Sunday
Sunday
Cain the First Murderer
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Genesis 4:8
Eve gave birth to two boys, first Cain and then Abel. Abel became a shepherd and “kept flocks,” while Cain became a farmer and “worked the soil” (v. 2). Both brothers brought an offering to the Lord, each according to his occupation—Cain “some of the fruits of the soil” and Abel “fat portions” from a newborn lamb (vv. 3–4). And the Lord looked with favor on Abel’s offering but with disfavor on Cain’s. Cain was very angry at this, and in his jealous rage he murdered his brother Abel.
Many readers sympathize with Cain. After all, he brought an offering appropriate to his vocation. So God’s rejection of it seems unfair. We may be sure, however, that there was nothing arbitrary about God’s reaction. He asked Cain, “Why are you angry? … If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?” (v. 6). In what way, then, was Abel’s offering right and Cain’s not right? Some commentators draw attention to the fact that Cain was self-righteous in bringing the work of his own hands, whereas Abel brought a sacrificial lamb.
If we consult the New Testament, however, we read three times that Abel acted “by faith” (Heb. 11:4). Moreover, Hebrews 11 defines faith as an obedient response to God’s word of revelation. Applied to Abel, it implies that somehow God had revealed to the brothers the kind of sacrifice he desired and that only Abel had responded in the obedience of faith.
The apostle John takes up the story, contrasting Cain and Christ. Whereas Cain hated and murdered his brother, we are called like Christ to love others and lay down our lives for them (1 John 3:11–17).
For further reading: Hebrews 11:1–4