Genesis 4:9. An Incurable Rebellion

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Genesis 4:9 “And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” 


Even after Cain became a murderer, God did not abandon him to his path of rebellion and self-destruction. Again, He drew near to speak to Cain, and again He opened with a question: “Where is Abel thy brother?” God doesn’t ask to get information, but to give an opportunity to confess his sin, repent and find salvation. What questions is He asking you today?   

Perhaps in an effort to ease his conscience Cain adopted Satan’s lie that the dead are not really dead. That would be about the only way to construe his response, “I know not,” as anything but an outright lie of his own. If Cain believed that Abel wasn’t really dead, that could account for his ignorance and confusion as to his brother’s whereabouts. 

 The rest of Cain’s defiant response, however, reveals that any confusion he had was due to his deliberate choice, not simple gullibility, as he indirectly attempts to cast blame on God with the question “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The intimation is, if Abel was so righteous, then why didn’t You save him? You’re his keeper, not me!  

Cain was the first to kill a human being, and the first to experience what it is to look on a dead body. Did he feel the horror and guilt of having taken life? No doubt he did, but he must have stifled those impressions with extreme self-justification to the point that he could lie to God’s face with blasphemous contempt and apparently without a shred of regret. Such is the nature of unabashed rebellion against God. Don’t ever set foot on that path. 

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Ezra James
The Word of God is bread from heaven. God sent it, but we must gather it, appreciate it, digest it, and live by it. These days it is increasingly scarce. Many are starving for it and don't know it because they keep feasting on bad bread that doesn't satisfy. But if we would learn to carefully gather up the fragments of the True, Heavenly Bread of Life, we would always enjoy a feast of crumbs, because even God's crumbs are miracles mighty to save (Mark 7:24-30). ESPAÑOL: La Palabra de Dios es pan del cielo. Dios lo envió, pero debemos recogerlo, apreciarlo, digerirlo y vivir por él. Hoy en día es cada vez más escaso. Muchos están muriendo de hambre por falta de él sin saberlo porque se alimentan de pan falso que no satisface. Pero si aprendiéramos a recoger cuidadosamente los fragmentos del Verdadero Pan Celestial, Pan de Vida, siempre disfrutaríamos de un banquete de migajas, porque hasta las migajas de Dios son milagros poderosos para salvar (Marcos 7:24-30).