Am I My Brother’s Keeper?
Am i my brother's keeper?
“The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast…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. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” – Genesis 4:4-5,8-9
Adam and Eve had kids, Cain and Abel. It didn’t take long before the first fight among brothers to take place and man did it get out of hand. So, what happened?
Both Cain and Abel both brought offerings to the Lord, but God only accepted Abel’s offering. That seems unfair. Why not accept Cain’s offering, too? Does God just prefer meat over veggies? To understand this, we must look at the book of Hebrews.
“By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.” – Hebrews 11:4
Abel brought his offering by faith. Cain did not. Cain did the work, but the work didn’t help. This is because our works cannot make us righteous. We are made righteous by faith. So, it is our faith which make our works righteous not our works which make us righteous.
God did not look to the sacrifices of these brothers to decide whether to accept the sacrifices. He looked at the person. Abel had faith, so his sacrifice was looked on with favor. Cain had no faith and his sacrifice was dismissed.
Cain’s actions bear this out. His reaction to God is one of anger and jealousy. His action towards his brother shows how deep these sins ran in Cain.
So, it is with us. God does not look to our works to determine whether we are righteous. He looks to our hearts, specifically, whether we have faith.
Interestingly, God’s dismissal of Cain’s sacrifice was not a wholesale dismissal of Cain. First, God gives Cain a chance to repent when He asks Cain, where is your brother. Cain’s unrepentant heart shows clearly as he does not confess. Instead, he retorts, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Yet still, when Cain said God’s punishment was too great for him to bear. God showed his mercy and gave Cain the mark for his protection.
So great is God’s love for us. He looks to our faith not our works. When we sin, He calls us to repentance to receive His forgiveness. He is a God who loves to show compassion and great mercy.
Dear Jesus,
Give me faith this day. Sustain that faith each and every day. When I fall, lead me to repentence.
Amen.
You can read the full account of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4. Click here to read it.
