Crime and Punishment II

As we left Cain and Abel last time, they had just offered a tribute of their respective goods to God. god respected and favored Abel's offering over Cain's because it was of the first fruits of his flock. Abel had set aside God's tribute first before his own whereas Cain just offered when the time came. Cain, seeing God's favor of Abel, became jealous and angry. God warned Cain where his thoughts would lead if he opened the door for them. Now we See Cain talking with Abel ...

And 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 slew him. Cain talked with Abel. The word for talk here carries the idea of a challenge or argument. And when they were in the field, Cain allowed his feelings to overcome and he killed Abel.

And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? Here again, the Lord is judge. He asks Cain what happened to Abel which gave Cain the opportunity to confess and repent. God knew where Abel was. Instead, Cain lies to God (Remind you of someone else?). He thinks he has gotten away with his evil and shrugs off his responsibility saying "Am I my brother's keeper?" In other words, "It wasn't my turn to watch him."

And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. God challenges Cain with a question that lets him know God knows. God also here shows his relationship with the entire creation (Matthew 6:24-34). He says "the call of your brothers blood shrieks unto me from the ground." It was not just a simple "Yooo Hooo!! I was murdered. Hey! Over here!!" It was a shriek! GOD!!! I WAS MURDERED!!!!

And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; It is important to note that God's curses are effective as we shall discuss in later books. God here provides punishment and the reason for that punishment. Cain would be cursed, blocked from the very earth that had received his brother.

When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. Cain was a tiller of the ground. It was his livelihood and it had received his brother as he had not. God removes that blessing of bounty from Cain because of his being unrepentant and unreceptive. Also, because of his denying Abel life, Cain was to forfeit his life of a tiller of the ground with the company and life it afforded. He was to become an outcast from not just the earth, but society as well wandering from place to place being scorned and shunned.

And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Cain realizes the full implications of his punishment. He realizes it is more than he bargained for and that he has not escaped the responsibility for his crime.

Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. God has punished Cain with a life of perpetual wandering and death. Cain realizes that he would no longer be in the presence of God which he numbers as primary and that his livelihood was gone, and that people would try to kill him for what he had done therefore causing him to continually be fleeing for the rest of his life. What a wasteland of a life to suddenly stretch out before the mind's eye.

And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. The Lord replies to Cain's fears "Not so!" and lays a punishment upon any who would slay Cain 7 times heavier than Cain's punishment. Then, that Cain might be protected, God places a mark on him. We will never know what this mark was, for it is not important that man should know. Suffice it to say that it was distinctive to where all would leave Cain alive.

Some have wondered why God did not perform capital punishment upon Cain. My thoughts on this are as follows:
Cain committed his crime against Abel, unlike Nadab and Abihu who committed theirs directly against God.

God's justice is always just. He set such a high price upon the blood of another human that no one would be willing to pay.

God had not set life for life until man left the ark.
There is no evidence of a government body to whom God had delegated the sword of justice to carry out such a punishment.

Lessons From This Text:

1. If we do not control our emotions, they will control us.
Cain allowed his jealousy and anger control his thoughts and eventually his actions. As a result of this lack of control, Abel died.

2. God gives us an opportunity to repent of our wrong. God asked a question so that Cain could repent just like He offered the opportunity to Adam and Eve. The difference? Adam and Eve owned up to their sin, Cain did not.

3. God knows what has been done, so lying to God will not work. Cain tried to lie his way out of the situation, but God knew the truth.

4. We are responsible for how we treat others. Cain thought he was not his brother's keeper but that was not the case. Just like Cain, we are to watch out for our brothers and sister's not bring them to harm.

5. Lack of responsibility and lying to God brings harsh consequences. As a result of Cain's lies and his lack of responsibility and caring, God pronounced a curse upon Cain that was equal to his crime. As Abel lost his life, Cain lost the one that he knew. As Abel lost his place in society, Cain lost his. As Cain suffered social death along with the spiritual death and the physical death brought on by sin, so we too will be cast from the face or presence of God and die should we physically die without repenting of our sins and contacting the blood of Christ.

6. Even in the midst of punishment, God cares for the punished. Because Cain was cursed and therefore required to be shunned and wander, he was afraid of the cost of that curse. Because of that fear, God afforded him an amount of protection. Even so, we are afforded an opportunity at salvation in the midst of our sins.

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