1/30 Through the Bible in Devotions

Genesis 4 “My Way”?

(Gen 4:9 KJV) And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?

There are several things wrong with the question Abel asks here: First of all, it questions the authority of God! We are not to question this type of authority; by doing so, we make ourselves the authority! We “demand” of Him an answer, as if He should answer to us! None can question God! Secondly; it was an evasive answer. It was not an answer, but a “stall tactic”! Here Cain had a chance to confess and obtain forgiveness, but, as it was, he evaded the answer and bore his reproach. Third, it was a foolish question. God is concerned with all of mankind, not just “me”. To be as He is, to love as He loves, we must all be our brothers keeper, and gladly so. Cain had no love for his brother, let alone his fellow man. The “way of Cain” (Jude 11) is the way of “self”, of pride, of jealousy, of the “I” complex.

Cain was only doing what his dad was supposed to do—tilling the ground. Adam was driven out of Eden “to till the ground,” (3:23), and so he did. Abel decided to be a shepherd, while Cain followed in his dads’ footsteps. We all know the story, but we are not told of the blood sacrifice, when God covered their nakedness with the skin of an innocent lamb, the rule was established. The innocent must die for the shame (sin) of the guilty. The “embryo” of the redemption plan was seen this early in the Bible, but Cain wanted to do it his way! Be careful of doing things our way, (Prov 14:12), because our way is not usually Gods way. Our way leads to death, while God’s way leads to life everlasting. Even doing things his dad’s way was not God’s way.

So, the question remains, “Am I my brothers keeper?” If we were to be honest, each of us must answer “Yes” to that question. I am responsible for the well being of my brother, and more so, I am responsible to share the Gospel with him, as you too are, my friends; I am responsible to meet his needs as best I can; I owe him “friendship”. Notice that the last six of the Ten Commandments pertain to our relationships with our brother, and our neighbors, while only the first four emphasixe our relationship with the Father. I would say that, as far as we are concerned, our relationship with our fellow man is of the utmost importance.