Cain and Abel

After being expelled from Eden, Adam and Eve began their family. Eve gave birth to Cain and said, 'With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.' Later she gave birth to Abel. As the brothers grew, Abel became a shepherd while Cain worked the soil. In the course of time, both brothers brought offerings to the Lord—Cain from the fruits of the soil and Abel from the fat portions of the firstborn of his flock.

The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favor. The text doesn't explicitly state why, but Hebrews 11:4 tells us Abel offered his sacrifice 'by faith,' suggesting Cain's offering lacked the faith and right heart attitude God desired. Perhaps Cain brought leftovers while Abel brought his best. Perhaps Cain approached God with pride while Abel came in humble faith. Whatever the reason, God's rejection of Cain's offering exposed the condition of Cain's heart.

Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. The Lord asked him, 'Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.' God was giving Cain opportunity to examine his heart and make things right. He warned that sin was like a predator waiting to pounce, but that Cain could master it by choosing to do right.

But Cain refused to deal with his anger and jealousy. Instead, he said to his brother Abel, 'Let's go out to the field.' While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Jealousy led to premeditated murder. The first death in human history came not from natural causes but from brother killing brother. Sin had progressed from disobedience in the garden to murder in a single generation.

The Lord asked Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?' Just as God had asked Adam 'Where are you?' after the fall, He gave Cain opportunity to confess. But Cain responded with a lie and the famous retort: 'I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?' He tried to evade responsibility, but God knew the truth. The Lord said, 'What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.'

God pronounced judgment: when Cain worked the ground, it would no longer yield its crops for him. He would be a restless wanderer on the earth. Cain cried out, 'My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.' Even in his confession, Cain showed more concern for his own suffering than for his brother's death or his sin against God.

Yet the Lord showed mercy even to this first murderer. He said, 'Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.' Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. This mark was not a curse but protection, demonstrating that God's mercy extends even to those who commit heinous sins. Cain went out from the Lord's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. The first family was torn apart by sin, establishing a pattern of human violence and divine mercy that continues throughout Scripture.