death of an animal.
Following God’s rejection of Cain’s offering and the falling of
Cain’s countenance, God appeals to Cain to do the right thing.
Notice verses 6-7:
So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has
your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be
accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And
its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
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God is being very kind to Cain.
He is cautioning him not to act out in his anger.
He says, “sin is crouching at the door.”
“It wants to rule over you, but you should rule over it.”
Sin is like that.
Sin wants to rule over every one of us.
The first point I want to make from this account in Genesis is that
though we live in a fallen world and are born with a fallen nature
we are nonetheless responsible for our actions.
We are responsible for our actions
Yes, sin and temptation is all around us and yes, because of the
fall we are hard-wired for sin.
Sin comes naturally to us.
Sin is what we do.
But this scene from Genesis tells us that fall or no fall, we are still
responsible for our choices.
God says to Cain; “… sin lies at the door. And its desire is for
you, but you should rule over it.”
So, because we are responsible for our choices:
Sin must be resisted
This is made clear in the New Testament book of James in
chapter four and verse seven:
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“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will
flee from you.” – James 4:7
This is what God is urging Cain to do at this point.
I think most of you know how the story turns out, but let’s see
how it unfolds in verse 8:
Now 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 killed him.
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Rather than dealing with his anger and resisting temptation, Cain
rises up and kills his brother, Abel.
What a tragic beginning to this first human family – and yet, how
telling it is.
The very first person born into this world murders his own
brother; and for what?
Because he was jealous that his brother’s offering was accepted
by God and his was not.
Just as when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God
comes calling for Cain.
Verse 9:
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your
brother?”
He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
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And He said, “What have you done?
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Just as in the Garden, God is not seeking information.
He knows everything.
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He sees everything.
Once again, God is eliciting a confession.
God continues:
The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from
the ground. 11 So now you are cursed from the earth,
which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s
blood from your hand. 12 When you till the ground, it
shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and
a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”
In keeping with the idea of our being responsible for our actions;
God pronounces judgment on Cain.
He says, “When you till the ground, it will no longer yield
its strength to you.”
This represents an intensification of the curse that came after the
first sin when God cursed the ground.
Prior to the fall there were no thorns and thistles, worthless
weeds choking out the life of the fruit bearing plants of the earth.
But with sin – life got hard.
This introduces a principle that continues with us to this day:
Sin has ramifications
Sin has consequences.
Sin makes life in this world more difficult than it already is.
Or as Proverbs 13:15 says it:
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“The way of the transgressor is hard.”
As a tiller of cursed ground, life was not easy for Cain before; but
now things are going to get worse!
This is a principle of life.
People who gain wealth by treachery and/or violence, almost
never meet with a happy end.
People who lie, cheat and steal, almost always get found out.
We should live right because God commands us to, but there are
consequences to our actions that should serve to further motivate
us to do the right thing.
That’s not to say we can completely circumvent the consequences
of the fall.
We still live in a cursed world.
Bad things are still going to happen to good people.
There’s no getting around that.
But God’s Word teaches us that a life lived in obedience to Him
leads to a blessed life.
This is stated well in Psalm 1:
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Psalm 1
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
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But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
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He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
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The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
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Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
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For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
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To Cain God says, “Because of your sin – life just got harder
for you.”
When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its
strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall
be on the earth.”
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Even this represents mercy on the part of God.
Cain just took the life of another human being.
In time God would institute capital punishment for murder, but
for now, Cain is punished with increase hardship in life and it is
pronounced that he will be “a fugitive and a vagabond on the
earth.”
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Sin has consequences.
You’ve no doubt seen on the news the report of the fatal
Valentine’s day shooting of model, Reeva Steenkamp.
Charged with her murder is South African Olympic sprinter and
national hero, Oscar Pistorious.
By JON GAMBRELL and GERALD IMRAY Associated Press
PRETORIA, South Africa February 15, 2013 (AP)
In a courtroom, not an Olympic stadium, there was no clickclick-click of Oscar Pistorius' prosthetic limbs. His only sound
Friday was loud, uncontrollable sobs as prosecutors charged
him with premeditated murder in the shooting death of his
model girlfriend.
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"Take it easy," Chief Magistrate Desmond Nasir told the
Olympic star-turned-murder-defendant as his father, Henke,
and his brother, Carl, reached out to touch his shoulder to
comfort him.
The 26-year-old Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter who
won world acclaim by competing in last summer's London
Olympics, did not speak or enter a plea. He held his head
and wept as he heard the charge, which carries a life
sentence.
A statement released later by his family and agent said
Pistorius disputed the murder charge "in the strongest
terms."
The track star's arrest in the Valentine's Day killing of 29year-old model Reeva Steenkamp shocked South Africa,
where Pistorius was a national hero dubbed the Blade
Runner for his high-tech prosthetics and revered for
overcoming his disability to compete in the London Games.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said he would pursue a charge of
premeditated murder against Pistorius in the slaying of
Steenkamp, a leggy blonde model with a law degree who
had spoken out on Twitter against rape and abuse of
women.
She was discovered in a pool of blood before dawn Thursday by
police called to Pistorius' upscale home in a gated community in
the South African capital of Pretoria.
Authorities said she had been shot four times, and a 9 mm pistol
was recovered at the home.
Pistorius has yet to be found guilty, but sin always finds us out.
The shed blood of the innocent cries out to God for justice.
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And when justice is served, it is the guilty who do the crying.
I find Cain an especially despicable character, because after
killing his brother for the sole reason that Abel’s offering was
accepted by God and his was not, he complains to God because
of the punishment he receives.
And Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than
I can bear! 14 Surely You have driven me out this day from
the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I
shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will
happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.”
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Once again we see God acting in mercy toward the guilty.
He says in verse 15:
And the Lord said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain,
vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord
set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.
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This is a tragic story that illustrates the degree to which man has
fallen.
The sin of Cain is still being committed every day in this and in
every country of the world.
We live in a world of violence and bloodshed.
The world in which we live is indeed broken.
But even in this terrible tale of jealousy and murder, there
is the hint of good news.
After Cain slew his brother, God said to Cain:
The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from
the ground.
– Genesis 4:10
How is this good news?
It is good news because just as innocent blood cries out for
justice, this foreshadowed a day when sinless blood would cry out
for mercy and grace for the guilty.
As recorded in Hebrews 12:
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the
living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable
company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of
the firstborn who are registered in heaven,
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… to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made
perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to
the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of
Abel.
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Whereas the blood of Abel cried out for justice, the shed blood of
Jesus cries out for mercy and cleansing.
Yes, we are responsible for our choices.
For this reason, sin must be resisted.
And yes, sin has serious repercussions.
But when it comes to our soul’s salvation, our righteousness is as
useless as the offering Cain brought to God; that which was
produced by the work of his own hands.
But through the shed blood of Jesus there is offered redemption,
the forgiveness of sin.
When we acknowledge our sin to God and turn from it, asking
Him to forgive us of our sins, we receive cleansing by the blood of
Jesus that cries out: “Mercy, mercy, grace, grace.”
The saddest thing about this story of Cain and Abel is that there
is no indication that Cain ever sought forgiveness.
I believe that if Cain had confessed his sin and asked God to
forgive him of his sin, that he would have been forgiven.
We see forgiveness in the Old Covenant.
God was a merciful God then, as now.
But sadly, we see no repentance on the part of Cain.
But what does emerge from this story is the introduction of a
godly line.
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And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son
and named him Seth, “For God has appointed another
seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” 26 And
as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named
him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the
Lord.
– Genesis 4:25-26
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I began today by comparing this world to the crippled
cruise ship that was in the news.
After reading about how awful that experience was for most
of the 4,200 passengers on board, I was interested to read
that there were some who found some good on the ship.
While people on the lower decks were forced out of their
cabins, there were people on some of the upper decks who
graciously opened their state rooms to perfect strangers.
Friendships were forged as a result of these acts of
kindness.
One passenger by the name of Joseph Alvarez said about 45
people gathered in a public room for Bible study.
He said; “It was awesome. It lifted our souls and gave
us hope that we would get back.”
Yes, the world in which we live is broken.
It is not the “good” world God originally created.
But on this crippled cruise ship we call planet earth there are
those who have called the name of the Lord.
These are those who have found forgiveness and redemption.
We are here to do good.
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We are to care for our fellow man and show forth the goodness
and mercy of God and to point them to the One whose blood
speaks of forgiveness and salvation.
One day, just as did the passengers on the Carnival cruise ship
Triumph, we will reach our final port and say goodbye to this
fetid, foul smelling earth and enter the glories of heaven.