Or, How Sin Moved from Taking Fruit to Taking Life
Scripture: Genesis 4:8-16
Date: September 6, 2015
Speaker: Sean Higgins
Any person who does not love God will not love another person made in God’s image consistently. He won’t be able to maintain love or explain it. Perhaps that’s part of the reason for the order of the first and second commandments (love God, love your neighbor), as well as for the first and second tables of the 10 Commandments. Like a magnet, our heart’s position towards God will necessarily either draw us towards others or repel us from others. Inappropriate worship and inappropriate behavior are brothers; they both are born from the same heart.
Killing comes from a heart where sin has not been killed. Or another way to say it is, killing comes from a heart that loves its self-image more than God and His image. Anything, and more typically, anyone, that gets in the way of self-worship must be removed. Those with a religious background, who understand that God Himself is the ultimate obstacle to self-worship, and who also understand that He is untouchable, often lash out against those who represent Him nearby.
Cain’s failure to rule over sin (4:7) results in soul destruction for Cain. Cain killed Abel because his deeds were evil and Abel’s were righteous (1 John 3:12). Cain was jealous for his own glory, and Abel embodied the One who was keeping Cain from that glory.
And in one generational step, sin moved from taking fruit to taking life.
When he was confronted by Yahweh, Cain said nothing (verses 6-7). Now the gardener becomes a butcher.
Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. (verse 8)
The Hebrew construction, Cain spoke to Abel his brother, almost always introduces direct discourse, meaning that when someone “spoke” to someone else, we usually hear part of the conversation. The original Hebrew text, however, does not include any dialog. The Septuagint inserts the phrase (found in the ESV footnote), “Let us go out to the field.” That makes sense because the next scene finds the brothers out in the field.
Whatever he said, Cain gave Abel no reason to suspect anything. He concealed his intentions well enough, but there is no doubt the murder was premeditated. Like a coward, he waited until they were alone, when they were in the field. Deuteronomy 22:25-27 specifies a law for the “open country” where a woman is out of range for rescue even if she cries for help.
And then Cain rose up against his brother. The verb “rose up” does not mean that Cain was sitting or lying down and needed to get up, but rather that his anger boiled over. Cain viciously and violently killed his brother.
Observe how many times in the paragraph that the word “brother” is used. Cain rose up against his brother. Where is Abel your brother? Am I my brother’s keeper? Your brother’s blood, Your brother’s blood. Six uses of “brother” in four verses is not meant to teach us morals about sibling rivalry, but to overwhelm Cain by reminding him that this irreversible wickedness was committed against his own brother, his own family, the one closest to him.
And Cain killed him. The account doesn’t report how he killed him or with what he killed him, but it was bloody. For the first time in the Bible human blood is spilled. For the first time in the Bible a man dies. For the first time in the Bible, one man murders another. It was a brutal, cold-blooded murder of his very own brother.
The LORD pursues the rebel, as He did with Adam in Genesis 3.
Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” (verse 9)
The next verse, verse 10, proves that God knew Abel’s location perfectly well. His question, then, graciously invited Cain to consider his sin, to confess it, and to seek mercy. But his heart was hard.
Cain said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” Unlike his father who tried diversion when God questioned him, Cain tries denial. Adam evaded and made excuses, Cain lies. Of course he knew where his brother was. He probably had buried Abel’s body so that no one would find him (though really, no matter how many other siblings were already on the planet, did Cain think mom and dad wouldn’t wonder where Abel went?)
Cain not only lied to Yahweh, he also treated the LORD with disrespect. His smart-aleck question is filled with contempt, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” It was as if he said to God, “What a ridiculous question. You don’t have the right to ask me that question.” His question also drips with sarcasm, since Abel was a “keeper of sheep,” Cain’s question mocks, “Am I the shepherd of the shepherd?”
While it is true that nowhere in the Old Testament are men told to “keep” other men in terms of watching over each other with complete authority, there is certainly the expectation that brothers, of all people, would care for and serve and love one another.
Cain demonstrates absolutely no softness or sorrow over his sin. His heart was so hard that he admitted nothing, he lied about it, and questioned if he was being questioned about the right thing. If the Bible were a man-made book only, wouldn’t we have cleaned up the story a bit? Cain’s killing and his defiance are unbelievable for just the fourth chapter.
And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” (verses 10-12)
This question no longer aims to elicit a confession from Cain but rather is a rhetorical exclamation aimed to shame Cain. The LORD obviously does not expect Cain to answer because He immediately answers Himself, “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.” The word blood is actually plural, “bloods,” and the verb also agrees with the plural, “bloods are crying,” a mode of expression that emphasizes the savage act.
Don’t ever forget: God sees. In particular, God sees and cares about injustice. Where can you go from His presence? Where can you hide from His judgment? Cain may have thought he concealed his crime, but the blood cries out, it screams for attention, it cannot be unheard by God.
This is an important doctrine for the righteous to remember: God vindicates righteousness and He doesn’t need our help (or even our presence) to do so. He judges justly. We can trust Him to do so, even to the point of death (see also 1 Peter 2:21-23).
”And now you are cursed from the ground which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.” It was personal: your (very own) brother; your hand. So now Cain’s punishment would be personal.
In Genesis 3:18-19 God cursed the serpent and the soil, but not Adam. Here in Genesis 4:11, God curses Cain, the first man to receive such condemnation. Cain’s curse affected two things:
Though God created the earth in such a way as to provide a dwelling place for man, as well as provisions to sustain him and for him to enjoy, God took away both benefits for Cain.
Cain was a “worker of the ground” by trade (verse 2), but now God told him, when you work the ground, it shall not longer yield to you its strength. The first part of verse 12 explains what it means that Cain was “cursed from the ground” in verse 11. He would never again enjoy the strength of the ground, the best and choicest fruits. He kept back the best parts from God when making offering and hopefully he enjoyed them; he won’t again. He brought a weak sacrifice (a wilted veggie platter), now he gets his just deserts.
Cain would also now be a fugitive and wanderer on the earth. Also not good for a farmer, who would certainly not be able to take his crops with him. Cain would no longer have the peace of staying put. He would wander from place to place.
And he would be a fugitive, not just wandering, but running. We learn more about Cain’s concern/complaint in verse 14, as Cain feared retribution. God punished Cain to a life of always looking over his shoulder. Never again would he have the peace of fellowship and friendship. He would always and ever be suspicious. Though he was created an image-bearer, capable of relationship, he killed another image-bearer, and God cuts him off from enjoying other relationships.
Even though Cain had a wife and kids and grandkids (see the following paragraph, verses 17-24), and even though he “settled in the land of Nod” (verse 16), his attempts were vain to overcome the restlessness and fearfulness his sin fostered. Both his image-bearing responsibilities and relationships were ruined by his sin.
Cain complains about his punishment. Sure he would. Everything has been about him up to this point, why would it change? The thing that changes is that his backbone went limp. He murdered his brother without pity, talked big when confronted first by God, now he whimpers with self-pity about his sentence.
Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” (verses 13-14)
Cain is not upset about his sin; he is upset about the consequences of his sin. He isn’t broken. He’s whining about how unfair his penalty is. Of course, he totally misses the fact that it could have been worse. It would have been fair for God to kill him.
Cain makes two complaints concerning the two curses and the consequences of those curses.
Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground. Yes. Sort of. Cain’s restatement is overdramatic. He wasn’t necessarily driven from the ground. God said, “when you work the ground,” meaning that he would continue to work it. Cain was cursed never to enjoy the strength of the ground.
from your face I shall be hidden. God hadn’t said that directly but Cain realized that his relationship with God was broken. And, Cain had done nothing to humble himself and seek reconciliation. So, yes, this was true as well. But he was clearly more upset about losing God’s blessing on the work than he was about losing the relationship.
I shall be a fugitive and wanderer on the earth. Yes. That’s exactly what God said.
Whoever finds me will kill me. First, Cain knew the principle: life for life. He understood that justice demanded satisfaction, though he didn’t think about God demanding justice.
Second, the killer was afraid of being killed; it’s open season on him, and he sees every man as a potential avenger. Now he wanted a “keeper.” He deceived Abel, his own brother. He knew what he was capable of, certainly others could deceive him and rise up against him. He fears the vengeance of men more than the wrath of God. There is still no mourning for spilling his brother’s blood, just selfish concern for his own tail.
Some see in this response a gracious promise, as if God were alleviating Cain’s fears and cushioning the curse. There could be a measure of mercy in this, but even more it is a promise that Cain would experience a full measure of the promised punishment.
Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. (verse 15)
Sometimes death is easier. It is a sort of release, at least to those who aren’t thinking about the next life. But God had purposes for Cain that involved keeping him alive longer. That God would take vengeance…sevenfold means He was committed to it.
God showed mercy to Adam and Eve by taking from Adam and Eve. He took them out of the garden. But God confirmed his judgment to Cain by giving, by keeping him alive. “In some ways it is a fate worse than death. It is to lose all sense of belonging and identification with a community. It is to become rootless and detached” (Hamilton, 232). He will be kept alive, but it will be a miserable life.
Then the LORD put a mark on Cain. It is fun to imagine what this mark was; maybe his own sort of scarlet letter. Maybe it was the first tattoo. One commentator suggested it was a peculiar hairstyle. One rabbi guessed it was a dog which traveled with Cain, reminding Cain of his punishment but scaring away any attackers. And there are other passages in the OT (and NT) that seem to describe a physical marking on a person. This translation sees Cain branded in some unmistakable way.
But there is also another way to translate and understand this phrase, the approach taken by the NASB. “The LORD appointed a sign for Cain,” meaning the LORD gave Cain a visible demonstration, a token that gave Cain reason to trust the assurance.
Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. (verse 16)
Cain went away from the presence of the LORD, not in the sense of escaping God’s omnipresence but in the sense of losing immediate fellowship. He would never again speak with the LORD like this; he would never again know the blessing and joy that Old Testament saints described as dwelling in God’s presence.
Cain settled in the land of Nod. God made him a nad, a wanderer. Now he settles in nod, a place of wandering. Trying to put down roots, so to speak, but in a land of instability and aimlessness.
What we do learn about brothers (and sisters) that fight with each other is that the problem is not that they are brothers and sisters, but that they are sinners. The reason you fight with your siblings is sin; don’t blame anyone or anything other than sinful hearts.
The one thing I think missing from the story is the response of Adam and Eve. This was the first human death, the death of one of their own kids. I understand there weren’t any other parents’ kids, but typically parents expect to die before their kids. Not only the fact of Abel’s death, but that he was murdered by his brother in cold blood, must have been a bitter burden.
If we don’t care about singing well to God, we won’t care about speaking well of others who are made in His image; in fact, we’ll be itching to slander them. We will take our bad attitude out on whoever is closest to us, whether they deserve it or not. Maybe the food isn’t that bad, but since we can’t stand the cook we criticize the food. So it is with those who criticize those made in God’s image. This ought not be so.
That means that apart from God’s grace—which enables us to kill sin—we would all be murderers.
This is why the gospel is exclusively important. It reconciles us to God, creating new hearts, enabling broken relationships to be restored. No break is beyond the gospel because no break is beyond Christ’s work on the cross.