Lent Devotion 1: Abel

Welcome

Good Evening everyone and welcome to our first Lent Devotion of our Series tonight Unrighteous Deaths of the Righteous. Glad to see you all here with us this evening and I would also like to welcome those who may be online with us right now or will be watching later, we are glad to have you with us tonight. Over these next 6 weeks we will be studying individuals who have given their life in service of the Lord. Tonight we start all the way in the beginning in Genesis and by the end of the 6 week we will be walking together with our Lord and Savior Jesus to the Hills of Golgotha for Good Friday. Every story and devotion focus’s on innocent blood, each of these devotions will challenge us, and I pray to help us to grow in our faith together, as we understand that the human heart does indeed have darkness in it. Before we get to in depth I would like to open with prayer.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, tonight we gather together on this Ash Wednesday and we are reminded of the dust that we were created and unto dust we shall return on day. As we begin this season of Lent this year, starting our journey towards the cross, we are reminded of the innocent blood that was shed for us for the forgiveness of sins, and through out these next few weeks we will be studying others, who gave their life in service of you and we are grateful to learn from them and allow them to help prepare us for Good Friday to come. Father we ask that you be here with us tonight, that you open our hearts and our minds to you O Lord and as your Holy Word is opened tonight we ask you to come and be our teacher through the Holy Spirit to each of us. Tonight we study in the very beginning, Cain and Abel. Help us to understand why things happened the way they did and help us understand more about our own faith growth, especially in the life of Abel, in his faith, in his witness to you by the shedding of his blood from his brother Cain. As we continue to move forward through these studies towards Good Friday help us to slow down and see what You want us to see. Let us have a great discussion tonight, let us all learn together as we acknowledge that there are many who have given blood in service to You including Your One and Only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, help us to continue to grow in You. In the Holy and precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Background

Any story, even a story about actual events, is told by a storyteller. Good storytellers tell us only what they think is important for us to know in order to understand the point of their story. This applies not only to the account of Cain and Abel, but also to the other six Lenten-oriented texts we will be studying. We’ll keep this fact in mind as we proceed through the coming weeks leading up to Good Friday. Stop now, and read carefully through Genesis 4:1 17 with this view of storytelling in mind.

4 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten[a] a man with the help of the Lord.” 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted?[b] And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for[c] you, and you must rule over it.”

8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother.[d] And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” 10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.[e] 14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. 16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod,[f] east of Eden.

17 Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.

Discussion

The account Scripture gives us in Genesis 4 can stir up a host of questions. Why is God impressed with Abel’s offering, but not with Cain’s? Who was Cain’s wife? Who were the revenge seekers threatening Cain’s life? What was involved in Cain’s exile? These are all interesting questions, but answers are not provided in the story. If then we want to hear what Scripture intends to tell us as the Word of God, we have to let those interesting but distracting questions go. What does the author actually say in the story? For one thing, it becomes quickly obvious that the story is more about Cain than about Abel. The focus is on Cain’s bad attitude; he is the first angry and depressed person in Scripture, the first with a downcast face, and the first who directs his displeasure toward God. There are others like Cain in Scripture. Samuel gets angry because he feels he’s been hoodwinked by God into choosing Saul as king (1 Sam 15:11). David likewise is angry with God for striking down a well-intentioned fellow who tried to keep the ark from falling over (2 Sam 6:8). Jonah is another example; he can’t believe God would stab him in the back by showing mercy to the pagan Ninevites (Jonah 4:1). And of course there is the Older Son in Christ’s parable, who refuses to participate in his brother’s welcome-home party, feeling that his father has been grossly unfair (Luke 15:28). All of them, just like Cain. Just like us. Cain takes out the anger he feels against God on his brother Abel, even after God’s warnings. Jealousy, envy, humiliation, and a perception of trampled self-worth all may lie behind Cain’s motive in killing his innocent brother. The story as Genesis tells it is about deliberate and perverse human failure to love fellow human beings when things feel unfair. Consider what this story might suggest to us about the role of Abel (and his death), not only in this very first “Lenten” story, but also as the first in a long line of innocent victims (as we will see throughout this study)? And what do they tell us, today, about our own role in the world as the followers of the innocent Christ Jesus?

Further Reading

Luke 11:47-51

47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. 48 So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.

Reflection: Luke

In Luke 11:47-51, Jesus implies that Cain’s behavior is parallel to that of the elite of Israel’s religious community. Their main fault being their arrogant, hypocritical disdain for the truth and for their “lesser” fellow Israelites. They hypocritically “honor” the prophets’ tombs though their ancestors killed those prophets and other innocents whom they felt threatened by. Of course, these elites will themselves soon kill Jesus for the same reason that motivated Cain to kill Abel and that motivated their ancestors to kill the prophets.

In this passage from Luke that we just read, Jesus Himself connects the line for us from Abel to the prophets, which also includes the religious leaders that He was dealing with Himself that day. For you see that Cain’s own behavior runs just like those of Israel’s religious community. How are they faulted? They are arrogant, hypocritical, they are on the opposite side of the and they don't really care much for those of their community that are not them. Here we see the innocent blood taking a shape beginning with Abel that runs through out Scripture, all of history all the way to the cross.

Let’s continue lets look into Hebrews 11:4.

4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.

Reflection: Hebrews

Hebrews 11:4 offers Abel’s perspective, rather than Cain’s. The author of Hebrews gives the reason for God’s preference of Abel’s offering over Cain’s: it was because Abel made his offering in faith. In this, Abel represents faithful dependence on God in spite of risks, a willingness to trust God even if it means dying for it.

Here we get a different look, and its from Abel’s perspective right. The author of Hebrews gives us the reason for God's preference: Abel made his offering in faith. Abel represents faithful dependence on God even though there are risks involved. Even today 2000 plus years later are there risks involved with being a Christian? You may not be necessarily killed for it, at least not here in the United States anyways, but even today, there are still major risks associated with being a Christian. But here in Hebrews, Abel places his own willingness to trust in God even if it means dying for it, which we all know he did. Did anyone make the connection with the last phrase here? “though he died, he still speaks.” what does that mean?

Even though he’s gone, people remember what happened to him—his death wasn’t forgotten or meaningless. The image of his blood “crying out” is telling us that his death will be remembered.

Abel showed genuine faith in God, and that example lives on. People throughout history—especially those who’ve been hurt or killed for doing what’s right—look to his story and find courage. They think, “If Abel stayed faithful even unto death, so can I.” If you’re treated badly because you’re trying to do the right thing or live out your faith, Abel’s story says: your suffering isn’t pointless. It matters. It’s witnessed. And your faithfulness—like his—continues to speak and inspire long after

We have even more to look at. Let’s continue with 1 John 3:11-12.

11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.

Reflection 1 John

1 John 3:11-12 urges readers to treat one another with love, rather than acting like Cain did, whose anger and jealousy toward his brother led to his killing him.

John urges us to treat one another with love, rather than acting like Cain, whose anger and jealousy toward his brother led to murder. The contrast is simple when you think about it right, love vs murder. Pretty straightforward. Abel vs Cain.

And finally Jude 9-11. 9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion.

Reflection Jude

Jude speaks of people "going the way of Cain" when they commit slander toward others. Rather than trusting God to take care of things, they insist on taking it into their own hands to "rectify" what they consider to be wrongs—often because those wrongs are things done against their own selfish interests.

Personal Reflection

Before we continue on with our study questions for tonight, I want to take this moment. Tonight we need to be honest with ourselves that how Cain acted against his brother Abel is not as farfetched as we like it to be. For all of us have been there at some point in our lives, even when we are angry with someone, just being angry not even acting out against them, we are told that we have committed murder in our hearts. Each and everyone of us have murdered at some point in our lives. Think about that, we are murderers!!!! Didn't think you would be told that tonight did you!!!! Well, you are. Cain takes out his anger that he feels against God on his brother, even though he was warned. There are many reasons that are all behind way Cain did it but it all comes back to this. The love that God had with Adam and Eve in the Garden, was completed turned inside out by the serpent who deceived Eve causing love to be twisted from what true love is, and then that love is twisted like it is what happens? We get angry, we lash out, we murder like Cain did.

There are others like Cain in Scripture. Samuel gets angry because he feels he's been hoodwinked by God into choosing Saul as king. David likewise is angry with God for striking down a well-intentioned fellow who tried to keep the ark from falling over. Jonah can't believe God would show mercy to the pagan Ninevites. And of course, there is the Older Son in Christ's parable, who refuses to participate in his brother's welcome-home party, feeling that his father has been grossly unfair. All of them, just like Cain. Just like us. How might we, like Cain, feel that we have been unfairly treated, whether justifiably or not? All of us struggle with insecurities which make it difficult for us to put the interests and welfare of other people ahead of our own—yet this is the lifestyle God calls us to.

But remember something ok, tonight is not just about Cain, its also about Abel too. Abel was the innocent one, the faithful one, the one whose blood still speaks through Genesis. How did Abel's approach to God differ from Cain's? Abel made his offering in faith. He came to God in dependence and trust. And this is the lifestyle that Jesus Himself followed all through His life on earth—complete trust in the Father, even when it led to the cross. Abel died an unjust, innocent death, simply for worshiping his Creator faithfully. How can we entrust to God our daily well-being and eternal survival, following Him faithfully even when it looks as if other people are treated better than ourselves? Consider what this story suggests to us about the role of Abel—and his death—not only in this Lent devotion series and our first one so far but also how does it connect to who we will be studying later on in the weeks to come? What are we to learn from these devotions? What are we going to learn about our own roles as humans who are now living 2000 plus years from when some of these individuals lived and how can we take what we have learned to continue to grown in our faith and our faithful devotion as Christians for our innocent and holy and loving Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? This study for this season of Lent is really going to make you think I feel like. It certainly has for me already.

Question 1

How might we, like Cain, feel that we have been unfairly treated, whether justifiably or not?

Question 2

All of us struggle with insecurities which make it difficult for us to put the interests and welfare of other people ahead of our own, yet this is the lifestyle God calls us to. How might we experience this struggle in the everyday, and how can we trust God to take care of us in these situations?

Question 3

How did Abel’s approach to God differ from Cain’s? Compare Abel’s approach with the lifestyle that Jesus himself followed all through his life on earth.

A. Abel: brought the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions

He offered the best

He approached God with the trust and gratitude and dependence on Him that we should be doing each and everyday. But we don’t do we?

His sacrificed matched his heart which in turn showed God that he did fully fear, love and trust in Him above all things. (Sounds like the 1st Commandment doesn’t it)

B. Cain: brought some of the fruits of the soil

Cain didn't offer the best, he offered whatever he wanted to offer

He lacked faith, trust and surrender to God

How did he respond? Well we know. Responded with anger, resentment, and destruction.

Cain approached God on his own terms.

Abel approached God on God’s terms.

C. Abel Mirror Jesus

Abel gave his best, Jesus gave all

Abel gave the firstborn of his flock, Jesus came Himself, the First Born of God

Abel acted by faith, Jesus lived in faith, It wasn’t Jesus will but His Father’s Will

Abel’s offering cost dearly. Jesus’s cost everything.

Abel’s blood cried out for justice, Jesus’s blood cries to the Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

Question 4

Abel died an unjust, innocent death, simply for worshiping his Creator faithfully. How can we entrust to God our daily well-being and eternal survival, following him faithfully even when it looks as if other people are treated better than ourselves?

Question 5

In anticipation of the life of the New Heaven and the New Earth, how can we begin putting the welfare and benefit of others first in the here and now?

A. By spreading the Gospel, talk with others, pray with them, invite them to church. Etc

Question 6

Think of some situation you are currently dealing with where you can live out this others-focused attitude, without selfish jealousy or bitterness. Pray to God for the strength and humility needed to do it, even when it isn’t convenient or beneficial to you.

Final Thoughts, Questions, Concerns

Anything else anyone wants to discuss we before we wrap up tonight’s Devotion?

Prayer

Let us pray.

Holy God, we have walked tonight through a hard story. We have seen the worst of human nature in Cain's jealousy and violence. And we have seen the best of human faith in Abel's trust and sacrifice.We confess, Lord, that the way of Cain is too familiar to us. We harbor anger when we feel slighted. We compare ourselves to others and resent their blessings. We take out our frustrations on those closest to us. Forgive us.

Teach us, Lord, the way of Abel. Teach us to offer our lives in faith, trusting You even when the outcome is uncertain. Teach us to love without jealousy, to serve without resentment, to put the welfare of others ahead of our own comfort.

Give us the strength and humility to live as people of the cross—people who choose love over anger, faith over fear, others over self. Even when it isn't convenient. Even when it costs us something. Even when it costs us everything.We ask this in the precious name of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Amen.

Thanks everyone, thanks for being here tonight, look forward to seeing where this study takes us. Go in peace to serve the Lord. Amen.