Murder: Cain, Abel, and the brothers keeper

I'm teaching a really interesting class at church about the book of Genesis. I'm trying to explore more in depth the most read book of the Bible, and I think things are going well. There are lots of apologetics resources on the Internet, and the research has been almost as much fun as the teaching. Strangely that changed when I got to the story of Cain and Abel. Where there had been a plethora of information about creation theory and the fall of mankind, this seemed to be a theological footnote in comparison. Since I found it so difficult to find information on the web about this topic, I figured I would put down what the Holy Spirit revealed to me about the topic.

The Brothers
The Bible tells us that Cain and Abel are the first two children of Adam and Eve, there is the possibility that they were twins, Cain being born just before his brother Abel, but the language is not definitive in this. What we do know for sure is that Cain became a farmer, while Abel became a shepherd. This seems like a minor detail, but will become more important as the story progresses.

The Sacrifice
It is implied in the text that Cain and Abel knew the Lord, and were actually used to conversing with Him directly. When God confronted Cain about his attitude, he was not afraid, and he did not have any of the reactions that were typical of later men in the old testament. It is also implied that Cain and Abel knew the type of sacrifice they were to bring, as God Himself made the first blood sacrifice in the Garden of Eden, to cover the sins of Adam and Eve.(Gen 3:21)
Certainly the Bible is explicit that sin requires death, and that God allows the substitution of innocent blood for the blood of mankind. There are other kinds of offerings later specified in the Mosaic law, but these were not for the atonement of sin. I have often wondered exactly how Cain knew his sacrifice was rejected while Abel's was accepted. I was recently reminded that in the time of the patriarchs, the offerings were actually consumed by fire, so Cain would have seen Abel's sacrifice consumed by fire, while his rotted on the alter.

Cain's Response And What God Had To Say
The bible says that Cain was "very angry, and his face was downcast"(Gen 4:5) Then something amazing happened. God appeared to Cain, and asked him why he was angry. The next statement seems to me to be so profound that it is often overlooked. God says to Cain "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 master it."(Gen 4:7) Here God clearly explains to Cain that if he will follow after God, he will be accepted. Other translations put it that he will do well. What God points out to Cain is the choice he has to make. Either Cain can follow God, and let God deal with sin, or he can go his own way, but Cain will have to master sin on his own.

The Lack Of Repentance
Unfortunately Cain did not respond positively to the voice of God. Instead Cain let his anger fester inside himself, and did not repent. Can you imagine being confronted by the creator of the Universe and no listening to what He had to say. Sin did indeed take Cain. He tricked his brother into coming into one of his own fields, where Able was alone, and not on his own turf, and then he slew him. To cover his sin Cain buried Able right there in the field. I can imagine Cain justifying what he had done, telling himself that he would make sure Abel's family was taken care of, telling himself he had no choice.

Confrontation
God came to see Cain shortly after he had murdered Able. God knew what had happened, but chose to give Cain a chance to confess. God asked Cain, "Where is your brother?". Instead of confessing to God all that had taken place, Cain lied and said he didn't know. Now it was to late for repentance, God judged Cain then and there.

The Curse And The Blessing
Christians often consider the mark of Cain to be his curse. In fact the mark was God's blessing upon Cain. When God banished Cain to "be a restless wanderer on the earth." Cain complained that the punishment was more than he could bear. Isn't that true for all of us? God heard Cain's cry, even though it wasn't repentant. The mark of Cain warned people that to kill Cain meant certain death for themselves. The mark is actually God's mercy on an undeserving Cain. Even after all Cain had done, God was still willing to have mercy on him. Thank God he is still willing to be merciful to us today.

Mary, Martha, and Jesus: An example to the church

In a class I recently attended we discussed Mary (of Bethany) and her sister Martha. It was interesting to see how differently these two sisters related to Jesus. It was summed up nicely with the statement "Jesus talked with Martha, but He wept with Mary". Mary was much more concerned with an emotional relationship with Jesus, she sat at His feet while he taught, she wept with Him when her brother Lazarus died. Martha on the other hand was much more concerned with the business of serving Jesus. While Jesus taught in her home, she was busy preparing a meal. This is not to say that Martha didn't have a relationship with Jesus, she obviously did, nor does it mean Mary never served Jesus.

What I find most interesting is the way these two sisters and Jesus himself exemplify the way in which the church should work. Of course Jesus is our perfect example, but the way Mary and Martha interact with Him shows us a great deal about how we are to use our own gifts and talents.

First lets take a look at Martha. Martha is a worker, she loves to serve people by doing things for them. This is consistent with Jesus' instructions to his disciples in Matthew 20:26 "But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant", and again in Mar 10:45 "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many." Here Jesus indicates that one of the great goals of all Christians should be to serve others.

Martha was great at serving, but she, like all of us, had her faults. Martha became so busy with the business of serving that she failed to stop and listen to the One she was serving. Not only did Martha miss the teaching of the Master, she became so frustrated that Mary was not helping she appealed to Jesus that He might send Mary to the kitchen. (Luke 10:40) Jesus gently rebuked Martha because He knew what was most needed, and it had nothing to do with food at that moment. Jesus knew that although Martha's heart had started in the right place, she had lost sight of the reason she was serving and had become more concerned with the act itself.

Mary, on the other hand, was an excellent listener. She stopped everything to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to Him teach. It was not common practice in Jesus' day for a woman to listen to the teachings of a Rabbi, especially when there was much to be done to prepare a dinner. Mary didn't care about protocol or tradition, the only thing she cared about was spending time with Jesus. Jesus affirmed her choice when he rebuked Martha. Mary not only listened, but she gave. It was Mary who broke the jar of sweetnard over the feet of Jesus. When even Jesus' closest disciples missed what He had told them about his forthcoming death, Mary understood. The jar of perfume Mary broke over Jesus' feet was worth around one years wages. Mary wept over Him, pouring out her greatest possessions to her Lord.

In the modern church we need both Marys and Marthas. We need people to listen to the needs of others, and to be willing to give. We also need people to be willing to serve with everything they have. If we have only givers, we will have storehouses of supplies that will never make it into the hands of the needy. If we have only servants, we have people striving to make a difference in the world without any funding. Only through the combination of our gifts can the church truly be successful in displaying the full love of Christ.