Insight for Living

Bill Meyer: Today you're going to hear a story of two brothers. One whose offering to God was accepted, the other's was rejected. The scorned brother threw a fit, and then the unthinkable occurred. Can you guess their names? Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll unpacks the gripping account of Cain and Abel with honesty, exposing timeless truths about unbridled anger, jealousy, and the critical choices we all face when sin comes knocking.

So how do we stave off these dangerous impulses? Let's listen as Chuck tells the story about Cain, the farmer who murdered his brother.

Chuck Swindoll: One of the grim facts of life is that our history is strewn with the litter of murder. It's a chilling thought to think that as we sit in this place today, as we live our lives, someone is planning someone's murder. When you go into the Scriptures and you begin in the beauty of innocence and you find life as it was meant to be, lived before God in purity of heart and in innocence of life and you see how far we have drifted, it is nothing short of shocking.

Some time ago, I clipped from the newspaper a single column entitled "The Nation's Deadliest Massacres." I hesitate to read more than just the general facts which will reflect for many of us the past of our lives. Just listen to a general overview. On September 6, 1949, 13 people were fatally shot in 12 minutes in Camden, New Jersey, by this man who is named, who said later, "I would have killed a thousand if I had had enough bullets."

July 14, 1966, some of you will remember, I certainly do, eight student nurses were stabbed or strangled in a Chicago dormitory by Richard Speck, age 24. August 1, 1966, not that many days afterwards, all of us or many of us will remember in Austin, Texas, a Charles Whitman climbed to the top of the campus tower and before he was killed by the police, he killed 16 people in an insane act of murder.

Easter Sunday, March 30, 1975, 11 people, which included eight children, were killed at a family gathering in Hamilton, Ohio. The man was found innocent by reason of insanity. It's always seemed a strange response to me. September 25, 1982, 13 people including five children were fatally shot in Jenkins Township, Pennsylvania. The man was convicted on 12 counts of murder and sentenced to death.

February 19, 1983, 13 people were fatally shot in the head during a robbery at a gambling club in Seattle. Palm Sunday, April 15, 1984, 10 people including eight children were killed in Brooklyn, New York, in an apartment house. July 18, 1984, 21 people were fatally shot at McDonald's restaurant in San Ysidro by this man who was later killed by a police sharpshooter. Then there was the Zodiac killer, and then there was the Freeway Killer, and then there have been other serial killers. The list goes on and on and on. It's a frightening, tragic account.

I've lived in my few years on this earth long enough to hear about and read about and even witness on the television set the most insane acts and political assassinations and the killing of those who were assassinated or were accused of assassinating a political figure. Amazing. I found myself somewhat amazed as I thought through the stories of the Bible at how many of them were tragedies. Real tragedies. Not all of them murders, but so many tragedies strewn through the pages of the Scripture.

For some of them, it may be a stretch for your theology, but God was responsible. The flood, when the entire human race was removed because of disobedience in the days of Noah except for the family of Noah. How about the plagues in Egypt where the firstborn of the Egyptians all died just before the Exodus? Or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, two entire cities destroyed so severely that they now find their existence beneath the Dead Sea as fire and brimstone leveled the cities and even brought them below the level of the sea.

The dying out of the former generation of Hebrews during the trek in the wilderness on their way to the promised land. How about Job's seven sons and three daughters in one fell swoop of nature? The entire nation of Israel invaded by the Assyrians, the entire nation of Judah invaded by the Babylonians.

Sometimes humans were responsible in the Scriptures. Moses murdered an Egyptian and hid him in the sand, you will recall that story. Various kings were murdered in ancient times according to the history of the Jews. Absalom, David's son, was murdered by Joab, David's commander in the military. Various tribal people were slaughtered by one another and sometimes by the Jews.

While held captive, there were plans to exterminate the Jews in the days of Esther. Remember Haman built the gallows and had plans ultimately to exterminate all of the Jews. In the days of Moses when he was born, the Pharaoh gave orders to the midwives who helped at birth to be sure that all the male children were killed and the female Jewish infants would be allowed to live. In Jesus' earliest days, Herod, when he got word from the Magi, gave the order that all of the children two years old and younger in and around Bethlehem were to be murdered. It goes on and on.

Realizing the rage of the human heart, God inserted in His Ten Commandments that single statement in Exodus 20:13, "You shall not murder." Now, before I go any further, let me make something very clear. Man is a murderer not because he murders; he murders because he is a murderer at heart. Let me say it another way. We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. The problem is in the heart. We do wrong because we are wrong. We are wrong deep within and from within, down in the root of our lives where murder is planned, we carry out the fruit of murder with our hands. It's a heart problem. It's not a weapon problem, it's not a hand problem or a brain problem. It's a heart problem which began way, way back in the days of Adam and Eve.

If you have a copy of the Scriptures available, I'd like you to look at Genesis chapter 4. In Genesis 3, we have innocence. In Genesis 4, we have sinfulness. In Genesis 3, we have the beauty of fellowship between Adam and Eve and their Creator, but as the tempter entered and as they fell into the temptation of the enemy, they became spiritually polluted. They became inwardly corrupt, and as a result, the human race has been polluted. Like the source of a river is polluted, then all of the river is a polluted thing. So it is in the human race.

As a result of sin coming, there was a curse that fell upon the man, upon the woman, upon the serpent, and even upon the land. You and I cannot imagine a world free of a curse. We can't imagine a childbirth without pain, we cannot imagine a field without weeds and thorns and thistles, we cannot imagine a heart that is absolutely innocent because there are no such things in existence. We have lived our entire lives on this sin-cursed earth. As a result, we think in that vein.

Adam and Eve lived during the transition. I wonder at times how they stood the incredible contrast between what they had in the garden and what they had as a result of their fall. I can't imagine the guilt. When we pick up the story in chapter 4 of Genesis, we come to the same man and the same original woman, Adam and Eve, as they are intimate together and as a result she conceives and gives birth to Cain, that's the firstborn. Kana is the root word from which the name Cain comes. It means to get or to acquire. She says as she's named him this, "I have gotten a man-child with the help of the Lord." So she names him "gotten" or "acquired." She acknowledges God gave them their son, Cain.

The next one born is a brother named Abel. His name, interestingly, means breath or vapor, and perhaps it's the idea of being slight or fragile. Maybe he was a sickly child. I don't know. He apparently was not as strong physically as his brother, and they saw that soon and he bore the name that reflected that. Often in Scripture names reflected nature. We see that Cain picked up the occupation of his dad; he became a farmer. Abel was a keeper of the flocks; he became a shepherd.

The next thing we read about these brothers is they are now adults and they are bringing their offerings to the Lord. This is a wonderful story. There's a lot of human interest in it. Because it is a brief account of what happened, we don't have all the dialogue that occurred during their childhood years and teenage years and young adult years. I am confident that Adam taught Cain and Abel the importance of an offering and how you approach God. The theme all the way through the Scriptures is that you approach God with blood. You say, "That's a strange thing." Well, God designed it. That's what God said would forgive sin. Without the shedding of blood, there will be no forgiveness of sins. That's a theme that's woven all through the fabric of Scripture. I am confident that Adam had taught his boys and Eve had taught her sons that you come to God with a blood offering.

Now this is where the conflict begins. This is where murder finds its way into the first human heart, or the first seeds of murder. This is truly murder one. Came about in the course of time, Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground. There's no blood, there's no animal. He brought the best from his crops. He deliberately brought another kind of offering to God. We read that Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock. He brought an animal sacrifice as he had been taught to do. We read, without surprise, the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering, He had no regard.

This is a good place to turn to show individuals who think that God will accept you just so you're sincere. You've heard that all your life. All you have to do is be sincere. You don't have to worry about the details of the Bible, just come with a sincere heart. God helps those who help themselves. Come, feel good about it, come with an open spirit, come with a sincere heart and God will accept you as you come in whatever way you want to come; He sees your sincerity. No, that's not true. That is not what Scripture teaches. I'm not being a narrow-minded fundamentalist for saying that. It is found all the way through the Bible.

Here's a perfect example. God had regard for Abel and his offering. Why? Because he brought what God said to bring. But He didn't have regard for Cain and his offering. Why? Because he didn't bring what God required. God is not just a gracious, easy-going, kickback grandfather sort of like an old man with a beard sitting up in heaven, kind of rocking along, hoping people will be sincere when they come to Him. That is not the biblical picture of our Heavenly Father. He is a loving, He is a kind, but He is also a just and a very discriminating Heavenly Father who has spelled out in His Word how we are to come to Him and He graciously and compassionately, patiently waits for us to come around, but until we come His way, He will not accept our offerings. His way is through blood.

Cain came his own way; Abel came God's way. I want you to hold your place here and look rather hurriedly at Hebrews chapter 11, verses 1 to 4, and then 1 John 3, 10 to 12. In these two chapters, Cain and Abel are mentioned. Hebrews 11:1-4, "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible." Very first mention of a person is in verse 4 in Hebrews 11. "By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith though he is dead, he still speaks." Please observe that Abel offered to God a better sacrifice.

1 John chapter 3, verse 10, "By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious. Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil and his brother's were righteous." That's God's appraisal of the offerings of Cain and Abel. Abel's offering righteous, Cain's offering evil.

Back to Genesis chapter 4. I'm interested to read in verse 5, as we work our way through this ancient story of Cain and Abel, I'm interested to read that as a result of doing what was wrong and God's responding in justice to Cain, Cain got angry. Verse 5, "For Cain and his offering God had no regard, so Cain became very angry and his countenance fell." That's an interesting response. He knew what he was supposed to do and he didn't do it, and because he didn't get the favor of God, he got mad. Still goes on, doesn't it? Still happens.

In fact, if you'll observe, the Lord comes on the scene. Let me say this word about countenance. It's the word face. I want to come back to it in a minute. His face fell. Sometime when people get angry, you can see it in their faces. Some play a little better game of poker than others, but most of us when we have anger, our faces show it. His face fell. You know, you've seen it a hundred times in your children. They have kind of a pouting look or disappointment. It's a veiled anger and his face fell.

So the Lord steps on the scene and says to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why has your face fallen? What's going on, Cain? What has made you so mad? Why are you ticked off? Why are you angry? And why is your face fallen?" Part of the reason is Cain was jealous, plain and simple. He's the older brother. I've said for years that older brothers owe the entire family one thing: an apology. Usually older brothers, with being an older brother, there comes a lot of stuff that you look back on when you grow up and you say, "Why was I like that?" Cain, the older brother, is jealous of the younger brother. There's already competition as is often true when there are two boys in a family. The competition between Cain and Abel is rather severe now because God smiles on the younger brother and He frowns at the older brother.

Jealousy comes in, goes on in families all the time. One child gets one kind of toy, the other one gets a toy that's not quite as nice, and the one with the toy that's not quite as nice is jealous of the one who has a better one. One has a birthday party and he gets to go to Disneyland with his family. The other one has a birthday party and they have a little piece of pie for him after supper. So he's jealous of the one that got to go to Disneyland. Goes on all the time. Happens at the office. One fellow gets a little nicer desk and he gets a desk by not one window but two, and you're still in a room without windows in the old desk. One person who hasn't been at the company as long as you have gets a few perks that you don't get, and you're ticked off and you're jealous of it. That's another whole story. There's jealousy that goes on in the human race on a regular basis. Cain is jealous of Abel.

The Lord sees it and He says, "Why are you angry?" In fact, He even gives him a warning. I love the way it reads. "If you do well," verse 7, "if you do what's right, won't your face be lifted up?" Look at that. If you happen to be a feeling-oriented type person or counselor, where your feelings have to lead the way, this doesn't say when you feel like looking better, it might be nice of you to do so. He says when you do what is right, your feelings will follow. If you will obey Me, Cain, your face will show it. Your "no face" will become a "yes face." Your jealousy will subside.

This is extremely important. We are responsible for our own reactions to God and to others. No one else is. Remember the name Anna Russell? If you lived in the '60s or if you sang songs in the '60s, you may remember a little song she made popular strumming her guitar and singing it around Berkeley campus and other campuses. The words of the song are sort of interesting. They tell a story as those ballads often did.

"I went to my psychiatrist to be psychoanalyzed to find out why I killed the cat and blacked my husband's eyes. He laid me on a downy couch to see what he could find and this is what he dredged up from my subconscious mind. When I was one, my mommy hid my dolly in a trunk and so it follows naturally that I am always drunk. When I was two, I saw my father kiss the maid one day and that is why I suffer now from kleptomania. When I was three, I had the feeling of ambivalence toward my brothers and so it follows naturally I poison all my lovers. But I am happy now that I've learned the lesson this has taught, that everything I do that's wrong is someone else's fault."

If you do what's wrong, it is your fault. If I do something that's wrong, it is my fault. Cain, straighten up, to use a good parental line. You've heard that as you were growing up and you've said that as a mother or a father. Straighten up. Your face, once you do what is right, Cain, your face will follow.

One man puts it this way: "Cain began badly by presenting a sinful offering before God. Abel gave God the best, whereas Cain merely brought an offering. When God rejected his offering, Cain complicated the problem by responding wrongly to the rejection. The anger and depression were noted by God, who observed that this was a wrong response. Instead, God says, 'Do right and you will feel right.' Then God warned against failure to repent and offer the right kind of sacrifice. If you continue to complicate the problem with this sinful response, as one version says, if you misbehave, you will fall into deeper sin, into the clutches of sin which is like a wild animal."

I really want us to hear this. We do live in a day when wrong actions are rationalized and you can find enough people to give you enough counsel you will be patted on the head and told you are just a tragic victim of life and as a result, no wonder you want to murder everybody you meet. Rather than, "My friend, you are responsible for the rest of your life." Yes, painful as it is, difficult as it is, take responsibility for your actions.

Bill Meyer: This is Insight for Living with Bible teacher Chuck Swindoll. Cain's tragic story demonstrates that sin's deadly potential lurks in every human heart. God warned Cain to master anger before it mastered him, and the same warning applies today. Jealousy, resentment, and rage don't correct themselves; they must be confronted and confessed.

If you're ready to dig deeper into this convicting account, we invite you to check out the variety of helpful resources we have for you at insight.org. Look for the 14-part series called "Fascinating Stories of Forgotten Lives," or call us at 800-772-8888.

Insight for Living has created the perfect toolkit for your journey. Start with the "Searching the Scriptures" Bible study workbook for this series. It's ideal for personal reflection or group discussion. Then you can add Chuck's book from his "Great Lives" series to have all of his deepest reflections on these overlooked characters. It's also called "Fascinating Stories of Forgotten Lives." Plus, don't miss the complete audio collection to hear Chuck's sermons again and again. They're available on CD, MP3, and the Insight for Living mobile app.

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What happens when anger turns to fury? I'm Bill Meyer. Chuck Swindoll describes how to conquer the impulses of rage Thursday on Insight for Living.

The preceding message, "Cain, the Farmer Who Murdered His Brother," was copyrighted in 1991, 1992, 2001, 2006, 2012, and 2024 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2024 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.