Slices
Prepare
Anger leads to disaster in today’s reading. Reflect on whether you are angry about anything and ask God to help you overcome it before it grows.
Bible passage
Cain and Abel
4 Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, ‘With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.’ 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 But Abel also brought an offering – fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favour on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favour. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.’
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let’s go out to the field.’ 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 keeper?’
10 The Lord said, ‘What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.’
13 Cain said to the Lord, ‘My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.’
15 But the Lord said to him, ‘Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.’ Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
17 Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.
19 Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. 22 Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.
23 Lamech said to his wives,
‘Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for injuring me.
24 If Cain is avenged seven times,
then Lamech seventy-seven times.’
25 Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, ‘God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.’ 26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.
At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.
Explore
Adam and Eve ate the fruit. Their son Cain murdered their son Abel (v 8). Things are unravelling fast. The unfolding story of Genesis seems to say: once you let sin in there is no limiting its impact.
No one knows why Abel’s offering was preferable to Cain’s (vs 4,5). We often don’t know why different people are treated differently by God. What we do know is that we are responsible for how we respond to that. Cain is angry, and he plots to get Abel out into an unobserved field and kill him. Like all murderers he then has to lie about it (v 9). How he lies is particularly brutal: ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ But this is a question to which there was a simple correct answer: ‘Yes’.
Is this sin bad enough to get God to give up on Cain? Here the correct answer is: ‘No’. God marks him for protection (v 15). This is designed as a story for all times and places. Any of us could let anger take us over and lead us into sin. And still God would not give up on us.
Respond
Difficult family relationships are a constant feature of Genesis, presumably because they are so often hard for everyone. Take a few moments to pray for your family members.
Deeper Bible study
‘Peter … asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”’1
We are not told why Cain’s sacrifice was not accepted, though there have been many suggestions. It is not even clear that Cain sinned with regard to his sacrifice, though we assume he must have done. These are not the issues, however. Rather, the issue is how Cain handled not being chosen. Life may sometimes feel unfair; how do we handle being rejected, or another being promoted above us? God had cautioned Cain that, if he did right, all would be well, but that sin was crouching at his door if not (vs 6,7). Both covetousness and murder later became prohibited in the Ten Commandments. While we may not murder, we are undoubtedly familiar with envy, jealousy and covetousness.
In chapter 3, God cursed the serpent and the ground, but not humans. After Cain murdered and the cursed ground received Abel’s blood, however, Cain was cursed and driven ‘from the ground’ (v 11). The ground from which Cain brought his offering and onto which he spilt his brother’s blood becomes hostile to him so that he cannot cultivate it. This punishment goes beyond Adam’s.2 Similarly, where Adam was driven from the garden, Cain’s penalty goes further, for he will wander the earth.
This sad chapter has two murderers. Cain murders Abel and Lamech kills a young man (v 23). At the same time, life continues through marriages and births. This is a world away from the idyllic garden of Eden and reflects the world we know. At the end of the chapter we learn that people began to call on the name of the Lord. We are not told why, but we can see that they needed to. Sin crouches at the door for us all and we need to call on the name of the Lord.
Lord, please help me to follow you faithfully, regardless of what I perceive others may have from you. Please take jealousy and resentment from my heart.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Genesis 20,21; Acts 8
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray that the storytelling week project this month run by local mission partner Christians in Stockport Schools will reach many schools with the good news and that children will engage and learn something of Jesus.
