Cain and Abel
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Introduction
Introduction
In our text tonight we will come across the first child, the first recorded offering to God, and possibly (if time allows) the first murder. Lots of firsts and lots of information! The theme that we will see here is regarding sacrifices for sin and how we are supposed to repent of our sinfulness rather than running towards it.
We read a lot in the Old Testament about sacrifices for sin. Why does God require so many different sacrifices?
Because He takes sin seriously!
Please read Hebrews 9:13-14. What do these verses tell us about blood sacrifices in the Old Testament? What could they do? What does Jesus do differently (hint, read Hebrews 10:4, 14).
The offering of bulls and goats could postpone judgment for a year but they couldn’t cleanse our conscience. They were not perfect sacrifices. Jesus, as the perfect sacrifice, cleanses our conscience and soul once and for all. He does what bulls and goats could not. He not only covers our sin, He absorbs it upon Himself.
Again, tonight we’re going to focus on these sacrifices and if you’ve gone over this lesson before tonight, I hope you are thankful for Jesus and what He has accomplished for us through His sacrifice on the cross!
1 The man was intimate with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have had a male child with the Lord’s help.”
2 She also gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel became a shepherd of flocks, but Cain worked the ground.
3 In the course of time Cain presented some of the land’s produce as an offering to the Lord.
4 And Abel also presented an offering—some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,
5 but he did not have regard for Cain and his offering. Cain was furious, and he looked despondent.
In these verses we see that Cain and Abel are born and we see in Genesis 4:14 and 17 that there are clearly other people out there. Who are these people? Who are their parents? Remember one of the themes of Genesis is to start off by illustrating the seed of the woman and the lineage that he will come through. We are only told of 3 children specifically by Adam and Eve. Who are these 3 children? Cain, Abel, and Seth. Given the fact that they lived for hundreds and hundreds of years, they likely had dozens and dozens of kids themselves and their kids had kids and so on and so forth! Thoughts on this? It sounds weird to our ears because that is incest and 100% not cool - not the same in Biblical world as options were simply limited.
Jobs:
What did Cain and Abel do according to verse 2? Which job would you have rather had?
In our study book, MacArthur makes the claim that the reason that Cain’s offering was rejected was because his offering was of the fruit of the ground rather than an offering of the flock. Thoughts on this idea? Many commentators disagree with MacArthur and Moses is silent on this issue. Derek Kinder states, “It is precarious to claim that the absence of blood disqualified Cain’s gift (cf. Deut. 26:1–11); all that is explicit here is that Abel offered the pick of his flock and that Cain’s spirit was arrogant.
Walter Kaiser, in his commentary on this passages states, “The author’s purpose seems to be to use the narrative of Cain and Abel to teach a lesson on the kind of worship that is pleasing to God. Worship that pleases God springs from a pure heart. How does the narrative teach a lesson about a pure heart? We see behind the scenes the response by Cain to God’s rejection… The difference between the two offerings is not explicitly drawn out by the author. Contrary to the popular opinion that Cain’s offering was not accepted because it was not a blood sacrifice, it seems clear from the narrative that both offerings, in themselves, were acceptable—they are both described as “offerings” (minḥāh) and not “sacrifices” (zeḇaḥ).”
In fact, in the Law of Moses, there is a provision where someone can bring a grain offering for sin. Most people bring animals, yes, but is the problem mainly the type of offering or is there something deeper going on here?
Deeper! Abel brings the cream of the crop - the first born - whereas Cain brings simply brought “some” of the land’s produce. Abel brought the best of the best and Cain brought the Great Value version. The problem isn’t simply Cain brought the produce, but it was the type of produce. What does this tell us about Cain? As MacArthur says on page 42, he had a bad attitude about offering to God.
Are we tempted to bring a bad offering to God at times? What does a bad offering look like?
Not just financially, but with our attitude and time. We can fail to give back to God and we can fail to worship Him with reverence and awe. We can fail to honor Him and live for Him as we should. We can go through the motions. We can fail to give Him enough or to be so busy that we simply don’t do anything! We certainly are tempted to bring a bad offering to God at times.
Why did God accept Abel’s offering? What type of offering does the Lord want today?
Abel gave his best without question. This is what the Lord wants from us as well! He wants us to give Him our very best consistently and to follow after His plan rather than only giving him 50/50 or lip service as we can be tempted to do.
Kaiser again is helpful in looking at these offerings as he says this, “Rather than attempting to discover what was wrong with Cain’s offering, we would be better advised simply to take notice that the author has omitted any explanation. He was apparently less concerned about Cain’s offering than he was Cain’s response to the Lord’s rejection of his offering. Whatever the cause of God’s rejection of Cain’s offering, the narrative itself focuses our attention to Cain’s response.” Cain is angry against God and angry against his brother.
MacArthur takes some time to talk about how Cain pouted whenever things didn’t go his way. He was angry and threw a bit of a fit. Are we tempted to do this whenever something bad happens? Sure. How can we prevent against this?
Please read Genesis 4:6-7
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you furious? And why do you look despondent?
7 If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
MacArthur is helpful on page 43 and shares that both Cain and Abel have equal opportunity to find acceptance before God.
What did Cain have to do to be accepted? *Look at Genesis 4:7*
He needed to rule over sin. We have to have the right offering and the right attitude. As Christians who are familiar with their New Testament, we know that the sacrifice is right because of Jesus Christ! He is the once and for all sacrifice for sin. So what do we have to have? The right attitude. Reverence. Awe. Worship. Humility.
God tells Cain in verse 7 that sin desires him, but he can master it. This is the same terminology used in Genesis 3:16 and we see the power of sin in both Old and New Testaments and today as well. Paul talks about the struggle we have against sin every day of our life in Romans 7:15-25 and Paul shares that the only way that we can have victory over our sin is through the victory won for us by Jesus Christ. God urges Cain to repent. Just as God urges all of us to repent as well.
Why does sin want to rule over us?
Because the enemy wants us to not obey God and His commands. Therefore, he tempts us to sin.
In the “going deeper” section on page 44, MacArthur instructs us to read from the New Testament about this very story.
Please read Hebrews 11:4
4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.
The preacher of Hebrews shares that Abel brought to God a better sacrifice than Cain. MacArthur is of the position that the reason why Abel’s sacrifice is better is because of the animal/sacrifice itself. Leon Morris agrees and disagrees with MacArthur and says this, “Scripture never says there was anything inherently superior in Abel’s offering. It may be relevant that there are some references to Abel as being a righteous man (Matt 23:35; 1 John 3:12), while the author of Hebrews insists on the importance of Abel’s faith.” Where Scripture is silent, we can speculate, but we cannot definitively know the answer either!
Unleashing the Text: pg. 45- 48
Was God’s response to Cain too harsh?
Is God unjust when He insists that there is only 1 way to salvation?
Why is salvation in Jesus only possible on the basis of faith?
The theme of chapter 5 is simple: Turn away from anger - as Paul shares
26 Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger,
This is a shocking passage for many reasons. Look at the first question on page 51
What do you think causes a person to consider murdering another person?
Jesus shares that hating someone in our heart is equivalent to murdering them. All of those actions initially start out as thoughts and ideas, however we often think on them instead of repenting of them. Whenever we think about those actions for a long period of time, they might come out to reality.
Please read Genesis 4:8-12
8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”
10 Then he said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!
11 So now you are cursed, alienated from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood you have shed.
12 If you work the ground, it will never again give you its yield. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
As MacArthur states, God calls Cain to repent but Cain rejects God’s plan and gives sin an inch and sin leads to its ultimate form: death.
Why do you think Cain covered up his tracks in verse 9? Why do we do the same at times?
Same reason Adam and Eve covered up their tracks in the Garden. Shame/guilt but also not fully understanding the power and sovereignty of God. God obviously knew what had happened. He was giving Cain/Adam/Eve a chance to repent and be honest… He gives us the same chance today, but we often do the same thing that Ananias and Sapphira did in Acts 5:1-11. We double down on the lie!
How is Cain’s punishment similar and different to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3?
Similar: kicked out of place of residence. Different in that he has a worse punishment as he would never gain mastery of the environment/soil/ground and would never have a home.
MacArthur asks this earlier on, is Cain’s punishment too harsh this time around?
God takes sin seriously! He takes murder seriously, just as He does other sins. No, not too harsh.
Please read Genesis 4:13-16
13 But Cain answered the Lord, “My punishment is too great to bear!
14 Since you are banishing me today from the face of the earth, and I must hide from your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, whoever finds me will kill me.”.
15 Then the Lord replied to him, “In that case, whoever kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” And he placed a mark on Cain so that whoever found him would not kill him.
16 Then Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Cain complains about his punishment and God provides grace by providing a mark on Cain that would help keep him protected from others.
Questions about these particular verses?
Nod notes, v. 16 from Kenneth Matthews, “Cain’s residing in “the land of Nod, east of Eden,” implies that he is further removed from the garden than Adam. “Nod” is a play on the word nād, meaning “wanderer,” which refers to the sentence against Cain in 4:11–12, 14. Scripture does not speak again of “Nod,” and no specific locale is known. It may be that Nod is simply meant to say that wherever Cain sojourned could be called the “land of the Wanderer.”
The conclusion of this text leaves us wondering a major interpretative question? Who will the seed of the woman come through now? It obviously isn’t Adam. It can’t be Cain because he has been cursed by God. What will happen next? This is what Genesis helps illustrate. God makes a way, even whenever we mess up and do something dumb. God’s plan is going to come about and we don’t have to fret.
Unleashing the text: pg. 55-60
What should Cain have done after God rejected his sacrifice? What did He do?
What is significant about God making the rules as pages 57-58 bear out? Does God still make the rules today?
What does the world say about how a person gets to heaven? What does this say about the character of God?
Chapter 6: Noah and the Ark
Genesis 6:1-4 is not a part of this section, but it does serve as an introduction of sorts for us as we get into the Flood Narrative that follows throughout the next few chapters. There are lots of questions about the Flood and there are many questions in the first 4 verses of Genesis 6. Arguably the biggest question in this section is who are the “Sons of God” in verse 2? This is one of the major interpretative questions and challenges in all of Genesis.
There are 3 primary views:
The Sons of God are Angels (or fallen angels)
The Sons of God are royal human leaders
The Sons of God are the offspring of Seth (the chosen line of the woman)
In our world, of fascination with angels, many people seem to go with that option and state that the Sons of God who procreated with the daughters of man were none other than the fallen angels and they produced the Nephilim that follow in verse 4. There are arguments in favor of this view, but there are major drawbacks:
We are never told that angels can procreate
To this point in Genesis, we are not told about the angels/fall
The flood is not meant to judge the angels, in verse 5 we see that it is in response to Human wickedness
Jesus, in Matthew, states that there will be no marriage in heaven like the angels - seems to reject the premise that they can procreate
30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven.
The second view, that the Sons of God are royal human leaders is the least likely of the views as it too presents exegetical problems
The 3rd view, that these are the Godly descendants of Seth, has the most backing and least amount of problems. This is the view that many Reformers and some church father’s had. There seem to be 2 different lines forming in Genesis 4/5 as Cain has killed Abel and the only other child of Adam/Eve directly mentioned is Seth. These two are contrasted time and time again. Further, Sons of God can be translated “Godly Sons” to which we would say that the fallen angels and sons of Cain would not qualify into - leaving the righteous Sons of Seth.
What is the problem here? You have the righteous bloodline and the other bloodline - what do the Godly Sons do? They, like Eve, disobey and take something that looks good and they intermarry. In the Promised Land, later in the Old Testament, we see that this is a serious problem!
What is the result? The Lord numbers their days to 120 years. What about Noah and others who were well past that age? Did God kill Adam and Eve immediately after they sinned? No. He said that they would surely die in that day, but death did not come immediately. Similarly, commentators note that lifespans gradually shrink. We see this throughout Genesis in the genealogies. We see in Psalm 90:10 another shrinking of human life as 70/80 years becomes the mark rather than 120.
Further, we see the Nephilim. These people only appear 2x in the Bible (Numbers 13:33) and the major question with them is figuring out where they come from. Are they the offspring of the marriage of the Sons of God and the daughters of man or are they somewhere else? If you take the Sons of God to be angels, then these would be half-human/half-angel and we would expect them to be giants and great warriors as we see in verse 4. However, again, can angels procreate? Doubtful. If Sons of God are the descendants of Seth, then this would explain how the Nephilim appear after the flood in Numbers 13 as the spies go into the land and come back sharing news of giants in the land. Others simply state that the Nephilim were not the offspring of this marriage, they were just on the earth at the same time. “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days and afterward...”
Lots of stuff to uncover in these 4 verses and lots of information, but we see that many things are happening and setting the stage for the eventual flood. There are intermarriages, giants and men of renown, and a shortening of life. Yet, in the midst of this, we find a righteous man: Noah.
Please read Genesis 6:5-8. The Bible shares with us that people are wicked but our world says that everyone is really good. Why does Satan deceive people about this truth?
Because Satan knows that if everyone knows what the Bible says (all have sinned), then lots of people would be interested in finding the solution (salvation through Jesus) instead of thinking that they are good enough.
We read in this opening section that things are not good and that because of the wickedness of mankind, God regrets making them. Some people look at this verse and make the argument that God changes His mind. The traditional view in Christianity is that God is immutable or unchanging. We read about this in both Old and New Testaments
19 God is not a man, that he might lie, or a son of man, that he might change his mind. Does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
29 Furthermore, the Eternal One of Israel does not lie or change his mind, for he is not man who changes his mind.”
While some people hold a differing view, the majority view throughout the history of the church is that God does not change His mind and, instead, the author of Genesis (Moses) was ascribing human emotions to God. In other words, “If God were human, he changed his mind.” But we know that God is not human. We know that He is all-knowing (omniscient) and ruler of all things. We read in Scripture that God promises to hold us up with His victorious right hand. This is yet another example of ascribing a human activity/form to God.
Please read Genesis 6:9-16. In these verses we read about Noah and the Ark. Why does God save Noah and how does He promise to do this?
Noah is a righteous person and walked with God while everyone else was wicked. God promises to destroy the world and the only way to survive is by building an ark. The ark had to be stable - hence the instructions.
We read about the severity of sin in this chapter and many people think today that our world is the worst its ever been. We see in the text that there have been instances in life where society has been just as bad if not worse!
We know that the Ark saves Noah from the flood (God’s Judgment). Compare this to Jesus Christ (the Greater Ark). What does Jesus save us from?
Eternal separation from God in hell (Aka, His righteous wrath). Our society likes to look at Jesus as displaying the love and mercy of God - which He certainly does - but Jesus’ death on the cross can be compared to the ark in the sense that if you don’t get on board with Him, you don’t receive love and mercy, you’re going to get justice.
As Paul Washer puts it, it’s like there is a dam before you and there is a billion gallons of water on the other side of the dam. Suddenly, the dam collapses and all of that water is coming towards you at a hundred miles per hour. Right before it hits you, though, the ground opens up at your feet and swallows the water in full, leaving you absolutely dry. This is what Christ does for us as He drank the cup of God’s wrath so that we do not have to. However, for those who do not accept Christ, their result will be no different than it was for those who did not get onto the ark in Noah’s time.
Please read Genesis 6:17-22. Verse 18 speaks of a covenant between God and Noah. Do you think that this is significant?
Yes! Our God is a God of covenants. He promises to be with His people. He makes covenants with His people. He cannot go back on His Word!
Questions from the text/application questions?
Page 66 states that Noah walked with God and that we are to walk with Him as well!
While it might look different than Genesis 2, how does it make you feel to know that you, as a follower of Jesus Christ, “can walk with God” through the Holy Spirit’s dwelling inside of you?
This is an honor that we do not deserve! It is through the grace of God that we have this opportunity/calling. How can we practically do this day in and day out?