Cain and Abel

So, the next big story we come across in the Bible after the fall of man is the story of Cain and Abel. You can find this story in Genesis 4:1-16.  

The Bible says that Adam knew his wife and she begat a son, Cain, and then another called Abel.  Something we usually aren’t told is Cain and Abel were likely twins, though Jewish people do know this. Only one conception is mentioned resulting in two births.

Since names are always significant in the Bible, let’s take a look at the meanings of theirs.  Cain  means acquisition.   The Bible says in Genesis 4:1,

"Eve bore Cain and said, 'I have gotten a man from the Lord.'”

…acquisition. 

 The word for Abel means empty or vanity. You will also see people say it means breath and reflects Abel’s time in this earth as a breath or vapor.

The Hebrew word for ‘name’, shem, means character, and as Adam’s name reflects his beginning as being from the earth, Cain and Abel are given names that reflect their character.

Let me give you a quick rundown of the Sunday school version of this story.

Cain was a farmer. Abel was a shepherd.  There came a time when they brought sacrifices before the Lord.  Cain brought the fruit of the ground as an offering and Abel brought the first-lings of his flock and the fat thereof.  God accepted Abel’s sacrifice but rejected Cain’s.

Cain is upset that his offering was rejected.  God tells Cain that if he does the right thing, all would be well. But if he doesn’t, sin crouches, like a lion at the door.

Cain and Abel go out into the field and there Cain slew Abel.

God comes down and asks (paraphrasing here), “So Cain, where is your brother?”

Cain says, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

God says, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!”

God pronounces a curse on Cain that the ground won’t yield for him and then banishes him.

Cain says, “This is more than I can bear! Everyone who sees me will kill me.

God put a mark on Cain so everyone would know that if they killed Cain, seven-fold vengeance would be taken on him.              

We are all taught that Cain killed his brother out of jealousy. I think there is more to the story.   The same God, the One who changes not (Malachi 3:6) says in Exodus 21:23-25, 

“But, if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”

 (there is a context in this passage in Exodus we will look at another time)

Why did he let Cain live? God knew Adam would have another son to replace Abel so it wasn’t because there wasn’t enough people and he needed Cain's contribution to the gene pool.

Let’s go back to our story. Cain was a man of acquisition and Abel was vain.  Cain was also the first born.  He had already taken up the family business of farming.  God had told Adam that he would, according to the old song, ‘earn his livin’ by the sweat of his brow’, tilling the soil.  And, it is commonly understood that Abel was the first shepherd.

The famous poet, Lord Byron, wrote a play called, ‘Cain’. He told the story from Cain’s point of view. This idea wasn't original to Byron, though. It is a Hebrew legend.  

According to the legend, Cain was outgoing, friendly and an extrovert. Again, Abel was vain.  Adam asked Cain to join in the family prayer of thanksgiving.  Cain refused saying he had nothing to be thankful for because, through no fault of his own, he was going to die. He didn’t even know what death was but he knew it was part of a curse and a bad thing.

Much happens; the serpent teaches Cain what death is and, according to some, slew an animal to show Cain how it was done.  

When the vain Abel taunted Cain about the sacrifices, Cain grew angry and, at the serpent’s prompting, bashed Abel’s skull in with a rock.

Now, I just included this story for interest's sake, and it just goes to show that there is a lot of speculation concerning the story of Cain and Abel. This doesn’t diminish their importance. They are both referred to throughout the Bible.

Let’s return now to what we know from the scripture God chose to leave us with.  We know the basics of the Sunday school story told above.  This tells us: 
Cain is a farmer,  Abel is the first shepherd,  Cain is the first murderer,  Abel is the first murder victim,  Abel is the first martyr dying for the cause of God ,  God had already implemented the sacrificial system (remember when He killed the animals to cover Adam and Eve),  a sacrifice was made,  God accepted Abel’s but rejected Cain’s,  Cain was upset about it,  God gave Cain the opportunity to do right by warning him that sin was always near and he should master it,  Cain killed Abel,  Abel’s blood cried out to God,  God showed Cain mercy by allowing him to live and marking him to prevent him from being killed.

That is quite a lot we can learn just from these few verses. But the first thing we might ask upon reading is why wasn’t God pleased with Cain’s offering?  We know that God had implemented the system of sacrifice or else why would they be making an offering in the first place?  And, we can assume that God required a blood sacrifice based on what we read throughout the Bible. Leviticus17:11 tells us, 

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”

Cain chose to offer the works of his hands, something brought forth from the earth.  Both are good enough reasons for God to reject his sacrifice.  But I think there was more to it.

I always pictured Cain taking his first fruits and thinking, “Wow, look at these grapes! They are the best I’ve ever seen. That manure I used did wonders. I’m going to offer them to God. After all, that blood sacrifice business is just too messy. God will surely be pleased with me anyway. I mean, just look at this stuff!”

Abel on the other hand, in my mind, said, “God has given me this wonderful lamb.  It is too good for my use. I must offer it to God. Only He is worthy of a lamb so perfect and precious.”

My mind goes here because I remember another story in II Samuel 23 starting at verse 15 where David and his mighty men (now that’s a story we will definitely get to!) had been warring against the Philistines. They were tired and wounded.  David said something like, “Oh, how I wish I had a drink from the well near the gates of Bethlehem!”  So, three of his mighty warriors crossed enemy lines, at the risk of their own lives, and fetched David a cup of water from his home town well.

What did David do? He poured it out on the ground before the Lord.  

The first time I read that, I thought, “What?!  If I were those guys I’d be angry.  To have risked everything to get that water and then have David just pour it out on the ground. How ungrateful!”

The thing we have to remember is David really, really believed in his God and he really, really thought only God was worthy of something as precious as the water his men had risked their lives for.  He made an offering of the water to God.

So, in Cain's case, not only is the thing being sacrificed important; the intent of the heart is important as well.  We get this from verse 6 when God asks Cain why he is angry and downcast. God tells Cain if he would do right, he would be accepted as well. Cain’s heart wasn’t right in his sacrifice.  

God goes on to tell Cain that if he doesn’t do right, sin is right there.  This is before Cain murders Abel. God gave Cain an out, but Cain didn’t take it.

We don’t know for sure if Abel’s murder is premeditated but it appears to be.  It is possible the two brothers are walking along and Abel mocks Cain and Cain lashes out.  We don’t know for sure.  What we do know is murder was extreme.  Why not punch him in the face instead?

I don’t think Cain realized the consequences of his actions.  Remember, death was relatively unknown at this time.

At the end of the passage Cain cries out, “My punishment is more than I can bear!”  This sounds pretty self-centered. After all, he had just murdered his brother and he’s worried about his punishment.  

Instead of death, God took his livelihood. He had been a tiller of the ground which already had a general curse on it from his father’s actions. Now, it would hold a curse specifically for him on top of that.  The ground, which he already had to toil for any bounty at all, would yeild nothing for him.

God also took his home and security. Cain was banished to wander the earth.  Cain summed up his punishment in verse 14 and it includes being hidden from the face of God. Let me quote it here, “

"Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from your face I will be hidden,…”

I believe this shows some measure of regret. He will no longer be able to commune with God. But is he still being self absorbed?  

I think most of the regret he felt may have been more that he got caught than that he murdered his brother.

Why do I assume this? Why do I think Cain didn’t have a change of heart?  Because immediately after God curses him to be a nomad and wander the earth, he goes east of Eden to the land of Nod and builds a city. Cain establishes the first civilization in direct defiance to God.

Cain also feared that anyone who saw him would want to kill him so God marked Cain to show that He would take vengeance on anyone who would kill him.

Most people assume this ‘Mark of Cain’ has negative connotations but, while I agree to some extent, I feel it was a mark of the mercy God showed to Cain. Remember before when I asked why did God let him live?  Well, there you go, mercy.

The mark of Cain was God saying something like, “I didn’t think him worthy of death; don’t dare think you should take matters into your own hands,” kind of thing.  The negative aspect of the mark would be that it insured Cain had a long life under his curse and with the guilt of his brother’s murder.

But, think about it. God responded to Cain’s concern for his life.  Cain was afraid they would kill him and God said He’d make sure that didn’t happen.

We see God’s mercy all over this story.