Genesis 4
God gave Adam and his wife two sons. The oldest one, called Cain, worked the ground; the younger, Abel, kept sheep. They both brought something to give to God. Surely Adam had told his two sons that when he had lived in the beautiful garden, he had sinned, and was driven out, but that God had covered them with skins, and blood had been shed because of their sin. Cain and Abel were sinful too; they both tried to come to God, each in a different way. Cain brought what grew out of the ground, the fruit such as oranges and bananas, and put it on his altar. He may have chosen the best fruits and the sweetest and prettiest to give to God. But that fruit could not take the place of Cain, in the death which he had earned. That fruit, like the fig leaves, had no blood. Abel brought a lamb which he killed, as if he were saying “I am a sinful man, and so should die, but I am asking God to take this killed lamb in my place.” And would God take it? Yes; and before God, Abel’s badness, his sin, was covered by the killed lamb. But did God take Cain’s fruit? No. Why? Because there was no blood shed, so his sins were not covered. Just as the leaves of the fig tree could not cover Adam and Eve’s sins, so the fruit could not cover Cain’s sins. Blood must flow that we may come to God. Without it we should be thrown into the outer darkness of hell.
But how can we find blood now to cover our sins? We can never find it. But God has found it for us. He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus into this world to suffer death. One day when the Lord Jesus was walking, there was a man named John who called out, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:2929The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)). Yes, God Himself has prepared a Lamb. His blood has flowed out. God is now waiting for you to come to Him and say, “I rest and trust only on the blood of Your Lamb, the blood of the Lord Jesus, to take away all my sins.”
This is faith. God spoke about Abel, that by faith Abel offered a much better sacrifice than Cain. And so Abel got the word that he was righteous. God spoke about the gift that Abel brought; so, although Abel has died, he still speaks (Heb. 11:44By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. (Hebrews 11:4)). Our righteousness comes from the Lord Jesus, the killed Lamb. I believe He died for me and that He was raised again for my justification! He has taken my place. So I am righteous in His sight.
Cain Kills His Brother
Cain and Abel were the first children in the world. In many ways they were alike. They had the same parents, lived in the same family, heard the same stories from their father: how God made the world, how Adam and Eve sinned, how God clothed them with skins, but had driven them out of the garden. Both the brothers knew about the true God. They both wished to give Him an offering. They had had so many things alike. Why were their offerings different? Because Cain did not believe that he was a sinner, and only blood can cover sin. Abel knew that. Today some are sheltered by the blood, and others are not. Before God, these must be forever divided.
Cain was very angry because God did not take his offering. When he and Abel were together in the field, he killed Abel. How very bad this was! The Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel?” And he said, “I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Lord asked what he had done, because his brother’s blood was crying to Him from the ground. And now much sorrow would come to Cain. He must work the ground, which now would not grow things so well for him. He would be a tramp and a runaway in the earth. And Cain went out from the Lord.
Cain did not think that God’s eye was on him. But God saw him kill his brother. Many today forget that God sees all things. But all your sins can be covered by the blood of God’s Lamb. How wonderful this is! Everyone is like one of these two brothers, either like Abel, depending on the blood of the Lamb, (for us the Lamb is the Lord Jesus,) or like Cain, depending on something without blood. Who are you like? Abel or Cain?