Murder – Genesis 4:8-16

The byline for NBC’s Dateline is “Compelling mysteries, powerful documentaries, in-depth investigations.”  Murder fascinates us as much as it repels us.  We watch Dateline because we cannot believe someone would take someone else’s life and we are curious to see it discovered and punished.  Though murder has become all too common in our world, we still hate it, and certainly, at the same time, want to ignore its proximity to our own lives.

8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Then the LORD said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. 16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. (Genesis 4:8–16, ESV)

The first murder!  How awful and tragic this is.  We can see the true effects of the fall into sin, as hatred leads to taking the life of another.  And once again we see the intimate relationship Yahweh has with His children, as He comes to Cain to confront him about his despicable actions.  Cain’s incredible question, “Am I my brother’s keeper,” exposes the darkness of his heart.

The character of God, particularly His justice and compassion, is shown in His statement that Abel’s blood is crying to Him from the ground.  There is no injustice that God does not see.  There is no victim He does not care for.  Yahweh’s immediate judgment on Cain is the taking apart of Cain’s ability to farm, the dissolution of his career.  Cain, again, instead of repenting, complains that his punishment is too great, that his crime will bring about an avenging that will cause him to lose his life.  God puts some kind of mark on Cain that alerts anyone who seeks to kill him that God will avenge Cain sevenfold.  This is instructive to us because it tells us that capital punishment is not an essentially just response to murder, though it will later (Genesis 9) become a stated punishment that human government will impose on murderers.

Cain’s ability to go away from the presence of Yahweh suggests that Yahweh is indeed continuing to be among humanity in a local, physical way, as He was in the garden.  Humans, in their smaller numbers, were staying in proximity to the garden and to one another.  As their numbers increase they will be fulfilling God’s mandate to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth (1:28).

Here at the beginning of human history we see the conflict already active between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.  In this case, the seed of the serpent (Cain) is able to strike the heel of the seed of the woman (Abel) and win the conflict.  This battle will be played out over and over as the battle between good and evil.  Satan is always behind the evil humans perpetrate, and God is always behind the good humans do.