Cain and Abel
Genesis 4:1-16
We pick up our study of Genesis today in Genesis 4. First, let’s remember where we are in the narrative of Genesis. In the first two chapters we saw the wonder and power of the Creator God as He spoke the universe into being; the design and order of His good and abundant creation; the position of human beings within God’s plans and purposes; the gracious provision that God made for them; the single prohibition that God commanded; and the beauty and significance of human relationships.
Then in Genesis 3 we saw the temptation of the serpent; the disobedience of Adam and Eve; the personal, relational, and cosmic consequences of sin; the corruption of God’s perfect world; and the justice and mercy of God in responding to man’s sin.
Now in Genesis 4 we will see the further downward progression of mankind into sin as it manifests itself in their sons Cain and Abel. This story shows us the terrible effects of unchecked sin. It also shows us again the grace of God in dealing with sinners. Watch for those themes as I read our text, Genesis 4:1-16:
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 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. 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. 6 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.” 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.
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 He said, “What have you done? 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.” 13 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.” 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. 16 Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.
First I want you to notice that the text is structured to show the contrast between Cain and Abel. Throughout Genesis 4:1–5, the order in which Moses mentions Cain and Abel keeps reversing. First Cain is born, then Abel. Abel’s occupation is given, then Cain’s. Cain brings his offering, then Abel. The Lord accepts Abel’s offering, but rejects Cain’s.
First we see the contrast of Cain and Abel as,
1. Two Sons (Gen. 4:1-2)
Genesis 4:1, “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.”” Adam and Eve name their first son Cain. The name Cain sounds like the verb “acquired” (קָנָה qanah), meaning to get or possess. So his name reflects Eve’s hope, “I’ve gotten him!” from the LORD. His life started with such promise, such hope. Eve sees Cain as a gift from the LORD. In light of God’s promise in Genesis 3:15 that a seed of the woman would bruise Satan’s head, Eve may have thought that she gave birth to the deliverer. And yet, as we know, she had not given birth to Christ, but to a murderer; not to the Son of God but to a son of the devil. Cain will be the main character in Genesis 4. His name is mentioned 14 times in the first 17 verses.
We meet Adam and Eve’s second son in Genesis 4:2, “Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel.” Abel is the Hebrew word (הֶבֶל
Hebel) meaning a mere breath, a vapor. Psalm 144:4 uses that word when it says, “Man is like a breath. His days are like a passing shadow.” Job says in Job 7:16, “My days are but a breath.” In the New Testament James writes, “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” In the case of Abel, his life was indeed very brief.
Genesis 4:2 goes on to tell us more about these sons of Adam and Eve, “Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.” Both of the occupations mentioned here, farming and sheep-tending, were noble occupations. Both of these lines of work were expressions of the mandate God gave man to manage the creation on His behalf. Farming was the God-instituted occupation of Adam. Cain follows in his father’s footsteps and becomes a tiller of the ground also. Even our Lord Jesus Christ presents Himself as the true farmer who sows good seed and brings in a fruitful harvest. Sheep-tending was equally valuable. There are many noble shepherds in the Old Testament, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; Moses and David. Again, the Lord Jesus calls Himself the good shepherd.
So Genesis 4 begins with hope. The LORD has given new life to Adam and Eve, sons that continue the God-given work of tending and keeping the creation. Cain and Abel seem to have a lot in common. Cain and Abel shared the same parents, the same spiritual background, the same home life, and no doubt both heard the same stories from Adam and Eve about life in paradise and about their expulsion because of sin. They both had good jobs and they both brought an offering to the Lord. Just reading the first several verses, you can’t tell who will be the killer and who will be the victim.
So, up to this point in the story, all is well, or at least it seems to be. Adam and Eve may have hoped that their life was back on track and that things would be much better from this point forward. But it wasn’t to be. Problems start to show themselves again when Cain and Abel began bringing offerings to the Lord.
2. Two Offerings (Gen. 4:3-5)
Genesis 4:3, “And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord.” The word “offering” means a gift or a tribute. It is used over 150 times in the books of Moses (Leviticus and Numbers) to refer to the grain offerings that God command Israel to bring in worship. There does not appear to be anything inherently inferior in a grain offering versus an animal offering.
Moses does emphasize the quality of Abel’s offering (Gen. 4:4), “Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat.” Abel brought the first and the best of his flock, which showed an attitude of faith and respect.
The text does not say that God commanded them to bring offerings to Him in worship. God will later command Israel to worship and bring offerings, but we don’t know how much God had revealed about proper worship to this first family. I do know this: man is made to worship. Men everywhere worship someone or something. If men do not worship the true God they will worship other things. Here in Genesis we see the beginning of both true worship and false worship.
Both Cain and Abel bring offerings to the LORD. But the results of their worship are totally different (Gen. 4:4-5), “And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering.” God “looked on” Abel’s offering with favor, but not with Cain. Here is the real question that we want answered: “Why did God accept Abel and His offering but reject Cain and his offering?”
Was it because only Abel brought a sacrifice of blood? Possibly. The text does not explicitly say so. The use of the Hebrew word (מִנְחָה minchah) to describe the offerings leads us to be somewhat surprised that Abel did not also bring a grain offering. Even under the Mosaic Law, which had not yet been given, the worship of God through the offering of grain was both acceptable and commanded. Scripture therefore gives us no grounds to think that a grain offering would have been intrinsically unacceptable.
Was it because Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock, whereas Cain is not described as offering the firstfruits? Possibly. But even under the Mosaic Law, grain offerings did not have to be of the firstfruits. Furthermore, Cain brings his offering first, before Abel.
Was Abel’s offering accepted because he gave of the ‘fat’ of the flock, of their best parts? Well, this description certainly speaks to the attitude of Abel’s heart – Abel gives the very best of what he had received from the Lord. Yet the text makes no criticism of the quality of Cain’s grain. And perhaps that very silence is the key to understanding the passage. We are naturally inclined to look at the materials of the offerings themselves, at the quality of the gift. Yet the text itself points us in another direction: not towards the gift, but towards the giver.
To begin with, notice that God accepted Abel first, and then his offering. This is always the order (Heb. 11:4). God rejected Cain, then his offering. Each offering is accepted or rejected based upon the person bringing the gift. The Lord accepts Abel’s offering because he has already accepted Abel. He rejects Cain’s offering because he has already rejected Cain. The problem with Cain was not merely the offering, it was with himself before God. Man focuses upon the outward act, and accepts it if it is outwardly performed well. God looks upon the inward heart of the person performing the act, and accepts that which is performed from faith.
The writer of Hebrews in the New Testament comments on this writing (Heb. 11:4), “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.” Abel offered his sacrifice by faith. He believed and trusted in God and God’s word. Hebrews 11:6 goes on to say, “But 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 diligently seek Him.”
Abel’s offering did not make him righteous, but being already accounted righteous through faith, his offering was pleasing and acceptable to God for the sake of Christ. The offering was not the cause, but the evidence of Abel’s righteousness, ‘God testifying of his gifts’.
Cain’s offering was rejected because Cain himself had been rejected. The fault was not in the materials of Cain’s offering, but in his person. Cain subsequent behaviour demonstrates that Cain lacked faith and had not therefore been accounted righteous by God. Proverbs 15:8 tells us, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.”
The end of Genesis 4:5 tells us, “And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.” Cain’s reaction suggests that, although he willingly gave his offering, he did so with the expectation of God’s favor in return. When he didn’t get it, he got mad. Literally, it was “hot to him.” He got all burned up when he saw that his offering had been rejected but his kid brother’s had been accepted. And his face was visibly upset.
3. Cain’s Two Choices (Gen. 4:6-8)
God could have punished Cain for offering his improper worship. But the LORD graciously comes to Cain with a warning, to give him a chance to repent before it is too late (Gen. 4:6), “So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?” Remember, God doesn’t ask questions because He lacks information. He asks questions to get the hearer to think rightly about matters.
God lays before Cain the two possible paths from here (Gen. 4:7), “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.”” Notice again that the Lord speaks of the acceptance of Cain himself, not his offering. And, though God has thus far rejected Cain, He is nevertheless merciful and gracious. The Lord’s questioning shows Cain that the fault lies within. The Lord has not pronounced punishment here but rather He is encouraging Cain to repent and warning him against the power of sin.
Cain is faced with a decision and held accountable for his choice. He need not succumb to sin, just as we should not, because God always gives sufficient grace to resist temptation (cf. I Corinthians 10:13). He can do well and be accepted; or he can not do well and sin will overtake him. God pictures sin as a wild animal ready to pounce. It has a desire for you; it thirsts for your blood. It is your mortal enemy. But you must master it. God is saying, “Deal with your sin now, while it is still in the mental stage. If you let it go on, it will destroy you.”
But in spite of God’s gracious admonition we see that Cain willfully disobeyed God’s warning. Genesis 4:8, “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.” We don’t know what Cain told Abel. He probably invited Abel to go into the field with him. Abel didn’t suspect the treachery; and so Cain killed him without warning. The Greek word used to describe the murder in 1 John 3:12 is a word meaning to slaughter a victim for sacrifice, to slit the throat.
Cain’s sin shows the hardening process that has set into the human race in one generation of sin. It began in the context of worship, thus showing how sinful man trifles with the most sacred things. Eve had to be talked into her sin; Cain could not be talked out of it, even by God Himself. The victim was his own brother, guilty of no wrong toward Cain. Think of it. One minute you are making an offering to God, the next you are killing your own flesh and blood. How quickly the heart can turn from worship to murder.
But God knows what Cain has done so next we see,
4. God Confronts and Judges (Gen. 4:9-12)
Just as God had come seeking Adam when he sinned, God comes to Cain (Gen. 4:9-12), “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”” How does Cain respond? First, he lies and totally denies any responsibility (Gen 4:9), “He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”” While Adam and Eve tried to pass the buck, at least they told the truth and owned up to their sin. But Cain lies about it and never admits his sin. There is not one word of repentance. But he is not fooling God (Gen. 4:10), “And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.” The ground was cursed on account of Adam and Eve (3:17). Now the earth has been stained with the blood of man, and that spilled by his brother. That blood now cries out to God for justice (4:10).
God, therefore, confronts Cain with his sin. The time for repentance has passed and now the sentence is passed on Cain by the Judge of the earth (Gen. 4:11-12), “So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 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.”” First, God curses Cain in the area of his greatest strength. He was a farmer; God says that the ground will no longer yield its strength to him. Farmers generally are tied to the land, to one location. God decrees that Cain will be a vagrant and wanderer. The wonder is that God didn’t execute Cain on the spot. God later gave to man the power of capital punishment for murder (Gen. 9:6). The only reason I know why God didn’t execute Cain was His great mercy. Cain got far less than he deserved. Because,
5. God Shows Mercy (Gen. 4:13-15)
And yet Cain complained that his punishment was too harsh! Genesis 4:13 says, “And Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear!” Isn’t that just like sinful man! We sin and God sends some sort of judgment on us. And we complain and say, “God’s not fair” (Prov. 19:3). Cain shows no remorse for his sin, only regret for his punishment. Cain is filled with self-pity and fear that he would get the same treatment he gave his brother (Gen. 4:14), “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.”
What a whiny little sinner Cain is! Wouldn’t you think that God would just want to be rid of him for good? But instead of letting Cain be killed, he graciously puts a mark of protection on him (Gen. 4:15), “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.” We don’t know whether this was a physical mark or some sort of confirming sign. But it was a mark of grace, by which God signified that His protective hand was on Cain in spite of his great sin. God, in His mercy, was giving Cain every chance to repent.
But the tragedy is that,
6. Cain Departs from the Lord (Gen. 4:16)
Genesis 4:16, “Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.” The word here translated as ‘Nod’ means ‘wandering’. As Adam and Eve were driven from Eden, an unrepentant, forlorn and hopeless Cain now departs from the presence of the Lord to be a wanderer in the bleak land of wandering.
Despite the mercy shown to Him by God, Cain will never repent. For as John the apostle tells us in his first epistle (1 John 3:12), “Cain … was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.”
In the account of Cain and Abel we see the beginnings of two great lines of humanity: the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. We see the promised conflict of Genesis 3:15 coming into being.
The same pattern runs right through the Bible. We it demonstrated in the story of Noah and his sons. We find it is in the account of Ishmael and Isaac, and in the account of Jacob and Esau. As Israel becomes a nation, we see this conflict between the two humanities demonstrated not only within Israel itself, but also between Israel and the other nations around her. We see it between Israel and Egypt, and between Israel and the various Canaanite nations. At some points it appears that the promised seed of the woman will never come or that the children of God will be wiped out. But God continues to show His grace in preserving a remnant.
As we trace this plotline into the New Testament, we see it played out most significantly in the life of Christ. In the Gospels we see Jesus, the Son of God, regularly provoking the anger and jealousy and fury of the self-righteous religious leaders of his day. The scribes and Pharisees resented Jesus as surely as Cain resented Abel, and they conspired together to “rise up and kill him.” But the serpent only bruised His heal, because as the sinless sacrifice He died to atone for our sin and God raised Jesus from the dead.
Because of what God has done in Christ Hebrews 12:24 says we have come “to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.” Abel’s blood spoke of sin and judgment and violence and doom, but Jesus shed blood spoke “a better word” (Heb 12:24 ESV): forgiveness and cleansing and mercy and peace. Abel’s blood speaks of death, Jesus’ blood speaks of life. Christ decisively defeated the seed of the serpent at the cross and assured the battle’s ultimate outcome.
Where do you stand in the battle? Have you come by faith to the Savior who has won the victory over sin and death at the cross? Come today.
