Genesis chapter 4, we're considering
the case of Cain and Abel. Last week we looked at verses
1 to 8, and tonight we'll look at verses 9 to 16. And essentially
what we find in this section is a record of the first brothers
in verses 1 and 2, the first offerings in verses 3 to 5a,
the first murder in verses 5b to 8, and tonight the first trial
and sentencing in verses 9 to 16. But I'll begin reading in
verse 1. Now, Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore
Cain, and said, I have acquired a man from the Lord. Then she
bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now, Abel was a keeper
of the sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process
of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the
fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn
of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and
his offering, but he did not respect Cain and his offering.
And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the
Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry, and why has your countenance
fallen? If you do well, will you not
be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin
lies at the door, and its desire is for you, but you should rule
over it. Now Cain talked with Abel, his
brother, and it came to pass when they were in the field that
Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him. Then
the Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel, your brother? He said,
I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper? And
he said, What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood
cries out to me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the
earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood
from your hand. When you till the ground, it
shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond
you shall be on the earth. And Cain said to the Lord, My
punishment is greater than I can bear. Surely you have driven
me out this day from the face of the ground. I shall be hidden
from your face. I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond
on the earth. And it will happen that anyone
who finds me will kill me. And the Lord said to him, therefore,
whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark on him,
lest anyone finding him should kill him. Then Cain went out
from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod
on the east of Eden. Amen. Remember from last week,
we noticed that the text, the section, the narrative, highlights
the fact that Abel is Cain's brother seven times. We see it
in verses 2, 8, twice, verse 9, twice, again in verses 10
and 11. Kyle and Dalich make the observation
that Moses intentionally repeats again and again the words, his
brother, to bring clearly out the horror of sin. Cain was the
first man who let sin reign in him. He was of the wicked one. And so this section exacerbates
or highlights or shows the rapid decline after the introduction
of sin in the fall of man. We see escalation, we see escalation
in terms of the gravity and the the tendency towards sin, we
see decline in terms of man and his station and his position
as an image-bearer. He comes to this place where
he's actually engaged in what's called fratricide, which is the
murder of a brother. So last week we saw, as I said,
the brothers, their offerings, and the murder. And God had respect
for Abel but he did not have respect for Cain and his offering.
We saw that that was not because Cain didn't bring blood, but
we see in Hebrews 11, it's because Abel brought the heart. Abel
had faith. He brought his sacrifice in faith
to the living God, and the Lord had respect for him and for his
offering. Of course, Cain took that as
a slight. Cain was upset. He was very angry. His countenance fell. God gave
him warning, God told him that he needed to guard his heart,
and yet we see that Cain does not do so. He invites Abel out
to the field, and there he murders Abel. So we come now to this
first trial and sentencing. In the first place, we see the
arraignment of Cain in verse 9. Secondly, the indictment of
Cain in verse 10. And then thirdly, the punishment
of Cain in verses 11 to 16. But notice where God comes to
him in verse 9. It says, Then the Lord said to
Cain, Where is Abel your brother? We have seen throughout chapter
3 and already before this in chapter 4 that God is not looking
for information. It's not the case that God really
doesn't know where Abel is. He says in verse 10, the voice
of Abel's blood cries out to him from the ground. Rather,
he is giving opportunity to Cain to own his sin, to repent from
his sin, and to come to God for mercy. It's a means by which
to promote conviction for sin. He does this with Adam and Eve
in chapter 3 at verses 9, 11, and 13. He does it previously
in this Cain and Abel narrative. in verse 4 when he says, why
are you angry? Of course, God knows why he's
angry. And of course, God knows where Abel, his brother, is.
But he's trying to bring conviction to this man to show him his sin
and his wickedness before a holy God. Now, note his plea in verse
9. We see he said, I do not know,
am I my brother's keeper? In the first place, he engages
in a flat-out blatant lie. His outright denial shows already
that he is hardened even beyond what Adam was. Because when God
comes to deal with Adam, who had fallen, who had sinned against
God Almighty, he doesn't deny outrightly that he did the actual
act. In other words, when God asked
him if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
that tree which was prohibited to him, he doesn't say, no, I
didn't eat from that. But here Cain says, I didn't
do it. He says, I do not know. This
is a blatant, flagrant lie in the face of Almighty God, and
then he makes this attempt to evade God's question through
arrogant rhetoric. This instance where he says,
am I my brother's keeper? Now, he probably overstates the
case there. The Bible really never tells
us to be our brother's keeper. It certainly tells us to be our
brother's lover in a righteous sense. It tells us to look out
for our brother. It tells us to be kind to our
brother. But in terms of actually being
our brother's keeper, the Bible doesn't tell us to do that. So
he probably overstates the case to show that he was able, or
rather, why he denied it completely. Now, the Bible never does say
you are your brother's keeper, but the Bible everywhere does
say, and Cain would have known this because he bore the image
of God Almighty, that you are never to be your brother's murderer. So there's a great disparity
there. I'm not supposed to be my brother's keeper. That doesn't
mean you get to murder him. So, again, he's trying to evade
the clear question posed by God when God says, where is Abel,
your brother? He does it with a flat-out lie,
and then he does it with this arrogant rhetoric. Am I my brother's
keeper? Perhaps the implication being,
he's your pet, he's your favorite, you had respect for him, and
you had respect for his offering. Why aren't you on the lookout
for him? Why aren't you guarding? Why aren't you supervising? Now
notice, secondly, we see the indictment. God asks him again
in verse 10, what have you done? The attempt to cover sin by lying
and arrogant rhetoric never ends well. I think that's a great
lesson for us to learn in this particular passage. In fact,
when we look at Genesis chapters 3 and 4, we see a lot of the
sorts of things that sinners still do today, but we ought
to observe that those things never end well. Never ended well
for Adam and Eve when they tried to hide themselves from God.
Never ended well when they tried to shift blame when God came
to examine them. And it certainly isn't going
to end well for Cain when he tries to lie to God and when
he engages in this arrogant rhetoric. God asks him, where is Abel,
your brother? We learn from this that it's
never good to cover sin. We saw this In Proverbs 28, 13,
whoever covers his transgression will not prosper, but he who
confesses and forsakes it will find mercy. John Calvin says
we are warned by his example that pretexts and subterfuges
are heaped together in vain when sinners are cited to the tribunal
of God. I think this is a very valuable
lesson, a very important lesson. There might be that attempt on
our part to try to obey the clear teaching of Scripture on a particular
sinful activity. Denying it, lying about it, or
trying to cover it up in some other sort of way may avail with
men. We may be able to get away with
it with our husbands, our wives, our sons, our daughters. our
parents, we might for a time be able to get away with it.
But we know the chronicler said, your sin will always find you
out. And if it's not found out on
this side of eternity, it will certainly be found out on the
day of judgment. God knows when we are lying,
and God certainly knows when we're engaged in arrogant rhetoric. Now notice, God goes on to present
the evidence in terms of Cain's crime. He says in verse 10, the
voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. And again, I think there's several
practical lessons that we ought to draw from this. In the first
place, the Lord knows the deeds of men. The Lord knows what's
happening on earth. At times, I think we forget that. At times, we look around and
we say, well, doesn't God know what's happening on the earth?
Doesn't God know the great tragedies that are occurring on the earth?
Well, we see in this particular instance that the Lord does,
in fact, know the deeds of man. As well, the Lord prizes human
life even after death. Let me just say that again. The
Lord prizes human life even after death. Abel is dead, and yet
God is still concerned with him. Not in the sense of a sort of
Roman Catholic, after death we pray for them, but God shows
his esteem for humanity with reference to this searching examination
of Cain to bring the guilty party to judgment. John Calvin says,
He said, God holds the life of man too dear to allow innocent
blood to be shed with impunity. Those familiar with the book
of Deuteronomy will know that in Deuteronomy chapter 21, verses
1 to 9, there's a particular sort of a situation, or a law
rather, given to deal with unsolved murders. If a body is found,
they didn't just say, well, you know, that's the price of doing
business on earth. People just die. No, there was
a pretty elaborate scheme to try and, or rather to atone for
that blood that had been shed. It was used, using a heifer,
breaking the neck of a cow, having the elders of the city involved
and the priests and all these things to solve one unsolved,
or rather to atone for one unsolved murder. If you go to Numbers
35 for just a moment, you see how God values human life. Numbers 35. Notice specifically in verse,
we'll pick up reading in verse 29, and these things shall be
a statute of judgment to you throughout your generations and
all your dwellings. Whoever kills a person, the murderer
shall be put to death on the testimony of witnesses, but one
witness is not sufficient testimony against a witness, I'm sorry,
but one witness is not sufficient testimony against a person for
the death penalty. Moreover, listen to this, you
shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty
of death, but he shall surely be put to death. See, there were
certain crimes in Israel where a monetary fine could be imposed
or where other forms of punishment, lesser forms of punishment could
be imposed. But with reference to murder,
you couldn't take a lesser form. of punishment. It had to be execution. It had to be the death penalty.
It had to be capital punishment. Notice in verse 32, you shall
take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge that
he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the
priest. So you shall not pollute the land where you are, for blood
defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for
the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who
shed it." And I simply read these things to highlight what we find
here in this narrative concerning Cain and Abel. God is concerned
to bring the guilty party to judgment in the murder of Abel. God is concerned for the sanctity
of life. Some see the death penalty as
barbaric. They see it as absolutely inconsistent
with being pro-life. Perhaps we ought to modify it
and say pro-innocent life, but the Bible certainly demands the
execution of judicially guilty violators of God's holy law. I got a thing in the mail recently.
My brother, Kurt Anderson, actually made this observation. He said,
you know, I got this thing and I checked it for myself when
I looked and saw it that had come through our mailbox. You
know, I think it was from our local MP and it was, you know,
the Conservative Party. What things are important to
you in terms of national issues or political issues or, you know,
those things that ought to be a concern with reference to a
body politic? Didn't quite say it like that.
But, you know, conspicuously absent are things like abortion.
Conspicuously absent are things like euthanasia. Conspicuously
absent are things like the death penalty, wherein I would believe,
or I would suggest, that the Bible simply tells government
to do those particular things, not all the other stuff. that
they are sort of having us chase around, the primary emphasis
with reference to civil government is the protection of life from
criminal offenders, whether foreign or domestic. That's it. And so there is this disregard
for life right across the board, and oftentimes we fall prey to
it. 100,000-plus abortions a year
in Canada, a million in America, And yet, God, in Deuteronomy
21, has this elaborate ritual for one unsolved murder. You know, we look at the Old
Testament, or some look at it, and they say, oh, it's so barbaric. It's barbaric, really, to try
to atone for the blood of somebody that was murdered? And nobody
has the ability to capture who it was that did it? That's not
barbarism. Barbarism is throwing babies
in dumpsters. Barbarism is the kinds of things
that we see on a regular basis. Barbarism is executing the elderly
and the infirm because they're taking up space. That's barbaric,
not biblical law, and we need to keep that in our minds. God
Most High is concerned for the lives of human beings. Notice,
as well, the Lord hears the blood of innocent Abel cry from the
ground. Again, John Calvin says, Abel
was speechless when his throat was being cut or in whatever
other manner he was losing his life. But after death, the voice
of his blood was more vehement than any eloquence of the orator. And the rest of the Pentateuch
illustrates for us the value of blood. Life is in the blood,
according to Leviticus 17. The books of Numbers and Deuteronomy
provide these places called cities of refuge. Now, the murderer
was to be executed. Excuse me. We'll see that in
Genesis 9 at verses 5 and 6, though I will argue that that's
written on the heart of man. Cain knew that he was liable
to death. Cain knew that he deserved death. I believe that when God creates
us in his image and he writes that law upon our hearts, we
know there are certain things, certain violations that are punishable
by death. Cain knew that. At any rate,
we'll see that murderers are to be executed by the civil magistrate. There's these places called cities
of refuge for somebody who engages in accidental homicide. Somebody
accidentally kills somebody. Well, that still causes a lot
of strife and mayhem and grief for the person who loved that
particular victim. So your life is going to be inconvenienced
for a while when you move away to this city of refuge. You're
protected there from the avenger of blood, but nevertheless, you
leave your life and family and livelihood. The idea being, you
need to be more careful in daily life. You need to be more cautious,
because even accidental homicide is a terrible thing. You don't
want to end anybody's life. So we see the value of blood
with reference to the scripture, And of course, if we're thinking
in terms of the New Testament, Hebrews, I tried to figure out
how to work this in in terms of application, but I'll just
say it now. The blood of Jesus Christ speaks
better things than the blood of Abel. Abel cries out for vengeance,
the blood of Jesus Christ cries out for forgiveness, and in that
we can greatly rejoice. Let's just move through the text.
Notice, thirdly, the punishment of Cain. And I want to break
this down into three sections. First, the curse upon Cain. Secondly, the response of Cain.
And then third, the word of Yahweh. But note this curse in verses
11 and 12. And we see escalation. Not only
do we see escalation in terms of man's sin, but we see escalation
in terms of man's punishment of sin. In the first place, notice
that Cain himself is cursed. In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve were
not cursed. The serpent was cursed, according
to verse 14, and the ground was cursed, according to verse 17. As a result of that, Adam would
suffer and toil with great hardship to try and get the ground to
produce, But in terms of God's curse, it wasn't directed at
Adam and Eve. They had consequences associated
with their fall and rebellion and their sin. We've already
looked at that. But with reference to Cain, notice. So now, verse 11, you are cursed
from the earth. which has opened its mouth to
receive your brother's blood from your hand." Interesting
language there. The land cares more for your
brother than you cared for your brother. It's very physical. The earth has opened its mouth
to receive your brother's blood from your hand. Cain murders
Abel and the ground receives Abel's blood. Now notice as well
the escalation of curse upon Cain. Adam will have difficulty
with the land according to chapter 3 verses 17 to 19. Cain, rather, is going to have
impossibility. It's not going to yield. This
isn't sort of a comprehensive all men after Cain. This is Cain
specific. This is relative directed to
Cain. Life is going to be miserable
and terrible for Cain. Some get to the end of this narrative
and say, well, why didn't God have him executed? It was worse
that he let him live. The punishment was even more
severe that he actually lived. And we never take our view of
ethics on what God does in terms of suspending a capital punishment. For instance, he suspends capital
punishment with reference to Cain, and he will do so later
with reference to David. But we don't argue from that.
We argue based on what God has said. Whoever sheds man's blood,
by man his blood will be shed, for in the image of God he made
man. In other words, we don't look
at the exceptions that God in his sovereignty imposes for particular
reasons, but rather we take our ethical cue from the written
word of the living God. God is free to not execute Cain. God is free to not execute David. But civil government is not free
to not execute murderers. We've gotten to the point where
somehow that just seems outlandish, and yet it's outlandish when
we don't do what God so clearly commands, one of the primary
aspects of civil government, and yet we don't even think about
it. It's not even on our radar anymore. Look at Deuteronomy 28 for just
a moment. Deuteronomy 28, to see that sort
of familiar theme, that man's sin affects the environment around
him. We know that comprehensively
from Romans chapter 8, the creation itself is in bondage until the
redemption of the sons of God. But a man who continues in patterns
of sin and the corporate community, or the covenant community rather,
of Israel. if they go into the land and
they sin, it's going to have adverse effect upon their environment. In other words, God's judgment
and the consequences for such sin are going to be real. You'll feel them, you'll see
them, you'll touch them, you'll know them. You'll feel the hunger
pangs. You'll feel the consequences
of your having sinned against God. Now, notice in Deuteronomy
28.15. But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice
of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments
and His statutes, which I command you today, that all these curses
will come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the
city, and cursed shall you be in the country. Cursed shall
be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit
of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of
your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Cursed shall
you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you
go out. You see, Cain knows something
of this presently. He has violated the law of God,
and as a result of that, it says, when you till the ground, it
shall no longer yield its strength to you. In other words, Cain
You are going to reap the consequences for the sin against God. Calvin again says, Cain was not
only condemned to personal exile, but was also subjected to still
more severe punishment. Namely, that he should find no
region of the earth where he would not be of a restless and
fearful mind. Look at the text again. When
you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength
to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth." That's
not a good life. That's not a happy existence.
That's not good. Better to be Adam, at least somewhat
still close to the garden. still able to work the land,
and while it's difficult, and while there's thorns and thistles,
and while there's hardship and heartache, there's still nevertheless
going to be blessing. There's still going to be fruit,
there's still going to be vegetables, there'll still be something for
the pot. And yet with Cain, because of
this murder, because he engages in this fratricide, he will be
a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth. Now note the response
of Cain. Verse 13, Cain said to the Lord,
my punishment is greater than I can bear. Is that the right
response? Absolutely, positively, 100%.
No. Repentance is always the best
response. You see, Cain needed to learn
the lesson, when you're in a hole, stop digging. Cain is in bad
shape. He's already committed murder.
He's lied to God most high. He's engaged in arrogant rhetoric.
And now God has come to impose punishment upon him. And instead
of Cain saying, God in heaven, please be merciful to me, the
sinner, he whines and grumbles and complains about the punishment
that's imposed. You see why I say that man today
can trace a lot of the things that he does back to Genesis
chapter 3 and 4. We try to cover ourselves and
hide from God. We try to shift blame when it
comes to sin. We try to flat out lie. We engage
in angry rhetoric. arrogant rhetoric and call into
question God's goodness. And then when God comes to deal
with us severely with reference to our own sin, instead of saying,
God, please forgive me, we complain about the consequences. It is
absolutely wicked. And it's easy to see the absolute
wickedness with reference to Cain. It's not always so easy
to see it with reference to us. You see, oftentimes people do
very sinful, very foolish and very terrible things, and they
end up with a whole host of bad consequences. Instead of saying,
boy, I should learn my lesson and stop digging when I find
myself in a hole, they complain and they grumble and they get
upset because of the consequences that they have invited, that
they have brought on themselves. Do you understand? It's like
your kids, when you tell your kids, if you do this, you're
going to get a spanking. And then they do it, and then
you spank them, and they say, well, that's not fair. Or how
dare you do that? It's kind of like that time many,
many years ago under the presidency of Bill Clinton, when there was
a family that was visiting Singapore. And a young man graffitied. He wrote on a wall. Well, the
law in Singapore says that if you write on a wall, you get
caned. Now, we may not like that law,
and we may think it's a bit harsh and a bit severe and a bit barbaric,
but knowing that, we probably wouldn't move there. And certainly,
if we vacationed there, we would take paint cans away from our
children. We would take big felt pens away
from them. We would not allow them to do
such a thing. Well, this young man does the
graffiti and of course the Singaporean authorities want to cane him
because that's the law. Well, there's this outcry in
America that that's unfair and you can't do that. President
Clinton himself even sort of imposed himself on the situation
and all of this rigmarole. I've got a great bit of counsel. If you don't want to get caned
for having graffitied, don't graffiti. It's quite simple,
isn't it? And here we have a man that murders
his brother that shows absolute disregard for one of the best
and most choice relationships in all the world. It always pains
me as a pastor when families don't get along. It's like, this
is what we've got. This is the best thing that we
have. God and His goodness bound us
together in families. We ought to fight for, not fight
with, but fight for this relationship. We ought to bleed, sweat, and
cry in order to promote peace with one another. We ought to
be willing to fall on our sword. We ought to be willing to give
deference to the others. We ought to be willing to suffer
so that we may preserve the unity of that family. Cain has that
with Abel, and a righteous Abel. Abel wasn't a bad fellow. Abel
was a godly man. Well, we know that it was a religiously
motivated crime. But all that to say he engages
in this, God meets out the consequences, and then he whines, my punishment
is greater than I can bear. He cries out concerning his punishment,
not the sin he is being punished for." It's a very common thing. We focus on or we fixate on consequences
or punishment, and we don't think about, well, it was my sin that
got me here. Perhaps I ought to repent, or
perhaps I ought not to do that ever again. Notice also he implies,
at least to some degree, we might hear a hint of this, that God
is too harsh in his judgment. My punishment is greater than
I can bear. It's almost like, God, you've
done too much. I can't handle this. It's not
consistent. It is not equal to the crime
that has been committed. Matthew Henry said, impenitent,
unhumbled hearts are therefore not reclaimed by God's rebukes
because they think themselves wronged by that. They think themselves
wronged by God's rebukes. Instead of saying God's rebukes
is absolutely consistent with who God is and what He's always
commanded us, we get upset, we get hardened. Matthew Henry says,
and it is an evidence of great hardness to be more concerned
about our sufferings than about our sins. Now that's Puritan
theology, brethren. We all love the Puritans, but
that's Puritan theology. Are we able to say it is an evidence
of great hardness to be more concerned about our sufferings
than about our sins? Notice in verse 14, he says,
surely you have driven me out this day from the face of the
ground. I shall be hidden from your face.
I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen
that anyone who finds me will kill me." Now some say, well,
how in the world could there have been others? The narrative
doesn't detail the entire genealogy of Adam at this particular point.
The focus is upon Cain and Abel. Of course there was other offspring.
Of course there were other people. Genesis, the rest of chapter
4, and Genesis chapter 5 will show that Adam and Eve had a
great amount of progeny. There were others peopling the
earth. But it is intriguing to see that
Cain knows in his heart of hearts that there are those who will
want to kill him. Now, look at Romans chapter 1
for just a moment. Romans chapter 1. Those who have
been taught presuppositional apologetics will know that Romans
chapter 1 is a very valuable and a very sort of excellent
place to launch from. Because Paul the Apostle in Romans
1 is not trying to prove the existence of God. Rather, he
says, all men already know that God exists. All men everywhere
already know that God exists. It's the fool who says in his
heart, there is no God, because he knows there is a God. Jonathan
Edwards says that ought to be translated, the fool says in
his heart, no God. There is no God as if it's rational
discourse. Rather, it's a no God. But when we get to Romans 1,
there are several things that men apart from God's saving covenant
know about God. Notice in Romans 1, verse 19. It says, because what may be
known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. This is Paul's whole argument.
Going back to verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from
heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who
suppress the truth and unrighteousness. They hold it down. They suppress
it. They bury it in a hole. They
try to step on it and tamp it down so that it doesn't haunt
them. He says, "...because what may be known of God is manifest
in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation
of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead,
so that they are without excuse." You see Paul's argument. He says,
God's invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made. In other words, the created order
tells us something concerning God, especially as we are image
bearers of God. We're all created in His image,
we look out around us, and because we bear God's image, we know
that God is. And specifically, the things
that are taught to us, His eternal power and Godhead. And then he
says at the end of verse 20, so that they are without excuse.
In other words, there's enough knowledge of God, even in the
heathen, to provide suitable grounds for their everlasting
damnation. Again, people don't like that.
I'm sorry, we don't have time to develop that, but that's what
the text says. But there's another important
piece of data that the non-connected to the covenant community, of
God, those outside still know about God. Notice verse 32, who
knowing the righteous judgment of God. These people that he
has described know God. His invisible attributes are
clearly seen through the created order, even His eternal power
and His Godhead. There's certain facts, certain
non-negotiables, things people just know. Though they work hard
to suppress that truth in unrighteousness, though they try to concoct all
sorts of arguments as to why He really doesn't exist and,
you know, He's this or He's that or He's not there. But notice
in verse 32, man at his heart, or in his heart, knows the righteous
judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving
of death. You see, that is what man knows,
even apart from special revelation. See, Cain had that built in as
well. I think it's an aspect of the
image of God wherein we are hardwired to understand something of the
righteous judgment of God. We know it's wrong to do certain
things. We know it's right to punish
certain criminal offenders. We just know that. Why? Because
we bear God's image. Try as we might, try as hard
as we can to evade that, it is still there. People typically,
generally, unless life keeps going the way it's going, like
to see people that harm little children, they like to see them
punished. Not in some weird, sadistic,
sick way, but because we know intrinsically it's wrong to hurt
little children. Jesus says it would be better
for somebody to have a millstone hung around his neck and be cast
out into the depths of the sea. We know that it's right for the
civil government to punish people that harm little children. It's
because we image God, we bear that image. But in this instance,
Cain manifests this understanding that somebody is liable to clean
his clock. And this provides or promotes
in him great fear. He manifests the fear that undealt
with guilt always produces. Isn't that what happens, undealt
with guilt? What do we learn from Proverbs
with reference to the righteous? They are as bold as a lion. But the wicked flee when no one
pursues. Why is that? Because their heart
isn't right with God. They've got a guilty conscience.
They know, at least at some level, that they are the man. And it
promotes this fear, or it instigates this fear in them. John Owen
has this great quote concerning, I'm going to paraphrase it. I
think I have it written down, but I'd take too long to find.
He says, when men are in any kind of storm, or tempest, or
thunderings, or lightnings, and they find that terror in their
hearts, it's not so much from the outward circumstances. It's
not from the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the tempest,
and the storm. It's from the fact that God is nigh, and that
he is a consuming fire. Cain bears that within his own
heart. He's not a righteous man, he's
not a godly man, but he's a created-in-the-image-of-God man, and therefore he knows that
I will be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen
that anyone who finds me will kill me." And then note the word
of God in verse 15 to Cain. And the Lord said to him, therefore
whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.
And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should
kill him. Now I don't know that I have
a sufficient reason as to why God didn't axe Cain right then
and there. I mean, he had it coming to him,
but for God's purposes, he spared Cain. In fact, he threatens judgment
upon anyone who would kill Cain. And this sevenfold, some suppose
that it meant Cain's killer and six of his relatives would be
put to death. Some suppose that it would be
the seventh generation from Adam, which would have been Lamech
or from Cain himself. Others suppose, and I think this
is probably along the right line, it's a poetic form of speech
meaning full divine retribution. In other words, if anybody harms
Cain, he's going to deal with God. So why does God preserve
Cain? Well, as I said, I'm not sure
I have the right answer, but I have books and trust John Gill. I think he's at least on the
right track. He says, it was the will of God that though Cain
deserved to die, yet that he should not die immediately, but
live a long and miserable life. You know, sometimes the punishment
of life imprisonment might actually be worse than execution. Sometimes being a fugitive and
a vagabond on the earth where you fear everybody on that earth
might actually be worse than being executed. And then Gill
goes on to say that it might be a terror to others not to
commit the like crime. In other words, when you see
that man, you avoid what it is he has done in his own life. And then with reference to this
mark on Cain, the Lord set a mark on Cain lest anyone finding him
should kill him. I always think it's helpful to
at least sort of survey the opinions of the church when we look at
passages like these. There have been many things offered
in terms of what this mark on Cain was. Some have suggested
it was a horn on his forehead. That would have certainly been
an easily identifiable marker. A horn on the forehead would
certainly indicate that you were marked out by God. Others that
he had leprosy of some sort in his face. Others suggest a shaking
and a trembling in all his limbs. Others have said it was the dog
that guarded Abel's flocks now accompanied Cain wherever Cain
went. You know, where they got that,
I don't know. I mean, this is just now pulling
stuff out of the air. Some suggest it was a letter
on his forehead. Others suggest it was the name
of Cain himself. and others have said that it
was the city that he ultimately went and found it. I think Calvin
is right. He says, it may suffice for us
that there was some visible token which should repress in the spectators
the desire and the audacity to inflict injury. In other words,
Calvin says there's been a lot of things suggested as to what
the mark was, but the text doesn't tell us. We need to be content
with the reality that there was some visible token, whatever
it was, that Cain bore, that the spectators, the persons with
whom he surrounded himself or around who came near him, would
not inflict injury upon him. And then notice, verse 16 tells
us, in some sense, the most depressing piece of data in the text. Then Cain went out from the presence
of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. Don't you see what's happening? As sin sort of escalates and
as it starts to become more pervasive, man is further from God. Initially,
God makes man, he's upright, and they enjoy fellowship with
God in the garden temple, in the garden sanctuary. Of course,
Adam and Eve rebel against God, and they are cast out of Eden.
But when it mentions Cain, we sort of get the idea that Adam
and Eve are still somewhat close to the garden. They're out, not
in, but they're out. Nevertheless, they're still able
to know something of blessing in terms of being able to till
their own ground and it yields some produce and some good things. But Cain is now sent out further
from the presence of the Lord. And all the more ironic or sad
or unsettling when we consider how the story of Cain and Abel
begins. The story of Cain and Abel begins
with the introduction of the two brothers and then the mention
of the two offerings. Why the two offerings? Because
Cain and Abel, at the end of days, wanted to draw near to
God. And instead of drawing near to
God, Abel has been murdered and Cain is being driven further
away from God. So I think that these sorts of
things are a hint to us, or hopefully a strong suggestion to us, on
just how bad sin is. It never makes life better, it
never brings us closer to God, it never heals relationships,
it never smooths out relationships, it only complicates, it only
exacerbates problems, and it only highlights the separation
between God and man. In terms of some concluding lessons,
I think we ought to appreciate, not in a good sense, boy that's
great, but some things we ought to consider rather with reference
to this first murder. The first murder demonstrates
the antithesis announced in Genesis 3.15, this enmity that would
exist between the seed of the woman and the serpent. Secondly,
the first murder was religious in nature. Remember, Jesus links
Abel, or Jesus tells us that Abel was a religious martyr. In fact, Meredith Klein, in his
commentary on Genesis, he says with reference to this first
murder, it was not mere social disorder was involved, but radical
religious discord. The enmity of the serpent's seed
against the seed of the woman. Jesus interpreted Cain's murder
of Abel as the first shedding of martyr's blood in Matthew
23, 35. Thirdly, we ought to appreciate
by way of a lesson that we should internalize that the first murderer
did not heed the warning of God. It didn't happen that he got
angry and then he went out and killed. He got angry and God
warned him. He got angry and God called him
out. He got angry and God stopped
him. He listened to the voice of God
and then he continued down this path of rage and ultimately murder. And I think there's a lesson
for us here. We hear God, not audibly speaking
to us in the cool of the garden. We hear God not audibly speaking
to us through Siri, but we hear God speaking to us through the
scriptures. We need to take heed to that
word. We need to listen to that word.
We need to resist the temptation to compromise that word and not
engage in acts of wickedness. Fourthly, the first murderer
was ignorant and arrogant enough to actually believe he could
lie to God and cover his sin. Now, it's just outlandish, isn't
it? I mean, when we know what we know about God, and we know
what we know about God and His relationship with Adam and Eve,
I highly suspect that Adam and Eve would have passed those nuggets
on to Cain, their son. and forecame their son to try
and lie his way out of murder to this God who is omnipotent,
this God who is omniscient, this God who is omnipresent, shows
the hardening influence that sin has upon us. That's another
byproduct of sin. It doesn't make you smarter.
It doesn't make you wiser. It might make you more cunning
in a more diabolical sort of a way, but it doesn't bring genuine
wisdom. And it's anti-wisdom that we
see demonstrated here by Cain in his attempt to lie to God,
and then use this arrogant rhetoric of, am I my brother's keeper? Fifthly, the first murderer imaged
the devil, who was a murderer and a liar from the beginning.
John 8, 44, Jesus describes the devil in those terms. He's a
murderer and a liar. Those are what are characteristic
of the devil, and this is exactly what Cain is exhibiting. And
then finally, in terms of the nature of the first murderer,
the first murderer experienced banishment from the presence
of the Lord. Has anybody ever heard of Bishop
Joseph Hall? Church of England, man, three
volumes, was published by Soli Deo Gloria. Maybe RHB now publishes
them. But Joseph Hall has a three-volume
set, sort of expository thoughts on scripture. And what he says
here concerning Abel is profound. He says, he that would not keep
his brother is cast out from the protection of God. He that
feared not to kill his brother fears now that whosoever meets
him will kill him. The troubled conscience projects
fearful things, and sin makes even cruel men cowardly." Isn't
that what happens? He was the big man on campus
when he's bashing Abel in the field, and now he's a whining,
sniveling little baby that doesn't want to see anybody because they
might kill me. God saw it was too much favor
for him to die. He therefore wills that which
Cain wills. Cain would live. It has yielded
him, but for a curse. He shall live banished from God,
carrying his hell in his bosom, and the brand of God's vengeance
in his forehead. God rejects him, the earth repines
at him, men abhor him, himself now wishes that death which he
feared, and no man dare pleasure him with a murder. How bitter
is the end of sin, yea, without end! Still Cain finds that he
killed himself more than his brother. We should never sin
if our foresight were but as good as our sense. The issue
of sin would appear a thousand times more horrible than the
act is pleasant. Wow, that's very profound, very
pointed, and I think a very excellent statement concerning what we
find here in terms of Cain. As well, I want to end on the
high and encouraging note of the glory of the God of justice.
The Lord God knows the deeds of men. Proverbs 15.3, the eyes
of the Lord are in every place. keeping watch on the evil and
the good. I think this is an important
emphasis that we as the people of God need to maintain. Remember
that situation when Ahab wanted to increase his holdings, so
he takes Naboth's field. Jezebel concocts this plan and
accuses Naboth of having been a blasphemer, and the man is
executed. We see that sort of gross injustice,
and we wonder, how long, O Lord? In fact, you see that in the
book of Revelation. In Revelation chapter 6, the saints, the souls
of those martyred under the altar, cry out to the Lord, Oh Lord,
how long till you avenge our blood? That is a legitimate expression
of the blood-bought people of God. And yet we need to be reminded
that God will avenge, God will bring judgment to bear upon those
who engage in the act of murder. Whatever sin, but murder is the
particular thing here. The Lord is ultimately the champion
of the sanctity of life. I mentioned that case of the
unsolved murder in Deuteronomy 21, 1 to 9. Christopher Wright
says, it is often when the Old Testament seems most culturally
remote from us that we need to pay closest attention to its
challenge. What ought to strike us from
this law is not the oddity of a cow with a broken neck, in
an uninhabited brook, but the expected response of a whole
community through its civic, judicial, and religious leaders
to a single human death. That is profound. And then finally,
the Lord God hears the voice of Abel's blood. Note the verb,
crying out from the ground, and the Lord avenges him. Gordon
Wenham is helpful here. He says, here Abel's blood is
pictured crying to God for vengeance. Don't miss that verb. Didn't
you say it? didn't just call out, but rather
it is crying. He says, cry is the desperate
cry of men without food, Genesis 41, 55. Men expecting to die,
Exodus 14, 10. Or men oppressed by their enemies,
Judges 4, 3. He says, it is the scream for
help of a woman being raped in Deuteronomy 22, 24, and 27. It is the plea to God of the
victims of injustice, Exodus 22, 23, and Exodus 22, 26. The law, the prophets, and the
Psalms unite with narratives like this to assert that God
does hear His people's desperate cries for help. And we ought
never to forget that. We know there are brothers and
there are sisters that are suffering all over the world. And there
are great injustices not only all over the world, but in our
own country, in persons that we know, situations that we're
aware of, and it's easy for the people of God to fall into a
distressful condition and think, nothing is ever going to be done
about this. Well, if it's not done on this
side of the Day of Judgment, it will certainly be rectified.
when Jesus Christ comes in the glory of His Father to judge
the living and the dead. And the people of God need to
maintain faithfulness in their, or faith in their God that He
will, in fact, right all wrongs, bring glory to His name, and
vindicate His church. Well, let us close in a word
of prayer. Father, thank you for your Word, and thank you
for this narrative concerning Cain and Abel, and the great
instruction that it affords to us. And may we see the seriousness
of sin, may we see it not only in Cain, but may we see it in
our own hearts. And God, help us to resist temptation,
help us to resist sin, help us to pursue those things that are
indeed pleasing in your sight. And to that end, Father, we cry
out for the Holy Spirit, we cry out for wisdom from on high,
And we know, God, that You are a great Father, a good Father,
who loves to give good gifts to His children. Give us these
things, we pray, and go with us now, and watch over us. We
do pray for the proctors. We thank You for their greetings.
We thank You that they're able to have a good time. Give them
safety as they travel home. And be with all the brethren
that are traveling during these summer months, God. We just pray
that You'd watch over Your people, that You'd give good times of
rest and relaxation with family, And may you be glorified in all
of our goings out and our goings in, our comings in. And we pray
these things through Christ our Lord. Amen.
