Get Off The Ladder - The Murder

Genesis 4:8-9 NIV 

[8] Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. [9] Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.4.8-9.NIV)

Since the days of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novels, murder mystery and crime fiction have  never been far off the best sellers list. In fact, in 2017, crime fiction was officially the best selling genre in the UK and accounted for between 25% and 40% of all the literature sold in the Western world.  

It also dominates our TV and movie screens, to the extent that a good British or American or Scandinavian crime thriller in particular is pretty much guaranteed to go global. 

When I was a child, a TV show set in my home city of Glasgow was pretty much ubiquitous viewing all over the UK, despite the unashamedly strong and gritty accents (something repeated with the BBC's powerhouse ‘Shetland’). The show was ‘Taggart', named after the archetypal grizzly Glaswegian cop who anchored it with aplomb.  

One phrase from that show, pronounced with a deep Glaswegian growl, echoed throughout the UK for many years: 

‘Sir, there’s been a murder.’ 

That is what we are exploring here: a murder.  

But from one angle, no solution is required.

The accused has confessed. His guilt has been proven without question. No lawyer would get him off this charge. No jury in the world would find him innocent. The verdict has already been passed. The punishment has already been inflicted. 

And let me tell you, there has been no miscarriage of justice. 

He did it. Of that there can be no doubt at all. 

So why bother studying these verses? 

Well, this case is a little more than open and shut. Yes, we know who did it. And yes, we likely know why. That much is certain. 

But buried beneath the facts that we will know are layers of motivation that lead us to some startling conclusions: not about the victim or the perpetrator, but about why he did it, what drove him to do it and, startlingly, whether we are also capable of doing it too. 

Anyone who has seen any ‘cosy crime' drama, built on the classy mysteries written by genius author Agatha Christie, will know that after the crime has been solved, the detective always gathers the suspects and then launches into a monologue about what happened and who did it and why. 

I will happily recognise that I am no Agatha Christie. 

However, this study is like one of those monologues. 

So sit back, relax and get cosy as we explore the world's first murder. 

Because I don’t think you'll be as cosy at the end. 

Let’s start with The Victim. 

The Victim 

Genesis 4:1-4 NIV 

[1] Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” [2] Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. [3] In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. [4] And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.4.1-4.NIV)

It is a fact that most victims of crime know their attackers. Random acts of violence are, thankfully, incredibly rare. 

So any investigations into a murder must start with the victim. 

Our victim was male. We do not know his age at his time of death. His parents were Adam and Eve, the first humans. His name was Abel. 

The Bible tells us that Abel was born outside of the Garden of Eden, but other than that his place of birth is unknown. He would likely have been quite a strong, athletic fellow, given he kept flocks. 

Apart from that, we know precious little about him.  

Although there is one detail that is crucial to our investigation: he was a spiritual man: 

Genesis 4:4 NIV 

[4] And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.4.4.NIV)

I am not a farmer. I have never kept livestock. But I do know one thing: dedicating the firstborn of your flock is a risky business. The firstborn is most likely among the strongest. They would be the one to emerge first from their mother. After they arrived, the farmer would have had no idea at all that the rest of the litter would be strong and healthy. If they weren’t, his livelihood and profitability were on the line. 

Sacrificing the firstborn to God was an incredible act of faith.  

An act of faith that his younger brother Cain did not do. And that fact is important to our investigation. 

The Perpetrator 

Genesis 4:1 NIV 

[1] Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.”  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.4.1.NIV)

It’s obvious that every investigator wants to know who the perpetrator is. However, judges also want to know as much information as they can about the perpetrator. They use this information to determine the sentence they will give. 

So what do we know about Cain? 

He was Adam and Eve’s firstborn. They considered him to be a gift from God. 

However, his relationship with his brother doesn’t appear to be so strong. Despite being the firstborn, Cain seems to have been driven to be at least equal, if not better than, his brother.  

Now, we have to remember that God was not comparing the nature of their sacrifice. He was not comparing meat with fruit and vegetables. The issue was not what they presented to God, but how it was presented. It was clear that Abel simply gave a more costly sacrifice. 

There was also a huge issue with Cain's heart. He was struggling with temptation. That we can see from what God told him: 

Genesis 4:6-7 NIV 

[6] Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? [7] If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.4.6-7.NIV)

So although the Bible doesn’t tell us precisely what the problem is, we can see that Cain had an issue with sin. God told him about it before he killed his brother. However, Cain did not heed the warning. This man, who was God’s gift to his parents, was prepared to kill his own brother. 

All because he coveted the favour Abel had received, but showed no interest in finding out why he had missed out. 

And there lies the problem. Here is a man who enjoyed favour from his parents, but despite his elevated position as firstborn, did not enjoy God’s favour because his heart was not right   

Often when we covet, this is precisely the problem. We want what other people have, but we don’t want to do what it takes to get there. And so we pull them down and slander them, or worse, all because of nothing more than entitlement. 

And that is both pathetic and tragic. 

Having seen both the victim and the perpetrator, we must now examine The Crime.

The Crime 

Genesis 4:8-9 NIV 

[8] Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. [9] Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.4.8-9.NIV)

One of the key aspects of any criminal case is identifying which crime actually took place. There are many who misuse the police as some form of blunt instrument because they are offended. They make complaints and ultimately unfounded accusations not because they believe an offence has actually taken place, but to intimidate into silence those with whom they disagree. 

Such a tactic, to me, is absolutely wrong. The police ought to charge such people with making false accusations and wasting police time. That would soon make their foolhardy behaviour go away. 

In this case, a man has lost his life due to a violent act. Under UK law, there are no degrees of murder. A killing is murder if it was carried out with malice aforethought (i.e. if the killer intended to kill), or manslaughter if it wasn't (if they did not intend to kill). 

There is little doubt that this is one hundred percent a case of murder. 

Several facts prove this.  

Firstly, his anger when God did not look on his offering with favour (Genesis 4:5). Given how religion worked in those days, it’s quite possible that Cain was looking for God to bless and reward his work and provide riches for him. 

There is also another aspect to this which could have added to his anger. Cain made his offering first; Abel then followed. He had effectively been out-manoeuvred by his own brother. This injury to his pride would have poured gas on the fire. 

Secondly, his calling of Abel into the field (Genesis 4:8), to a place that was familiar to him and where there were no witnesses. 

These both point to the fact that this was neither spur-of-the-moment nor accidental. Cain had planned to kill his brother with malice aforethought and had and worked out how he could do it without getting caught. 

This was fratricide. This was a deliberate act. 

It was murder. 

His response to it also tells us that Cain honestly believed he could hide his crime even from God: 

Genesis 4:9 NIV 

[9] Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.4.9.NIV)

He thought he had committed the perfect murder. There were no witnesses. But there was God, and so what he’d done was already very wrong, but trying to deny it was completely foolish. We see that in God’s response: 

Genesis 4:10 NIV 

[10] The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.4.10.NIV)

When two and a half tribes decided to not cross the Jordan, Moses rebuked them with this famous line: 

Numbers 32:23 NIV 

[23] “You may be sure that your sin will find you out.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/num.32.23.NIV)

That is precisely what happened to Cain.  

He was guilty of murder and God had found him out. 

Now, you might wonder why this has any relevance to us. I mean, okay, it’s an interesting story, but it happened thousands of years ago. There have been many millions of murders since then. Why is this so important? 

Well, we will now look at The Motivation for this terrible crime, and when we do, we will discover a shocking plot twist lurking in this terrible tale. 

The Motivation 

1 John 3:11-12 NIV 

[11] For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. [12] Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1jn.3.11-12.NIV)

Every detective story on every fictional murder requires answers to three aspects: Motive, Means and Opportunity. 

We can see the opportunity and the means. But we can easily make a mistake with the motive. After all, it’s easy to say that Cain was envious or covetous of God’s favour towards brother Abel and so he killed him. Or as the old saying goes, Cain killed his brother because he wanted to be like him, but just wasn’t Abel. 

If we stop there, we have a cosy crime that can simply leave us unaffected. ‘This doesn’t apply to me at all.’ You might say. ‘I am not a killer’. 

Good. Good for you. 

But is it really true? 

Matthew 5:21-22 NIV 

[21]  “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ [22] But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.5.21-22.NIV)

Ah. Now things are a bit more difficult. 

But why is this the case? 

As we have already seen this year, the whole of the law, and the very essence of obedience to God, is summed up in the commands to love God, our neighbours and ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). We saw earlier how even the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 5:1-21) can easily be divided along these lines.  

Now, let’s take a leap forward to Galatians 5:13-26. The gifts of the Spirit can easily be seen to be expressions of love for God, our neighbours and ourselves; the acts of the flesh are self-centred acts of hatred along these latitudes. 

Ephesians 5:1-20 has something similar, and look how it begins: 

Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV 

[1] Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children [2] and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.5.1-2.NIV)

Colossians 3:1-17 is also similar, and what does it contain? 

Colossians 3:14 NIV 

[14] And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/col.3.14.NIV)

And again in 1 John: 

1 John 3:14-15, 18 NIV 

[14] We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. [15] Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 

[18] Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1jn.3.14-18.NIV)

The question we ought to ask ourselves is not ‘Why did Cain kill his brother?’. That’s too easy: he was envious and coveted the favour his brother received. 

The question we ought to ask is ‘Why did Cain not love his brother? What made him cross the love line and sin against his brother?’ 

That is a much more challenging question. Because most of us will never murder anyone else, but when we look at the other sins that are on the wrong side of the love line – lies, gossip, slander, filthy language, hatred, discord, factions, lust – these are all behaviours that we will be involved in at least once in our lives. So when we ask what it was that caused a character like Cain to stop loving his brother, his God and himself, we are seeking to see if we could ever fall into the same trap and cross the love line ourselves. 

When we approach it that way, we see what happened: he was proud, so he was troubled by his brother ‘out-worshipping him’; he coveted the blessing his brother received; he envied his brother; he could see no way to get the blessing other than taking his brother’s life. 

All this is so wrong and so avoidable. In fact, God Himself told Cain how he could arrest his slide across the love line towards murder: 

Genesis 4:6-7 NIV 

[6] Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? [7] If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.4.6-7.NIV)

Do you see it? God could see that Cain didn’t love God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength or his brother as himself. That is what he was doing wrong. He could see in Cain’s heart that he was at risk of temptation. This was his warning. If Cain had put this right, repented of his wrong attitude, walked away from His sin and repented, then the murder would not have happened. 

But Cain didn’t heed the warning. 

How often has this happened to us? How often had God, or someone else, told us that the path we are on is wrong and will lead to trouble? How often have they tried to stage their intervention? 

How often have we pushed on regardless and reaped the whirlwind as a result? 

The love line is right there. The call to love God, our neighbour and ourselves is so very clear. If we cross it, we will sin. 

Maybe it’s time to head the warning. Now. Without delay. 

Often in our lives people do things both they and we know are wrong, but they don’t seem to face justice. That was absolutely not the case with Cain, as we will see now that we have seen the victim, perpetrator, crime and motivation, but finish by looking at The Punishment. 

The Punishment 

Genesis 4:10-16 NIV 

[10] The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. [11] Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. [12] When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” [13] Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. [14] Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” [15] But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. [16] So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.4.10-16.NIV)

Sometimes courts will show the sentencing of criminals on TV. It’s a worthwhile thing to do.

Seeing guilty people get their comeuppance helps us to believe in justice and to realise that there is a strong deterrence – that bad people don’t always get away with it. 

Here we see Cain’s sentencing. On the outside, we might be confused by this. After all, in some countries, a man who had murdered like Cain would receive a long prison sentence, or even death, for what he had done. And few people would disagree, at least with the prison sentence. 

But there were no prisons in those days. Instead, for the man who had crossed the love line and done what he should not have done, God deprived him of the love of his family and a stable income, turning him instead into a restless nomad. As far as desert dwellers go, this is a tough sentence. Weather conditions there are unbelievably harsh. That’s why people rarely crossed the desert alone. Here Cain was being cast out of his community to face the threats and the harshness of fallen life without his support network. 

This was a very tough punishment. Yet deserved. 

And appropriate. 

Crossing the love line caused loneliness. And fear. 

Has anything changed? Isn’t it exactly the same nowadays? 

Our actions have consequences. Some of those consequences can be very serious. We have to heed them before its too late, before we sacrifice the life we could have with God for a lonely and tortured eternity. 

This is our chance to repent. We must take it. 

Conclusion 

Genesis 4:8-9 NIV 

[8] Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. [9] Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.4.8-9.NIV)

Once when I was a missionary, the driver of our van was pulled over by the police. She was from Ireland. We were in Romania. Those two countries drive on opposite sides of the road. Without thinking, she had drifted to the side of the road she was used to and had crossed the line. 

It is truly dangerous to cross the love line. While these are some of the behaviours and attitudes that the world uses to advance their way up the ladder of souls, the reality is that they are evil and that there is no such ladder. 

Once we understand that, then sleights such as the one Cain experienced are much less painful.  

The reality is that his murder of his brother was completely unnecessary and avoidable. As we looked at the victim, the perpetrator, the crime, the motive and the punishment, we saw that this was a horrendous crime which could have been avoided if Cain had heard God’s call and repented. 

The very thought of murdering someone is reprehensible. But drifting to the wrong side of the love line because someone has been differently blessed and has something we envy or covet is so easy. We simply cannot allow ourselves to be in that position.  

If you are struggling with competitive, unloving, grudge-bearing thoughts towards someone else, then you have crossed the love line and must repent now. 

Because the alternative is too awful to contemplate. 

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, this frightens me. I realise that harbouring unloving thoughts towards someone will trigger me to cross the love line and do what ought not to be done. Save me from envy and covetousness, I pray. Help me to genuinely celebrate other people’s blessings. Amen. 

Questions for Contemplation 

• Why did Cain kill Abel? Is this the right question to ask? What is the right question and why is it the right question? 

• Who was to blame for Abel's death and why? 

• Have you ever felt this way about someone? What solution does God have for it in these verses?