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AM I MY BROTHER’S KEEPER?
First Things, Part 8
October 28, 2007
Pastor Libby Boatwright
It’s been an amazing journey through Genesis thus far. We’ve learned of the Father’s love for his creation, of the details and the magnificent plan and order for the beauty of the earth and all its creatures. And we’ve discovered the people that inhabit this earth, the children of God’s hands who have learned lessons the hard way, by allowing sin and temptation to enter their hearts, reaping the consequences, forced to live in a place east of Eden, as aliens disconnected from the garden. So as we open today’s story it’s not just paradise lost, but a fallen world where Adam and Eve are introduced to hard labor and sacrifice and children – a place where sin finally gets a name.
Genesis 4:1-16 (TNIV)
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.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel also brought an offering– fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 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.
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.
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground it will not longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.
Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 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.”
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. So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. The word of the Lord!
It’s hard to get along, isn’t it? We struggle in our families, our workplace, school rooms, lecture halls, even in church. Children perhaps say it best in their letters to God,
“Dear God, I bet it is hard for you to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only four people in my family and I can never do it!” Or the little boy with a brother who writes, “Dear God, maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they had their own rooms. It works with my brother and me!”
Most people would want to center the story of Cain and Abel on the sensational murder, the fratricide that occurs about half way through the passage. But if you do, you miss the point. You see, this story is not so much about the murder as it is about life and three core issues that everyone faces in this place east of Eden. Tim Keller tells us it’s the subtle nature of sin, the sweet grace of God, and the power of salvation. Different, yes. But that’s what’s there. Let’s take a closer look.
Secret Sin
Sin isn’t a very popular topic these days. Most people might think of it as an Old Testament concept, or at the very least, less than politically correct. I mean, who wants to be told what they’re doing is wrong? And who has the right to tell someone that? But unless we declare that sin exists, how can we call out another? If people don’t recognize their own sin, why would anything we say matter? I think sin manifests itself best in our struggle with God and our emotions, and the struggles we have with each other, the things that lead up to the moment of sin. And sin is subtle. Most people don’t recognize it in its hidden form. Take Cain and his relationship with God. He seems like an ordinary guy like his brother Abel. He works hard, offers sacrifices and honors God, probably even honors his parents. But there are subtle differences between Cain and his brother. God knows Cain’s heart and warns him of that something that is crouching near him- somewhere over in that corner that is in competition with his relationship with him. Cain can barely see it, since it’s trying to be small, looks hidden. But it’s there. And in the early stages, it might look like a virtue; like diligent work and a little overtime, or maybe a flaw of a little dishonesty when it’s convenient. Then it begins to shadow him until he gives into his pride and fear.
So what follows is the struggle with his emotions. One of the most fascinating things I find about this passage is not so much the words but the silence between the sound bites; particularly those moments between the kind, fatherly advice of God encouraging Cain to try againand the killing field when Cain attacks his brother. Those moments of silence are filled with the brooding and anger that Cain cannot overcome. I can just imagine him standing there after the audience with God, pacing the floor, steaming, shaking his fists “What do you mean, do what is right?” “Didn’t I give you the fruit of my labor; didn’t I come to you and worship and bow down?—and this is what I get? Wisdom, and no reward?” “Sorry God, we’re done here. I’ll take over from now on.” His anger consumes him and this serpent crouching at the door is uncoiled. God calls the force “sin,” and he knows it desires to have Cain. It takes on its own character and power, and Cain can no longer recognize it. And so instead of calming down and reassessing the situation, the sin masters him.
Now his relationships will suffer. He couldn’t work it out with God, his emotions have resulted in incomprehensible thoughts, and sadly that evil he cannot control will take it out on the person closest to him.
We all know getting along and loving one another is tough work. There are disappointments, anger, resentments and pent up emotions that simmer just under the surface of our calm demeanor, and that often leads to broken relationship and broken community. And so Cain’s displaced anger, leads to a tragic end. Or in the words of an anonymous sage, “If you do sin, sin will do you.” It’s why people who live by the sword, die by the sword. It’s why gossips who exaggerate the truth usually find themselves the brunt of even juicier gossip later on. Cain’s sin of pride turns into revenge that comes back to haunt him. He’s trying to build an identity outside of God.
Amazing Grace
And yet in the midst of all this sadness is the second core issue, grace. Every time I read this story I think how easy it would be for the Creator to just shout that Cain is a hideous trial run of “first kid” and declare him toast. But God defies the stereotype of some kind of cosmic policeman. Because here God is the wonderful counselor. Even before Cain attempts to kill Abel, God sees the downcast look on Cain’s face. In fact, the word here in Hebrew actually means “fallen.” Cain’s depressed, and he can’t bear to look in the face of his heavenly father. So God persists and comes down to him and takes up the conversation, offering simple direct advice in the form of questions affirming his worth. “Why are your angry?” “Why is your face downcast?” He already knows the answer, but he’s willing to spend the time to hear him out, process his concern. “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, Cain. It desires to have you.” God loves this young man, and he’s not listening. But maybe the problem lies in the expectation of him. Theologian Mislav Wolf of Harvard Divinity School says the secret lies in the names of the two brothers. You see Cain’s name means “productive,” “fruitful,” “successful” –a name chosen by his parents to reflect the fact that he’ll be a leader, a winner. Eve sees him as the one thing she created with God and prides herself in that accomplishment. By the time Abel is born, whose name means “breath, wisp, a nobody,” he’s an afterthought. Cain has built his reputation on what he does, because as the first born, he’s following in daddy’s footsteps. Abel, on the other hand, is a guy who worships God with his offering of lambs, who declares his dependence on, and is nothing without, God; he’s a wanderer. So when God imposes a completely different value system to honor the less successful, Cain can’t handle it. He can adjust his identity or eliminate his competition, who just happens to be his little brother.
But even after Cain has left his brother in a field to die, God in his mercy still searches after him and Cain lies. He’s even defiant with the words “Am I my brother’s keeper? because the word “keeper” refers to animals, and he sees his brother as a dog, and that seals his future. The price that Cain pays is dear. The one thing that has sustained him, his connection to the ground, will cease to bear fruit; He will do the one thing he hates, and be like his brother, wandering the earth, but as an alien in a desolate and forsaken place– no roots, no family, no community. The face of God that he refused to acknowledge will now turn from him; and he is driven even further east of the garden, exposed to the unkind world of murderers who would take his life. It is perhaps the first glimpse we have of hell–isolated separation from the Creator. But God’s grace finds its way to the desert, and Cain will be protected with God’s mark, something everyone will recognize. And God will take vengeance seven times over anyone who tries to harm him. This tells us something about how God loves the non-believer. Even when they’ve rejected God or us or reason, God still goes after them. Does that tell us something about our own children? I mean, if God can forgive and discipline those who don’t know him; can we forgive and love those who follow Him when they make poor choices? That’s grace; the undeserved, overflowing agape love that flows from the hands of the Father, even in our sin. Maybe you’ve got some kids that are out of control or a friend or family member who simply lives outside the box of reality. Perhaps you know a co-worker who has crossed so far over the line, you wonder why God doesn’t just take them out with a bolt of lightning. And then you remember God’s grace in the midst of all this chaos, and his immense love for his children. If Adam and Eve can raise a little Cain, so can you.
Significance of the Sacrifice
So after sin and grace, the third core issue is sacrifice. Indeed, when we look at Cain and Abel, we begin to see the distinctions of how this grace is manifested in what they lay before the Lord. If we read ahead to Hebrews 11:4, we hear that “Abel offered his sacrifice in faith and Cain did not”. Abel offers in faith because he remembers that odd promise of Genesis 3:15 that someday, some ancestor of Eve will rustle with sin and death and even though wounded will triumph over sin. Able gets it. He makes a sacrifice in response to salvation, but Cain makes an offering as a means of salvation. He’s saying, “Look what I’ve done, I’m a good person. My sacrifice is a means to get God to bless me.” But God, in his wonderful way, rewards the humble and disregards the proud. And Cain goes out of his mind. He actually grows angry with God and sulks, lowering his head, unable to face Him. He hasn’t realized that God is asking for obedience, not arrogance. Cain’s following in his parent’s footsteps. He wants to be like God. And with a human sacrifice on his hands the blood cries out from the ground, screaming for justice. But that same blood also points to the greater Able. And who is this greater Abel? He’s the one who was killed by the Cains of this world. The people that tried to use God rather than serve him, The Sanhedrin and Pharisees who judged everyone based on the law and not by grace. They were good moral people, upright citizens, who were also self-righteous. And so this greater Abel, Jesus Christ, was killed. Only his blood speaks in a more gracious way. When we sin, Jesus stands before God and says he wants us acquitted, that His blood cries out not against the Cains, but for them, for he came and voluntarily died for all of us, even the ungrateful sinners of this world.
“So what now?” you ask. What will we take home from this story? Well, I’m going to leave you with three challenges in the form of questions, similar to what God did with Cain. First, Do you know where sin is hiding in your life? Are there habits and items of housecleaning that need addressing? Maybe there’s a person who is showing more than an interest in you at work and they’re married and you’re married, but it’s just friendship and besides, someone is paying attention. Or it might be the little bits of petty cash that show up in your wallet, because well, “it’s just change, right?” “They won’t miss it.” Wrong. In fact one of the single biggest problems I’ve been reading about lately is embezzlement, and most of it started with just a little bit of fudging in the offices of city halls, and churches, and businesses. But then it became a game, and then a hiding place, and finally it was no longer a choice but a power that took over, an addiction, an obsession. That’s the sin crouching at your door. Take time to send it packing.
And after we’ve begun to recognize where sin is hiding, the second challenge is, Can you receive the grace of God? How easy it is to be like Cain, judgmental, sullen, self righteous, and angry that our work isn’t enough to please God, thinking God owes us something, trying to earn his favor. Friends, God doesn’t want our vegetables and fruit, or our status reports, or perfect grades, or the bottom line, especially when given in a context of what we’ll receive. All that does is point to us. Instead, He asks us to be like Abel, who is offering his gift in faith and who knows the grace of God and never feels superior to anybody. That points to God. We don’t earn God’s favor, we delight in his grace. Dare we allow ourselves to receive it? And with this gift of grace, will we with God’s help love others as we have been loved?
Finally, the third challenge is, Can we recognize who Christ is in our lives? This is Reformation Sunday, and many of us sing “A Mighty Fortress” in honor of Martin Luther, who was brave enough to stand up to the authorities of his day. Hear the words of the third verse:
And though this world with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us
We will not fear for God hath willed,
His truth to triumph through us
Luther knew there was evil in this world, and calls it by name. But he also knew that we serve a mighty God who takes away our fear and whose truth, “will triumph through us.” We can be like Cain and fail to recognize the sin that sits in a corner and longs to master us. Or we can recognize the greater Abel, God’s son, Jesus Christ, who triumphed over sin and death, and who sits on the right hand of God the Father almighty; not as a judge but as a defender. For “his kingdom is forever.”
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