The Blood Cries Out

The Story of Abel and Cain

Genesis 4

"Let's race!" Cain called to his younger brother as they topped the rise above their home tent.  Not waiting for a reply, he raced ahead, and Abel trailed behind.  Cain won the race; he always won.  He was taller, heavier, and stronger than his brother.  Already, he had taken much of the work of tilling the fields from his father, Adam.  Abel tended the flocks, and spent long hours alone up in the hills.  Today was a holiday, of sorts, though technically it was a time of mourning.

This was the day that Adam had set aside to remember being cast out of the garden, the lost Eden.  Since that day, he had learned the meaning of hard work, the necessity of surviving through his own efforts rather than the Lord's bounty.  His woman had borne him two sons, and he called her Eve, or Life-giver, because she was the mother of all human-kind after them.  Her first son she named Cain, or Gotten, because, she said, "I have gotten a man child from the Lord."  Her second child she called Abel, or Keeper, and he was keeper of the flocks, a shepherd.

The Day of Remembrance was supposed to be solemn feast to the Lord, with prayers and sacrifices seeking his continued favor and blessing.  Abel worshipped with his mother and father, but Cain went through the motions, nothing more.  He told Abel, with a smirk, that it was nothing more than a good chance not to work in the fields, and to eat and drink his fill.  Abel was horrified, but Cain only laughed when he expressed his concern.

"God doesn't care," he scoffed.  "What is he going to do, strike me dead?  He told our parents they would die the day they ate the forbidden fruit, and both of them are still very much alive.  Why, Father is stronger than we are."

As the years passed, the two brothers grew farther apart, though they both continued to live and work near the home of their father. Abel tended large flocks, while Cain tilled his own acres of crops.  Both of them had their own encampments, and often went many months without visiting the tent of their parents.  Abel was a devout man, who delighted in spending time in prayer, and in fellowship with God.  He offered sacrifices from his flocks with joy, never begrudging the loss.  Cain offered up his sacrifices of grain as a matter of form, often muttering under his breath at the senseless waste.

Abel prospered; his flocks increased greatly, and the wolves and lions left them alone.  By contrast, Cain's crops often failed, and he had to contend with plagues of locusts, drought, floods, and hail.  He complained bitterly to God about the injustice of it all.

"After all," he said, "I offer my sacrifices, too, just like I'm supposed to.  Why don't you bless me?"

"Why are you angry?" the Lord asked in response.  "You know your heart.  If you make your sacrifices in the right spirit, and live righteously, as Abel does, I will bless you, too."

The answer did not satisfy Cain; so far as he was concerned, God was being spiteful and unfair in giving preference to his brother, who did nothing all did but sit around.  Anyone could be shepherd; it took brains and hard work to wring a living out of the soil.  The thing preyed on his mind, day after day.  The more he thought about it, the more angry he got.  At last he determined that Abel must die; maybe then God would give him the credit he was due.

It all came to head one day months later.  Abel had come down from the pastures to see his brother, as he often did.

"All hail, Cain, my brother, he said cheerfully, as he approached.  "May the Lord's blessing be upon you."

He tried to embrace his brother, but Cain pushed him roughly away.  "You hypocrite," he spat out.  "You pretend to be so holy, but you're worse than I am.  You've convinced God and our parents you're so great and good, but I know better.  All you've done is steal the blessing that should have been.  I was doing well in life until you came along."

Abel's face fell.  "But, Cain, that is just not true.  I love the Lord, and all I want to do is please him.  You're my brother, and all I want to do is help you in any way I can.  I know that the crops have done badly this year, and I thought I could offer you a few sheep for food."

That was the last straw; the idea he would ever need help from Abel enraged him; a red film settled over his mind, and he lost all control.  His eyes fell on a huge stone near his feet, and in one swift move, he stopped, picked it up, and sent it crashing into Abel's skull.  His brother dropped without a sound, the blood gushing from his head and soaking into the soft, plowed earth.

Looking wildly about, he spotted his spade, and in the same furious burst of energy, dug a hole in the ground.  He rolled Abel into the shallow pit, and scooped the dirt back on top of his body, careful to cover the tell-tale red earth that still held his brother's blood.

That evening, while he was at the place of sacrifice, the Lord called him.  "Cain!  Cain!  Where is your brother, Abel?"

"I don't know," said Cain, "Am I the keeper of my brother, the Keeper."

The Lord's voice took on a horrible note that made Cain cringe in fear.  "What have you done?  Does not your brother's blood cry out to me from the ground?  Because you have done this thing, and murdered your brother, the ground in which you placed him will be cursed to you.  No matter how hard you work, the earth will be barren to you, and will not yield its crops.  You will be fugitive, a wanderer, and you will never know rest."

Weeping, Cain cried out in anguish, "This is more than I can bear, Lord!  You have driven me out from your presence, and besides being a vagabond and a fugitive, I will be sought out by all men.  All who see me will try to slay me."

"Whoever kills you I will punish seven times over," said the Lord, "and I will put a mark on you that all will recognize."

And the Lord placed a mark on Cain's forehead, that all who saw him would recognize.  Cain left the home of his parents, and settled to the east of Eden.  He took a wife, and she bore him a son, Enoch.