“And the Lord said unto Cain, ‘Where is Abel, your brother?’ And he said, ‘I know not; am I my brother’s keeper’?”
Genesis 4:9
Until we know the right answer, we can never know the One Who asks the question.
Cain knew where his brother was. He’d just slain him in a fit of jealous rage and buried his lifeless body in a shallow grave or callously thrown it over in the weeds. But, it wasn’t long until God showed up—although He was there all along—and asked, “Where is Abel, your brother?”
We must always remember our omniscient God never asks questions for His benefit; they’re always for ours (e.g. Adam—Gen. 3:9; Ezekiel—Ez. 37:3; the disciples—Jn. 6:67). He asks them to shed light on a given situation and to see if we know where we are and what we need.
In Cain’s case, the Lord God knew that Cain had already murdered his brother because Abel’s offering was acceptable, but his wasn’t (vv.3-5). Was God showing favoritism in choosing Abel’s over Cain’s? Was He partial to shepherds over farmers?
The answer is “No;”
But, He was partial to blood sacrifices—for that theme runs all the way from the Garden (Gen. 3:21) to Golgotha’s Hill and beyond (Heb. 9:22). And, the only way Abel could have known that was by spending much time in secret, coming to know God’s Heart and desires.
Thus, Cain’s problem was really with God.
He was resentful of God’s Standards and felt any ‘ole offering should be acceptable. Some things never change, do they, Pilgrim? No, every generation from then until now has wanted to sing “I Did It My Way” when it comes to God, which is rooted in the devil’s lie of “And you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5).
But, back to the question:
“Am I my brother’s keeper?”
No doubt our answer depends upon our relationship with the Lord God. Cain didn’t believe he was; in fact, his response is really an “in-your-face, what’s it to you” remark—for the real meaning of the word “keeper” (Heb. “shamar”) is “to hedge around, protect, guard, attend to, etc.” and denotes the work of a shepherd. Thus, he was really asking, “Am I my brother’s shepherd?!?”
And, the answer is?
Well, we know the answer don’t we?
John Donne once wrote, “No man is an island, entire of itself. . .any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.” Truly, even though we love being independent and championing our individual rights, the fact remains we’re all in this thing together. That’s why Jesus said to “love one another as He has loved us” (Jn. 13:34; 15:12) and whatever we do “to the least of these we’ve done it unto Him” (Mt. 25:40, 45). Life’s to be shared; no squandered or saved. May the Spirit guide our steps today in fulfilling this task.
January 15, 2012
