Tag: Abel

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Why are you so upset?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash

When I get to Genesis 4, I have so many questions.

  • What was wrong with Cain’s offering?
  • Why was Cain so angry? (Even the Lord asks, “Why are you angry?”)
  • Was Cain angry at God or at his brother Abel?
  • Why did Cain’s anger escalate to murder? Did he set out to kill his brother? Or did his anger get out of control?

I’ve got three clues from scripture to help me understand.

“By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did” (Hebrews 11:4).

“Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous” (1 John 3:12).

“Woe to [these ungodly people]! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion” (Jude 11).

So Cain had more than just anger issues. He rejected God. His response both to the Lord and Abel stemmed from unbelief. Cain is numbered with Balaam and Korah, who foolish rebelled against God.

The first sin is disobeying God’s instruction, “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17). From there, things progress from bad to worse. The next recorded sin is murder. No wonder Cain’s offering was unacceptable. His life was on a trajectory away from God. “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6).

Every Old Testament sacrifice pointed to Christ, the sacrifice for sin. If worship is about you rather than him, you’re missing the point.

Posted in Devotions, Lent

2020 Lenten devotion #2: The blood of Abel

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by geralt on paxabay.com

Photo by geralt on paxabay.com
“Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 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.”

“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? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.’” (Genesis 4:2-5,8-10)

Like a glass of red wine spilled on a light-colored carpet, a scratch along the side of a car or a welt across a slapped face, some sins cannot be hidden. There is no hiding Cain’s murder of his brother Abel in a field where no one sees. Heaven can hear the screams. 

How does God respond? He simply asks, “What happened?” Of course he knows. But he wants Cain to say it. To speak the words. To confess. Why? Because “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us” (1 John 1:9). God has always been that way. Drops of blood from his own son’s whipped back, thorn-crowned head, nail-pierced hands and feet and spear-pierced side have also splattered on the ground. With the assurance of forgiveness, his blood drowns out the blood of Abel (Hebrews 12:24) and the stains, scratches and scars of all my sins, too. 

There may not be a chalk outline on the ground for each one of my sins. But God knows. So do I. Amazingly, he always listens when I tell him what I’ve done. Even more amazingly, he forgives. 

Thank you, Lord, for drowning out the voice of my guilt with your words of grace and forgiveness. Amen.