Bible stories for adults: Cain & Abel

Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve. Cain committed the first recorded murder by killing his brother Abel. Why did he kill him? How did God deal with Cain? What can we learn from Cain's mistakes?

In the story of Cain and Abel, we see early evidence of themes that are prevalent throughout the Bible. Cain and Abel are types or metaphors, representing the heart-sets (versus mindsets) of humanity. Cain was a tiller of the earth and Abel a keeper of flocks. (Genesis 4:2) Cain represents the concept of salvation through works and Abel the concept of salvation by grace. Pride, anger, sin and God’s mercy are all revealed in this short story from Scripture.

Cain’s sacrifice was the result of his own works, while Abel’s was the result of his love for his flock. “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” (Genesis 4:3-5) Cain sought reconciliation by his works, demonstrating pride, while Abel sought reconciliation by presenting a lamb (a metaphor of Christ) that he loved.

It’s so very human of us to think that we can make up for bad deeds with good deeds; we think that in some way, we’re balancing the scale. But, it doesn’t work. There is nothing that we can do to win salvation but accept it as God’s free gift. We all know people, and sometimes are those people, who work and work and work to be ‘good’ Christians. They lead this Bible study group and serve on that committee. When something needs organizing, they’re right there to do it. These are all good things, just as Cain’s offering was good. It’s the attitude of presentation that counts. Though the Bible doesn’t spell out what was wrong with Cain’s offering, his reaction gives us a clue.

“And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?” (Genesis 4:6) Cain was angry with God and probably felt slighted or rejected. It’s likely that Cain’s anger stemmed from pride. Pride is a stumbling block for many of us; we exaggerate our achievements out of proportion and forget to attribute our success to its source. This kind of pride can happen on many levels, in our interpersonal relationships, our work relationships and our relationship with God.

Pride is particularly offensive to God because it attempts to usurp praise that is not due. Cain’s pride in his sacrifice attempted to take credit for God’s creation. While Cain planted and tended his crops, without the soil, sun and rain, those things over which only God has control, Cain’s sacrifice would have been nothing. We can infer from God’s reaction to the sacrifices of Cain and Abel that Abel understood that it was God’s grace that allowed him to make a pleasing sacrifice.

God tries to warn Cain about the power of pride, of all sin, really. “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” (Genesis 4:7) When we surrender to temptation, in Cain’s case the temptation of inflated self-worth, we give that sin a foothold. Once established, sin can grow deep roots and eventually conquer us if we let it. Cain ignored God’s warning about sin and seethed with anger and resentment. These feelings put down deep roots in him and he finally was pushed to action against his brother. “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.” (Genesis 4:8)

When God asked Cain where Abel was, Cain kept up his prideful attitude. Instead of confessing his sin and asking forgiveness “ …he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?” (Genesis 4:9) Cain is in effect saying to God, “I don’t have to answer to you.” God already knew what happened to Abel but offered Cain the opportunity to admit his sin. Cain refused the second chance and suffered the consequences.

All actions have consequences, both positive and negative. God doesn’t sit in heaven with a big stick waiting for us to mess up so He can hit us. We choose consequences by our actions. God tells Cain, “the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 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.” (Genesis 4:10-12)

The consequence of Cain’s sin was the loss of his livelihood and home. This is not unlike modern consequences of murder. A murderer now is removed from society and his opportunities for a career of any kind are taken away. For the rest of his life, he carries with him the stain of his crime.

Cain also was marked by his sin. He feared that others who found out would murder him. But God had mercy on Cain. “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.” (Genesis 4:15) The mark that God put on Cain was not a punishment but a mercy. It was the thing that would protect Cain from any who sought to kill him. The true mark on Cain was the mark on his soul left by his sin.

All sin leaves behind a scar that we cannot remove. We can be forgiven for sin and the sin is removed from God’s memory; that is the grace that God offers. We can’t remove the scar that we leave on ourselves, though. These hurtful reminders of sin are the very reason that God wants us to avoid temptation. Just like the murderer who will have to carry the record of his crime around for the rest of his life, so do we bear the record of our own sins. Mercifully, our record is mostly hidden from society, but many of our scars do show and though God has forgiven us, society remembers and so do we.

Who really suffered in the story of Cain and Abel? You may have your own ideas, but I believe the sufferer was Cain. Abel went on to the perfect life with God that we hope for while Cain had to live with the scars that he created by his sin. God’s hope for us is that we will come to understand the suffering that sin brings into our lives and this is why He asks us to repent. Like any good father, He wants to spare His beloved children pain.

(All Scripture is KJV)