The Fruit of Hate

MEMORY VERSE: “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” —I John 3:15

GENESIS 4:1-15

WHEN Cain, the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, was born, his mother said, “I have gotten a man from the Lord.” When passing the sentence of death upon our first parents the Lord said to “that old serpent,” “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”—Gen. 3:15

This is a vague reference to the fact that God would provide a “Seed,” one which would bruise the head of the “serpent,” symbolic of Satan. Eve did not know that this promised “Seed” would not put in an appearance for thousands of years. She could well have thought that since it was to be a Seed of the woman that it would be a child of hers, hence her statement when Cain was born, “I have gotten a man from the Lord.”

Abel was Eve’s second son, and when the two boys arrived at manhood they brought offerings to the Lord. Cain’s offering was of the fruit of the field, while Abel brought a lamb. Cain’s offering was not accepted by the Lord, but Abel’s was. Hebrews 11:4 reads, “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous.”

And we can see why God desired a flesh and blood sacrifice. He had said that the “Seed” of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head. This implied that the terrible result of the tragedy of disobedience would one day be set aside; that in some way sin would be remitted. The New Testament explains that without the shedding of blood there can be no remission of sin. (Heb. 9:22) So having made the statement which implied that sine would be remitted, God was beginning to illustrate the manner in which this great boon to humanity would be accomplished; that it would be brought about through the shed blood of Jesus, the Redeemer.

God said that he would put enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. This explains the persecution of the Lord’s people throughout the ages. It is not unreasonable to conclude that Satan stirred up hatred in the heart of Cain which led to the murder of his brother, Abel. Jesus said of the scribes and Pharisees of his day that they were of their father the Devil. In other words, Jesus here identifies the seed of the “serpent,” and we know how these wicked men persecuted Jesus even unto death.

When the Lord asked Cain about Abel, Cain replied, “I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Lord said to Cain, “The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.” In giving a preview of various aspects of the messianic kingdom and its blessings, and stating that by faith we have approached unto these things, Paul alludes to the blood of Abel when mentioning the blood of Jesus, which he describes as “the blood of sprinkling”—“the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.”—Heb. 12:24

Abel’s blood testified that a murder had been committed, but the blood of Jesus will testify that the way has been opened for the dead and dying race to return to God’s favor and to life, for it will cleanse the people from their sin. What a happy consummation that will be to God’s great plan of salvation!

Cain was banished from the presence of God, and a mark placed upon him as a protection from those who might think that immediate action should be taken against him for his sin. We have no way of knowing what that mark may have been.

Our memory verse is a heart-searching one. There are doubtless many in the world who would not think of murdering another, but on the other hand go through life with a bitter hatred in their hearts against one or more of their fellow men. But John reminds us that this hatred is murder, even though it does not lead to the actual killing of a brother. Let us indeed cleanse our hearts from hatred.

QUESTIONS

What may have inspired Eve’s great appreciation of Cain?

Who is the Seed of the woman, and who is the seed of the serpent?

What is “the blood of sprinkling which speaks better things than that of Abel’s”?

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