Am I My Brothers Keeper?

“In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering, he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done?” (Genesis 4:3-10 ESV)

This is a very significant piece of scripture. It represents the escalation of sin in the world. Adam and Eve sinned against God; the fall, the essence of sin, carried by each of us. They produced Cain and Abel. The author of 1 John calls Cain “of the evil one.” Cain murdered his brother out of anger and jealousy. This was the next tier of sin. The world had gone from a sin against God to a sin against God and brother. The first murder had occurred. We also can tell that Cain suffered no guilt by his flippant response to God. He was truly evil.

God placed a mark against Cain and allowed him to live. In a recent discussion, a peer stated, “Cain should have been destroyed.” My response was yes, but are we not lucky that God has patience and is a forgiving God, or we should all be destroyed along with Cain? Every sin is a sin against God; even a white lie against an all-holy and righteous God is a death sentence for those who are outside of Christ. We do not know for sure if the line of Cain continued after the flood. Scripture does not tell us, but there is the debate that it is possible through marriage into the line of Seth, possibly the Kenites.

The author of 1 John also wrote, “We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.” We who have placed our faith in Christ are no longer of this world. We have passed from death to life. We know those in the fellowship who love, as the command tells us, everyone, no matter what they have or have not done.

Do not be “of the world,” do not be like Cain. Love because you have the love of Christ in your heart. Your heart has been changed from stone to flesh. Love because we want to obey the commands of Christ.

Do you know Jesus? Has your heart been changed? If you are not sure, contact us here at In Messiah.

May the grace and mercy of Christ be upon you. Peace.