005. Cain and Abel

Cain and Abel

Heb 11:4. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and by it he, being dead, yet speaketh. A stateof innocence was apparently of short duration. The history of it contains but a very few particulars. To plunge the human race into guilt and ruin was the work only of a moment: but to restore mankind to life and happiness, employed depth of design to contrive; length of time to mature and unfold; and irresistible force to execute. The history of the world is, in truth, the history of redemption. For all the dealings of Divine Providence with men, directly or by implication immediately or remotely, point out and announce a Savior. To our first parents, immediately upon the fall, a promise was given, in general, indeed, but not in obscure terms, of deliverance and recovery, by one who should be in a peculiar and proper sense, “the seed of the woman.” And it is far from being unreasonable to suppose that the skins employed to cover the shame of our guilty first parents, were taken from victims slain by divine appointment; who by the shedding of their blood were to typify the great atonement, styled in Scripture “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” But admitting this to be merely a fanciful conjecture, we have the authority of God himself to affirm, that the immediate descendants of Adam offered such sacrifices, and looked in faith and hope to such propitiation: “For by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness, that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and by it he, being dead, yet speaketh.” The history, character, and conduct of these two brothers, from the materials furnished us in Scripture, are to be the subject of this Lecture.

Adam, with the partner of his guilt and of his future fortunes, being expelled from Eden, and tumbled from all his native honors, enters on the possession of a globe, which was cursed for his sake. He feels that he is fallen from a spiritual and divine life, from righteousness and innocence; that he has become liable to death; nay, by the very act of disobedience, that he really died to goodness and happiness. But the sentence itself which condemns him, gives him full assurance, that his natural life, though forfeited, was to be reprieved; that he should live to labor; to eat his bread with the sweat of his brow; and not only so, but that he should be the means of communicating that natural life to others; for that Eve should become a mother, though the pain and sorrow of conception and child-bearing were to be greatly multiplied. In process of time she accordingly brings forth a son; and pain and sorrow are no more remembered, for joy that a man-child is born into the world. What she thought and felt upon this occasion, we learn from what she said, and from the name she gave her new-born son. With a heart overflowing with gratitude, she looks up to God, who had not only spared and prolonged her life, but made her the joyful mother of a living child; and who in multiplying her sorrow, had much more abundantly multiplied her comfort. Ease that succeeds anguish is doubly relished and enjoyed. Kindness from one whom we have offended, falls with a weight pleasingly oppressive upon the mind. Some interpreters, and not without reason, suppose, that she considered the son given her, as the promised seed, who should bruise the head of the serpent; and they read her self-gratulatory exclamation thus, “I have gotten the man from the Lord.” And how soothing to the maternal heart must have been the hope of deliverance and relief for herself, and triumph over her bitter enemy, by means of the son of her own bowels! How fondly does she dream of repairing the ruin which her frailty had brought upon her husband and family, by this “first-born of many brethren!” The name she gives him signifies “possessed,” or a “possession.” She flatters herself that she has now got something she can call her own; and even the loss of paradise seems compensated by a dearer inheritance. If there be a portion more tenderly cherished, or more highly prized than another, it is that of which David speaks,[*]Psa 127:3-5 “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed; but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.” But O, blind to futurity, with how many sorrows was this “possession,” so exultingly triumphed in, about to pierce the fond maternal breast! How unlike are the forebodings and wishes of parental tenderness and partiality, to the destinations of Providence, and the discoveries which time brings to light! “And she again bare his brother Abel.” The word denotes vanity, or a breath of air. Was this name given him through the unreasonable prejudice and unjust preference of a partial mother? Or was it an unintentional prediction of the brevity of his life, and of the lamentable manner of his death? But the materials of which life is composed, are not so much its days, and months, and years, as works of piety, and mercy, and justice, or their opposites. He dies in full maturity, who has lived to God and eternity, at whatever period, and in whatever manner he is cut off. That life is short, though extended to a thousand years, which is disfigured with vice, devoted to the pursuits of time merely, and at the close of which the unhappy man is found unreconciled to God.

Behold this pair of brothers, then, growing in wisdom and in stature; gladdening their parents’ hearts. They arrive at the age of reason, of vigor, of activity; they feel the law of God and nature upon them. Though the heirs of empire, they must labor for their subsistence--”Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.”[*]Gen 4:2 The earth will no longer spontaneously yield her increase. The clods must be turned up, and the seed must be cast into the furrow, through the care, foresight, and industry of man, else in vain will the heavens shed their influence; and in vain will the blessing of the Most High be expected. That cattle may furnish either the fleece for clothing, or milk for food, they must be protected from inclement seasons, and ravenous beasts; they must be conducted to proper pasture, and provided with water from the brook. And this is the origin of the first employments which occupied our elder brethren in a state of nature. And here it is observable, that the different dispositions of the brothers may be traced in the occupations which they followed. Pious and contemplative, Abel tends his flock; his profession affords more retirement, and more leisure; for meditation; and the very nature of his charge forms him to vigilance, to providence, and to sympathy. His prosperity and success seem to flow immediately, and only, from the hand of God. Cain, more worldly, and selfish, betakes himself to husbandry; a work of greater industry and art; the necessary implements of which suppose the prior invention of sundry branches of manufacture; and in whose operations, and their effects, art blending with nature, would claim at least her full proportion of merit and importance. But it is not the occupation which has merit or demerit; the man who exercises it, is the object of censure or of praise. It is not the husbandry of Cain, but wicked Cain the husbandman that we blame; it is not the shepherd’s life, but good Abel the shepherd that we esteem. “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof; and the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering:”[*]Gen 4:3-4 What is any condition, any employment, unconnected with, unsupported, unadorned by religion! How wretched a creature is the mere citizen of this world, whose views, pursuits, and enjoyments, all terminate in time! The man who sees not his comforts and his successes as coming from the hand of God; and whose heart rises not in gratitude to the Giver of all good, is a stranger to the choicest ingredient in the cup of prosperity. But can God, the great God, stand in need of such things as these? “Is not every beast of the forest his, and the cattle upon a thousand hills?” Yes, verily; religion was not instituted for the sake of God, but of man: for man cannot be profitable to his Maker, as he that is wise, and good, and pious, may be unto himself. Religion is pressed upon us by the very law of our nature; and it is absolutely necessary to human happiness.

Cain observes the fruits of the earth arrive at their maturity. He knows that all his care and skill, without the interposition of Heaven could not have produced a single grain of corn. He had observed the seed which he cast into the ground, dying, in order to be quickened; he saw from putrefaction a fresh stem springing up, and bearing thirty, sixty, an hundred fold; and a power more than human conducting this wonderful progress. Of the first and best, therefore, he brings an offering unto the Lord; not to enrich his Maker, but to do honor to himself. Abel’s flocks and herds likewise, through the blessing of the Almighty, increase and multiply; he adores the hand that makes his wealth; and presents the firstlings of his flock to the Lord. But, alas! his offering, in order to be accepted, must bleed and die. The innocent lamb which he had tended with so much care, had fed from his hand, had carried in his bosom, must by his hand be slain, must find no compassion from the tender shepherd’s heart, when piety demands him--must be consumed to ashes before his eyes. “And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering. But unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect.” What made the difference? Not the nature and quality of the things offered, but the disposition of the offerers. Our text illustrates and explains the passage in Genesis, “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.” Cain came before God as a righteous man; Abel as a sinner. Cain brought an offering of acknowledgment; Abel a propitiatory sacrifice. Cain’s gift bespeaks a grateful heart: Abel’s a contrite spirit. Cain eyes the goodness of God; Abel his mercy and long-suffering. Cain says, “Lord, I thank thee for all thy benefits toward me;” Abel, “Lord I am unworthy of the least of thy favors.” Cain rejoices in the world as a goodly portion; Abel, by faith, discerns and expects a better inheritance. Cain approaches, trusting in an imperfect righteousness of his own, and departs un justified; Abel draws nigh, depending on the perfect righteousness of a Mediator, and goes away righteous in the sight of God. In what manner the divine approbation and displeasure were expressed, we are not informed; whether by a celestial fire seizing and consuming the one offering and leaving the other untouched; or by a voice from heaven, declaratory of the mind of God. But we are assured that it was sufficiently notified to the parties themselves. On Abel, undoubtedly, it had the effect which a sense of the favor of God will always produce upon a good mind, a mind which esteems the loving kindness of the Most High more than life; sweet complacency and composure of spirit, “the peace of God which passeth all understanding.” On Cain it produces a very different effect; he was very wroth, “and his countenance fell.” Men are often angry when they ought to be grieved; and remorse for their own unworthiness frequently becomes resentment against their innocent neighbors; and not seldom it changes into sullenness, insolence, and rebellion against God himself. Observe the goodness and condescension of God; he vouchsafes to reason with, to warn, and to admonish this peevish, petulant man; and gives encouragement to a better temper and behavior. “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?” He promises to support him in his right of primogeniture, unworthy as he was--”To thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him;” but at the same time he points out the danger of persevering in impiety, and of prosecuting his resentments--”If thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.” But the soul, of which envy, malice and revenge have taken possession, is lost to the better feelings of human nature; is deaf to remonstrance, and insensible of kindness The innocent are simple and unsuspicious; intending no evil, they fear none. Cain, it would appear from the letter of the narration, and the scene where the action is laid, decoyed his brother into solitude, under the mask of familiarity and friendship; “he talked with him,” they were in the field. What a horrid aggravation of his guilt! A deed of violence! Murder! a good man’s, a brother’s murder! Deliberately resolved on, craftily conducted, remorselessly executed! Was man’s first disobedience a slight evil, which introduced such desperate wickedness into the world; which transformed man into the most savage of beasts! “He rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” Now was death for the first time seen; and seen in his ghastliest form! Death before the time! The death of piety and goodness! Death inflicted by violence, and preceded by pain! Death embittered to the sufferer by reflecting on the hand from which it came; the hand of a brother, the hand which should have supported and protected him, which should have barred the door against the murderer, not borne the fatal instrument itself! At length the feeble eyes close in peace; and the pain of bleeding wounds, and the pangs of fraternal cruelty are felt no more. “The dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit unto God who gave it.” The spirit returns to God, to see his unclouded face, formerly seen through the medium of natural objects, and of religious services; to understand, and to enjoy the great mystery of the atonement, hitherto known only in a figure. Happy Abel, thus early delivered from the sins and sorrows of a vain world! And thus death, at whatever season, in whatever form, and from whatever quarter it comes, is always unspeakably great gain to a good man.

Such was the life, and such the untimely end of “righteous Abel;” for so our blessed Lord styles him, who fell a martyr to religion. The remainder of Cain’s history; the short view given us of the character of his descendants, together with the birth of Seth, given and appointed of God to preserve the sacred line, to propagate the holy seed, in place of Abel, whom Cain slew; will, with the permission of God, furnish matter for another Lecture. Let us conclude the present, by setting up the character of Abel as an object of esteem and a pattern for imitation.

Faith in God, and in a Savior to come; and the righteousness which is of God by faith, are the leading and striking features of this portrait; and by these, “being dead, he yet speaketh;” or if you choose to adopt the marginal reading, “is yet spoken of.” It is a desirable thing to enjoy a good name while we live, and to be remembered with kindness after we are dead. But reputation is the gift of others: it is often gained without merit, and lost without a crime. Whereas true goodness is a real unalienable possession; it cleaves to us in death; it accompanies us to the world of spirits; it instructs the world while we live; it speaks from the grave; it shines in the presence of God in heaven. Here, my friends, it is lawful and honorable to aspire. Permit others to get before you in wealth or in fame; grudge not to your neighbor the superiority in wit, or strength, or beauty; but yield to none in piety, in purity, in faith, in charity; aim at the highest honors of the Christian name; be humble, and be every thing.

Salvation, men and brethren, has, from the beginning, flowed in one and the same channel. There was not one gospel to the antediluvian, and another to the postdiluvian world; one method of redemption to the Jews, and another to the Gentiles; but “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Abel, Abraham, Moses, David, Simeon, Paul, and all who have been, or shall be saved, lived and died in the faith of Christ. “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”[*]Acts 4:12 This therefore is the great commandment of God to us in these days of meridian light and glory, namely, “that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another.” Was Abel a type of Christ, as well as a believer in him! The Scripture indeed saith it not expressly; but surely, without straining, we may discern some striking marks of resemblance. What saith Moses? “Abel was a keeper of sheep.” What saith Christ? “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” What did Abel? “He through faith brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof, an offering unto the Lord.” What did Christ? “Through the eternal Spirit he offered himself without spot to God.” Were Abel’s days cut short by the hand of violence? So “Messiah the Prince, was cut off, but not for himself.” Was Abel hated of, and slain by his brother? Christ “was despised and rejected” of his own, and died by the treachery of a familiar friend in whom he trusted, and by the cruelty of those who were his brethren according to the flesh. Did the blood of Abel cry to God from the ground, for vengeance on the head of him who shed it? O, with what oppressive weight has the blood of Jesus fallen, and how heavily does it still lie on the heads of them, and of their children, who with wicked hands crucified and slew him! Could the blood of Abel atone for his sin? No: but the blood of Christ cleanseth him, and every believer, from all sin. Yet Abel died as a righteous man, Christ as a sinner. Abel, a guilty creature, was justified and accepted through an imputed righteousness; Christ, who was holy, harmless, undefiled and separated from sinners,” was condemned and suffered, because “The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Abel suffered death once for all; the body of Christ was “offered once for all,” and by that one sacrifice, “he hath forever perfected them that are sanctified.” But we pursue the similitude and the contrast no farther. May God bless what has been said. Amen. And to his holy name be praise.