Cain Murders Abel

Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, ‘I have produced a man with the help of the Lord.’ Next she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. The Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.’

Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let us go out to the field.’ And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ He said, ‘I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?’ And the Lord said, ‘What have you done? Listen; your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.’ Cain said to the Lord, ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear! Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.’ And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;
It is the green-ey’d monster, which doth mock
The meat it feeds on. That cuckold lives in bliss,
Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger:
But O, what damnèd minutes tells he o’er
Who dotes, yet doubts, suspects, yet strongly loves!

Long before these famous words where penned by Shakespeare the author of Genesis spoke about jealously. And when that author spoke about jealousy, jealously doesn’t just mock, it kills.

We all try to please those we love and it hurts when we try our best and they choose another over us. This is the case for Cain, whose countenance falls (in other words, you could see the disappointment on his face).

But Cain allows the stain of jealousy to mark him and of course the stain of murder. But it is jealousy that leads Cain to murder. He gives into those dark feelings that all humans possess. He cannot control his dark side.

Cain’s punishment for jealousy and murder is to be a fugitive who wanders the earth; a person with no home. Cain is to be never welcomed by strangers and to always be alone in the world.

But to me the interesting part is this, God did not banish Cain. Cain left voluntarily. Cain went away from the presence of the Lord. And even though Cain walks away from God, God still puts a mark on Cain to protect him.

Jealousy may have gotten the better of Cain, but God advocates for justice out of his abundant love for Cain. Cain must be punished for his sin, but even though he is punished, he is still loved and protected by God.