Fully Devoted: The FallSample

Cain and Abel, Part 1

After their exile from the garden, Adam and Eve give birth to two sons: Cain and Abel. Cain, the older brother, was a farmer and Abel, the younger brother, was a shepherd. A time came when Cain brought some of his crops as an offering to God. Abel also brought an offering—he brought the best portions of his flock. 

God was pleased with Abel’s offering, but He wasn’t pleased with Cain’s offering. 

Abel had faith, but Cain did not. Abel gave his offering as an act of worship, but Cain gave so that God would give back to him.

Cain worked the ground, depending on the rain, sun, and fertile soil in order to produce crops. He needed favorable conditions for his work to be successful. As a result, he tried to earn God’s favor with his offering. 

The root of that thought process is, “If I do this for You, then You should do this for me.” 

The posture of Cain’s heart upset God because it reflected the opposite of the kind of relationship He wanted to have with Cain. It was never meant to be a transactional process, but rather a partnership. It’s not about manipulating a deity to get what we want, but rather trusting that our heavenly Father knows exactly what we need. 

Abel’s offering modeled the right relationship to God. He gave his Creator the very best of the flock he had cultivated, trusting that God would continue to guide him as he guided his flock.  

Seeing God’s response to Abel made Cain bitter. He was angry and ashamed that his offering wasn’t valued. He set himself on a course that would eventually bring him face-to-face with the very real dangers of sin. God saw the war raging inside of Cain and spoke a word of warning:

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 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.” Genesis 4:6-7 NIV

Sin is never satisfied. It has infected us all and wants to consume us. Cain, in his bitterness and anger toward his brother, made a decision that sent all of humanity farther down the path of violence and destruction. 

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. Genesis 4:8 NIV

Earlier, sin had pushed Adam and Eve to disobey God, blame one another, and harbor shame toward themselves. But here, sin escalated to the murder of a fellow image-bearer of God. This was a new level of destruction.

This is what sin does: It keeps escalating, because it’s never satisfied. Small sins, if left unchecked, tend to fester and grow until they develop into bigger sins. 

Later in this chapter, we’re introduced to Lamech, a descendant of Cain, who revels in the escalation of violence:

Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.” Genesis 4:23-24 NIV

Sin escalates. Sin consumes. And sin destroys. 

But the grace of Jesus is so much bigger, better, and more powerful than sin. There’s this beautiful moment where Jesus talks about the power of gracious forgiveness to counter the toxicity of sin. 

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Matthew 18:21-22 NIV

Jesus is telling us to respond to sin and hurt with grace and forgiveness until we have out-forgiven sin. And while that may seem impossible and ridiculous when looked at through the hurts you may have experienced, this is exactly what Jesus showed us was possible through His self-giving, sacrificial death on the cross. Through the power of grace, He out-forgave sin. 

Sin escalates the violence and the suffering of humanity, but God’s grace has the power to end that cycle and restore what was lost. 

Journaling Questions  

• What sticks out to you from today’s reading? Write down some verses in your journal. 
• Have you ever held the same attitude toward God as Cain, where you tried to do good to receive good? How did that work out?  
• Think of a recent hurt you’ve experienced. What would it look like to respond with grace and forgiveness?

Memory Verse

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 NIV