[June 24, 2022] Cain and Abel are brothers and are, hypothetically, the first two real human beings (since they were born, unlike their parents, Adam and Eve, who God created). They don’t like each other.
Abel is a good guy by all appearances. God smiles on him; fate smiles on him, and everything he does seems to work out. Abel makes sacrifices that God rewards. This is a major discovery, maybe one of the most profound discoveries of humankind – the discovery that you can sacrifice something in the present to improve your chances in the future.
Abel’s sacrifices work well. Everyone likes him and thinks he’s a good guy and has everything he wants. But Cain is not doing well, and nothing he sacrifices has the proper effect; perhaps his sacrifices are less than adequate, maybe half-hearted. We are all like this: our sacrifices are not all that right, and we are hurt by the fact that we cannot get away with it, making us bitter and resentful.
Cain has enough of this one day and decides to talk with God. Cain challenges God and complains that everything is working out for Abel. For Cain, working hard and offering sacrifices is not working, implying that this is God’s fault. God essentially tells Cain that it’s all Cain’s fault and that he did so voluntarily, and now he’s lied about it.
If Cain had any sense, he would think about what God told him and change his ways; apologize to God and have a little humility. That is not what happens. Cain decides to take revenge. He kills Abel.
Cain has taken the ideal (his brother) and destroyed it. Then what does Cain have? Nothing because humans need an ideal to live for. Cain says, “My punishment is more than I can bear,” because life without an ideal is more than we can take.
And, the story gets worse. The real reason Cain killed his brother was to shake his fist in anger at God, the structure of reality, and the unfairness of being. This story is even darker than mere murder. Cain has turned against being itself.
The lesson is that if you are not putting enough of your heart, blood, sweat, and tears into your sacrifices, then, as a consequence, you do not get what you want from life, and you may become bitter and destructive against others. That is the lot of being a human and the challenge to overcome.
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The story of Cain and Abel is one that has really never been explained well to me as a Christian and that is unfortunate becuase there is so much to learn from it. Why don’t we get taught in church about the murder of Abel by Cain’s hand? Good question.
I agree, terrible explanation as a kid but too as an adult.
Do we have agreement here?
As a dedicated Christian, this kind of article is something I can appreciate. Thanks to all those who support Gen. Satterfield and his book (oh, get it now).
Altho this is not a Christian site, I find that there is a great tie between how we act every day as good, ethical men and women and the practical side of Christianity. That means you are who you are and defined by thousands of years of behaviors that took our ancestors a long time to develop. Gen. Satterfield is kicking butt once again.
One of the huge advantages of reading this leadership blog is that Gen. Satterfield sure knows his history and is able to ‘connect the dots’ on various ideas and then present them in a straightforward fashion for us readers. Thank you Gen. S.
Why is God disappointed with Cain’s sacrifice? That is an important question and I think Gen. Satterfield certainly hinted at the reason.
Are our sacrifices to the future (to God) good enough? If not, and they are likely NOT good enough, then what will we do? Will we murder? Or will we try harder to be a proper, kind, gentle human being and improve our sacrifices.
Well said, New Girl. Thanks.
Gen. Satterfield, it looks like a natural progression from your recent articles into how they parallel so closely stories from the Bible. I’m a tad surprised you haven’t brought these stories in before. I know ur a christian and all, but ancient stories survived for a reason and the reason is that they tell us about ourselves.
The story of Cain and Abel falls fast on the heels of the account of the first human rebellion against God. That story told of Adam and Eve’s sin, which was followed by a judgment speech in which God announced his punishment on the sinners. The end of the chapter narrates the execution of the punishment, but before that happens, God extends to them a token of grace in the form of clothing to cover their nakedness that for the first time caused them shame.
Interestingly, the story of Cain and Abel presents the very same structure. That is, after Cain sins by killing his brother (4:8), God announces his judgment against him (4:11–12), but before the judgment takes place (4:16), God extends grace to Cain as well (4:15).
cat, I too find this very interesting. Well said.
A great story, and bears repeating. We can all learn a good deal from this and it is applicable to all we do even today! ✔
Cain and Abel: A Story of Rebellion, Judgment, and Grace
https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/cain-and-abel
i should know more …….
Even while punishing Cain, God extends mercy and tells Cain that he will offer protection in the form of a mark. This mark will serve as a reminder that if someone seeks to kill Cain, he will suffer “sevenfold” vengeance. Gen. Satterfield, thanks for the story. It is one we should all know and WHY things happened as they did (as best we can understand)
Interesting. 😊
We don’t know why God had regard for Abel’s sacrifice but not for Cain’s. Over the years there have been three main reasons postulated by theologians and Bible scholars. The ideas can be found here:
https://answersingenesis.org/bible-characters/cain-and-abel/
One of the most frequently asked questions our speakers and correspondence department receive is Where did Cain get his wife? Other questions involving the first family often also center around Cain. Why was Cain’s offering rejected? What was the mark of Cain? Who was he afraid of? It seems like Cain gets all the press, while his brother Abel rarely gets mentioned.
We need to keep in mind that Adam and Eve were unique among all other humans because they were not born but created mature and commanded to “be fruitful and multiply” right after they were created (Genesis 1:28). 🧔⛪
Good points, why?
✝️ Great comments here and yet I’m still a bit unclear on the details of Cain and Able, outside what I already know about them. How did Adam and Eve play a part in this? Many quesitons.
Eve gave birth to Seth, and she viewed him as a replacement for Abel (Genesis 4:25).
What I’ve always found interesting is the reaction of God under this circumstance. Other than banishing Cain, He did nothing. He let Cain be. And it was Cain who punished himself. God could have easily destroyed Cain. And, in addition, why was it that Cain was banished for so long? Maybe so we would not have revenge killings. Maybe.
One of the greatest Biblical stories of all mankind.
—– and the first about the first two fully humans (as Gen. Satterfield noted, since they are the first born). This is significant that the first story is about a murder and betrayal.