Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. Genesis 4:9-10
Where and when this confrontation took place are not told. It may have occurred in the field at the time Cain killed Abel. If it does, God speaks from heaven to Cain while his dead brother lies at his feet.
Then the Lord said to Cain The rush of excitement, adrenalin
and joy that Cain likely felt was instantly gone as a rush of terror
grows in the pit of his stomach – he has been found out.
Question #1: “Where is Abel your brother?” Remember this
is not the first question God has asked Cain. When Cain was angry that His offering was not accepted, God had asked him three questions. “Why are you angry” “why has your face fallen?” “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” Those questions were designed to draw Cain to God. Now Cain has carried out his wrath and God asks questions in judgment.
First, He asks a question he already knows the answer to. Its purpose is to focus Cain on his evil deed – to confront him with what he has done. Note the way God phrases the question. He focuses Cain on “your brother”. He wants Cain to face the horror of what he has done.
Response #1: He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” Is Cain irritated at God for asking about Abel? After all, God accepted his sacrifice and not Cain’s. Because Cain acts out of a heart of
anger there is likely there is a surge of resentment toward God for His question. Like many today he mocks God to turn the attention away from his own sin. We sense his snippiness toward God in His answer. The word keeper can mean watcher or watchfulness. Cain is telling God Abel is a big boy, he can watch over himself. This is the same kind of response that God received fromAdam and Eve when confronted with their sin. Both pass the buck and refuse to take responsibility for their sin. Their son’s response adds arrogance to his buck passing. “Can’t You keep track of Your own creation, God? You need me to help You” There is no indication of sorrow over what he has done.
We have to realize how hard Cain’s heart is at this point. He turned his back on God’s offer to receive a sacrifice done the right way. Then he
speaks kindly to his brother to lure him to his death. Finally he murders him.. The Greek word used to describe Cain’s murder of Abel in 1 John 3:12 is a word meaning to slaughter a victim for sacrifice, to slit its throat. Perhaps Cain mocked God by thinking “If You require a blood sacrifice, I’ll give You blood.” as he murdered his brother .
Question #2: “What have you done? God does not tolerate Cain’s prideful refusal to take responsibility for his action. He immediately
challenges Cain to face his guilt. Think of the Great White Throne Judgment as billions of people will hear this question confronting
them with their sin – “what have you done – with Jesus and with your life?”.
The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground God provides the evidence against Cain. First he says a voice cries
to Him. This reminds us of the souls of the tribulation saints crying out to God from under the altar in heaven – “How long oh Lord?”.
Abel’s blood cries out, like the Tribulation saints, for justice against the evil done to him. The word blood can be translated death. It is clear to Cain God knows exactly what he has done. Ground means soil. It is what Cain works with every day. He has polluted the very place
God gave him for his livelihood.
What can we learn? Cain learns the truth of Numbers 32:23 “Be sure your sin will find you out”. He tries to avoid responsibility and implies God’s expectation is unreasonable. He is argumentative and defiant. This shows us the true nature of his heart toward God. As believers this is a lesson to us to keep our hearts soft and open to God’s word – to own and confess our sin and to ask God for forgiveness for what we have done toward Him. Because of what Christ did for us we will never face these questions after death.