Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Sermon preached on Genesis 4 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 03/26/2023 in Petaluma, CA.
Sermon Manuscript
Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
As we turn now to Genesis 4, we are already seeing what it looks like to live in a fallen world. How heartbreaking to read of Abel’s death at the hand of his evil brother Cain. Oh the vanity that a life like Abel’s would be cut so short, while the one who so murdered him would live on and even create a legacy and heritage like what we read about in this chapter. It reminds me of the book of Ecclesiastes which describes life in this fallen world as one of “vanity of vanities”. In fact, that is even what Abel’s name means in Hebrew, it is the same word there in Ecclesiastes for “vanity”. To clarify, Abel’s name in Hebrew literally means breath or vapor, but that word took on an additional usage of vanity. That usage very well may be rooted in the vanity of Abel’s short life. Yet, while Abel live a short life, it was not lived in vain. Let us then consider this passage today about Cain and Abel. We’ll especially focus on the verses 1-10 and return next week to finish off the chapter.
Let us begin by comparing and contrasting Cain and Abel, especially their two offerings. We are introduced to them in verses 1-2. You will note that Eve is mentioned at the start and end commenting about the choice of her sons’ names. Here in verse 1, she says she has “gotten” a man with the help of the LORD, because that’s what the name Cain means. Cain is the Hebrew word for “gotten” or “acquired”. We can begin to see Eve’s faith here. God had promised that she would have offspring, and that one of them would crush that evil serpent that had tricked her. For her to reference God’s help in her acquiring Cain is not only a general truth, it is also an expression of faith. Indeed, every life conceived in a woman is from God. But for her to emphasize this here, should clearly be understood as her hope that Cain might be the one promised by God to destroy the serpent.
So then, we learn something about both their vocations and their acts of worship. Cain’s job is as a farmer and so the offering he gives God is of the fruit of the ground. Abel is shepherd, and so his offering is of his flocks. Yet, verses 4-5 says that God had regard for Abel’s offering, but not Cain’s. The question here is why? Was there something better about Abel’s offering than Cain’s? Some have wondered if it was because Abel’s was an animal sacrifice, which would require the shedding of blood, for we know that elsewhere we are taught that sinners can’t find atonement for their sin without the shedding of blood. Well, while I wouldn’t completely rule that out as an option, I’m not convinced that’s the best interpretation here. Instead, I think in this case, God’s later requirements concerning offerings that he gave to Israel through Moses can shed some light backwards here. It may be that this chapter becomes some of the foundation for the later requirements for offerings, but those later requirements then may offer some light here for understanding things.
What we find then is that God’s people under the Mosaic covenant had requirements to give both categories of offerings. There were offerings of animals where their blood was shed and atonement was made. But there were also other offerings of the fruit of the ground. So, I would be hesitant to let the category of offering be the distinguishing factor here between Cain and Abel’s worship. Instead, look closely with me at how each of their offerings are described. For Cain, in verse 3, it just mentions that his offering was of the fruits of the ground. Nothing more specific is mentioned. But for Abel, in verse 4, it doesn’t just say that he gives an offering of his flocks. No, it says that he gave of the firstborn of the flock, and particularly of their fat portions. So, do you see how Abel’s offering is not just of a different category, but of a different quality? This difference is spelled out in the Mosaic law’s requirements for these different categories of offerings. For example, for animal offerings, Numbers 18:17 called for the firstborn of the animals to be sacrificed with their fat specifically burned on the altar. In contrast, Numbers 18:12 required for the offerings of the fruit of the ground that the firstfruits be given, along with all the best of the oil, wine, and grain. So then, the later Mosaic regulations for both categories of sacrifices said that the offerings should be from the first and the best of their offerings. This is what Abel did. In contrast, I think we are probably to understand that Cain didn’t.
Yet, notice what is the bigger point about why God had regard for Abel’s offering and not Cain’s. In verses 4 and 5, it is not just about the offerings, but about the persons. Verse 4, “And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard”. It’s not just about God’s regard for the offerings, but for Cain and Abel themselves. God didn’t have regard for Cain. But he did have regard for Abel, just like their respective offerings. Their persons and their offerings are tied up together. Hebrews 11:4 helps us to understand the connection, by saying that it was by faith Abel offered a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain. In other words, Abel had the kind of faith that God counted as righteousness, and Cain did not. Their respective offerings expressed what was in their respective hearts, expressing the faith Abel had and the lacking faith of Cain. Because of his faith, Abel was glad to give of his first and best to God. In his lack of faith, Cain did not give to God in the same way.
Let’s now turn to look at Cain’s reaction to how God responded to their different offerings. In verse 5 we see that Cain became very angry and that his face fell. He is not just a little angry, but very angry. And to say that his face fell is to describe some form of sadness. When people don’t get what they want, they can not only get upset, they can also get depressed or dejected. We see both sets of emotions here by Cain. There can certainly be a connection between these two emotions. Sometimes people can fall into a depressed attitude because they have not properly dealt with their anger.
God then mercifully confronts Cain here about his attitude, verse 6. Notice God’s first question to him. “Why are you angry and why has your face fallen?” This ends up being a rhetorical question, though it was meant for Cain to look inwardly and assess his emotional estate. There is an important teaching here about our emotions. Generally speaking, there is not anything inherently wrong about anger or sadness. There are absolutely things we should be upset about or sad about. But too often we can get upset or sad about things we shouldn’t get upset or sad about. When we find ourselves angry or sad about something, we should ask this kind of question that God asks Cain. Should I be feeling angry or sad about the thing I am angry or sad about? Our emotions aren’t immune from sin. In this case with Cain, he should not have been having these emotions in these circumstances.
Instead, we see God direct Cain to the core of the issue in verse 7. “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” See, the issue was the Cain had not done well. God is saying that if he had reflected on the situation, he would have been able to see the deficiency in his offering. But of course, God put it in a broader statement. In general, doing the right thing means you will be happier and God will be more pleased. But you see this is why when we have a strong emotion like anger or sorrow, we have to look at our hearts. Why are we experiencing this strong emotion? Am I right to be feeling that way about the matter? In other words, is my emotional reaction to something for a righteous reason? If not, we need to let that emotion go. We need to look to put if off.
So then, God goes on to warn Cain further in verse 1. “And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door.” That’s ambush language. It’s about to jump out to get you. God goes on saying of this sin, “It’s desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” We saw this language last chapter where part of the curse on the woman where it said the woman would have a desire contrary to her husband, and he would rule over her. We said the idea was that the wife would look to subvert her husband’s leadership even as he tried to instead be a master over her. In the case of marriage, this dynamic threatened the beautiful oneness God designed for marriage. It perverted the design of marital oneness with a loving husband as the head and a respectful, helping wife as the body. Here this same language is used to describe the dynamic between Cain and sin. Sin would be out to subvert and dominate Cain. Cain must rule over the sin. To clarify, Cain shouldn’t want to be in union with sin. He must conquer sin and rule over it, lest sin rule over him and ultimately destroy him.
This warning is very important here in Genesis 4. Right after the fall of man last chapter, we are again reminded of the dynamic now for humans. We have a sinful nature. Sin is thus out to get us. And like here with Cain, our sinful actions are so often the result of inappropriate emotions. We get offended and upset about something, and crouching sin seizes on the opportunity to get us to do something sinful. Or we are really sad about something, and sin catches us by surprise to get us to do something sinful. Sin can especially prey on our strong emotions to get us to do the wrong thing. After the fall, this will be a continual battle for us. That is why we Christians look forward to glory when we won’t have to fight that battle any more. But until then we look to fight sin with God’s help.
Let’s turn now in our third point to consider how Cain responds to this warning and admonition by God. Sadly, we see God’s words ignored by Cain. Cain had God’s word literally given to him, but he disregarded it. How often does our sin also happen because we chose to just ignore God’s word. So, we see that he murders his brother and then lies about it. In verse 8, Cain speaks to Abel to apparently get him to go out to the field with him. Then, in verse 9 he ruthlessly murders him. Think about this. Why did Abel kill Cain? The most immediate answer that comes to mind is jealousy. Because God was pleased with Abel and not with Cain, so he killed Abel. Surely envy was a motive for him to do such an unthinkable thing, to kill his own brother.
It is sad how similar things can revisit themselves over time. Fast forward into the future, to the twelve sons of Jacob later in this book of Genesis. Jacob showed special regard to his son Joseph, and in fact God showed special regard for Joseph, sending him dreams of how he would one day reign over his brothers. In Genesis 37:11, it says how his brothers were jealous of Joseph. So, they plotted to kill Joseph, but in that instance, one of the brothers, Judah, talked them out of it, to get them to sell Joseph off instead of killing him. Judah’s reasoning was that they shouldn’t kill their own brother and then conceal his blood. You can’t help but wonder reading that account if Judah didn’t have Cain and Able in mind. Well, jump forward to the New Testament, and sadly you find the Judah’s descendants didn’t remember Judah’s words. Because we see that the Jews there are jealous and envious of Jesus and so they have him put him to death, Mark 15:10. Ultimately, this envy-killing is a rejection of the religious leadership of the people they murder. Cain rejected Abel’s leadership showing the right way to worship, the sons of Jacob rejected Joseph’s leadership, and the sons of Judah rejected Jesus’ leadership. And yet as Hebrews 11 and 12 says, Abel’s blood still speaks a message of faith, and Jesus’ blood speaks an even better word. For if we come to God in faith with the offering of Jesus, we can have confidence that God will have regard for our offering and for us. As Hebrews 12:24 says, “The blood of Christ… [will] purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
So then, God confronts Cain in verse 9, asking him “Where is Abel your brother?” Abel replies with both a lie and a deflection. On a related note, I think we see here certain similarities between this chapter and last chapter, with Adam and Eve’s sin, God’s confrontation, their deflection, and God’s curse, but also God’s grace. We see a similar template here with Cain, but Cain’s worse depravity is sadly highlighted. So, then, his lie is that he claims he doesn’t know where Abel is, which is obviously a bold face lie and shows his lacking faith in God, as if he thought he could have really deceived God. But his deflection is interesting, in that he asks his own sort of rhetorical question saying, “Am I my brother’s keeper.” Interestingly, I wonder if this isn’t Cain’s way of blaming God. If anyone is heralded in the Bible as the keeper for the godly, it is God. Cain’s words seem to blaspheme God, by implying a failing on God’s part to protect his beloved servant. It’s here we might wonder if this was not another motive in Cain killing his brother, as a way to hate God by taking from God the one in whom he had delighted in. Of course, if that was Cain’s thinking, that is futility, for we know that though Abel died yet he lives.
God then rebukes Cain the liar and censures Cain the murderer. “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.” Next week we will go into the details of God’s curse here upon Cain. But for now, let me say that it did not result in Cain’s repentance. In fact, he has the unmitigated gall to say that his punishment is too great because it might result in someone coming along and murdering him. So then, the conclusion here should be clear. Eve’s hope for Cain was not realized. She had the right faith that God would give her an offspring that would crush the serpent. But it’s not Cain. Instead, here Cain makes it abundantly clear, he is actually of the seed of the serpent. The devil is his spiritual father, for Cain has shown himself to be like him, a liar, and a murderer, and an accuser.
So then, this is just as God had predicted in Genesis 3:15, that there would be enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. In other words, there would be an evil seed and a godly seed among humanity, and they will be in conflict. Starting here, we begin to see that enmity and conflict between those two seeds. This conflict contributes to the sense of the vanity of this fallen world, because so often the seed of the devil seems to get the upper hand over the godly seed. Cain showed himself to be of the seed of the serpent and he killed Abel who is of the godly seed of the woman. And yet while Abel is of the seed of the woman, he is not yet the promised seed that would crush the head of Satan.
So then, our passage ends with Adam and Eve having another son, and Eve names him Seth. She explains his name saying, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” Seth is the Hebrew word for appointed. This reaffirms what we saw of Eve at the start of the chapter. She is still having faith in God’s gospel promise to raise up a seed that would one day conquer the serpent. She had hoped it was Cain, but clearly it was not. It couldn’t be Abel, because Cain killed him. But here, God has appointed another. Would this be the one? Eve continues to have hope in the promise of God.
Well, today we know it was not Seth himself, but it was through the line of Seth that the promised seed did ultimately come, our Lord Jesus Christ. And amazingly, it would be through the seed of the serpent killing Jesus that Jesus would bring victory over Satan. Satan would shed the blood of Jesus, but in so doing bring about his defeat in fulfilling Genesis 3:15. What seemed like the ultimate vanity, that God’s own Son would be rejected by his own unto death, yet what was foolishness to the world, is the wisdom and power of God for our salvation!
Next week we’ll talk about how God promises Cain that there would be sevenfold vengeance to any who would murder him, and that is basically a way of guaranteeing full and complete justice for Cain if any would murder him. Well, I’m not sure how much that should ultimately comfort Cain, because it means that God will ultimately give him full justice for what he did to his brother. I mentioned how Ecclesiastes began with the lament of “vanity of vanities.” Well, the book of Ecclesiastes ends with an affirmation that in the end, there will be a final day of judgment and a final reckoning for all who have sinned against God. If only Cain really understood how guilty he truly was. God is the keeper of Abel and all his saints, and his blood will not go unavenged.
Saints of God, if you find yourself today knowing the vanity that Abel experienced, even in how yet Satan’s seed may afflict you, take heart. Believe with Abel, and with Eve, and with all who call upon the name of the LORD. Believe on Jesus and that yet Satan will be fully crushed under our feet.
Until that day, let us live each day looking unto God’s will for our life. Remember that passage in James that says while we make our plans, we need to say if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. James gave that counsel because he said our life is but a mist, a vapor, a breath, an Abel. We appear for a little time and then vanish. But however long you live, commit your life and your plans to God. As we’ll see next week, this chapter will go on to detail the legacy and heritage of Cain through his lineage. They will make some huge human achievements for their time. But Abel in his relatively short life left a better legacy, in his blood that still speaks today he commends a life of faith in God and the value of a right worship of Him. Cain’s life was actually lived more in vain that Abel’s. So then, may we too live each day, however many days we have, to the worship and service of God. If we do, then our life will not be one lived in vain, but to the glory and praise of God.
Amen.
Copyright © 2022 Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
All Rights Reserved.
