Episode 241 - "The devastating consequences of sin" - Genesis 4:8-16

Gen. 4:8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Then the LORD said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. 16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

We are in the middle of a story about two sons of Adam and Eve. They are Cain and Abel, who are, to put it in modern terms, a farmer and a rancher, respectively. They’ve each brought an offering to the LORD. But only Abel’s offering is accepted, which leads to Cain becoming very angry. The LORD confronted Cain about his attitude and encouraged him to do what was “right.” Otherwise, sin would dominate him. The principles we get from this text instruct our attitudes concerning worship and to be careful about letting our emotions get the best of us. Otherwise, we could allow sin to overtake us.

While we are in the middle of this story about these men and the conflict that is developing, we are in the early stages of a greater story. It’s the story about God and his creation of the universe and humanity and the effects of their disobedience to the one prohibitive command given to them by the LORD. I would suggest that the present conflict and what unfolds in the rest of this story is intended to show us how the effects of disobedience against the LORD’s good commands create havoc and have impact on many others.

Verse 8 makes it appear that Cain didn’t even bother considering the LORD’s grace and counsel to him. He decided to express his anger and jealousy against his brother by killing him. From my perspective, the author wants the reader to see the disparate difference between eating a piece of forbidden fruit to murder. We like to assign weight to various acts of morality or immorality, of justice and injustice. Our problem is that we don’t see the seriousness of acting in a way that is contrary to the holiness of the LORD.

Notice what happens after Cain ignores the LORD and murders his brother. The LORD shows up to have a conversation with Cain and acts like he doesn’t know what Cain has done. Does that sound familiar? This is similar to how the LORD approached Adam and Eve after they disobeyed. One would think that Adam and Eve had instructed their children, “Listen! Whatever you do, don’t try to cover it up. The LORD will call you out on it.” But Cain acts like he doesn’t know where Abel is in responding to the LORD’s inquiry. Then, he disavows any responsibility for knowing or caring. He rhetorically asks the LORD, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (v.9) Scholars have pointed out the irony in how Eve sought to know more about good and evil by disobeying the LORD, and here is one of their sons who claims to know nothing about his brother. Tragically, he knows too much about good and evil. He’s made a choice, and now he is trying to hide it from the One who is truly good.

As he did with Adam, he quickly revealed that while Cain claimed not to know where Abel was, the LORD knew exactly where he was. (v.10) It seems that as he did with Adam, he is attempting to elicit a confession from Cain. But he never gets it.

The LORD then proclaimed the judgment upon him for his crime. Whereas tending to the trees of the garden appeared to have been a pleasant and easy job for Adam, the LORD cursed the ground and informed Adam that now he would have to till the ground and his work would be toilsome in order to get the harvest. For Cain, even that effort will not be successful. He will need to wander in order to get whatever is available to him. (vs. 11-12)

Cain responded to the LORD’s pronouncement of judgment that it was too harsh. On a personal note, I feel that it may even be a bit disingenuous. He complained, “from your face I shall be hidden.” This is Cain’s way of saying, I won’t have any access to your blessings. From what has just transpired, it seems like Cain has never seriously valued what the LORD has given him. He didn’t care enough to have the right heart in his offering. He didn’t receive the gracious correction by the LORD. And he has despised both his brother and the LORD by murdering his brother Abel.

Verse 14 offers us an interesting challenge. Cain, in his plaintiff response regarding the LORD’s judgment, says, “Whoever finds me will kill me.” The question is, “Who is around that would kill him?” So far, the only people we know about are Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel and now Abel is not around. Clearly, it seems that Cain’s response indicates they weren’t the only people on the earth at that point in time. Many people believe that Adam and Eve had other children and they aren’t mentioned because it has not been relevant to the greater narrative that is being revealed. Scholars have other theories about this. But the important thing here is for us to follow the greater narrative of what is given to us. So where we are in the greater narrative of Scripture is that there was a promise for a “seed” of the woman who would crush the head of the Serpent. We are informed about Abel who responded rightly to the LORD in worship. Therefore, he appears to be a potential candidate for that role. Cain’s offering is rejected. Yet, he is offered an opportunity to make it right. He rejects that and murders his brother, the righteous seed. From a literary standpoint, there is no viable candidate for this seed who will crush the serpent’s head. Abel is dead, and Cain leaves the presence of the LORD.

To conclude this episode, my desire is that we begin to see the seriousness of sin and that, by God’s grace and the leading of the Holy Spirit, we are sensitive to our options and allow God’s Spirit to lead us to the right way.