“Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’” (Genesis 4:9).
I have been considering the story of Cain and Abel.
Cain was the first born child of Adam and Eve, and Cain became a farmer, harvesting from the land. Abel became a shepherd and looked after a flock.
One day, the two brothers decided to make their respective offerings to God. And so, Cain brought food from the field that he had grown and made them as an offering to God. Abel on the other hand brought the first-born lamb of his flock and the fat of a lamb. Now, we are not told why in the story, but we are told that for whatever reason, Cain’s offering did not please God, but Abel’s offering did.
And so, as an implication of the evolution of sin, Cain – in jealous anger – killed his brother Abel…
“By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.” (Hebrews 11:4).
And I have been considering this very important line of Scripture, because it seems to indicate that God accepted Abel’s offering because Abel made his offering with FAITH, while Cain’s sacrifice was made without faith…
I have been thinking also, about the prophesy of God to the pair – Adam and Eve – in the Garden of Eden, after the fall of humanity… for God promised that “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 2:15).
And if we consider the position of the serpent, he surely assumed that he would be crushed by Eve’s first offspring. And I have been reflecting on this today. Maybe this is why Cain was the next one to fall? Maybe the serpent applied all his wiles against Cain and those temptations were the things that contributed to Cain’s anger in killing his brother Abel?
You see, there are similarities in the narrative. “Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ ‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’” (Genesis 4:9).
This is very similar to the answers provided by Adam after the fall, “The man said, ‘The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.’ Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’” (Genesis 3:12-13).
In both cases, the sinner refused to accept responsibility for the sin. There was denial and denial and denial.
And I have been thinking about that today, as I consider my own sacrifices. For it seems to me that I am so busy counting the blessings of others, that I have started denying the blessings of my own. And the only difference between them and me, is surely just a little bit of faith…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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