Exposition of Cain and Abel: Part III

The Punishment of Sin

I am not going to spend a great deal of time here. But, the punishment of sin is death in eternal torment in hell. It is unbearable and is related to fire consuming the body that will not die and the worm will feed on forever.

Read the rest of our passage: Verses 9-16

We don’t have to cover all that we have here. But notice that the punishment given to Cain that was so hard was that he was going to be cast away from the presence of God. That too will be same for those who will not repent, but will be cast away from the presence of God.

Have you ever had someone try and describe a place, maybe its beauty, and you get there and it is just a lot more grander than they could describe? That is what we have in the Bible. When things are described, either the things in heaven or hell, they are always more than what is being described. Whether the agony of Christ on the cross, to the majestic beings in heaven, or the worst case; the agony of hell. When you think of fire, the only thing we can compare it to is the fire here on earth that consumes what it is burning until there is nothing more to consume. But in hell, we are told that the flames of hell will never consume your body but will continue to feed upon the body forever. We can’t grasp this idea.


Here, we also have a picture of hell. And Cain said it was too much to bear. The thought of being cast out of the presence of God, with Him hiding His face from those in hell, is an intense thought.

Throw out the worthless slave into athe outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 25:30

Notice that Cain, after he has not heeded the words of the Lord tells God that the punishment is too severe. We say this all the time. We say that if “so and so” goes to hell, that it isn’t fair, yet it is by their sin that they are sent there, not God’s and not ours, but their’s. It may seem harsh, it may seem unfair, but we don’t understand what it means to sin against an infinitely good and holy God.

The Cleansing by the Blood

I will not end with the bad news, I will end with the eternal good news of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. There are some parallels that we can draw between Abel and Christ. Of course, every parallel, we see that Christ was truly the greater Abel.

They were both innocent men murdered by Pharisees. I feel as though Cain is a type of Pharisee, we can see that in his actions and thoughts.

For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
1 Peter 2:21-25

Abel was actually the first in line for the holy line of the Christ. So, Abel was the firstborn of the dead, meaning that he was the first to be resurrected from death to life to be in heaven with God. We see that Christ though is the preeminent firstborn of the dead.

He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
Colossians 1:18

Both the blood of Abel and the blood of Christ spoke.

The interesting thing that we find in this passage is what did Abel’s blood speak? It spoke judgment.

Look again to verses 10 and 11.

It is the same idea of those martyred when they speak in Revelation 6:10

and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
Revelation 6:10

The first blood by a martyr in the Bible, Abel, spoke judgment. But Christ’s spoke differently.

What is interesting is the people that murdered Jesus saw it as the same as any other death.

And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!”
Matthew 27:25

To get even more specific, Hebrews 12:24 states

and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.
Hebrews 12:24

The word for “better” means to be more advantageous, which cannot be more true. Abel’s blood cried out judgment, punishment and justice. Christ’s blood, instead of judgment on the children of those that murdered Christ, cries out for mercy from God.

but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:7

and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—
Revelation 1:5

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:13

Lastly, just when you thought that Christ was killed forever and not to return, He was resurrected. In the same way, as Eve was thinking that the promised seed had just been killed forever and not to return, God resurrected the line of the seed to come.

Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, “God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.” To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the LORD.
Genesis 4:25-26

When you read the line of Christ in Luke 3:36-38 it ends with the line of Christ being told to be:

the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God

How great a God we serve.

Conclusion

Far more delightful is the fact that another and more melodious cry went up to heaven from the cross of Calvary. “Father, forgive them,” resounded from the wounds of Immanuel. The blood of Abel was not voiceless, and the blood of Jesus was not dumb; it cried so as to be heard amid the thrones of heaven, and blessed be God, it spoke for us and not against us; it spoke not worse things, as it might well have done, but better things than that of Abel. It did not demand fiercer vengeance than that which fell upon Cain, it did not ask that we might be driven vagabonds and fugitives upon the face of the earth, and to be at last banished from God into hell forever, but it cried, “Father, forgive them,” and it prevailed, and the curse was taken away, and a blessing came to the sons of men.
Charles Spurgeon

We learn much of Cain and Abel, possibly the most meaningless that one can learn is that it was the first murder, for that is just a fact, but when you dig in the bottomless depths of knowledge this passage has to offer you will then find its treasure, and that is that although we sin, Christ’s blood cries our for our mercy, for this is not merely fact, but it is also eternal life, and that my friends, should be the cry of our hearts.

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Exposition of Cain and Abel: Part II

The Angry Sinner

God gives Cain a warning the same way He warns all of us, Christian and non-Christian alike.

Look at the events here: Verses 5-7

but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at your door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.
Genesis 4:5-7

First, Cain gets angry. Why does he get angry? Does he have any right to be angry? How many of us gets angry when we are punished? Why? Makes no sense. Its our fault! Yet we get angry. So Cain sins, and he gets angry. But notice the passage seems to indicate that he is not angry with himself for his actions but he is angry at God.

Even the Lord asks, “Why are you angry? You’re the one who sinned!”

God then shows quickly that even though Cain sinned that God is a forgiving God. By telling Cain “…if you do well” God is telling Cain that He will forgive Cain, even though Cain has sinned on his own, and is angry at God.


Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity
And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession?
He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in unchanging love.
Micah 7:18

Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say,
‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD;
‘I will not look upon you in anger.
For I am gracious,’ declares the LORD;
‘I will not be angry forever.
Jeremiah 3:12

This idea of “if you do well” is the same as we would think of the word “repent.” The word repent means to turn from evil and to turn to Christ, to turn to good. That is what God is telling Cain. But He also gives Cain a very stern warning. That, if he continues to sin, it will master him.
It is the same that we see in Romans 6:12.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
Romans 6:12

God is telling Cain what is happening in the world that Cain cannot see. God tells him what is later revealed in 1 Peter 5:8 and that is Satan is like a roaming lion, looking for someone to devour. God gives Cain a warning so that he will not fall into the temptation of his sin of anger. Christ tells us if you have anger in your heart what is that to God? It is murder.

Here, like Christ, God is telling this seemingly face to face with Cain. Think about our lives that we lead. 1 John 2:15-17 tells us not to love the things of the world, specifically John is speaking of lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life. Why do you think John tells us this?

What in your life adds to your sin? What in your life makes you dwell on the things not of God that are not moral? Some of these things might not even be bad things, but are you putting them above God? Have you made them an idol in your life? You know what it is in your life. This is what God is specifically telling Cain, put this anger behind you or it will devour you and you will die in your sin. This is the reason for this post. If you have made an idol out of anything, you will not be able to live a life in complete joy for Christ but your focus will be on that one thing or things.

For me, the most dangerous things for my idols are my family and my business. I have to constantly check myself to make sure that if I truly lost those things, that I would still have joy in Christ. Take what you love, if it was gone for the rest of your life tomorrow, would you have joy? If not, this thing has mastered you.

Let’s read the end here and you will see that this anger mastered Cain.

Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
Genesis 4:8

Cain didn’t heed God’s words, didn’t think they were important, and everyday that you and I allow an idol in our life to continue, or a sin to continue, we do the same thing, and it will one day master us.

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An Exposition of Cain and Abel: Part I

As we come to this passage, many have heard of Cain murdering his brother Abel, yet many do not really understand the significance of the passage. Yes, it was the first murder in the Bible, but more so it gives us great insight to what the Lord truly wants from all of us: heart worship.

When we understand what God is crying out to us for, we can better understand that it is not our works that we are saved but by Christ’s work. I have heard many uses of this chapter. Some speak about how murder is wrong and some speak about anger, but we are going to look from a Christological showing.

We are not going to focus on the act of the actual murder but we will look at the sin of Cain and then the blood of Abel and the blood of Christ. We are going to look at the calling of God’s love of the heart, the ignorant sin of man, punishment for sin and lastly the perfect calling of Christ’s blood. Look at our text:

Genesis 4:1-16


God’s Calling for Heart Worship

Boast no more so very proudly,
Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
For the LORD is a God of knowledge,
And with Him actions are weighed.
1 Samuel 2:3

If there is one thing that I want to accomplish with these posts, and further posts, is to beat the religion out of you. Think of things that religious people do. What are some things that those who are seen as religious do? Reading their Bibles, memorizing Scripture, praying, helping others, going to church, etc.

What are some things that real, blood bought Christians do? Reading their Bibles, memorizing Scripture, praying, helping others, going to church, etc.

Notice a theme? They both do the same thing. So what is the difference between a religious person and a genuine blood bought Christian?

A religious person believes that those works makes God happy and appeases Him, a Christian does those works because he understands what Christ did for him on the cross. One is works the other is of a loving faith relationship with the Saviour.

Here we have two brothers, Cain and Abel. Notice that Cain is the start of what Eve probably thought was the promise declared in the curses of Satan when God said, “the woman’s seed will crush your head…” What we of course know, is that this not the case with Cain, but would have been the case with Abel, but in God’s perfect plan He allowed Cain to murder him and the promised seed ended up coming through the third son, Seth.

But, notice these two brothers. Cain was a tiller of the ground. Who was now a tiller of the ground? His father, Adam. Cain is representing here the curse of Adam. What was Abel? A keeper of flocks. What is our Christ called? The Great Shepherd

Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord,
Hebrews 13:20

So we can see through this, that even though Cain was born first he was not going to be the one loved by God. We also see this with some other firstborns as well. Ishmael was born first, but Isaac was the son of promise. Esau was born first, but Jacob was the one whom God loved. So much that it is said in Romans 9:13 and Malachi 1:2 that before the boys did any right or wrong that it was Jacob whom God loved and Esau whom God hated; showing us the understanding of election and the Christian. That God places His love on a certain people before they are even born.

So, Cain and Abel we see are both keepers of something and Cain brings God a sacrifice. Some say that his sacrifice was just a plain sacrifice and others say that it was in equal value to Abel’s. It really doesn’t say, but what it does say is that God showed regard, or looked favorably to Abel’s and not Cain’s. Back to our thoughts on religion vs Chirstianity.

What is the difference between a religious person giving $100 and a Christian giving $100? What is the difference between a religious person feeding the homeless and a Christian feeding the homeless?

Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:7

Notice that it is said of God that He loves a cheerful giver. This word “love” is the Greek term “agape” which is the same term when Christ is said to love His sheep, same as when God says that He loves His Son. So, in my estimation this is speaking of a genuine Christian, because they are the only ones who can truly give cheerfully to God. We asked what the difference in a religious $100 and a Christian’s? This verse clears it up. A religious person does it for gain, because they are under compulsion to do so, because if they don’t God will hate them or they won’t get what they want from God. The Christian gives cheerfully because the Christian’s joy is found in God, not in money. So, if they can do anything to promote the Gospel and God’s people they cheerfully and lovingly do so.

By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
Hebrews 11:4

So, when we look at these two brothers offering their sacrifices to God, we can see what the difference was to God. Since God looks at the heart, one was doing so out of obligation, the other was doing so out of love for his God, by faith.

Was it God’s fault that Cain didn’t offer out of love? No, it was Cain’s sin.

So when you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you multiply prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are covered with blood.
Isaiah 1:15

God tells Israel that He will not listen to their unrepentant hearts. He says earlier that He wishes that they wouldn’t even bother sacrificing to Him and then ends with this verse. He basically is telling them that all you are doing is standing their speaking to no one, cause God isn’t listening, and you aren’t even sacrificing, but you are just standing there with blood on your hands, meaning it hasn’t accomplished anything.

Same with us. God desires nothing from us, besides our hearts. I have heard one preacher put it, don’t make church a hobby for yourself. I will tell you the same thing. Don’t make church your hobby, it is the stupidest hobby you could have, go play video games or snow board, do something fun with your life, but don’t go to church acting as though you desire to be one of God’s own, when all you do is lip service. If you are doing all these things because God says so, or because you are “supposed to”, such as: reading your Bible, memorizing Scripture, praying, helping others, going to church, etc., you are just doing what the Israelites did…you are just standing there with blood on your hands, speaking to the walls, cause God isn’t listening to you.

You don’t care, and guess what, neither does God.

This is what Cain was. He was just a dude doing what God told him to do. No love or devotion in his heart towards his maker, but a religious man with no knowledge of what God truly desired from him. Therefore, God didn’t regard his sacrifice, but we will get into that in our next post.

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