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.
8. told ] Heb. said unto, which is the only possible meaning of the original. The rendering “told” implies that Cain repeated to Abel, his brother, the words spoken to him by Jehovah. But this is not the meaning of the original, which is, “Cain said unto Abel his brother”; some words, which are wanting in the Hebrew text, either having been intentionally omitted by the compiler, or accidentally dropped by carelessness in transcription. As the R.V. margin states, “many ancient authorities [Sam., LXX, Syr. Pesh., and Ps. Jon.] read said unto Abel his brother, Let us go into the field ”; LXX, ; Lat. egrediamur foras. This addition has all the appearance of an insertion, supplied to fill up an obvious gap, and borrowed from the next verse. Gunkel proposes to read, instead of “and said” ( vayymer), “and was bitter” ( vayymer), i.e. “and made a quarrel.” Here, as in the preceding verse, we have probably an instance of a very early disturbance of the text.
Possibly, the words spoken by Cain to his brother Abel contained some allusion which seemed wanting in the right spirit towards the faith and worship of the God of Israel, and were omitted without other words being substituted.
the field ] i.e. having left the sacred place, shrine or altar, where they had offered their sacrifices. An allusion to such a spot might well have been omitted as unsuitable.
rose up ] preliminary to assault: see Jdg 8:21; 2Sa 2:14; 2Ki 3:24.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gen 4:8
Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him
The first murder
I.
IT WAS THE MURDER OF ONE BROTHER BY ANOTHER. We should have thought that the members of this small family could have lived on amicable terms with each other. We should never have dreamed of murder in their midst. See here:–
1. The power of envy.
2. The ambition of selfishness.
3. The quick development of passion.
II. IT WAS OCCASIONED BY ENVY IN THE RELIGIOUS DEPARTMENT OF LIFE. Brothers ought to rejoice in the moral success of each other. Envy in the church is the great cause of strife. Men envy each others talents. They murder each others reputation. They kill many of tender spirit. You can slay your minister by a look–a word–as well as by a weapon. Such conduct is:–
1. Cruel.
2. Reprehensible.
3. Astonishing.
4. Frequent.
III. THAT IT WAS AVENGED BY HEAVEN.
1. By a convicting question.
2. By an alarming curse.
3. By a wandering life. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The beginning of the fatal operations of sin on human society
I. THE FIRST RECORDED ACT OF WORSHIP OCCASIONS THE FIRST MURDER. Is not that only too correct a forecast of the oceans of blood which have been shed in the name of religion, and a striking proof of the subtle power of sin to corrupt even the best, and out of it to make the worst? What a lesson against the bitter hatred which has too often sprung up on so-called religious grounds!
II. SIN HERE APPEARS AS HAVING POWER TO BAR MENS WAY TO GOD. Much ingenuity has been spent on the question why Abels offering was accepted and Cains rejected. But the narrative itself shows in the words of Jehovah, If thou doest well, is there not acceptance? that the reason lay in Cains evil deeds (See 1Jn 3:12; Heb 11:4). Plenty of worship nowadays is Cains worship. Many reputable professing Christians bring just such sacrifices. The prayers of such never reach higher than the church ceiling.
III. Note in one word THAT WE HAVE HERE AT THE BEGINNING OF HUMAN HISTORY THE SOLEMN DISTINCTION WHICH RUNS THROUGH IT ALL. These two, so near in blood, so separate in spirit, head the two classes into which Scripture decisively parts men, especially men who have heard the gospel.
IV. The solemn Divine voice reads the lesson of THE POWER OF SIN, WHEN ONCE DONE, OVER THE SINNER. Like a wild beast, it crouches in ambush at his door, ready to spring and devour. Or, by another metaphor, it hungers after him with a longing which is a horrible parody of the wifes love and desire (comp. Gen 3:16 with Gen 4:7). The evil deed once committed takes shape, as it were, and waits to seize the doer. Remorse, inward disturbance, and, above all, the fatal inclination to repeat sin till it becomes a habit, are set forth with terrible force in these grim figures.
What a menagerie of ravenous beasts some of us have at the doors of our hearts! The eternal duty of resistance is farther taught by the words. Hope of victory, encouragement to struggle, the assurance that even these savage beasts may be subdued, and the lion and adder (the hidden and the glaring evils which wound unseen, and which spring with a roar), may be overcome, and led in a silken leash, are given in the command, which is also a promise, Rule thou over it.
V. THE DEADLY FRUIT OF HATE IS TAUGHT US IN THE BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE ACTUAL MURDER. Notice the impressive plainness and fewness of the words. Cain rose up against his brother, and slew him. Observe the emphasis with which his brother is repeated in the verse and throughout. Observe, also, the vivid light thrown by the story on the rise and progress of the sin. It begins with envy and jealousy. Cain was not wroth because his offering was rejected. What did he care for that? But what angered him was that his brother had what he had not. So selfishness was at the bottom, and that led on to envy, and that to hatred. Then comes a pause, in which God speaks remonstrances, as Gods voice–conscience–does now to us all, between the imagination and the act of evil. A real or a feigned reconciliation is effected. The brothers go in apparent harmony to the field. No new provocation appears, but the old feelings, kept down for a time, come in again with a rush, and the man is swept away. Hatred left to work means murder.
VI. MARK HOW CLOSE ON THE HEELS OF SIN GODS QUESTION TREADS. How God spoke, we know not. Doubtless in some fashion suited to the needs of Cain. But He speaks to us as really as to him, and no sooner is the rush of passion over, and the bad deed done, than a revulsion comes. What we call conscience asks the question in stern tones, which make a mans flesh creep. Our sin is like touching the electric bells which people sometimes put on their windows to give notice of thieves. As soon as we step beyond the line of duty we set the alarm going, and it wakens the sleeping conscience.
VII. CAINS DEFIANT ANSWER TEACHES US HOW A MAN HARDENS HIMSELF AGAINST GODS VOICE. It also shows us how intensely selfish all sin is, and how weakly foolish its excuses are.
VIII. THE STERN SENTENCE IS NEXT PRONOUNCED. First we have the grand figure of the innocent blood having a voice which pierces the heavens. That teaches in the most forcible way the truth that God knows the crimes done by mans inhumanity to man, even when the meek sufferers are silent. According to the fine old legend of the cranes of Ibycus, a bird of the air will carry the matter. It speaks, too, of His tender regard for His saints, whose blood is precious in His sight; and it teaches that He will surely requite. Then follows the sentence, which falls into two parts–the curse of bitter, unrequited toil, and the doom of homeless wandering. The blood which has been poured out on the battlefield fertilizes the soil; but Abels blasted the earth. It was a supernatural infliction, to teach that bloodshed polluted the earth, and so to shed a nameless horror over the deed. We see an analogous feeling in the common belief that places where some foul sin has been committed are cursed. We see a weak natural correspondence in the devastating effect of war, as expressed in the old saying that no grass would grow where the Turk had stabled his horses. The doom of wandering, which would be compulsory by reason of the earths barrenness, is a parable. The murderer is hunted from place to place, as the Greek fable has it, by the Furies, who suffer him not to rest. Conscience drives a man through dry places, seeking rest, and finding none. All sin makes us homeless wanderers. Every sinner is a fugitive and a vagabond. But if we love God we are still wanderers, indeed, but we are pilgrims and sojourners with Thee.
IX. CAINS REMONSTRANCE COMPLETES THE TRAGIC PICTURE. We see in it despair without penitence. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
The first murderer
I. THIS HISTORY PRESENTS A PICTURE OF THE BASENESS OF SELFISHNESS.
1. Selfishness overlooks the means employed by others to become great.
2. Destroys the sacredness of natural ties.
3. Considers the virtues of others hostile to itself.
4. Is not scrupulous in injuring the innocent.
II. THE INJURIES DONE TO THE GOOD ARE NOTICED IN HEAVEN.
III. AN IMPARTIAL INVESTIGATION WILL BE MADE TOUCHING THESE WRONGS.
1. A righteous Judge sitting on the judgment seat.
2. An opportunity will be offered to the accused to prove his innocence.
3. Only integrity can stand the investigation.
IV. THE EVIL DOER IS THE GREATEST SUFFERER IN THE END.
1. No prosperity.
2. No home.
3. No peace. (Homilist.)
Cain the murderer
I. THE HISTORY OF HIS CRIME.
II. THE INSTRUCTIONS AND ADMONITIONS WHICH THE HISTORY OF HIS CRIME SUGGESTS.
1. The history affords a melancholy instance of the disappointment which sometimes follows parental hopes.
2. The history teaches that no professions of religion are acceptable to God if they be unaccompanied with faith.
3. We learn from the history, the rapid and extensive progress which sin is capable of making.
4. The history suggests to us the awful criminality which is connected with the murder of a soul!–the infusion of a deadly poison, or the infliction of a deadly blow on the character, and happiness, and hopes of an immortal spirit!–the perdition of a soul by our influence and by our instrumentality! Oh! this is a solemn thought for the minister, and for the parent, and for everyone who possesses any degree of influence in society. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God.
5. You also perceive from the history, that the sinner who is bold in crime becomes a coward in the presence of punishment. This was strikingly exemplified in the case of Cain. In the field he was courageous–brave enough to shed a brothers blood! But how he fled trembling when the deed was done. How he endeavoured to persuade Jehovah that he had not been guilty of the crime. And though his punishment was mild and merciful for such a monster of iniquity, yet when it is pronounced he faints, and cries, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Nor is there in punishment alone, anything that is calculated to soften the heart or to reform the character.
6. Again, the history is connected with the gospel truth that the blood of sprinkling speaketh better things than the blood of Abel. Both of these are represented in the Scriptures as endowed with speech. The blood of Abel was not sacrificial; the blood of sprinkling is the propitiation for our sins. The blood of Abel proclaims the depravity and malevolence of man; the blood of sprinkling proclaims the purity and the love of God. The blood of Abel cried for punishment on the murderer; the blood of sprinkling cries for pardon and salvation. The blood of Abel produced wretchedness and terror in the mind of Cain; the blood of sprinkling produces joy unspeakable and full of glory.
7. The history teaches that the death of a believer, under whatever circumstances it occurs, is always safe and happy. Such was the death of Abel. (J. Alexander.)
The first murderer
Our text presents us with a narrative which happened nearly six thousand years ago; a period almost bordering upon that golden age of the worlds infancy, when the bowers of Eden still blossomed as the garden of the Lord, and when man yet walked in innocence. But already had the gold become dim; and a little space of time had sufficed to change each scene. Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? It may be useful, too, to make this also our first inquiry–the cause of Cains sorrow. Our second will be, how God sought to remove it.
I. In inquiring into THE CAUSE OF CAINS SORROW, we may be sure that sin was the first cause; for to that source alone we ourselves may trace our every trouble. Cain possibly, as we often do, might impute it to what he considered Gods harsh and unjust treatment of him, in having no respect to his offering; he should, however, have looked further, and considered his sin. Cains sin appears to have been of a three-fold character, and consisted first in this: that, though he was a sinner both by nature and by practice, yet, as if unconscious that he was such, he made no acknowledgment of guilt. Scripture everywhere speaks of two distinct classes of offerings. In the New Testament the apostle calls them gifts; where, in speaking of one of the particular duties of priests, he mentions both kinds of offerings: For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices (Heb 8:3; Heb 5:1). In these gifts, or thank offerings, to have offered blood would have been the grossest abomination; a sin, however, into which the heathen fell. So David says: Their drink offerings of blood will I not offer. God, therefore, instituted the ordinance of sacrifice, typical of that blood which should one day be shed upon the cross; and therefore it was only when a sacrifice had been first offered, by way of typical atonement, that then God could delight in the thanksgiving of the reconciled sinner. Now, Cain brought a thank offering only; clearly, then, he was practically unconscious of his guilty state before God. In this respect, every unconvinced and every self-righteous sinner resembles Cain; born in Cains nature, and alas! still unchanged. If you have never yet felt yourself to be a lost sinner, and have never yet by faith washed your guilty soul in the blood of Christs sacrifice, which alone can cleanse from sin, then, in that case, your best offerings, your prayers and your praises, your charities, or even your sacramental eucharists, are but the offering that Cain brought; and God can neither respect you nor your offering: He does not accept you. But let us now go on to observe the next particular in Cains sin. It was want of faith in Gods method of acceptance. It is just in this way that thousands now, who, like Cain, are without faith, argue respecting Gods ordinances, especially respecting His great ordinance, Christ. Some will satisfy themselves with an ideal or speculative faith, who nevertheless have never really come to Christ, have never pleaded earnestly the merit of His sacrifice, or sought, as Abel did, the blood of sprinkling. Others altogether exclude from their religion faith in Christ as the only means by which they can be accepted of God; and this they do, not avowedly perhaps, but by a garbled sophistry. Whilst they profess to hold the fundamental doctrine of justification by faith alone, they so mix up with it the nonsensical quackeries of some thing of their own fancied merits, and so-called inherent righteousness, that they weaken it, and fritter it down into a mere unscriptural idea. We have yet to trace another particular in Cains sin, and one which is the certain result of being in an unconvinced and unbelieving state–it is disobedience. Unconscious of need, and exercising no faith in Gods ordinance, he thought to serve God after his own fashion. And here you have the test by which to try the character of your faith. The true believer has respect to all Gods commandments, and would not willingly pass by one, even the most seemingly trifling; for he is aware that, however apparently unimportant it may be in itself, yet the mere fact of its being a Divine command invests it with infinite sanction, and with a claim to most unreserved obedience. The unbeliever, on the other hand, is for serving God according in his own loose notions of morality, by endeavouring to distinguish between duties which are essential and duties which are not essential, as well as also between great sins and little sins.
II. We have seen that there were three particulars in this sin: in answering our second inquiry as to how God sought to remove Cains sorrow, we shall find THAT THERE WERE THREE CORRESPONDING PARTICULARS IN THE OFFER OF MERCY WHICH GOD MADE TO HIM. The first particular in Cains sin was that he was unconvinced of his sinfulness and impenitence: the first step, therefore, in Gods exhibition of mercy towards him was an endeavour to lead him to true repentance by convincing him that he was a sinner. God usually seizes the most convenient seasons for the operations of His mercy. He comes to knock at the sinners heart when His visits might seem to be most welcome; and, if in the sinners sorrow there is any even the most remote semblance of repentance, oh, then a gracious and loving Father steps forth to meet him. God comes to Cain when in trouble, and when vexed in spirit with disappointment, and then mildly expostulates with him: Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? Surely these questions should have touched him, and reminded him of his sin. Cain sorrowed; but, alas! it was not after a godly sort: it did not prove to be that godly sorrow which worketh repentance unto salvation not to be repented of. This is one reason wherefore serveth the law; and the result is blessed, when it comes with such power to a sinners heart as to convince him of sin. Such it proved to St. Paul (Rom 7:7-11). We have already observed that the second particular of Cains sin was want of faith in Gods appointed method of acceptance, namely, in the shedding of blood. The second particular, therefore, in the exhibition of Gods mercy was the assurance of pardon and acceptance through faith in the blood of a sacrifice: And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door; that is, If, in consequence of the utter corruption of your nature, you are unable to make amends to My law already broken, or in future to fulfil all its spiritual requirements, yet in mercy I have provided a remedy, the use of which will restore you to My favour. And now, that I have brought your sin to your knowledge, go to the door of your tent, and see lying there the goat on which, typically, I am ready to lay all your sin: take, and offer it for a sin offering (Lev 4:23-24). In support of this interpretation, I would first remark that, in the language of Scripture, sin and its punishment, or atonement, are so intimately connected together, that the same word of the original (chattath)
represents both ideas; and this word, which in our text has been translated sin, is in other parts of the Old Testament rendered one hundred and twenty-four times sin offering. We may further add, in support of the interpretation which we have given, that the literal meaning of the verb lieth is in the original coucheth, and is, moreover, of the masculine gender; whereas the name chattath is feminine; thus proving that the verb refers both in its meaning and its gender to the male animal connected with the idea of the sin offering. From what we have said, then, it will appear that Gods gracious offer of mercy to Cain consisted in this, that, though he was unable himself to fulfil Gods requirements, yet a substituted victim which would be accepted for him was at hand. This, however, was not the only promise of mercy which God made to Cain. The third particular of Cains sin was disobedience; and, in consequence, he, although the firstborn, forfeited the blessing of birthright. The third particular, therefore, in the exhibition of Gods mercy was that, if he would be obedient, he should still enjoy his forfeited preeminence: And unto thee shall be his [Abels] desire, and thou shalt rule over him. As though God had said, Why should you be angry, and imagine that I deal harshly or unfairly with you in choosing your brother and rejecting you? It is true, indeed, that he is My chosen, My elect, and that I have given him that preeminency which is yours by nature; so that, if he lives, from him shall descend My chosen seed, and of him Messiah shall be born–not of you. But do not think that this can furnish you with excuse, or that this My election of him to the rights of the firstborn shall, for one moment, stand in your way. I now pledge My word to you that, if you will be obedient, and propitiate My anger by the sacrifice of the sin offering which is near at hand, even at the door–then Abel shall indeed regard you as the eldest born: his desire shall be towards thee; and thou shalt still enjoy the preeminence, thou shalt rule over him. To offers so full of mercy the hardened Cain turned a deaf ear, determining to obtain the preeminence–which, possibly, he thought rightly belonged to him–in his own way, not Gods way; and, spurning the victim of Gods choice, which was crouching at his feet, and whose offered blood, crying for mercy on his behalf, might have saved him, he chose his own victim, and with a brothers hand he shed a brothers blood, blood which cried for vengeance on the murderers head. How short the step from the richest offers of mercy to a final reprobation! Reject the preaching of the cross today, and tomorrow you may be sealed in final impenitency. And let the believer learn from this narrative how to present all his offerings to God. They must all have reference to the blood of Christ. (C. P. Carey, M. A.)
Envy
Beware of envy; it was one of the first windows that corrupt nature looked out at; a sin that shed the first blood. Cains envy hatched Abels murder. (W. Gurnall.)
The first murder
I. CAINS CRIME. Anger and hatred are the seed of murder. We need to pray always: Incline our hearts to keep this law.
II. CAINS QUESTION. Am I my brothers keeper?
1. Defiance of God.
2. Disregard of humanity.
III. CAINS PUNISHMENT.
1. Fruitless toil.
2. A restless life.
IV. CAINS REMORSE. If we wish to avoid the way of Cain, let us–
1. Subdue angry feelings.
2. Love our neighbour.
3. Confess our sins to God, instead of trying to conceal them.
4. Ask God for pardon, instead of trying to flee from His face. (W. S. Smith, B. D.)
Unbelief working by wrath, malice, and envy
I. THE LORD DID NOT ALL AT ONCE FINALLY REJECT CAIN; on the contrary, He gave him an opportunity of finding acceptance still, as Abel had found it. The very intimation of his rejection, made to him immediately upon the first offence, was a merciful dealing with Cain, and ought to have been so received by him, and improved for leading him to humiliation, penitence, and faith. Instead of being humbled, however, he is irritated and provoked. Still, the Lord visits him, and graciously condescends to plead and expostulate with him. Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? Wilt thou mend matters by thine angry and sullen gloom? Nay, there is a more excellent way. Retrace thy steps. Do as Abel did. And if like him thou doest well, thou canst have no doubt of thine acceptance. Thy rueful and downcast looks will be elevated into the gladness of a spirit in which there is no guile. But, on the other hand, beware. If thou rejectest the only true and effectual remedy–if thou doest not well–think not that any passionate complaints or moody discontent of thine will avail for thy relief. Sin–the sin to which by complying with its solicitations thou hast given the mastery over thee–is not thus to be got rid of. Nay, thou canst not keep it at a distance, or even at arms length. It lieth at thy door; ever crouching for thee; ever ready to fawn upon thee for further concessions, or to grasp thee in its fangs of remorse and shame and terror. Cain would not be subject to the law of God–nor would he submit himself to the righteousness of God. He thought that he did well to be angry. And as his wrath could not reach the great Being of whom chiefly he complained, he vented it on his brother, who was within his reach. Being of the wicked one, he slew his brother.
II. Returning from the field, CAIN SCRUPLES NOT, APPARENTLY, TO REVISIT THE SANCTUARY–the very presence of the Lord; for it is afterwards said that upon receiving his sentence he went out from thence (Gen 4:16). He seems to think that he may calmly meet both his parents and his God. He even assumes an air of defiance. Thus the infidel regards religion, in the persons of its professors, as insulting and injurious to himself. He is not its keeper. It is no concern of his to save its credit or its character; rather he may be justified in putting it out of his way as best he can.
III. But Cain, though thus far spared, WAS MADE FULLY AND TERRIBLY AWARE OF THE DIVINE DISPLEASURE. He had hitherto been a tiller of the ground; and the ground, though cursed for mans sake, yielded a return to his toil. This employment of a cultivator of the soil seems originally to have possessed a certain preeminence of rank, and it had this manifest advantage, that it was a stationary occupation–a settled line of life. It permitted those who engaged in it to remain quietly resident in their hereditary domains, and to exercise their hereditary dominion. Above all, it left them in the neighbourhood of the place where the Lord manifested His presence–the sanctuary–the seat and centre of the old primeval religion. But Cain was henceforth to be debarred from the exercise of his original calling; at least on the spot where he had previously enjoyed his birthright privileges. For not only is the ground cursed to him–he is cursed from the earth. (R. S. Candlish, D. D.)
The progress of sin
The last chapter described the origin of sin; our narrative develops its progress. Eve was tempted by an external object of pleasure. Cain allowed his heart to be impregnated with the poison of jealousy; the mother was disobedient in the hope of obtaining a high intellectual boon, the son sinned merely to destroy the happiness of another without thereby increasing his own; the former brought death into the world, the latter murder. The sin of Eve marked the period when the innocence of childhood is endangered by the consciousness of good and evil, and when the first act of free will is also the first error; the deed of Cain describes the more advanced epoch of manhood when the strife and struggle with practical life is hottest; when the heart is assailed by numberless perils and collisions; when ambition excites the imagination; and the welfare of competition taxes and stimulates all the energies of man. The first sin was against God; the second both against God and a brother. But the source of either was the covetous desire of the heart. The Bible reminds man, incessantly, that within himself is the spring of life and death. (M. M.Kalisch, Ph. D.)
Murder of a brother
Sir George Sands, a gentleman living in Kent, had two sons, grown up to that age wherein he might have expected most comfort from them; but in the year 1655, the younger of them, without any apparent provocation, did in a most inhuman manner murder his brother, as he lay sleeping by him in bed; first, he beat out his brains with a hatchet, and then, observing his poor victim to be still lingering in life, he stabbed him seven or eight times in and about the heart; after which, he went to his aged father and told him of it, glorying in his in human and dastardly deed. (N. Wanley.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 8. Cain talked with Abel his brother] vaiyomer Kayin, and Cain said, c. not talked, for this construction the word cannot bear without great violence to analogy and grammatical accuracy. But why should it be thus translated? Because our translators could not find that any thing was spoken on the occasion; and therefore they ventured to intimate that there was a conversation, indefinitely. In the most correct editions of the Hebrew Bible there is a small space left here in the text, and a circular mark which refers to a note in the margin, intimating that there is a hiatus or deficiency in the verse. Now this deficiency is supplied in the principal ancient versions, and in the Samaritan text. In this the supplied words are, LET US WALK OUT INTO THE FIELD. The Syriac has, Let us go to the desert. The Vulgate Egrediamur foras, Let us walk out. The Septuagint, , Let us go out into the field. The two Chaldee Targums have the same reading; so has the Coptic version. This addition is completely lost from every MS. of the Pentateuch now known; and yet it is sufficiently evident from the Samaritan text, the Samaritan version, the Syriac, Septuagint, and Vulgate, that it was in the most authentic copies of the Hebrew before and some time since the Christian era. The words may therefore be safely considered as a part of the sacred text, and with them the whole passage reads clear and consistently: “And Cain said unto Abel his brother, Let us go out into the field: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up,” c. The Jerusalem Targum, and the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, pretend to give us the subject of their conversation: as the piece is curious, I shall insert the substance of it, for the sake of those who may not have access to the originals. “And Cain said unto Hebel his brother, Let us go out into the field and it came to pass that, when they were in the field, Cain answered and said to Hebel his brother, I thought that the world was created in mercy, but it is not governed according to the merit of good works. nor is there any judgment, nor a Judge, nor shall there be any future state in which good rewards shall be given to the righteous, or punishment executed on the wicked; and now there is respect of persons in judgment. On what account is it that thy sacrifice has been accepted, and mine not received with complacency? And Hebel answered and said, The world was created in mercy, and it is governed according to the fruit of good works; there is a Judge, a future world, and a coming judgment, where good rewards shall be given to the righteous, and the impious punished; and there is no respect of persons in judgment; but because my works were better and more precious than thine, my oblation was received with complacency. And because of these things they contended on the face of the field, and Cain rose up against Hebel his brother, and struck a stone into his forehead, and killed him.”
It is here supposed that the first murder committed in the world was the consequence of a religious dispute; however this may have been, millions since have been sacrificed to prejudice, bigotry, and intolerance. Here, certainly, originated the many-headed monster, religious persecution; the spirit of the wicked one in his followers impels them to afflict and destroy all those who are partakers of the Spirit of God. Every persecutor is a legitimate son of the old murderer. This is the first triumph of Satan; it is not merely a death that he has introduced, but a violent one, as the first-fruits of sin. It is not the death of an ordinary person, but of the most holy man then in being; it is not brought about by the providence of God, or by a gradual failure and destruction of the earthly fabric, but by a violent separation of body and soul; it is not done by a common enemy, from whom nothing better could be expected, but by the hand of a brother, and for no other reason but because the object of his envy was more righteous than himself. Alas! how exceeding sinful does sin appear in its first manifestation!
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Cain talked with Abel, either,
1. Familiarly and friendly, as he used to do, thereby to make him secure and careless; or by way of expostulation and contention;
in the field, into which Abel was led, either by his own employment, or,
2. By Cain’s persuasion; this being a fit place for the execution of his wicked purpose.
Slew him, possibly with stone or club, or with some iron tool belonging to husbandry.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. And Cain talked with Abel hisbrotherUnder the guise of brotherly familiarity, he concealedhis premeditated purpose till a convenient time and place occurredfor the murder (1Jn 3:12;Jdg 1:11).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Cain talked with Abel,…. Or “said”, or “spoke unto” him l; either what the Lord God said to him in the foregoing verses, as Aben Ezra; or he spoke to him in a kind and friendly manner, and thereby got him to take a walk in the field with him. The Vulgate Latin version adds, “let us go abroad”; and the Septuagint and Samaritan versions, “let us go into the field”; not to fight a duel, which Abel doubtless would have declined, had that been declared, but to have some friendly conversation; and there being a large pause here in the Hebrew text, the Jerusalem Targum gives us an account of what passed between them when in the field;
“Cain said to Abel his brother, there is no judgment, nor Judge, nor will a good reward be given to the righteous; nor will vengeance be taken of the wicked; neither is the world created in mercy nor governed in mercy; otherwise, why is thine offering received with good will, and mine not?”
Abel answered and said to Cain,
“there is a judgment,” c.
and so goes on to assert everything Cain denied, and to give a reason why the offering of the one was accepted, and the other rejected: and to the same purpose the Targum of Jonathan:
and it came to pass, when they were in the field alone and at a distance from their parents, or from any town or city, if any were now built, as some think there were, and out of the sight of any person that might come and interpose and rescue: about a mile from Damascus, in a valley, yet on the side of a hill, are now shown the place, or the house on it, where Cain slew Abel m; and so Mr. Maundrel n speaks of a high hill near Damascus, reported to be the same they offered their sacrifice on, and Cain slew his brother, and also of another hill at some distance from Damascus, and an ancient structure on it, supposed to be the tomb of Abel:
that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him; in a furious manner assaulted him, without any just provocation, and took away his life, by some instrument or other, perhaps that was used in husbandry, which might be in the field where they were. The Targum of Jonathan is,
“he fixed a stone in his forehead, and slew him;”
and so the Jews say o elsewhere: our poet p says, he smote him in the breast with a stone, into the midriff or diaphragm: it must be by some means or other, by which his blood was shed; but it is not material to inquire what the instrument was, as Aben Ezra observes; since though there might be swords, yet there were stones and clubs enough, as he takes notice; and there must be even instruments for agriculture, one of which might be taken up, as being at hand, with which the execution might be made. The Jewish writers q say Abel was an hundred years old when he was slain; and some of them r make Abel to be the first aggressor: they say, that Abel rose up against him, and threw him to the ground, and afterwards Cain rose up and slew him; however this was not likely the case.
l “et dixit”, Pagninus, Montanus, Munster, Fagius, Vatablus, Drusis. m Lud. Vartoman, Navigat. l. 1. c. 6. n Journey from Aleppo, &c. l. 1. p. 131, 133, 134. o Pirke Eliezer, c. 21. p —————–And, as they talk’d, Smote him into the midriff with a stone, That beat out life.———- Milton’s Paradise Lost, B. 11. l. 444, &c. q Josippon apud Abendana in Miclol. Yophi in loc. r Tikkune Zohar, correct. 69. fol. 112. l. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
8 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.
We have here the progress of Cain’s anger, and the issue of it in Abel’s murder, which may be considered two ways:–
I. As Cain’s sin; and a scarlet, crimson, sin it was, a sin of the first magnitude, a sin against the light and law of nature, and which the consciences even of bad men have startled at. See in it, 1. The sad effects of sin’s entrance into the world and into the hearts of men. See what a root of bitterness the corrupt nature is, which bears this gall and wormwood. Adam’s eating forbidden fruit seemed but a little sin, but it opened the door to the greatest. 2. A fruit of the enmity which is in the seed of the serpent against the seed of the woman. As Abel leads the van in the noble army of martyrs (Matt. xxiii. 35), so Cain stand in the front of the ignoble army of persecutors, Jude 11. So early did he that was after the flesh persecute him that was after the Spirit; and so it is now, more or less (Gal. iv. 29), and so it will be till the war shall end in the eternal salvation of all the saints and the eternal perdition of all that hate them. 3. See also what comes of envy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness; if they be indulged and cherished in the soul, they are in danger of involving men in the horrid guilt of murder itself. Rash anger is heart-murder, Mat 5:21; Mat 5:22. Much more is malice so; he that hates his brother is already a murderer before God; and, if God leave him to himself, he wants nothing but an opportunity to render him a murderer before the world. Many were the aggravations of Cain’s sin. (1.) It was his brother, his own brother, that he murdered, his own mother’s son (Ps. l. 20), whom he ought to have loved, his younger brother, whom he ought to have protected. (2.) He was a good brother, one who had never done him any wrong, nor given him the least provocation in word or deed, but one whose desire had been always towards him, and who had been, in all instances, dutiful and respectful to him. (3.) He had fair warning given him, before, of this. God himself had told him what would come of it, yet he persisted in his barbarous design. (4.) It should seem that he covered it with a show of friendship and kindness: He talked with Abel his brother, freely and familiarly, lest Abel should suspect danger, and keep out of his reach. Thus Joab kissed Abner, and then killed him. Thus Absalom feasted his brother Amnon and then killed him. According to the Septuagint [a Greek version of the Old Testament, supposed to have been translated by seventy-two Jews, at the desire of Ptolemy Philadelphus, above 200 years before Christ], Cain said to Abel, Let us go into the field; if so, we are sure Abel did not understand it (according to the modern sense) as a challenge, else he would not have accepted it, but as a brotherly invitation to go together to their work. The Chaldee paraphrast adds that Cain, when they were in discourse in the field, maintained that there was no judgment to come, no future state, no rewards and punishments in the other world, and that when Abel spoke in defence of the truth Cain took that occasion to fall upon him. However, (5.) That which the scripture tells us was the reason why he slew him was a sufficient aggravation of the murder; it was because his own works were evil and his brother’s righteous, so that herein he showed himself to be of that wicked one (1 John iii. 12), a child of the devil, as being an enemy to all righteousness, even in his own brother, and, in this, employed immediately by the destroyer. Nay, (6.) In killing his brother, he directly struck at God himself; for God’s accepting Abel was the provocation pretended, and for this very reason he hated Abel, because God loved him. (7.) The murder of Abel was the more inhuman because there were now so few men in the world to replenish it. The life of a man is precious at any time; but it was in a special manner precious now, and could ill be spared.
II. As Abel’s suffering. Death reigned ever since Adam sinned, but we read not of any taken captive by him till now; and now, 1. The first that dies is a saint, one that was accepted and beloved of God, to show that, though the promised seed was so far to destroy him that had the power of death as to save believers from its sting, yet still they should be exposed to its stroke. The first that went to the grave went to heaven. God would secure to himself the first-fruits, the first-born to the dead, that first opened the womb into another world. Let this take off the terror of death, that it was betimes the lot of God’s chosen, which alters the property of it. Nay, 2. The first that dies is a martyr, and dies for his religion; and of such it may more truly be said than of soldiers that they die on the bed of honour. Abel’s death has not only no curse in it, but it has a crown in it; so admirably well is the property of death altered that it is not only rendered innocent and inoffensive to those that die in Christ, but honourable and glorious to those that die for him. Let us not think it strange concerning the fiery trial, nor shrink if we be called to resist unto blood; for we know there is a crown of life for all that are faithful unto death.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
8. And Cain talked with Abel his brother. Some understand this conversation to have been general; as if Cain, perfidiously dissembling his anger, spoke in a fraternal manner. Jerome relates the language used, ‘Come, let us go without.’ (241) In my opinion the speech is elliptical, and something is to be understood, yet what it is remains uncertain. Nevertheless, I am not dissatisfied with the explanation, that Moses concisely reprehends the wicked perfidy of the hypocrite, who, by speaking familiarly, presented the appearance of fraternal concord, until the opportunity of perpetrating the horrid murder should be afforded. And by this example we are taught that hypocrites are never to be more dreaded than when they stoop to converse under the pretext of friendship; because when they are not permitted to injure by open violence as much as they please, suddenly they assume a feigned appearance of peace. But it is by no means to be expected that they who are as savage beasts towards God, should sincerely cultivate the confidence of friendship with men. Yet let the reader consider whether Moses did not rather mean, that although Cain was rebuked by God, he, nevertheless, contended with his brother, and thus this saying of his would depend on what had preceded. I certainly rather incline to the opinion that he did not keep his malignant feelings within his own breast, but that he broke forth in accusation against his brother, and angrily declared to him the cause of his dejection.
When they were in the field. Hence we gather that although Cain had complained of his brother at home, he had yet so covered the diabolical fury with which he burned, that Abel suspected nothing worse; for he deferred vengeance to a suitable time. Moreover, this single deed of guilt clearly shows whither Satan will hurry men, when they harden their mind in wickedness, so that in the end, their obstinacy is worthy of the utmost extremes of punishment.
(241) “ Egrediamur foras.” — Vulgate.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(8) And Cain talked with Abel his brother.Heb., And Cain said unto Abel his brother. To this the Samaritan Pentateuch, the LXX., the Syriac, and the Vulg. add, Let us go out into the field; but neither the Targum of Onkelos nor any Hebrew MS. or authority, except the Jerusalem Targum, give this addition any support. The authority of the versions is, however, very great: first, because Hebrew MSS. are all comparatively modern; and secondly, because all at present known represent only the Recension of the Masorites. Sooner or later some manuscript may be found which will enable scholars to form a critical judgment upon those places where the versions represent a different text. If we could, with the Authorised Version, translate Cain talked with Abel, this would imply that Cain triumphed for a time over his angry feelings, and resumed friendly intercourse with his brother. But such a rendering is impossible, as also is one that has been suggested, Cain told it unto Abel his brother that is, told all that had passed between him and Jehovah. Either, therefore, we must accept the addition of the versions, or regard the passage as at present beyond our powers.
It came to pass, when they were in the field.The open, uncultivated land, where Abels flocks would find pasture. We cannot suppose that this murder was premeditated. Cain did not even know what a human death was. But, as Philippson remarks, there was a perpetual struggle between the husbandmen who cultivated fixed plots of ground and the wandering shepherds whose flocks were too prone to stray upon the tilled fields. Possibly Abels flocks had trespassed on Cains land, and when he went to remonstrate, his envy was stirred at the sight of his brothers affluence. A quarrel ensued, and Cain, in that fierce anger, to fits of which he was liable (Gen. 4:5), tried to enforce his mastery by blows, and before he well knew what he was doing, he had shed his brothers blood, and stood in terror before the first human corpse.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. Talked with Abel Rather, said to Abel . The Septuagint, Samaritan, Syriac, and Vulgate supply: Let us go into the field; but the Hebrew text does not relate what he said, but, as in Gen 3:22-23, hastens to the sequel, the bloody action in the field. The repetition of the words, his brother, seems designed to impress the awful wickedness of the deed .
Slew him The first death was by violence; the first murder a fratricide . “And wherefore slew he him?” inquires the apostle . 1Jn 3:12. “Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous . ” “Cain was of that wicked one,” whom the Lord declares (Joh 8:44) to have been “a murderer from the beginning,” “a liar, and the father of it.” By his lying he deceiveth the whole world and makes himself the murderer of man. Cain identified himself with that wicked one, became a child of the devil, and representative of the seed of the serpent. The first murder sprung from jealousy; jealousy begat hatred, and hatred beget murder. Hence the apostle says: “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.” 1Jn 3:15.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And Cain said to Abel his brother, and when they were in the field Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him.’
The passage appears abrupt and ungrammatical. AV possibly has it correctly when it translates ‘talked with Abel his brother’ although the actual phrase is as abrupt in Hebrew as we have translated it (compare similarly in Exo 19:25). Alternately we may add ‘it’ (i.e. ‘told it to Abel’), signifying that Cain discussed his thoughts with his brother. We may then even see Cain deliberately taking his brother out to his ‘field’ where he grew the ‘herbs of the field’, so as to expatiate further, then, as he does so, being seized with murderous fury, possibly at something Abel says, and carrying out his dreadful act. There is no one more annoying to a sinner than someone who is in the right. Either way Cain takes his brother to the site of his grievance, and the dreadful deed was done.
Did he see this as a suitable place to show how he felt because it was its lack of growth that had infuriated him? Did he in his blind fury even see Abel’s blood as replacing the rain that had not come, or as a viciously conceived alternative ‘sacrifice’ basically saying to God ‘if you want blood, here it is’? Whatever his reason, for the first time of which we have a record a man’s blood is shed by his fellow kinsman. The eating of the fruit in Eden has indeed produced bitter fruit.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
DISCOURSE: 9
THE DEATH OF ABEL
Gen 4:8-10. 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. And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brothers keeper? And He said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brothers blood crieth unto me from the ground.
IT is scarcely to be conceived how much iniquity there is in the heart of fallen man. That we have passions which incline us occasionally to deviate from the path of duty, is nothing more than what all feel and confess: but that we are ready to perpetrate all manner of evil, not excepting even murder itself, few are sufficiently candid or intelligent to acknowledge. This seems an excess of wickedness, of which human nature, unless in very extraordinary circumstances, is not capable. To such a charge most men would be ready to reply, Is thy servant a dog, that I should do this thing? But we may behold in Cain a just picture of ourselves. What he was by nature, that are we also. The first-born of Adam, begotten after his own fallen image, shews what all are, till renewed by grace: they live in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another: and their contempt of God is equal to all the other odious qualities that defile their souls. We cannot but be struck with this in the history of Cain, who having murdered his brother Abel, presumed even to insult his God. His conduct will come properly under our review, if we consider,
I.
The Murder
In this awful transaction, there are two things to be inquired into:
1.
The manner in which it was perpetrated
[Satan, in his assaults on man, can exert himself only by wiles and stratagems, not being permitted to exercise his power against us in any other way. But when he employs human agents in his service, he stirs them up to combine in their attacks deceit and violence. Such were the weapons with which the blood-thirsty Cain sought the destruction of his brother Abel. He talked with Abel his brother. What the subject of the conversation was, it would be foolish to conjecture: but that it was of a friendly nature, there can be no doubt. It was evidently with a design to allure him into a place of solitude, where he might effect his murderous purpose without difficulty or detection. Had he disclosed the sentiments of his heart, he would have put his brother on his guard: whereas by feigning affection towards him, he would remove all fear or suspicion from his brothers mind, and facilitate the accomplishment of the fatal deed [Note: Psa 55:21.]. To similar means assassins have had recourse in all ages. It was thus that Joab slew both Abner and Amasa: he sent messengers after Abner, and took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly [Note: 2Sa 3:26-27.]: to Amasa he said, Art thou in health, my brother? and took him by the beard to kiss him [Note: 2Sa 20:9-10.]: but his pretences to friendship were only to secure access to them, that he might strike with effect the dagger to their heart. It was thus that Absalom also contrived to murder his brother Amnon: he made a feast for all his family, and expressed particular solicitude to have the company of Amnon: but the whole was a cover, to effect the destruction of his brother in the midst of his convivial mirth [Note: 2Sa 13:26-28.].
The murder of a brother is such an atrocious act, that it scarcely admits of being aggravated by any circumstances: but if any thing can aggravate it, surely the treachery of Cain must awfully enhance its guilt. Had it been the effect of sudden wrath, it had even then been criminal beyond the power of language to express: but being the result of premeditation and contrivance, of deceit and treachery, its enormity is increased an hundred-fold.]
2.
The motive to the commission of it
[Gladly would we, if possible, find somewhat to extenuate the guilt of this transaction: but the more minutely we examine it, the more heinous it appears. The Scripture informs us, that Cain, in the commission of this act, was impelled only by envy and hatred. God had been pleased to testify his acceptance of Abel and of his sacrifice, while no such token of approbation was vouchsafed to Cain. The effect of this should have been, to lead Cain into a close examination of his spirit and conduct, and to make him earnest in prayer, that he might know wherefore this preference had been given to Abel, and how he also might obtain the favour of his God. But, alas! his heart was filled with envy and wrath, insomuch that his whole countenance was changed. In vain did God expostulate with him on the unreasonableness of his behaviour [Note:, 7.]. The spirit that dwelt in him lusted to envy [Note: Jam 4:5.]: this malignant passion was as rottenness in his bones [Note: Pro 14:30.], so thoroughly had it corroded his very inmost soul. The excellence of Abels character served only to add fuel to the flame. His virtues were his faults; so impossible is it to stand before envy [Note: Pro 27:4.]. Cain hated in him the divine image, as much as he envied him the divine favour. The light of his brothers example was offensive to his eyes; and on this account he sought to extinguish it. St. John, having told us that Cain slew his brother, asks, And wherefore slew he him? he then answers, Because his own works were evil, and his brothers righteous [Note: 1Jn 3:12.].
Such were the motives by which Cain was instigated to this infernal deed. The murder was first committed in his heart; and then completed with his hand; according to that saying of the Apostle, He that hateth his brother is a murderer [Note: 1Jn 3:15.]. Indeed there is such a connexion between envy, debate, deceit, and murder [Note: Rom 1:29.]. that wherever the first is harboured, the rest would follow of course, if God in his infinite mercy did not interpose to limit the operation of our sinful propensities.]
God, who maketh inquisition for blood, would not suffer the murder to be concealed: he therefore sought out the offender, and commenced,
II.
The Inquest
It is said, that Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation [Note: Pro 26:26.]: and where that hatred has proceeded to murder, God in his providence has generally fulfilled this saying. On this occasion, the Governor of the Universe proceeded exactly as he had done upon the first transgression: He summoned the criminal, and made inquiry at his hands. In the trial we notice,
1.
Cains denial of the fact
[Being interrogated, Where his brother Abel was, he answered with consummate effrontery, I know not: Am I my brothers keeper? Alas! how inseparable the connexion between guilt and falsehood! But what blindness had sin induced upon his mind, and what obduracy upon his heart! What could he imagine, when he thus flatly denied any knowledge of his brother? Did he suppose that he could deceive his God? Had he forgotten, that omniscience was an attribute essential to the Deity? Yes: such is the atheism which sin produces: he said in his heart, Tush, God hath not seen: Can he see through the thick clouds [Note: Job 22:14.] ? Not contented with uttering this impious falsehood, he added an insult, which we should scarcely have thought he would have dared to offer to his earthly parent, much less to his Maker and his God. Behold this murderous wretch presuming to criminate his Judge, and to reprove him as unreasonable and unjust! Am I my brothers keeper? that is, What right hast thou to interrogate me respecting him? We stand amazed at this effort of impiety: but, in truth, it is no other than what is daily exemplified before our eyes. If we question men respecting the performance of any of their duties, they will not hesitate to condemn our expectations as unreasonable, and the laws on which they are founded, as absurd: and when the authority of God is urged in support of his law, they will not scruple to arraign the wisdom and equity of the Lawgiver himself. The very manner in which Cain attempted to conceal his crime was of itself a strong presumption against his innocence. What need had he to be offended with an inquiry after his brother, if he really knew not where he was? What occasion was there for all this petulance and profaneness? But it was in vain to deny a fact which the all-seeing God was ready to attest [Note: Psa 94:7-10.].]
2.
His conviction before God
[He had effectually silenced his brothers voice; so that no testimony could be borne by him. But the blood which he had shed, had a voice, which cried aloud; a voice which reached the throne of Almighty God, and brought him down to plead the cause of injured innocence. Indeed, every sin has a voice, which speaks powerfully in the ears of God, and calls for vengeance on the head of him who has committed it. It was in vain to dispute the testimony of Jehovah. The criminal stands confounded, and waits the sentence awarded by his Judge. Surely now then at least we shall behold him softened: his obdurate heart must now relent; and he will accept with resignation the punishment of his iniquity. Not so indeed: he expresses no contrition: he asks not once for mercy: he complains indeed, but not of himself, not of the guilt he has contracted, not of the deed he has perpetrated, but of the punishment he has incurred; My punishment is greater than I can bear. But let not this be wondered at: It is the effect of sin to sear the conscience, and to harden the heart: and the more heinous our transgressions are, the more shall we be disposed to criminate the authority that calls us into judgment for them. Even in hell itself this disposition is exercised, yea, it rages with uncontrolled and incessant fury: the damned spirits gnaw their tongues for pain, and blaspheme the God of heaven because of their pains, and repent not of their deeds [Note: Rev 16:10-11.].]
Hence then we may observe,
1.
How soon did the enmity which God has put between the Serpents and the Womans seed [Note: Gen 3:15.] begin to shew itself!
[It is an undeniable fact, that all who live godly in Christ Jesus do suffer persecution [Note: 2Ti 3:12.]: and the world, yea sometimes Christians themselves also, are ready to think that the opposition made to them is discreditable to their cause. But our Lord and his Apostles taught us to expect precisely the same treatment which they themselves received [Note: Joh 15:18-20.]. They inform us also how all the Prophets were used by those among whom they sojourned [Note: Act 7:52.]: they declare that, in all ages, even from the beginning of the world, they who have been born after the flesh have persecuted those who were born after the Spirit [Note: Gal 4:29.] ; and that all the blood shed from the time of righteous Abel to the time that Christ himself was nailed upon the cross [Note: Mat 23:35.], served to illustrate the enmity of the carnal mind against God, and the path in which all must walk who would finally attain to glory. Hence persecutors are emphatically said to go in the way of Cain [Note: Judges 11.]. Let none then think it strange that they are called to endure a fiery trial, as though some strange thing happened unto them [Note: l Pet. 4:12.] ; but let them rejoice and glorify God on this behalf [Note: 1Pe 4:13-14; 1Pe 4:16.] ; knowing that myriads who are now in heaven came thither out of great tribulation [Note: Rev 7:14.] ; and that, if they also suffer with Christ, they shall in due time be glorified together with him [Note: Rom 8:17.].]
2.
How vain is it to cultivate the friendship of the world!
[If, in any situation, fellowship could have been maintained between a carnal and a spiritual man, we may well suppose that it should subsist between the two first men who were born into the world, educated as they must have been with the strictest care, and necessitated as they were to cultivate a friendly intercourse on account of the contracted state of society in the world: yet not even these could enjoy spiritual communion with each other. It is true, that all natural men do not give themselves up, like Cain, to the dominion of their lusts: but it is equally true, that all men have in their hearts the same envious and malignant passions [Note: Jam 4:5.], and that, till they are renewed by divine grace, they are enemies to true religion [Note: Rom 8:7.]. Hence we are told to come out from the world and be separate, because there can be no more true communion between believers and unbelievers, than between light and darkness, or Christ and Belial [Note: 2Co 6:14-15; 2Co 6:17.]. And they who, in opposition to this direction, choose the unregenerate for their associates, or form still more intimate connexions with them, are sure to suffer loss in their souls; and, if saved at all, they are saved only so as by fire [Note: 1Co 3:15.].]
3.
How certainly will sin find us out at last!
[We may conceal our iniquities from man; but we can never hide them from God: There is no darkness nor shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. God does not often interfere to make known our guilt, as in the case before us; (though the interpositions of His providence in the discovery of murder are sometimes extremely marked and visible;) but in the day of judgment he will make manifest the very counsels of our hearts. It will be in vain then to deny our guilt, or to raise those captious, not to say impious, objections, which now appear to us of so much weight: Every thing will be substantiated by the fullest evidence, and be recompensed according to its desert. O that in that day we may be found without spot, and blameless! This may be the state of all, not excepting even murderers themselves, provided they wash in the fountain of Christs blood, and be renewed by his Holy Spirit. Let us then seek his pardoning and renewing grace. Then shall we be enabled to stand before our God with boldness, and give up our account to him with joy, and not with grief.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 4:8 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.
Ver. 8. And Cain talked with Abel. ] What talk they had is not set down. The Septuagint and vulgar versions tell us, Cain said, Let us go out into the field. The Chaldee adds, that he should say, There was no judgment, nor judge, nor world to come, nor reward for justice, nor vengeance for wickedness, &c. Certain it is that those that are set to go on in sin do lay hold upon all the principles in their heads, and “imprison them in unrighteousness,” Rom 1:18 that they may sin more freely. They muzzle the mouths of their consciences, that they may satisfy their lusts without control. But had Zimri peace that slew his master? or Cain that slew his brother? hath any ever waxed fierce against God and prospered? Job 9:4
Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew.
a Act. and Mon ., fol. 814.
b Bucholeer.
c Turk. Hist . x.
d See D. Day on 1Co 16:9 .
e Bucholeer
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Genesis
THE GROWTH AND POWER OF SIN
Gen 4:3 – Gen 4:16
Many lessons crowd on us from this section. Its general purport is to show the growth of sin, and its power to part man from man even as it has parted man from God. We may call the whole ‘The beginning of the fatal operations of sin on human society.’
1. The first recorded act of worship occasions the first murder. Is not that only too correct a forecast of the oceans of blood which have been shed in the name of religion, and a striking proof of the subtle power of sin to corrupt even the best, and out of it to make the worst? What a lesson against the bitter hatred which has too often sprung up on so-called religious grounds! No malice is so venomous, no hate so fierce, no cruelty so fiendish, as those which are fed and fanned by religion. Here is the first triumph of sin, that it poisons the very springs of worship, and makes what should be the great uniter of men in sweet and holy bonds their great separator.
2. Sin here appears as having power to bar men’s way to God. Much ingenuity has been spent on the question why Abel’s offering was accepted and Cain’s rejected. But the narrative itself shows in the words of Jehovah, ‘If thou doest well, is there not acceptance?’ that the reason lay in Cain’s evil deeds. So, in 1Jn 3:12 , the fratricide is put down to the fact that ‘his works were evil, and his brother’s righteous’; and Heb 11:4 differs from this view only in making the ground of righteousness prominent, when it ascribes the acceptableness of Abel’s offering to faith. Both these passages are founded on the narrative, and we need not seek farther for the reason of the different reception of the two offerings. Character, then, or, more truly, faith, which is the foundation of a righteous character, determines the acceptableness of worship. Cain’s offering had no sense of dependence, no outgoing of love and trust, no adoration,-though it may have had fear,-and no moral element. So it had no sweet odour for God. Abel’s was sprinkled with some drops of the incense of lowly trust, and came from a heart which fain would be pure; therefore it was a joy to God. So we are taught at the very beginning, that, as is the man, so is his sacrifice; that the prayer of the wicked is an abomination. Plenty of worship nowadays is Cain worship. Many reputable professing Christians bring just such sacrifices. The prayers of such never reach higher than the church ceiling. Of course, the lesson of the story is not that a man must be pure before his sacrifice is accepted. Of course, the faintest cry of trust is heard, and a contrite heart, however sinful, is always welcome. But we are taught that our acts of worship must have our hearts in them, and that it is vain to pray and to love evil. Sin has the awful power of blocking our way to God.
3. Note in one word that we have here at the beginning of human history the solemn distinction which runs through it all. These two, so near in blood, so separate in spirit, head the two classes into which Scripture decisively parts men, especially men who have heard the gospel. It is unfashionable now to draw that broad line between the righteous and the wicked, believers and unbelievers. Sheep and goats are all one. Modern liberal sentiment-so-called-will not consent to such narrowness as the old-fashioned classification. There are none of us black, and none white; we are all different shades of grey. But facts do not quite bear out such amiable views. Perhaps it is not less charitable, and a great deal truer, to draw the line broad and plain, on one side of which is peace and safety, and on the other trouble and death, if only we make it plain that no man need stop one minute on the dark side.
4. The solemn divine voice reads the lesson of the power of sin, when once done, over the sinner. Like a wild beast, it crouches in ambush at his door, ready to spring and devour. The evil deed once committed takes shape, as it were, and waits to seize the doer. Remorse, inward disturbance, and above all, the fatal inclination to repeat sin till it becomes a habit, are set forth with terrible force in these grim figures. What a menagerie of ravenous beasts some of us have at the doors of our hearts! With what murderous longing they glare at us, seeking to fascinate us, and make us their prey! When we sin, we cannot escape the issues; and every wrong thing we do has a kind of horrible life given it, and sits henceforth there, beside us, ready to rend us. The tempting, seducing power of our own evils was never put in more startling and solemnly true words, on which the bitter experience of many a poor victim of his own past is a commentary. The eternal duty of resistance is farther taught by the words. Hope of victory, encouragement to struggle, the assurance that even these savage beasts may be subdued, and the lion and adder the hidden and the glaring evils-those which wound unseen, and which spring with a roar may be overcome, led in a silken leash or charmed into harmlessness, are given in the command, which is also a promise, ‘Rule thou over it.’
5. The deadly fruit of hate is taught us in the brief account of the actual murder. Notice the impressive plainness and fewness of the words. ‘Cain rose up against his brother, and slew him.’ A kind of horror-struck awe of the crime is audible. Observe the emphasis with which ‘his brother’ is repeated in the verse and throughout. Observe, also, the vivid light thrown by the story on the rise and progress of the sin. It begins with envy and jealousy. Cain was not wroth because his offering was rejected. What did he care for that? But what angered him was that his brother had what he had not. So selfishness was at the bottom, and that led on to envy, and that to hatred. Then comes a pause, in which God speaks remonstrances,-as God’s voice-conscience-does now to us all,-between the imagination and the act of evil. A real or a feigned reconciliation is effected. The brothers go in apparent harmony to the field. No new provocation appears, but the old feelings, kept down for a time, come in again with a rush, and Cain is swept away by them. Hatred left to work means murder. The heart is the source of all evil. Selfishness is the mother tincture out of which all sorts of sin can be made. Guard the thoughts, and keep down self, and the deeds will take care of themselves.
6. Mark how close on the heels of sin God’s question treads! How God spoke, we know not. Doubtless in some fashion suited to the needs of Cain. But He speaks to us as really as to him, and no sooner is the rush of passion over, and the bad deed done, than a revulsion comes. What we call conscience asks the question in stern tones, which make a man’s flesh creep. Our sin is like touching the electric bells which people sometimes put on their windows to give notice of thieves. As soon as we step beyond the line of duty we set the alarm going, and it wakens the sleeping conscience. Some of us go so far as to have silenced the voice within; but, for the most part, it speaks immediately after we have gratified our inclinations wrongly.
7. Cain’s defiant answer teaches us how a man hardens himself against God’s voice. It also shows us how intensely selfish all sin is, and how weakly foolish its excuses are. It is sin which has rent men apart from men, and made them deny the very idea that they have duties to all men. The first sin was only against God; the second was against God and man. The first sin did not break, though it saddened, human love; the second kindled the flames of infernal hatred, and caused the first drops to flow of the torrents of blood which have soaked the earth. When men break away from God, they will soon murder one another.
Cain was his brother’s keeper. His question answered itself. If Abel was his brother, then he was bound to look after him. His self-condemning excuse is but a specimen of the shallow pleas by which the forgetfulness of duties we owe to all mankind, and all sins, are defended.
8. The stern sentence is next pronounced. First we have the grand figure of the innocent blood having a voice which pierces the heavens. That teaches in the most forcible way the truth that God knows the crimes done by ‘man’s inhumanity to man,’ even when the meek sufferers are silent. According to the fine old legend of the cranes of Ibycus, a bird of the air will carry the matter. It speaks, too, of God’s tender regard for His saints, whose blood is precious in His sight; and it teaches that He will surely requite. We cannot but think of the innocent blood shed on Calvary, of the Brother of us all, whose sacrifice was accepted of God. His blood, too, crieth from the ground, has a voice which speaks in the ear of God, but not to plead for vengeance, but pardon.
‘Jesus’ blood through earth and skies,
Mercy, free, boundless mercy, cries.’
The doom of wandering, which would be compulsory by reason of the earth’s barrenness, is a parable. The murderer is hunted from place to place, as the Greek fable has it, by the furies, who suffer him not to rest. Conscience drives a man ‘through dry places, seeking rest, and finding none.’ All sin makes us homeless wanderers. There is but one home for the heart, one place of repose for a man, namely, in the heart of God, the secret place of the Most High; and he who, for his sin, durst not enter there, is driven forth into ‘a salt land and not inhabited,’ and has to wander wearily there. The legend of the wandering Jew, and that other of the sailor, condemned for ever to fly before the gale through stormy seas, have in them a deep truth. The earthly punishment of departing from God is that we have not where to lay our heads. Every sinner is a fugitive and a vagabond. But if we love God we are still wanderers indeed, but we are ‘pilgrims and sojourners with Thee.’
9. Cain’s remonstrance completes the tragic picture. We see in it despair without penitence. He has no word of confession. If he had accepted his chastisement, and learned by it his sin, all the bitterness would have passed away. But he only writhes in agony, and adds, to the sentence pronounced, terrors of his own devising. God had not forbidden him to come into His presence. But he feels that he dare not venture thither. And he was right; for, whether we suppose that some sensible manifestation of the divine presence is meant by ‘Thy face’ or no, a man who had unrepented sin on his conscience, and murmurings in his heart, could not hold intercourse with God; nor would he wish to do so. Thus we learn again the lesson that sin separates from our Father, and that chastisements, not accepted as signs of His love, build up a black wall between God and us.
Nor had Cain been told that his life was in danger. But his conscience made a coward of him, as of us all, and told him what he deserved. There were, no doubt, many other children of Adam, who would be ready to avenge Abel’s death. The wild justice of revenge is deep in the heart of men; and the natural impulse would be to hunt down the murderer like a wolf. It is a dreadful picture of the defiant and despairing sinner, tortured by well-founded fears, shut out from the presence of God, but not able to shut out thoughts of Him, and seeing an avenger in every man.
We need not ask how God set a mark on Cain. Enough that His doing so was a merciful alleviation of his lot, and teaches us how God’s long-suffering spares life, and tempers judgment, that there may still be space for repentance. If even Cain has gracious protection and mercy blended with his chastisement, who can be beyond the pale of God’s compassion, and with whom will not His loving providence and patient pity labour? No man is so scorched by the fire of retribution, but many a dewy drop from God’s tenderness falls on him. No doubt, the story of the preservation of Cain was meant to restrain the blood-feuds so common and ruinous in early times; and we need the lesson yet, to keep us from vengeance under the mask of justice. But the deepest lesson and truest pathos of it lies in the picture of the watchful kindness of God lingering round the wretched man, like gracious sunshine playing on some scarred and black rock, to win him back by goodness to penitence, and through penitence to peace.
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
talked = said. Hebrew = (amar) to say, which must be followed by the words spoken (not so dabar, which means to speak absolutely). What Cain said is preserved in the Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum of Jerome, and manuscripts, “Let us go into the field. ” Manuscripts which have not the words, have a hiatus.
slew: 1Jn 3:12. “Religion” is and ever has been the greatest cause of blood-shedding.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
talked: 2Sa 3:27, 2Sa 13:26-28, 2Sa 20:9, 2Sa 20:10, Neh 6:2, Psa 36:3, Psa 55:21, Pro 26:24-26, Mic 7:6, Luk 22:48
Cain rose: 2Sa 14:6, Job 11:15, Psa 24:3-6, Psa 139:19, Mat 23:35, Luk 11:51, 1Jo 3:12-15, Jud 1:11
Reciprocal: Gen 4:7 – sin Gen 4:25 – God Gen 27:45 – why Exo 20:13 – General Num 35:20 – if he thrust 2Sa 13:34 – Absalom fled 1Ki 11:29 – and they two 2Ch 21:4 – slew all Pro 25:26 – General Pro 26:26 – Whose hatred is covered by deceit Ecc 4:10 – but Ecc 7:9 – anger Mat 10:36 – General Act 28:4 – a murderer Rom 5:14 – death Eph 4:31 – with
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gen 4:8. Cain talked with Abel his brother Either familiarly or friendly, as he used to do, with a view to make him secure and careless, or by way of expostulation and contention. The Chaldee paraphrast adds, that Cain, when they were in discourse, maintained there was no judgment to come, and that when Abel spoke in defence of the truth, Cain took that occasion to fall upon him. The Scripture tells us the reason wherefore he slew him, because his own works were evil, and his brothers righteous; so that herein he showed himself to be a child of the devil, as being an enemy to all righteousness. Observe, the first that dies, is a saint; the first that went to the grave, went to heaven. God would secure to himself the first-fruits, the firstborn to the dead, that first opened the womb into another world.