Genesis 4:8 And 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… Our text presents us with a narrative which happened nearly six thousand years ago; a period almost bordering upon that golden age of the world's infancy, when the bowers of Eden still blossomed as the garden of the Lord, and when man yet walked in innocence. But already had "the gold become dim"; and a little space of time had sufficed to change each scene. "Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?" It may be useful, too, to make this also our first inquiry — the cause of Cain's sorrow. Our second will be, how God sought to remove it. I. In inquiring into THE CAUSE OF CAIN'S SORROW, we may be sure that sin was the first cause; for to that source alone we ourselves may trace our every trouble. Cain possibly, as we often do, might impute it to what he considered God's harsh and unjust treatment of him, in having no respect to his offering; he should, however, have looked further, and considered his sin. Cain's sin appears to have been of a three-fold character, and consisted first in this: that, though he was a sinner both by nature and by practice, yet, as if unconscious that he was such, he made no acknowledgment of guilt. Scripture everywhere speaks of two distinct classes of offerings. In the New Testament the apostle calls them "gifts"; where, in speaking of one of the particular duties of priests, he mentions both kinds of offerings: "For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices" (Hebrews 8:3; Hebrews 5:1). In these gifts, or thank offerings, to have offered blood would have been the grossest abomination; a sin, however, into which the heathen fell. So David says: "Their drink offerings of blood will I not offer." God, therefore, instituted the ordinance of sacrifice, typical of that blood which should one day be shed upon the cross; and therefore it was only when a sacrifice had been first offered, by way of typical atonement, that then God could delight in the thanksgiving of the reconciled sinner. Now, Cain brought a thank offering only; clearly, then, he was practically unconscious of his guilty state before God. In this respect, every unconvinced and every self-righteous sinner resembles Cain; born in Cain's nature, and alas! still unchanged. If you have never yet felt yourself to be a lost sinner, and have never yet by faith washed your guilty soul in the blood of Christ's sacrifice, which alone can cleanse from sin, then, in that case, your best offerings, your prayers and your praises, your charities, or even your sacramental eucharists, are but the offering that Cain brought; and God can neither respect you nor your offering: He does not accept you. But let us now go on to observe the next particular in Cain's sin. It was want of faith in God's method of acceptance. It is just in this way that thousands now, who, like Cain, are without faith, argue respecting God's ordinances, especially respecting His great ordinance, Christ. Some will satisfy themselves with an ideal or speculative faith, who nevertheless have never really come to Christ, have never pleaded earnestly the merit of His sacrifice, or sought, as Abel did, the blood of sprinkling. Others altogether exclude from their religion faith in Christ as the only means by which they can be accepted of God; and this they do, not avowedly perhaps, but by a garbled sophistry. Whilst they profess to hold the fundamental doctrine of justification by faith alone, they so mix up with it the nonsensical quackeries of some thing of their own fancied merits, and so-called inherent righteousness, that they weaken it, and fritter it down into a mere unscriptural idea. We have yet to trace another particular in Cain's sin, and one which is the certain result of being in an unconvinced and unbelieving state — it is disobedience. Unconscious of need, and exercising no faith in God's ordinance, he thought to serve God after his own fashion. And here you have the test by which to try the character of your faith. The true believer has respect to all God's commandments, and would not willingly pass by one, even the most seemingly trifling; for he is aware that, however apparently unimportant it may be in itself, yet the mere fact of its being a Divine command invests it with infinite sanction, and with a claim to most unreserved obedience. The unbeliever, on the other hand, is for serving God according in his own loose notions of morality, by endeavouring to distinguish between duties which are essential and duties which are not essential, as well as also between great sins and little sins. II. We have seen that there were three particulars in this sin: in answering our second inquiry as to how God sought to remove Cain's sorrow, we shall find THAT THERE WERE THREE CORRESPONDING PARTICULARS IN THE OFFER OF MERCY WHICH GOD MADE TO HIM. The first particular in Cain's sin was that he was unconvinced of his sinfulness and impenitence: the first step, therefore, in God's exhibition of mercy towards him was an endeavour to lead him to true repentance by convincing him that he was a sinner. God usually seizes the most convenient seasons for the operations of His mercy. He comes to knock at the sinner's heart when His visits might seem to be most welcome; and, if in the sinner's sorrow there is any even the most remote semblance of repentance, oh, then a gracious and loving Father steps forth to meet him. God comes to Cain when in trouble, and when vexed in spirit with disappointment, and then mildly expostulates with him: "Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?" Surely these questions should have touched him, and reminded him of his sin. Cain sorrowed; but, alas! it was not after a godly sort: it did not prove to be that "godly sorrow which worketh repentance unto salvation not to be repented of." This is one reason "wherefore serveth the law"; and the result is blessed, when it comes with such power to a sinner's heart as to convince him of sin. Such it proved to St. Paul (Romans 7:7-11). We have already observed that the second particular of Cain's sin was want of faith in God's appointed method of acceptance, namely, in the shedding of blood. The second particular, therefore, in the exhibition of God's mercy was the assurance of pardon and acceptance through faith in the blood of a sacrifice: "And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door"; that is, "If, in consequence of the utter corruption of your nature, you are unable to make amends to My law already broken, or in future to fulfil all its spiritual requirements, yet in mercy I have provided a remedy, the use of which will restore you to My favour. And now, that I have brought your sin to your knowledge, go to the door of your tent, and see lying there the goat on which, typically, I am ready to lay all your sin: take, and offer it for a sin offering" (Leviticus 4:23, 24). In support of this interpretation, I would first remark that, in the language of Scripture, sin and its punishment, or atonement, are so intimately connected together, that the same word of the original (chattath) represents both ideas; and this word, which in our text has been translated "sin," is in other parts of the Old Testament rendered one hundred and twenty-four times "sin offering." We may further add, in support of the interpretation which we have given, that the literal meaning of the verb "lieth" is in the original "coucheth," and is, moreover, of the masculine gender; whereas the name "chattath" is feminine; thus proving that the verb refers both in its meaning and its gender to the male animal connected with the idea of the sin offering. From what we have said, then, it will appear that God's gracious offer of mercy to Cain consisted in this, that, though he was unable himself to fulfil God's requirements, yet a substituted victim which would be accepted for him was at hand. This, however, was not the only promise of mercy which God made to Cain. The third particular of Cain's sin was disobedience; and, in consequence, he, although the firstborn, forfeited the blessing of birthright. The third particular, therefore, in the exhibition of God's mercy was that, if he would be obedient, he should still enjoy his forfeited preeminence: "And unto thee shall be his [Abel's] desire, and thou shalt rule over him." As though God had said, "Why should you be angry, and imagine that I deal harshly or unfairly with you in choosing your brother and rejecting you? It is true, indeed, that he is My chosen, My elect, and that I have given him that preeminency which is yours by nature; so that, if he lives, from him shall descend My chosen seed, and of him Messiah shall be born — not of you. But do not think that this can furnish you with excuse, or that this My election of him to the rights of the firstborn shall, for one moment, stand in your way. I now pledge My word to you that, if you will be obedient, and propitiate My anger by the sacrifice of the sin offering which is near at hand, even at the door — then Abel shall indeed regard you as the eldest born: 'his desire shall be towards thee'; and thou shalt still enjoy the preeminence, 'thou shalt rule over him.'" To offers so full of mercy the hardened Cain turned a deaf ear, determining to obtain the preeminence — which, possibly, he thought rightly belonged to him — in his own way, not God's way; and, spurning the victim of God's choice, which was crouching at his feet, and whose offered blood, crying for mercy on his behalf, might have saved him, he chose his own victim, and with a brother's hand he shed a brother's blood, blood which cried for vengeance on the murderer's head. How short the step from the richest offers of mercy to a final reprobation! Reject the preaching of the cross today, and tomorrow you may be sealed in final impenitency. And let the believer learn from this narrative how to present all his offerings to God. They must all have reference to the blood of Christ. (C. P. Carey, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And 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 slew him. |
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