The secret of Cain and Abel is found in the book of Genesis, chapter four. At the beginning of this chapter, we read that Adam was sleeping with his wife, so she became pregnant. Soon after, she gives birth to their first-born son, Cain. Immediately Eva recognized that the child was a gift from God himself. In the second verse, she became pregnant one more time and delivered their other son, Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. In short: After their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had two sons. The older one was engaged in farming plants and the younger one in cattle breeding.
The fruits of the Holy Spirit
To better understand the secret of Cain and Abel, we will use a tree and fruit analogy. Through the wrong ways of enlightenment, we grow wrong. An example of this are people who pray and read the Scriptures every day, and yet they are depressed or are regularly angry at someone. The tree is known by its fruit, as our Scripture teaches us. So, a good tree will give good fruit, and a rotten tree will give defective fruit. We can all agree to that. On the other hand, we are very unfair when we interpret our lives through fruits.
When we see rotten fruits in our lives, we find justification instead of acknowledging them. You have to be a spiritual giant to come to God with all your evil fruits. Therefore, let us examine our lives according to the fruits, and not in general otherwise we fall into religion. Abel dedicated himself to God in one way, one specific way, while Cain followed God differently. Cain, who was devout, was also the killer of his brother. Here is where the secret is hidden, how can Cain, who was devout be at the same time murder his brother? If he had not been pious, he would not have offered a sacrifice and would not have come before God.
We realize that Cain had an outward appearance of piety. Until the moment he killed his brother, we do not know that Cain has only the outward appearance of piety. We only see from the fruits what is inside. Because, otherwise, we cannot see inside the armor of false piety. Cain was diligent, industrious, and diligent until the moment when the fruit did not manifest. Abel’s consecration was pleasing to God, while He didn’t even look at Cain.
An offering to the Lord
Abel accepted, and Cain refused. Now all of a sudden, Cain is furious, showing arrogance, anger, and jealousy of his brother. In that state, God met him with the question, why his face was grimacing. God confronts him with the fruit of his piety. In other words, if you’re doing the good thing, the right way, then you can’t be bitter. Read your life by the fruits. In the secret of Cain and Abel, we see the motive for the first murder in the history of humankind.
The reason for the murder was the manner of consecration, how Abel devoted himself to God, and Cain could not bear it. For the first time, the spirit of religion is revealed, in the Scripture diligent from the outside and ungodly on the outside. Religions people are pious from the outside but cruel from the inside. The name Cain means: to earn, acquire, earn, buy, while the name Abel means: fog or transience. The image of Cain is an image of legalists who only abide by the law. Behind that law is the ego, only me and me. It is a form of outside piety.
The image of the shepherd shows our spiritual nature and justification by faith in Jesus. Cain’s offering was a sheaf of ripe golden wheat, and Abel’s offering was the best lamb from his flock. God knew that Abel loved him with all his heart, so God accepted his offering. Cain hated Abel as better than himself. Notice that self-righteous people invoke their sacrifice; they are always called upon with their sacrifice labor and sweat. The problem is that there is no joy in their hearts; these people do not understand the loving heart.
The murder
The shepherds had to travel continually and depend on God; all of God’s people were shepherds. The angel first appeared to the shepherds when the savior was born. Their mentality culminates when they offer gifts to God. Cain was the first man to justify his reasoning with his actions. The more we sacrifice, the more God will love us. It is the same mentality as the religious people proclaim. Pray to God that you do not fall into the trap of the spirit of religiosity. Let’s take another look at what Abel brought. He looked at the sin of his parents, chose the best lamb to shed blood for the forgiveness of sins. Without shed blood, there is no forgiveness.
He looked at the sacrificial lamb as at Christ. Abel’s sacrifice is a picture of the coming Savior. Cain’s sacrifice is a picture of a false prophet who seduces people. When Cain went to the field near Abel, he had a mask of kindness. They walked, as it is written in the Hebrew interpretation until they came to the field. He killed him there. God enters the picture and gives Cain another chance to redeem himself. He asked where your brother was.
Instead of regretting his sin, Cain is answering with a question. “And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9, KJV) God tells him, your brother’s blood is screaming at me. Not only did he kill Abel, but also all his descendants who will never be born. God is merciful. He did not kill Cain but only punished him. His punishment was exiled to the desert. For, only in the desert can one rely entirely on God.
The punishment
God wanted to turn a traditional farmer into a wanderer. What did Cain do? He made himself a city in the desert to be situated. He sought security since he did not trust God. God persecuted Cain in the land of “Nod” – which in translation meant “desolate and uninhabited.” It is probably a vast desert, east of Canaan. Cain and his descendants were to live in it. Cain was supposed to be a wanderer because living in the land of Nod means “being homeless, a wanderer,” also “being without peace.” It is characteristic that Cain built a city and named it after his son Enoch.
Cain is continuing with his mentality and saying to God that his crime is so big that it can not be forgiven. Remember, and keep this somewhere in your heart, there is no such big sin that God cannot forgive nor such a big sinner that God cannot save. That is not a secret; it is a fact.
Cain was not used to wandering, so he was afraid that someone would kill him. He is aware that he committed a crime. To protect Cain, God made a vow with him and put a sign on him so that no one kills him. God also said that if anyone kills Cain, he will regret it seven times. In this story, we see the symbolism of Christ’s saving work on earth. Abel is a unique image of Jesus Christ, plus he was a shepherd like Jesus the Good Shepherd. And receiving a just death was the first righteous person to suffer.
Abel’s righteousness
Part of the secret of Cain and Abel is in his prayer in protective sacrifice. Abel believed in the blood that forgives sins. He did not believe in himself, but he relied on the blood that forgives his sins. Thus, he is righteous by faith in Christ. What is the fruit of that? The first and greatest is love for his brother. Cain, on the other hand, relied on himself. He recognized just what he had earned. What is the fruit of that? He became his brother’s killer. A significant aspect of this story is that God takes Abel’s sacrifice, not Cain’s.
That shows Cain is related to the Canaanites because the Canaanite cults were often related to farming. In other words, this meant that God did not like the Canaanite sacrifices. Of course, the problem was not just a ritual nature. By accepting the sacrifice, God favors the spiritual system, but He rejects the religious. The Canaanite religious system was exploitative-slave-owning, which God rejected. Therefore God does not accept such a sacrifice. Abel’s sacrifice is the sacrifice of the shepherds, that is, the Israelites and their ancestors. The story indirectly indicates that such a sacrifice is pleasing to God.
The Secret Of Cain And Abel – Summary
The secret of Cain and Abel, God doesn’t care about our external godliness but our internal spiritual growth. God said that he only looks into the hearts, and He examines the liver and kidneys. Cain was religious or legalist while Abel was spiritual and a person who had a connection with the Lord. Every time we look at our neighbor with envy, Cain awakens in us, lurking only for an opportunity. So let’s choose to awaken Abel within ourselves. It is up to each person whether he will let sin into his heart or resist it. And that is the price of freedom; we can only be free if Christ frees us with His shed blood. Try this free worksheets.