Key verse 4 : 4
After being expulsed from the Garden of Eden there was a murder. This speaks volumes about the nature of sin in man. Nevertheless, God received a righteous man Abel and his offering.
1. God received Abel's offering but not Cain's (1-7)
Eve named her first child. She probably put a lot of hope in him. Abel means vanity. It shows the feeling of man living in a fallen world. Yet Abel was a good man, different from his name. Cain was the same way around. He did not live with God's help, as the name implies, but he lived according to his feeling. Man is man when he knows how to control feelings. When God looked favourably upon his brother and his offering, he felt jealous. Then he let that feeling invade his heart, and finally committed murder. Before he let himself go to this tragedy, God loving his soul wanted to save him. However, he did not listen to God's counsel. Read God's counsel in v. 7. We must have self-control.
2. Am I my brother's keeper? (8-16)
God visited Cain to recover his soul. Cain did not repent of his sin, but became very arrogant, saying, "Am I my brother's keeper? "Every man has the duty to take care of his own. Cain had no sense of responsibility for his fellow men, nor did he have any conception of the sin he had committed. God made Cain wander away from the arable soil and suffer from unproductivity. Cain had the premonition of judgment. God had mercy on him, and gave him a last chance. He closed his ears to God's counsel and went his own way. He could still have repented and come to God to be forgiven. However, because of fear, he couldn't confess his sin. His wandering life is marked by guilt and fear of death by men. Therefore his life became a living hell. God always had mercy on him and gave him the sign of protection. Whoever hit him would have gotten revenge seven times. God even protects the criminal with His love.
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