Cain and Abel in Genesis 4

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering, he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

Cain said to Abel his brother, “Let us go out to the field.” And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”

He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”

And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”

Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me this day away from the ground, and from thy face, I shall be hidden, and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay me.”

Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him should kill him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

-Genesis 4:1-12

The Failure of the Firstborn

Like his father Adam, Cain was a firstborn and a failure. In the culture of the ancient world, everything depended on the family. As wealth was not in cash, but land and flocks, preserving and handing on that wealth required Prima-genitor: the law of inheritance of firstborn sons. The majority share went to the eldest boy who was supposed to be like a second father in the family. He was to get all the power and influence and wealth, but he also had no options or freedom. He plied his father’s trade and continued the family tradition and crafts. This maintained the family's wealth, land, and status for generations. The whole world was organized this way.

But Genesis could almost be called The Book of Failed Firstborn Sons. It starts with Adam and continues with Cain.

Why does this matter to us? This demonstrates how God acts in the world. He continuously favors the underdog, the humble, the outcast, and the forgotten. As the Blessed Virgin Mary would say in her great hymn of praise, "He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree..." He seeks out those who are powerless and chooses them for his saving work. This manifests his power so that none can doubt God's power, but also it highlights the humility of God choosing the Israelite people as his own, a people who were repeatedly conquered, and yet they have outlasted all their enemies’ empires.

When you find yourself alone and despised, with seemingly nothing to offer the world that has seemingly rejected you, you can encounter the unsurpassed love of God who leaves the 99 to pursue the 1 lost sheep.

A Worthy Sacrifice

Cain and Abel each offered sacrifices from their labor. A sacrifice is a thing given back to God for the gratitude for what God has given to us. As humans are the only future-oriented animals, the notion of delayed gratification becomes central. I give up something immediately in front of me now so that I can have something in the future that is far better. We know this is what separates children from adults. Adults almost live in the future and kids in the immediate now. Parents have anxiety over their kids’ mistakes because they judge these individual actions in the light of their future consequences.

So delayed gratification becomes enshrined as a core human action for generations and then becomes theologized into the notion of the sacrifice. But in becoming theological and religious, it is not just the offering of the present goods so that we can have an even better future, but becomes an act of both worship and gratitude to the Creator for His gifts. Worshippers don’t just give God what I have right now, but the very best of what I have right now. This is a sign and pledge that we wholly trust God. We distrust and doubt His generosity when we offer what is leftover instead of the firstfruits of our labor.

Unworthy Sacrifice

Abel offered the very best: "the fat of his firstlings." Cain, it can be supposed by the absence of praise, did not bring the best or the first, but the leftovers. God rejected Cain’s offering. This is important to understand here and will guide you through life. You will have many options and opportunities in life that will take sacrifice to attain. Make sure what you are offering is worthy. Make sure what you are sacrificing for is worthy.

Cain refused to accept that his offering was unworthy of either him or God and thus he becomes bitter.

God visits and speaks the truth to Cain. But Cain refuses to acknowledge his error. He refuses to reorient himself correctly. He refuses the command to “do well”. He refuses God’s terms of what it means to offer something acceptable. Ingratitude turns quickly to bitterness in the heart of Cain. Instead of repentance and choosing to be a better man, Cain does what so many of us do and conspires against the goodness in others.

A Murderous Offering

The first time sacrificed is introduced in the Bible is the story of Cain and Abel worshipping God the fruits of their labor. But the story takes a vicious turn as Cain murders Abel out of his rage and bitterness. He cannot endure his younger brother being better so he destroys him. He makes a sacrifice not to God and not for a better future, but for the immediacy of his own ego.

“Your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground!” These words are chilling and powerful. The murder of Abel was turned out to be a worthy offering, but not for Cain’s benefit, but for Abel’s. He died without compromise, as he lived, and God heard the cry of Abel’s blood.

Hero and Adversary Archetypes

What makes stories great is the struggle to overcome conflict and opposition. Cain and Abel represent in a short form the outlines of the Hero-Adversary theme found in every great story. Here are two brothers at war with one another sparked not by injustice, but solely by the hero’s goodness and righteousness. The adversary is against the hero because his very existence illustrates the inadequacy of the villain’s life and the unworthiness of the villain’s offerings. If the corrupt cannot corrupt you, they will kill you or your reputation.

Yet these two brothers live in each of us and are at war within us. Sometimes our sins and selfishness create a double life- one hidden and one on display. Some people find that the Abel-side is actually the mask to cover their Cain-like heart and that they’ve almost convinced themselves that they are Abel, righteous and good. Almost.

Mark of Cain

Many ask, "Why did God spare Cain?" Since he was a tiller of the soil and polluted that soil with his brother’s blood, Cain is now exiled from the soil. In the ancient world, being put to death was sometimes preferred to exile, which was a kind of living death. Cain cries that his punishment is “too great to bear.” What about Abel’s “punishment” for being a decent human person, was that too much to bear?

Can you see how deeply self-deceived and self-obsessed Cain is? Can you see how blind it has made him to the world around him? Cain continues to hide behind his pride and refuses to own up to the murder and the bitterness of heart from which that murderous action originated.

Cain is in all of us who refuse to own our mistakes and sins and seek to blame others even to the point of hurting them, of sacrificing them, to maintain one’s innocence. Cain is in the gossip that trashes another’s reputation to elevates one’s own self-esteem. Cain is in the bully, the violent who uses strength to hurt and intimidate. The way out of being Cain is to own the sin and the ingratitude towards God, life, and the universe for not bending to your will.

After all, you are your brother’s keeper. Guard him and in so doing you will keep yourself unstained by this world. Do well and your offering will be accepted. Because sin is indeed couching at the door, luring you into a trap. You must be it’s master. There is no other way forward unless you prefer your arrogance and escape into bitterness instead of repentance.