Cain and Abel. God’s grace in a terrible situation. Genesis 4:1-16. Learning to be aware what is happening inside us, and then learning to bring that to God.

By mmayer
Pastor Michael Mayer
Genesis 4:1-16

Adam slept with Eve his wife. She conceived and had Cain. She said, “I’ve gotten a man, with God’s help!”

Then she had another baby, Abel. Abel was a herdsman and Cain a farmer.

Time passed. Cain brought an offering to God from the produce of his farm. Abel also brought an offering, but from the firstborn animals of his herd, choice cuts of meat. God liked Abel and his offering, but Cain and his offering didn’t get his approval. Cain lost his temper and went into a sulk.

God spoke to Cain: “Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.”

Cain had words with his brother. They were out in the field; Cain came at Abel his brother and killed him.

God said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”

He said, “How should I know? Am I his babysitter?”

God said, “What have you done! The voice of your brother’s blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you’ll get nothing but curses from this ground; you’ll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You’ll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You’ll be a homeless wanderer on Earth.”

Cain said to God, “My punishment is too much. I can’t take it! You’ve thrown me off the land and I can never again face you. I’m a homeless wanderer on Earth and whoever finds me will kill me.”

God told him, “No. Anyone who kills Cain will pay for it seven times over.” God put a mark on Cain to protect him so that no one who met him would kill him.

Cain left the presence of God and lived in No-Man’s-Land, east of Eden.

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In Genesis 4 we glimpse life after Adam and Eve have eaten the fruit from the one tree they were told not to. Thinking of this as the Tree of Entitlement, rather than the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, makes more and more sense the more I reflect on it. ‘I want, I need, I deserve, what right has God got to deny me….’ Those are all powerful, strong drives.

We don’t know why Cain brought a sacrifice to God. It might have been out of gratitude for the gift of food. It might have been trying to get God to love him or bless him just a little bit more. It seems his brother Able brings his sacrifice with a better attitude. When God shows his pleasure with Abel, but not with Cain, Cain sulks. The first moment of grace is that God actually calls him out on this and warns him that he is on a bad heading. When people who love us give us a warning about our attitude or actions, we need to pay attention. Cain misses the invitation in that warning to talk about it with God. He misses owning his own hurt and bringing that to God. Instead, he nurses his resentment (there is the attitude of entitlement), lures his brother out, and kills him. Pure horrible.

God is still a God of grace and mercy. He is not vindictive, but sin has its own consequences. Cain can’t live with his family anymore, and he can’t be safe with any other people, because they know he is a murderer. God announces the consequences, and this time Cain gets it right. He doesn’t just hold it in. He tells God how that is for him, how he can’t live that way. God responds by marking him in a special way, so that everyone knows this murderer is still under God’s protection and love. That is amazing grace.

There is so much to pick up from this account which is initially so distressing.
1. Be aware, own what we are experiencing, or what is happening inside us. That is the key moment to stop, take a breath, become aware, before we rush into some instinctual reaction that will make things worse. Cain did learn to do that.

  1. Bring that awareness to God. It’s easy with the moments of awe or wonder. It’s just as vital with the moments that aren’t so nice or good – the ‘crazy’ thoughts, stuff that would make us look terrible if those around us could see what was going on inside us, the times we have no capacity to make things work. Be as honest as we can.
  2. Wait for God’s response. By simply entrusting ourselves, as we are, to God, we have opened ourselves up to grace and support. Cain received God’s mark of protection. You will receive God’s mercy in the way that is tailor made for you. New life will emerge

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