#DailyDevotion YHWH Jesus Is Above All Merciful

Gen. 4:4-15 ³After some time Cain brought some products of the ground and made an offering to the LORD. And Abel also brought some firstborn animals of his flock, especially some of the fat pieces. ⁴The LORD looked kindly at Abel and his offering, ⁵but He didn’t look kindly at Cain and his offering. Then Cain got very angry and wouldn’t look up. ⁶“Why are you angry,” God asked Cain, “and why are you looking down? Isn’t it true that if you do right you are accepted? ?But if you don’t do right, sin is crouching at your door and wants to get you; but you should control it.”

⁸Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go outside.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. ‘Then the LORD asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he answered. “Should I watch over my brother?” ¹⁰ “What did you do?” He asked. “Your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. ¹¹And now you are cursed and must leave the ground that has opened its mouth to drink your brother’s blood dropping from your hands. ¹²When you work the ground, it will no longer give you what it can produce. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” ¹³“My punishment is more than I can stand,” Cain told the LORD. ¹⁴“Today You are driving me from the land, and I must hide from You and be a restless wanderer on the earth, and anyone who finds me can kill me.” ¹⁵The LORD told him, “No, anyone who kills Cain will be punished seven times.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain to keep anyone who met him from killing him.

Apparently Thanksgiving dinners were always bad. The sacrifices of Cain and Able were just that, offerings of thanks for all the LORD did for them. There was a material difference in the offerings. Cain brought “some” of the fruit of the ground whereas Able brought a firstfruit of his flock. The material difference though was one of faith or the lack thereof. We know this for certain from Hebrews 11, “⁴By faith Abel brought to God a better sacrifice than Cain and was declared to be righteous, when God approved his offerings.” However, some verse firstfruit is an indication of faith. When you offer to God the firstfruit you are trusting him for more to follow. When you offer him some, you got yours so no real faith in that. It’s sort of the difference between going to Church on Thanksgiving because you have to verses you want to.

So we also have the first religious persecution. The religion of obligation verses the religion of faith. The religion of faith almost always loses in this world to the worshipers of obligation. Of course, the religion of faith looks to the world promised us which is eternal and knows the present age is limited and going away soon, so we don’t mind losing it. Cain gets jealous of his brother Abel’s approval of God by faith and kills, murders him with the first assault weapon, a rock. Jesus accuses the Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees of being the children of Cain because they want to kill him because he preaches faith and they follow obligation.

Now the most important part of this story. Cain is confronted by the LORD of his sin. The LORD hands down the punishment for it. Cain is worried about being killed for his act of murder. Now pay attention, the LORD has mercy on Cain and puts a mark on Cain to prevent anyone from doing this. You might note Cain thinks he is being driven from the LORD’s presence. The LORD never said this. The mark I believe is a reminder of this as well. It was the first sacrament. Some think it was a Tau, a cross. It bestowed God’s forgiveness and it gave God’s forgiveness. The LORD Jesus gave us signs that forgive us and mark us as forgiven, Baptism and the LORD’s Supper. We tell us we are forgiven and the LORD is with us.

Heavenly Father, even as you were merciful to Cain, be merciful to us so we may know your love and forgiveness in Christ Jesus in whose name we pray. Amen.