Cain
and Abel
The
Two Ways and the Two Races
(Based on Genesis
Chapter 4)
By Albert
Edersheim (1825-1889)
Edited by Doktor
Riktor Von Zhades
THE language in
which Scripture tells the second great event in history is once more
exceedingly simple. Two of the children of Adam and Eve are alone
mentioned: Cain and Abel. Not that there were no others, but that the
progress of Scripture history is connected with these two. For the
Bible does not profess to give a detailed history of the world, nor
even a complete biography of those persons whom it introduces. Its
object is to set before us a history of the kingdom of God, and it
only describes such persons and events as is necessary for that
purpose. Of the two sons of Adam and Eve, Cain was the elder, and
indeed, as we gather, the first-born of all their children.
Throughout antiquity, and in the East to this day, proper names are
regarded as significant of a deeper meaning. When Eve called her
first-born son Cain ("gotten," or "acquired"),
she said, "I have gotten a man from Jehovah." Apparently
she connected the birth of her son with the immediate fulfillment of
the promise concerning the Seed, who was to bruise the head of the
serpent. This expectation was, if we may be allowed the comparison,
as natural on her part as that of the immediate return of our Lord by
some of the early Christians. It also showed how deeply this hope had
sunk into her heart, how lively was her faith in the fulfillment of
the promise, and how ardent her longing for it. But if such had been
her views, they must have been speedily disappointed. Perhaps for
this very reason, or else because she had been more fully informed,
or on other grounds with which we are not acquainted, the other son
of Adam and Eve, mentioned in Scripture, was named Abel, that is
"breath," or "fading away."
What in the history
of these two youths is of scriptural importance, is summed up in the
statement that "Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a
tiller of the ground." We next meet them, each bringing an
offering unto Jehovah; Cain "of the fruit of the ground,"
and Abel "of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat
thereof." Jehovah "had respect unto Abel and his offering,"
probably
marking His
acceptance by some outward and visible manifestation; "but unto
Cain and his offering He had not respect." Instead of inquiring
into the reason of his rejection, and trying to have it removed, Cain
now gave way to feelings of anger and jealousy. In His mercy, God
indeed brought before him his sin, warned him of its danger, and
pointed out the way of escape. But Cain had chosen his course.
Meeting his brother in the field, angry words led to murderous deed,
and earth witnessed the first death, the more terrible that it was
violent, and at a brother's hand. Once more the voice of Jehovah
called Cain to account, and again he hardened himself, this time
almost disowning the authority of God. But the mighty hand of the
Judge was on the unrepenting murderer. Adam had, so to speak, broken
the first great commandment, Cain the first and the second; Adam had
committed sin, Cain both sin and crime. As a warning, and yet as a
witness to all, Cain, driven from his previous chosen occupation as a
tiller of the ground, was sent forth "a fugitive and a vagabond
in the earth." So - if we may again resort to analogy - was
Israel driven forth into all lands, when with wicked hands they had
crucified and slain Him whose blood "speaketh better things than
that of Abel." But even this punishment, though "greater"
than Cain "can bear," leads him not to repentance, only to
fear of its consequences. And "lest any finding him should kill
him," Jehovah set a mark upon Cain, just as He made the Jews,
amidst all their persecutions, an indestructible people. Only in
their case the gracious Lord has a purpose of mercy; for they shall
return again to the Lord their God - "all Israel shall be
saved;" and their bringing in shall be as life from the dead.
But as for Cain, he "went out from the presence of Jehovah, and
dwelt in the land of Nod, that is, of "wandering" or
"unrest." The last that we read of him is still in
accordance with all his previous life: "he builded a city, and
called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch."
Now, there are some
lessons quite on the surface of this narrative. Thus we mark the
difference in the sacrifice of the two brothers - the one "of
the fruit of the ground," the other an animal sacrifice. Again,
the offering of Cain is described merely in general terms; while
Abel's is said to be "of the firstlings of his flock" - the
first being in acknowledgment that all was God's, "and of the
fat thereof," that is, of the best. So also we note, how
faithfully God warns, and how kindly He points Cain to the way of
escape from the power of sin. On the other hand, the murderous deed
of Cain affords a terrible illustration of the words in which the
Lord Jesus has taught us, that angry bitter feelings against a
brother are in reality murder (Read Matthew 5:22), showing us what
is, so to speak, the full outcome of self-willedness, of anger, envy,
and jealousy. Yet another lesson to be learned from this history is,
that our sin will at the last assuredly find us out, and yet that no
punishment, however terrible, can ever have the effect of changing
the heart of a man, or altering his state and the current of his
life. To these might be added the bitter truth, which godless men
will perceive all too late, that, as Cain was at the last driven
forth from the ground of which he had taken possession, so assuredly
all who seek their portion in this world will find their hopes
disappointed, even in those things for which they had sacrificed the
"better part." In this respect the later teaching of
Scripture (Psalm 49) seems to be contained in germ in the history of
Cain and Abel.
If from these
obvious lessons we turn to the New Testament for further light on
this history, we find in the Epistle of Jude verse 2 a general
warning against going "in the way of Cain;" while St. John
makes it an occasion of admonishing to brotherly love: "Not as
Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore
slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's
righteous." (See 1 John 3:12) But the fullest information is
derived from the Epistle to the Hebrews, where we read, on the one
hand, that "without faith it is impossible to please God,"
and, on the other, that "by faith Abel offered unto God a more
excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he
was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he, being dead,
yet speaketh." (Read Hebrews 11:4) Scripture here takes us up,
as it were, to the highest point in the lives of the two brothers -
their sacrifice - and tells us of the presence of faith in the one,
and of its absence in the other. This showed itself alike in the
manner and in the kind of their sacrifice. But the faith which
prompted the sacrifice of Abel, and the want of faith which
characterized that of Cain, must, of course, have existed and
appeared long before. Hence St. John also says that Cain "was of
that wicked one," meaning that he had all along yielded himself
to the power of that tempter who had ruined our first parents. A
little consideration will explain this, and, at the same time, bring
the character and conduct of Cain into clearer light.
After the fall the
position of man towards God was entirely changed. In the garden of
Eden man's hope of being confirmed in his estate and of advancing
upwards depended on his perfect obedience. But man disobeyed and
fell. Henceforth his hope for the future could no longer be derived
from perfect obedience, which, indeed, in his fallen state was
impossible. So to speak, the way of "doing" had been set
before him, and it had ended, through sin, in death. God in His
infinite grace now opened to man another path. He set before him the
hope of faith. The promise which God freely gave to man was that of a
Deliverer, who would bruise the head of the serpent, and destroy his
works. Now, it was possible either to embrace this promise by faith,
and in that case to cling to it and set his heart thereon, or else to
refuse this hope and turn away from it. Here, then, at the very
opening of the history of the kingdom, we have the two different ways
which, as the world and the kingdom of God, have ever since divided
men. If we further ask ourselves what those would do who rejected the
hope of faith, how they would show it in their outward conduct, we
answer, that they would naturally choose the world as it then was;
and, satisfied therewith, try to establish themselves in the earth,
claim it as their own, enjoy its pleasures and lusts, and cultivate
its arts. On the other hand, one who embraced the promises would
consider himself a pilgrim and a stranger in this earth, and both in
heart and outward conduct show that he believed in, and waited for,
the fulfillment of the promise. We need scarcely say that the one
describes the history of Cain and of his race; the other that of
Abel, and afterwards of Seth and of his descendants. For around these
two - Cain and Seth - as their representatives, all the children of
Adam would group themselves according to their spiritual tendencies.
Viewed in this light
the indications of Scripture, however brief, are quite clear. When we
read that "Cain was a tiller of the ground," and "Abel
was a keeper of sheep," we can understand that the choice of
their occupations depended not on accidental circumstances, but quite
accorded with their views and character. Abel chose the pilgrim-life,
Cain that of settled possession and enjoyment of earth. The nearer
their history lay to the terrible event which had led to the loss of
Paradise, and to the first giving of the promise, the more
significant would this their choice of life appear. Quite in
accordance with this, we afterwards find Cain, not only building a
city, but calling it after the name of his own son, to indicate
settled proprietorship and enjoyment of the world as it was. The same
tendency rapidly unfolded in his descendants, till in Lamech, the
fifth from Cain, it had already assumed such large proportions that
Scripture deems it no longer necessary to mark its growth.
Accordingly the separate record of the Cainites ceases with Lamech
and his children, and there is no further specific mention made of
them in Scripture.
Before following
more in detail the course of these two races - for, in a spiritual
sense, they were quite distinct - we mark at the very threshold of
Scripture history the introduction of sacrifices. From the time of
Abel onwards, they are uniformly, and with increasing clearness, set
before us as the appointed way of approaching and holding fellowship
with God, till, at the close of Scripture history, we have the
sacrifice of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to which all
sacrifices had pointed. And not only so, but as the dim remembrance
of a better state from which man had fallen, and of a hope of
deliverance, had been preserved among all heathen nations, so also
had that of the necessity of sacrifices. Even the bloody rites of
savages, nay, the cruel sacrifices of best-beloved children, what
were they but a cry of despair in the felt need of reconciliation to
God through sacrifice - the giving up of what was most dear in room
and stead of the offerer? These are the terribly broken pillars of
what once had been a temple; the terribly distorted traditions of
truths once Divinely revealed. Blessed be God for the light of His
Gospel, which has taught us "the way, the truth, and the life,"
even Him who is "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of
the world." (See John 1:29)
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