The First Murder

 

Depravity of Man and the Sovereignty of God

Genesis Chapter 4

 

It is important to understand the Scriptures as it was intended by the writer. Here we see how Hebrew, the original language brings out the full light of the language of the text. Just bear that in mind.

Adam and Eve begin their life outside the Eden Garden as a married couple.

Gen. 4:1 Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD,”

 

Man’s way v/s God’s way

The chapter opens with Adam and Eve having their first child. His name is Cain, and the Hebrew translation of the end of the first verse says:

“I have received boy: Jehovah”.

Cain (Kaian) means to give form. Eve is announcing that she has given birth to God in the form of a boy child. She remembers what God had told her that she will bring a child who would crush Satan. She is overjoyed and imagines that she has given birth to the promised Messiah.

How was Eve to know that the Messiah will be arriving in a distant future!

She must have realised after a while that this boy, Cain, cannot be the promised one. Then Eve gives birth to a second boy, and she names him Abel (Habal) which means vapour or vanity. Eve realised that she was vain to assume that Cain was a God child, the Messiah, and she announced her vanity in calling her second boy.

 

The Scriptures tell us that the line of the Messiah is only in God’s control and man has no part in it.

 

Moses begins a pattern here in his narratives and will continue throughout the book of Genesis.

 

A pattern of two children

man will assume one to be the promised child

or

 the line of the Messiah

BUT

God chooses the other - the least expected

 

Man has a conscience to know right from wrong.

Gen. 4:3 So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground.

Gen. 4:4 Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering;

Gen. 4:5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.

 

Moses is writing about the new reality arising from the fall in the garden. Here is a story on the consequences of sin in the world.

Yet we see that God is still having a relationship with man.

They still know who God is. They know that God is holy and has no relationship with sin.

The relationship between God and man has changed. Instead of them walking together in the cool of the day in the garden, now they approach God with payments for their sins in an effort to appease God’s wrath.

This is the nature of the relationship between sinful men and a holy and righteous God.

Inevitably that is what sin produce; a far away adversarial relationship in which man has a debt before God and God is a just God who keeps debt paid.

God has communicated to man that if you sin, you owe sacrifice for your sins.

And this is evident here in the story of these two men. They both bring their offering to God. And we see their offerings are a shadow of the Mosaic prescriptions regarding sacrifices. 

 

The Offerings:

Tithe

Cain’s offering is a grain offering. Grain is mentioned later as a tithe offering to God.

Burnt offering to atone for sin.

Abel’s offering is the fat of a first born from his flock. That would imply a burnt offering that would have taken place for the atonement of sin.

We can assume that after the fall, God had revealed to man that He would receive tithes and animal sacrifices as would be prescribed in the Mosaic laws when God will choose a nation for his representation on earth at a later date.

 

Here we see Cain and Abel brought their offerings to God. When we read verse four in Hebrew eleven, it says that Abel brought also (Habel gam bo) which implies that he had another offering on top of the tithe that his brother brought. And this is confirmed by the writer to the Hebrews.

 

Heb. 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.

 

Abel seems to understand the need to honour God with tithes and to appease God’s wrath for his sin with a burnt sacrifice. While Cain limited his actions to honour God with tithing only. He does not accept that he has sinned. He is righteous by his own works. 

 

Let us see the response of God to their offerings. God had regard for Abel but not for Cain. Why does God see the two offerings differently?

 

God delights in our obedience

 

The Scriptures tell us that sacrifice was made necessary because of sins but God delights in our obedience so that we do not sin and therefore do not have to sacrifice.

 

We can make a comparative with our relationship with our children. Do you prefer that your child satisfy all the punishment you give him perfectly when he gets in trouble or a child who never gets in trouble but obeys you out of love? That is God’s point. God prefers to have someone who obeys Him rather than someone who continuously sin and has to sacrifice.

 

1 John 3:11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;

1 John 3:12 not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

 

John says that Cain was from the enemy and his actions were evil and Abel’s actions were righteous.

 

What is righteous in the eyes of God?

Is it our actions?

Or our obedience?

 

Isaiah says that our works are filthy rags.

Isaiah 64:6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.

 

The writer of Hebrews says that without faith it is impossible to please God.

Heb. 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Any action that we do in faith in God becomes a righteous work. But any work we do out of our own desires and purposes, ceases to be a righteous work because our nature is sinful.

 

Only when we are listening to the Spirit of God, following Him in faith, and only then we are capable of righteousness.

 

So, when the Scriptures say that Abel sacrifice was righteous, we understand that in faith he did what God asked him to do and God declared that to be a righteous work.

 

Likewise, when the Scriptures say that Cain was of the enemy and doing an evil deed, by definition, we have to conclude that he was not acting in faith but was acting out of his own fleshly desire.

We can say that Cain did not believe in the words of God concerning atonement. He did not believe he has sin and did not need atonement.

 

That is the viewpoint of the world. They do not believe they have sins and therefore do not need any atonement.

 

Cain was not a believer.

Here we can say that God did not accept Cain’s sacrifice because he was of an unbelieving heart. No matter how much people will come to church or pray and serve, if their actions are purely motivated by their own desires and they do not have faith in their hearts, God has no regard for them.

 

But when we act and live in faith, trusting God, He can look at our efforts and call them righteous. Only because they were done in faith.

 

What kind of faith are we talking about here in this context? What did they have faith in? Jesus has not come on the scene yet. Faith in the Word of God and His precepts for sanctification. 

 

The grace of God in front of the unbeliever.

Here we see the depravity of man right from the start of creation. Cain’s mind is so depraved that even when God is giving him a chance to repent, he argues with God.

 

The First Anger

Gen. 4:6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?

Gen. 4:7 If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

 

This is the first-time anger is mentioned in the Bible. Cain is disappointed and angry with God. God asked Cain a rhetorical question. The wisdom of God is in full display here.

In Hebrew language, verse seven reads: do well, be raised up. 

Abel gave a burnt offering which was the right sacrifice for the atonement of sin while Cain did not offer any sacrifice for his sins, and he is now angry that God is not happy with him. God is telling him that if he has no sin, there is no need to be angry, he will be raised up and go to heaven.

The Hebrew word for sin is “chattah” and here it is implying that sin is lying at your door like a four-legged animal who is lying in your doorway.

Desire is “teshuqah” which translates in the desire of a woman for her husband and the phrase “master over you” is “mashal” which means a ruler.

 

The patience of God

God is telling Cain that sin is desiring you and it is lying in your doorway and it will rule over you.

God is telling Cain that he should have a desire for his master, God, and to accept the sacrificial prescribed that God has made available at that time. He should have faith in the Word of God. God knowing the heart of Cain, was warning him that sin was calling his name for bad things, but will he obey?

 

The First Murder – Premeditation

Gen. 4:8 Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

The oldest manuscript of Hebrew accurately says that “Cain said to Abel his brother, let’s go out into the field”.

 

Here we see the full depravity of the human heart at the very beginning of humanity. Cain lures his brother into a remote place to kill him. Anger has developed into intention to kill, a premeditation to murder his brother.

 

Then after the fact, his natural conscience is protecting him from being caught and wants to hide what he did.

That tells us that we are wired by God’s grace to know what is right and wrong.

 

Exposition of a depraved mind in front of God

Cain knows that he is doing wrong.

 

What was the basis of Cain’s anger? He hated his brother because he had the approval of God. Just as Jesus warned:

John 15:18 If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.

John 15:19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.

 

The first believing son persecuted by the first unbelieving son. The spiritual son of Satan, Cain, rising up against the prophet of God, Abel and we see this pattern that has continued until today.

 

Now we see God confronted man after a sinful act:

The grace of God on display

Gen. 4:9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Gen. 4:10 He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.

Gen. 4:11 Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

Gen. 4:12 When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.

 

God is giving an opportunity for Cain to repent.

 

The response of Cain to God is the most sarcastic and disrespectful statement spoken to God recorded in the Bible.

 

The First Lie

First human lie in history (sharing in the pattern of the father of lies, Satan):

“I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

 

The First Curse on Human Being

And God response is to pronounce a curse on Cain. This is the first curse on human being, unlike in the case of Adam.

A curse from God is a permanent thing. There is no second chance. The end is total destruction with death and hell (eternal separation from God). In the case of Adam God cursed the ground and the Book of Revelations tells us that the ground will be replaced.

And here God is saying that the ground is calling out for vengeance. It is the ground that is indicting Cain. The ground is his prosecutor and juror, and God is the judge. The earth will no longer give its produce to Cain. There is an eternal judgement and a temporal judgement that will follow Cain during his earthly days. He will no longer be a farmer who will stay in one place. He will wander the earth and scrounge for his living in fear. Cain is banished from his family. He will be lonely and away from civilisation.

He is now forever away from God’s presence. This is the outcome of all unbelievers.

Gen. 4:13 Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is too great to bear!”

Cain reacts with regret and sorrow and a complaint. Is he repenting? He recognises that he will not find mercy from God. This is worldly sorrow, not godly repentance.

 

Faith and Obedience work together

Only God can produce true spiritual repentance, and it leads to a faithful response to God’s Word. Paul explains the difference to his readers as an encouragement.

2 Cor. 7:10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

Cain is sad and it is not sadness that brings us to heaven, but repentance. A repentance from a life of sin and disobedience and a movement towards faith and obedience. That is the Gospel, nothing less. Many people feel sorry for all kind of reasons, but it is not a saving faith.

 

The Gospel

Is

A repentance from a life of sin and disobedience and a movement towards faith and obedience.

That is the Gospel, nothing less.

 

The text tells us that the first murderer is now afraid that he will be murdered. The irony is that what Cain started he is now scared in receiving. He is telling God what the consequence of his sin is. It’s like a child who says: “Grounded for a week? You cannot ground me for a week, I will be in my room for a whole week!” It is a recognition, but it is not repentance.

God sometimes visit people with their own sin on their own head. It is not karma as the world would say. There is a regular pattern in Scriptures when we study other characters in Genesis. We see how what they did happened to their sons or what their sons do to them.

We see that what happen to us in our lives as sinful becomes an opportunity for God to teach us a lesson by showing us our sins back again,  at us, through some consequence of our sin or in a person close to us who follow the same pattern. Then we will have this time and opportunity to say to ourselves: I have seen this before and I saw it in me. And when I see how it hurts other people, that means that God wants me to stop. 

Here we see the murderer comes to a situation of jeopardy of life.

Again, we see a measure of God’s grace for Cain.

Gen. 4:15 So the LORD said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him.

God declares some protection to Cain, anyone who takes vengeance on Cain for Abel will receive a seven-fold (divinely complete) vengeance on his own family. And to ensure Cain that this promise was trustworthy, God gave him a sign that he could remember. We do not know what it is, but we should not speculate.

 

Now why does God want Cain to live his days out? Why does any unbeliever get to live even a day?

Paul says in the book of Romans, chapter nine that God, the potter, has chosen to make some vessel for honourable purposes and some for dishonourable purposes. In other words, some will come to faith, some will not. He has allowed both to exist for a time so that He can show to those who are saved the debt of His mercy and grace by letting them see the world around them the contrast. When we see what we were saved out of and from, we cannot help but marvel at the grace and mercy of God that we have been saved from that. There is an immediate understanding on how we were saved by grace. And God has allowed unbelievers to remain until their death so that, that contrast exist throughout time until He is ready to put an end to it. Cain served that purpose in his day.

The man who killed his brother.

The man who did not accept God’s sacrifice.

The man who will forever be marked as the murderer Cain moving into the world like a poster-boy.

This is what unbeliever looks like. This is what the alternative to Godly living is.

Gen. 4:16 Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Cain is no longer in the presence of God.

East and West are common motif in the Bible. Mesopotamia and Babylon are said to be in the East. The promised land and Israel are in the West. West is always a picture of righteousness and the Kingdom.

Cain goes east and the Scriptures tell us that east is where unrighteous go.

 

Sin changes the nature of people.

Besides the sin of murder, we see on display the:

Sin of pride

Sin of lying

Sin of arrogance

Sin of jealousy

Sin of anger

Sin of impatience

Sin of rudeness

Sin began because of what man did in the garden and these sins are present today.

Jude says that unbelievers are gone in the way of Cain who are self-spiritual and have no understanding of God.

Jude 1:11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain.

They are those who have gone away from God’s law and are seeking righteousness through their own works and substituting man-made religions for true relationship and worship.

 

Prayer:

Heavenly Father we know that the Scripture is intended to be a mirror, as you reveal things to our hearts we see ourselves in a new and better way. And we pray Father, that the study today is a useful mirror reflecting to us our own sins, our own errors, our own limitations, but at the same time, Father, direct us towards you, your grace, and your mercy so that we are not weight down by the knowledge and recognition of our sins, but we would run to you and that in grace you lift us up.

To the one that is humble, to the one that is meek, to the one who understands the power of sins and knows that a saviour is necessary, and I pray Father that you would direct that heart to yourself. 

To those who know you Father, you would strengthen our hearts and cause us to walk in a greater faith.

And I pray Father as we make decisions everyday of our time, our attention, our efforts, our hopes, and dreams, that while we may enjoy the things that this world offers we will not let them to be a distraction from serving you. That when you decide to break through in our lives and speak to us, we will stop and listen.

We thank you Father that you are our God who does not forsake us. And like a good Father, you will discipline us.

Thank you Father in the name of Jesus.

 

Bibliography

c/o Genesis 2011 - Lesson 4A | Verse By Verse Ministry International

c/o Genesis 2011 - Lesson 4B | Verse By Verse Ministry International