Raising Cain
Abel drew in a deep breath as the scent of the fatted lamb rose in the air. He reflected on how gracious the Lord had been to his family. After his parents’ disobedience, the Lord could have struck them dead on the spot, but He hadn’t done that. Instead He had brought them here, to this new land, and provided for their needs. Abel had heard stories about the magnificent Garden from his parents, but he was happy just to live here. The mountains painted a backdrop that was perfect for sunsets; the way the pink and purple hues of evening light cascaded against the ridge at dusk was like nothing Abel had ever seen.
The sacrifice seemed such a small way to show the Lord his appreciation. God had done so much for his family – surely there must be something more Abel could do in return. This was what God had asked for, though, and so Abel had selected the choicest lamb from his flock to offer before the Lord. He had examined each animal with great care, and had finally settled on this one. Of all the sheep in his flock, it was the best. He hoped the Lord would be pleased with it.
“Well it just figures you beat me here … anything to show up your brother.” Abel was jerked out of his reflection by his brother’s snarl. He looked up to see Cain glaring at him.
“I only just got here, Cain … besides, it’s not like this is a contest, ya know.” Abel was so often confused by his brother. Cain had a restless spirit. He was never satisfied, and always seemed to be competing with Abel. The gentler of the two, Abel longed for peace in their relationship. He wished for once they could just hang out – go fishing together, maybe skip some stones across the brook’s surface, talk about what they hoped their future would be like. He wanted to share with Cain his dream of someday taking Tamara as his wife, of having his own home and making a family with her. For now, he kept all of these things to himself. Cain was too wrapped up in himself to think about anyone else. Abel missed the days when he and Cain had played together as children. He hoped this was a phase that his brother would grow out of – that whatever was bothering Cain would pass and they could become friends again. Surely as they matured individually, perhaps their relationship would mature as well.
With a heavy sigh Abel put some more wood onto the fire. He nodded toward Cain. “Is your offering ready?”
“What’s it to you? It’s ready … ready as it’ll ever be anyway.” Cain mixed some of the course ground flour he’d brought with a little oil and incense. Once the paste was made, he carelessly tossed the mixture onto the altar. Soon the pleasant aroma of the offering filled the air. Abel closed his eyes and breathed deeply, taking in the sweet smell.
Cain wiped his hands against each other to rub off the residual powder and addressed Abel gruffly. “Are we done then?”
His worship interrupted once again, Abel nodded and watched as Cain turned on his heel and stormed off. He wished he could do something to make his brother feel better, but every time he tried, it seemed Cain only got angrier. He would leave it alone and let the Lord deal with it; He always knew best.
The Lord looked with favor upon Abel’s offering. He knew that Abel had brought the firstborn of his flock in recognition that everything he had was from the Lord, and that it all belonged to Him. Abel had offered his sacrifice in faith, with thanksgiving, and the Lord was pleased.
God was not pleased with Cain’s offering, however, because He knew Cain had been merely going through the motions. He had not put any thought or care into his offering, and the Lord saw that Cain’s heart was not in it – he didn’t care about the offering or what would please God at all. The only thing Cain cared about was Cain. His selfishness was like a disease, damaging the quality of his life.
When Cain saw that the Lord had looked with favor upon Abel’s offering, but had not done so with his own, he became very angry. He stared at the ground and tried to control his breathing in an attempt to hide his anger from the Lord – something he should have known wasn’t possible.
The Lord spoke 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 master it.”
Cain would have done well to take God’s words and heed them, but instead the rage inside him took control. It simmered and bubbled until it came to a full boil deep within his heart, molten lava threatening to burst through the surface and destroy everything in its path. Cain paced back and forth, struggling to contain the resentment burning inside. Jealousy coursed through his veins, seeking an outlet. In that instant, a plan began to form in Cain’s mind. Emotion ruled his mind and the pieces came together, almost without thought.
“Abel! Where are you? Brother!” Cain’s voice shook just a bit as he summoned his brother.
“Coming … just a minute.” Abel dumped some sand over the last of the fire’s glowing embers. He turned in the direction of his brother’s voice and wondered what Cain wanted.
Cain came jogging up the path and clapped a hand on Abel’s shoulder. “Hey … yesterday I was out in the field and this gorgeous doe came out of the woods to graze. She was so pretty! You should have seen her.”
“Yeah? Sorry I missed it.”
Cain chose his next words very carefully. “I know how much you love watching the deer, Abel. Why don’t we go out to the field and see if we can catch her again? Don’t the deer sometimes follow the same path each day? Like a routine? Let’s go out to the field and see is we can spot her … I’m tellin’ ya, she was a beauty!”
Abel was an expert with animals. He didn’t need help in tracking a deer, but he was excited that Cain wanted to do something with him. This was just what he’d been hoping for! Maybe this would be the start of a new relationship for he and his brother. Anxiously, Abel agreed and the two set off for the field.
As they approached the field, Cain gasped and pointed excitedly. “Look! Over there! Can you see her?”
Abel strained his eyes, but didn’t see anything. The only movement he sensed was that of the grass bending in the wind. He kept searching the field, his eyes scanning back and forth, looking intently for the doe.
With Abel’s attention occupied trying to spot the deer, Cain found the large hunk of slate he had left in the field earlier. It was heavy, and he awkwardly lifted it to his chest with both hands. He held it there in one arm and ran the fingers of his other hand over its rough coolness. The stone’s color was black as the evil in Cain’s heart.
With a murderous cry, Cain hefted the stone up over his head and charged straight for Abel. “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Abel snapped his head around and his mouth dropped open in horror as he realized Cain’s intent. He tried to dodge his brother, but wasn’t quick enough. Cain’s eyes were filled with a bloodthirsty gleam as he brought the slate down over Abel’s head with a sick thud. Abel slumped to the ground and Cain smiled as he watched a crimson flow of blood gush from the back of his brother’s head. Satisfied with the carnage, Cain kicked his brother in the leg and left the field.
As he was walking the path back to their camp, Cain was startled by the Lord’s voice. “Where is your brother, Abel?”
Cain immediately became defensive and indignant. “How should I know? Am I my brother’s keeper?” He continued to move forward along the path, as if his indifference would disguise his guilt.
“What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.” Cain stopped walking.
“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 no longer yield its crops to you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
Confronted with his crime and its resulting curse, Cain responded not with remorse, but with self-pity. He whined about his punishment: “This is too much, God! It’s more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, the only home I’ve ever known, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will roam aimlessly on the earth, and whoever finds me is just gonna kill me.”
“Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then God put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him, and in God’s mercy, the life of a murderer was spared.