Basic HTML Version
First Murderer and His Victim
43
his life, and wherever anyone stands in defense of the law of God,
the same spirit will be manifested. But every martyr of Jesus has
died a conqueror (see
Revelation 12:9, 11
).
Cain the murderer was soon called to answer for his crime. “The
Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ He said, ‘I do not
know. Am I my brother’s keeper?’” He resorted to falsehood to
conceal his guilt.
The Punishment of Cain
Again the Lord said to Cain, “What have you done? The voice
of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.” Cain had
had time to reflect. He knew the terrible nature of the deed he had
done and the falsehood he had spoken to conceal it; but he was still
rebellious, and the consequences were no longer postponed. The
divine voice pronounced the terrible words: “So now you are cursed
from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s
blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer
yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on
the earth.”
A merciful Creator still spared Cain’s life and granted him op-
portunity for repentance. But Cain lived only to harden his heart, to
encourage rebellion against divine authority, and to be the head of a
line of bold sinners. His influence exerted demoralizing power until
the earth became so corrupt and filled with violence that it needed
[29]
to be destroyed.
The dark history of Cain and his descendants was an illustration
of what would have been the result of permitting the sinner to live on
forever, to carry out his rebellion against God. The patience of God
only made the wicked more bold and defiant. Fifteen centuries after
the sentence pronounced upon Cain, crime and pollution flooded
the earth. It became clear that the sentence of death on the fallen
race was just and merciful. The longer people lived in sin, the more
degraded and reckless they became.
Satan is constantly at work to misrepresent the character and
government of God and to hold the inhabitants of the world under his
deception. God sees the end from the beginning. His plans were far-
reaching and comprehensive, not merely to put down the rebellion