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Honey From The Rock Psalm 81:16 |
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MURDER, HE WROTE This entry was posted on 01-19-2010 and is filed under STUDIES IN GENESIS. "This book is called 'Genesis' because it records the beginning or generation of things. It sets forth several beginnings: that of the world, of life, of domestic relationships, of institutions, of the moral order, of sin and its consequences, of the scheme of redemption and of the Messianic nation" (New Analytical Bible, (c) 1964, Chicago, IL). And now we come to the beginning of death. In fact, it was a murder. The first murder. More terrible to think, it was fratricide ~ a brother killing another brother. How could this be?
"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" (Gen. 4:8 KJV). Domestic violence in the first family. And it sprang from unchecked anger that God had warned Cain about earlier. Abel's death does not appear to be accidental. Notice that it happened "in the field." Perhaps Cain lured Abel there with the intent of killing him there where no one could see them. If so, this would be premeditated murder, not merely manslaughter. Jesus said that out of the heart proceeds murder. Cain could not contain the hatred he felt for his brother (probably because God accepted Abel's sacrifice and not his own). 1 John 3:12 (ESV) sheds light on this shedding of blood. "We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous." This also helps us understand John 8:44 where Jesus said that Satan was a murderer "from the beginning." Murder, he wrote ("he" being Satan in this case). Cain was his brother's keeper, even though he denied it. His unchecked anger caused him to become his brother's murderer. God told him that his brother's blood cried unto Him from the ground! (Had Cain hidden his brother's body in a shallow grave?) I have been to the "killing fields" of Poland six times. I remember walking through the forests at Treblinka and Sobibor with this thought in mind: how much blood cries unto God from the ground of these dark places? Millions, yes, millions were summarily liquidated in Poland. Does their blood still cry out to God for justice? Because of this deed God places a curse on both Cain and the earth (see vs. 11, 12). But let me close on a positive note by pointing to the One who removed the curse of sin by His own blood. "But you have come to...Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel" (Heb. 12:22, 24 NKJV). Prayer: Loving Father, fill our hearts with love and rid our hearts of all anger and hatred. Help us never to be like Cain, who was of the evil one. Infuse us with Your holiness and rightousness we pray in Jesus' name. CommentsDisplay comments as (Linear | Threaded)
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