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“Raising Cain”
It could be observed that Adam and Eve behaved like little children in the Garden of Eden when they disobeyed God and parlook of the forbidden fruit. when God challenged them on the transgression, Adam blamed it on Eve, and they were both banished from the Garden. Think of it as the "ultimate time-out'" God then gave them kids who behaved just like they did.
Sometimes we say we're "payin' for our raisin'" when we must deal with the antics of our children. It's the circle of life...
There are some very real lessons to be taken to heart from the accounts of Cain and Abel, the first murderer and the first homicide victim, respectively. First and foremost, righteousness is defined by God. Abel's sacrifice was acceptable to God because his heart was right, and he offered according to God's instructions; Cain's offering was not acceptable because his heart did not follow God's will
Similarly, Uzzah had good intentions when attempting to steady the Ark of the covenant, when it seemed it would topple from an ox cart at Nachon's threshing floor (2 Sam. 6:6.) But God had specified only Levites could touch the Ark (Deut. l0:8)...and He also gave exact instructions for its transport (Ex. 25:14). Both rules were broken; and evin though Uzzah was "just trying to help," God struck him dead for his disobedience.
We say sometimes bad things happen to good people, and in the case of Abel that is certainly true. He was "the most holy man in existence at the time" (Clark), yet he was killed by his brother out of jealousy. There may sometimes be unfortunate consequences even from doing good; but since the Garden of Eden, we have been promised our time on earth will not necessarily be easy (Gen. 3:16-19).
The consequences of Cain's actions were also life-changing for him. God destined him to a life of perpetual wandering (4:12), even though he was marked by God as one to not be targeted for vengeance (4:15).
The most important lesson from this story is that only God can absolve sin. while it might be viewed that God's protection of Cain was to avoid additional bloodshed, consider that God still preserved the life of even this sinful man. Despite the consequences we may create
for ourselves, God is still with us.
We might suppose that, like Cain, our transgressions are beyond redemption (Gen. 4:13), but we should not forget that with God all things are possible (Mark 9:23). Not just even our forgiveness, b:ut especially our forgiveness. And just as Abel's blood cried out from the ground for vengeance of his murder, Jesus' blood cries lrom the Cross to the Father to avenge us and cleanse us from our sin:
Heb 1 2: 22-24 offers this proof and encouragement: "... but ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better than that of Abel."
