Cain (A biblical character study)

 

The name Cain reminds us of a gruesome act of murder, the very first one, in the Bible. So, the question that begs to be asked is, what made Cain commit this murder? What motivated him to such a sin? Before we delve in the character study of Cain, lets first get an idea of who he was?

The very first book in the bible, Genesis, recounts how God created the entire world in seven days and created and placed the first couple, Adam and Eve, in a beautiful garden. Adam and Eve had everything that they could desire. However, they fell in sin when Eve disobeyed God by listening to Satan’s deceptive talk. Adam followed suit when he heeded the words of Eve and disobeyed God’s command. Disobedience brought upon them the wrath and judgment of God. God banished them from the beautiful garden He had fashioned for them and sent them out into the wilderness to fend for themselves by the toil of their hands. It is in this harsh and lonely place that Cain was born. Genesis 4:1 says

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.”

Cain was the first fruit of the womb. Eve recognized that she had acquired him from the Lord. Soon after, Adam and Eve are blessed with their second son Abel. Abel was the keeper of sheep and Cain was a tiller of the soil (a farmer). We do not have any further information on Cain and Abel. But Genesis 4:3 records

And in the process of time, it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord.

This was a nice gesture from Cain. Abel followed suit and brought his own offering to the Lord too. But verse 4 records that the Lord respected Abel’s offering while He did not respect (i.e. rejected) Cain’s offering. And consequently, Cain became angry with the Lord and his countenance fell.

It was Cain that brought the offering to God. Cain had taken a step in the right direction, but what went wrong? God’s words in verse 7 throw light onto the reason

If you do well, will you not be accepted?

So, though Cain had brought the offering, his attitude towards it was not acceptable to God. God knows the thoughts and attitudes of our heart, he does not see the facade as humans do, but searches our motives and intentions. How often we fail in this very same test? Our outward actions seem noble and grand but our motivations and intentions fall short. Isn’t it a solemn lesson for us on how God estimates such deceptive actions.

For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." (Jeremiah 17:10)

Let’s now also explore Cain’s response to God’s rejection. The bible tells us that his countenance fell and he became angry. Angry with God! Cain was offended by God ratting him out on his attitude. He was not willing to humble himself and repent. Rather, he chose to be angry with God. How well do we take feedback? Do we kill the messenger rather than taking the message to heart and mending our ways? How often we question God, “Why did you allow this to happen to me?” when the better question would be, “Lord, please show me if there is any area in my life where I have sinned or grieved your heart?”.

God saw the hardness of Cain’s heart; He tried to reason with him. God actually pleaded with Cain and even warned him of the imminent danger, unless he changes course.

⁶ So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? ⁷ If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

But sadly, Cain stayed his course and committed a grievous sin of killing his own brother Abel. The Bible records how Cain’s anger drove him into a premeditated murder in spite of God’s direct warning.

Now 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 killed him. (Genesis 4:8)

The conversation that pursues is even more intriguing. God accosts Cain directly asking the whereabouts of his brother Abel. Cain responds with sarcasm. The irony of the situation is that God had warned him of this very end, He was well aware of Cain’s actions. However, Cain refused to open his eyes to God’s wisdom and sovereignty. God the righteous judge, had Cain’s best interest in mind when He warned him, when He challenged him after his grievous sin to see if there was even an iota of remorse or repentance. But God finally pronounced his judgment on Cain.

And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. ¹¹ So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹² When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.” (Genesis 4:10-12)

Often, we see God’s harsh punishment and question if God is a loving God or why doesn’t he forgive. But this incident brings to light God’s heart yearning to warn, correct and forgive Cain. God finally punished him due to the hardness of his heart toward God. Even today the Lord pleads with us

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: 

“Today, if you will hear His voice, 

Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, 

In the day of trial in the wilderness,

Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, 

And saw My works forty years. 

Therefore I was angry with that generation, 

And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, 

And they have not known My ways.’

So I swore in My wrath, 

‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ” (Hebrews 3:7-11) 

So, in summary, having meditated on the life of Cain, lets search our hearts to see

1. What motivates our actions? Are our thoughts, attitudes and intentions toward others acceptable before God?
2. Do we heed God’s warnings when He warns or corrects us? Are we open to listen to godly correction through our parents, leaders, elders, and pastors?
3. Are we humble to repent when we have sinned? Are we open to seeing our faults and accept the forgiveness that God has given freely through Jesus Christ, His son?

May the Lord help us search our hearts, repent of our errors and receive his forgiveness and healing in Jesus’ name. Amen.