Do the Right Thing

Genesis 4:1-16

Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.  She said, "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man."  Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.  Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.  In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.  But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.  The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.  So Cain was very angry, and his face was down cast.  The the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry?  Why is your face downcast?  If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."  Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field."  And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.  Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"  "I don't know," he replied.  "Am I my brother's keeper?"  The Lord said, "What have you done?  Listen!  Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.  Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hands.  When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you.  You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."  Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is more than I can bear.  Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."  But the Lord said to him, "Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over."  Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.  So Cain went out from the Lord's presence, and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

This is a strange story.  I call it strange because a lot of things are not explained. For example, the bringing of gifts to God seems to already be happening.  Although no instructions are recorded, there is a right way and a wrong way to bring an offering to God.  Although it is easy to bring the rest of the Bible into it and say that Cain was rejected because he did not bring a blood sacrifice, it does not say that here.  It does not even specifically say that Abel sacrificed the offering from his flock.  What is detailed is that Cain brought some of his produce, while Abel brought some of the firstborn for his offering.

God does not chase Cain away.  In fact, when God does not look with favor on Cain's offering, he gives instructions and tells Cain flat out that he will be accepted if he does what is right, whatever that exactly means here.  Instead, Cain kills his brother in anger.  God comes to Cain, and just like with Adam and Eve, he talks as if he does not know what Cain has done, even though it is obvious he does.

Two important points are:  One, Cain does not want to be separated from God.  He cringes at his punishment.  He will go out from the community and wander.  Second, God still does not say he no longer loves Cain.  Rather, it once again sounds like God is merely explaining what will happen, and not what or why God will punish Cain severely.