The Conundrum of Cain

Ok, I confess. I love to use the word “conundrum”; especially when it alliterates. But there is a conundrum associated with Cain. In Genesis 4 we have a record of Cain killing his brother Abel. This is the first murder recorded in the bible and the conundrum is why did Cain do it…what set him off. Here is how the incident is recorded in Genesis 4: “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

There are two parts to the conundrum. First, why did God not respect Cain’s offering? I don’t think we are specifically told why but I think we can make a pretty educated guess. Cain’s offering was of the field. Abel’s offering was an animal. I believe that by this time it was communicated by God that a blood sacrifice was necessary for forgiveness or atonement of sin. Abel does this. Cain does not. In Hebrews 11:4 we have another clue: “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain; through which he obtained witness that he was righteous.” We are not given specifics here but we are told that Abel’s sacrifice was more excellent. This fits with my idea but it certainly isn’t concrete proof.   We know that God established the sacrificial system which required blood to be shed. However there is no mention of why Cain/Abel were making an offering to the Lord. There were prescribed offerings of grain given to the Israelites in the Old Testament law. So I’m not exactly sure though I think I’m right. I believe that Cain did not offer an acceptable sacrifice and that he knew it. Second, why did Cain not repent? God leaves the door open for him to repent and receive forgiveness. But instead he kills his brother. I John 3:12 says that Cain murdered Abel “because his (Cain’s) works were evil and his brother’s righteous.” Does this point back to the sacrifice being the wrong one? We just don’t know. But we do know that Cain didn’t repent.

The lessons that I take away from Cain’s conundrum are that I need to follow the directions that God gives. I believe that Cain knew to provide an animal sacrifice and he thought he could do something else. He thought there was another way to satisfy God but there was not. And I also believe that Cain’s attack on Abel is a foreshadowing of what we are capable of when we turn our backs on God. We are capable of just about anything, often worse than we can imagine. I hope that you will follow what God says and when you sin, you will repent…not double down on the sin.

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