Able Still Speaks
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Cain and Able are a fascanation duo.
What makes their story particulary usefull is that their story taks place before siociatioal and cultral systems exist.
And they have an impostant lesson to teach, even now.
As God says:
4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he was attested to be righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
So what is Able saying? What does this story of tradgy between 2 brothers have to say?
1 Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have obtained a male child with the help of the Lord.”
2 And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground.
So what do we know about these 2 men?
They had the same parents and the same upbringing.
They knew and worshipped the same God.
And they both knew that they had to make a sacrifice.
Now lets talk about this idea of a sacrifice.
There is, up to this point, no mention of God needing or requyiring a sacrifice as we know it.
But Cain and Able still made sacrifices.
So what kind of sacrifice did they offer and why did they offer it?
Both Cain and Able had very rudamentry understanding of God. But at the basic level they both understood God to be the source of life, grace, favor and good.
And so they sacrificed what they could enjoy now, to God, with the intention of his favor, blessing and good later.
That is what a sacrifice is. When you “make a sacrifice” you are denying yourself something pleasurible now - for something even better later.
This is a rule of reality. This is how God created the world to work.
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap.
We sow now, but leap greater later.
You can actually do this expermiment with a your child.
Sit them at a table with a marshmellow, hen tell them that you are going to the loo.
Tell them that they are allowed to eat the marshmelow if they want to OR if the mershmellow is still there when you get back you will give them 2 marshmellows and set up a camera to recond them with them knowing.
You will see your child wrestle with this because you are askibng them to sacrifice what they want now for something greater later.
ok so back to Cain and Able.
BOTH of these brothers understood this and so BOTH of them made a sacrifice.
So far all good.
3 So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground.
4 Abel, on his part also brought an offering, from the firstborn of his flock and from 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 became very angry and his face was gloomy.
Ok so now the drama starts:
What do we know?
BOTH of them made a sacrifice of the now.
BUT Cain’s sacrifice was not of a high enough quality, while Abel’s sacrifice was of a high quality.
Abel’s sacrifice was succsesful in its intent: It cost him now but secured him a future hope.
Cain’s sacrifice was unsuccseful - he lost in the now AND his sacrifice did not secure him a future hope.
This, understandibly, made Cain very upset.
5 but for Cain and his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his face was gloomy.
Now why is Cain so angry and even more importantly: Who is he angry with?
God asked Cain this exact same question:
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why is your face gloomy?
Has anyone harmed Cain? No.
Did Abel do anything to ruin Cain’s sacrifice? No.
So we wonder: Was Cain angry at Abel or was Cain angry at God? Probibly both. Cain was angry that the system of sowing and reaping was not working for him, and he was bitter that it was working for his brother.
God then goes to Cain:
7 If you do well, will your face not be cheerful? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
This is the tipping poin for Cain.
Can is very upst and he does not know who to blame first: God or Able.
While he stews over this God says the worst thing a person in Cain situation can hear.
God tells Cain that his suffering is NOT becaise of God and his current suffering is NOT because of Able.
God tells us Cain that the reason for his suffering is HIMSELF!
And that my friends is the hardest truth to ever hear when you are suffering and looking for someone to blame.
Then God says something very profound:
Sin is lurking at your door, its desire is to ensnare you: You must master it.
Now: I do not think this is exclusive to Cain. I believe as the bible teaches that all of Adam’s offspring, even to us this day, are in this situation.
Abel also had sin lurking at his door, but Abel, unlike Cain, has succsesfully mastered it.
If we go back to the Mershmellow test:
Cain did not master his self control and so he ate the mershmellow, then Cain got angry when he saw Abel been given a second marshmellow.
Able had mastered his self control.
And God said to Cain: If you master it you will also get favor like your brother and you will also be happy. But if you do not, you will remain sad.
Make sense?
But we now we have to ask: What exacally was “wrong” with Cain’s sacrifice? Why did God bless Abel’s sacrifice but not Cain’s?
4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he was attested to be righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
Why made Abel’s sacrifice bettwer than Cain’s?
Abel sacrifice was greater than Cain’s because Able valued the trade more than Cain.
And it is a trade.
Everytime to go to the shop and buy something it is an act of sacrifice.
You are sacrificing the money you worked hard for, for that thing you wish to have.
And the amount you are willing to pay(sacrifice) depends on how much value you place on the object.
I went running shoe shopping - R3000 minimum.
I do not vlaue a set of running shoes that high and so i will not “sacrifice” that high.
However i professional comrades runner will buy those shoes no problem. For them, they see the vlaue, so they are happy to make the sacrifice.
This is what was going on with Cain and Abel.
Abel saw the value of God’s favor and grace and so Abel made a sacrifice in proportion to that.
Cain also saw the value of God’s favor and grace, but did not esteem it the same worth Abel did, so Cain’s sacrifice was in proportion to what he believed God’s favor was.