Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-23; Hebrews 11:4)

The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is one of the best-known chapters in the Bible. It lists several Old Testament characters who lived by faith. Unexpectedly, the author does not begin with Adam and Eve in his list of names. In fact, the Bible says little about the lives of Adam and Eve after Genesis 4 (apart from how Adam was the covenant head of the human race). The Bible says nothing about the eternal destiny of Adam and Eve, so it is not wise to insist either way about where they are. Where the Bible is silent, it is best for us to be silent as well.

Having said that, this chapter says nothing about Seth, the replacement son that was given to Adam and Eve and who led the godly seed, nor it does not mention Phineas who was a loyal priest when the children of Israel were going through the wilderness, nor does it mention Othniel, who was a devout judge who led the Israelites after the death of Joshua. Absence from the list of names in Hebrews 11 is not in itself a sign of divine disapproval.

The times of Abel

On when the incident described in Genesis 4 took place, we have no idea how much time has passed from the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. There are several statements in the chapter that show that a good amount of time has passed.

Both Cain and Abel are adults in Genesis 4 and they had developed personal interests and skills (Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer). Cain, after his attack on his brother, was conscious of the possibility of people looking for him to punish him for his crime of murder, which suggests that there was a form of authority set up, as well as the obvious fact that those looking for him were other children or grandchildren of Adam and Eve. At some stage Cain had married one of his sisters who went with him to another country (as detailed in Genesis 4), and the mention of her also shows that Adam and Eve had other children.

Another detail that the account in Genesis 4 reveals is the existence of organised worship of God. Moses says that the incident described in the chapter took place ‘in the course of time,’ a statement that suggests there was a form of stated occasions for gathering for worship.

An interesting aspect of the worship is that the Lord was present in a manner through which interaction could take place with him, as we see from the way he spoke with Cain (the usual explanation for how this took place is what is called a theophany, that God took on a visible appearance, which he had done in the Garden of Eden as he conversed with Adam and Eve).

It is possible that the place of worship was near to the cherubim placed at the gate of the Garden, and we know from elsewhere in the Old Testament that there is a connection between worship and the cherubim. The Lord could have spoken to them from within the Garden.

What we can say about the worship is that it divided the community, however big it was. Two religions were present that day, the religion of Cain and the religion of Abel.

The religion of Cain

What features mark the worship of Cain? It is not clear if there was anything inadequate in him presenting the fruit of the ground as an offering because there was a sacrifice later in Israel called the meal offering which did not require a blood sacrifice as part of it. It is better to say that the problem in Cain’s case was in the offerer and not the offering. Matthew Henry comments that what Cain was doing was continuing a similar practice to what would have been offered in the state of innocency had Adam not sinned, and if Henry is correct, then we could say that Cain did not regard the Fall and its consequences as serious. After all, it is possible that he had ever been yet to a funeral because of a death and so would not have seen the penalty of physical death pronounced by God happening.

One detail that was missing from the worship of Cain was any thought of repentance for his terrible sin. That is obvious from the way he responded to his sin of the murder of his brother. He had the opportunity to repent when the Lord probed him about his sin, but he did not. He was only concerned about his earthly security, of the danger of justice from some fellow humans who found him rather than escaping the eventual justice of God. There was not a hint of repentance in his heart.

The absence of repentance also points to the inadequacy of his faith. There is a sense in which Cain had some kind of faith, otherwise he would not have come to the occasion of worship with his sacrifice. Even the fact that he discussed with the Lord his fear of earthly punishment points to him willing to discuss things with God, but any sense of fear and of escape that he had was limited to this world. In one sense, it is easy to worship a Creator and to worship a Controller of providence when things work out in a manner that pleases us. But such worship is not spiritual worship.

The fact is, to worship the Lord, we must have a faith accompanied by repentance. Repentance includes sorrow for sin, and it also includes a forsaking of sin, of turning away from it. Repentance comes from recognising that the Lord is a God of mercy. Adam and Eve knew, through the curse pronounced on the serpent, that a Champion would yet come who would deliver the human race, which was a clear statement from the Lord that he intended to be merciful to sinners. Cain had no interest in a religion that included faith in the promises of God, in his revealed will, and which included repentance in those who worshipped him.

The religion of Abel

The difference between Abel and Cain is that the faith of Abel was a true faith while the attitude of Cain was not an expression of true faith. What are features of a true faith? Here are some of them.

First, the foundational feature of Abel’s religion is that it must have been based on the revelation given by God in his promise of a coming Deliverer. This means that in Abel’s outlook there was hope of final deliverance from the curse brought on by sin. We don’t know whether Abel had other information about the coming Saviour. As far as the Bible is concerned, he had one promise to go on, and he based his future on that one promise. He believed in a Saviour who would provide deliverance for him.

Second, there is an awareness that there are two kinds of people in the world – those delivered by God and those who are not. Abel and Cain were heading in different directions. One was walking with God and the other had no interest in pleasing God. Abel, in order to become a true worshipper of God, had to move from being a member of an earthly family and become a member of God’s family.

Third, there is a change of behaviour in those delivered from the penalty of sin in that they have the description of righteous applied to them. Jesus, the highest authority, refers to Abel as righteous and so does the author of Hebrews as guided by the Holy Spirit to write this inspired book. A righteous person is someone who pleases God by the way he lives. Abel, although a sinner, had a new heart created within him by God, a heart that loved the commandments written on his heart. Therefore, he obeyed God.

I suppose we could say that those three details point to the three blessings that any sinner receives when they believe in Jesus through hearing the gospel or reading about it. Faith in a deliverer is the doctrine of justification, joining the family of God is the doctrine of adoption, and living righteously is the doctrine of sanctification.

But there is more to say about Abel. He was the first martyr for his faith. Sadly, since then there have been many martyrs, including in our own day throughout the world. His blood speaks to us and reminds us that sometimes there is a heavy cost to pay for believing in God. This has been so from the beginning.

Abel was also the first believer to go to heaven. There was a time when there were no humans in heaven. But then Abel came in, the first of a long, long line of saved sinners. Andrew Bonar described Abel’s arrival there in this way: ‘Abel left an impression in heaven. This new style of dress, this robe of righteousness, had never before been seen there. He was the first-fruits of the promise of the Woman’s Seed. What joy to Christ! See Him holding him up, saying, “Behold My sheep!”’

Abel is still a witness to others, even though they have never met him. He is a witness to us through this incident recorded in God’s Word. His experience tells us that God delights in true worship, that he searches the person’s heart for the presence of faith. The message from Abel is clear – worship the Lord through a living faith.

Abel is a witness also in another way, a surprising way, but an obvious way. Because he was a mere mortal, his death demanded vengeance from God. In contrast with Abel’s death, the death of Jesus, the death of the God-sent Saviour, cries out much louder for mercy to occur, not merely temporary mercy as experienced by Cain, but eternal mercy.