Genesis 4:6-9
In the fourth chapter of Genesis, Cain and his brother Abel were born. They were taught to offer sacrifices to God. Abel was a keeper of sheep, and he offered sacrifices from the animals. Not only did Abel offer God a blood sacrifice, but the sacrifice he offered was the firstborn.
Cain was a keeper of the field, and he offered a sacrifice from the field.
Why did God require an animal sacrifice? Because it was a reminder that something had to die so that we could be in right relationship with God.
This difference in the sacrifice they offered showed a difference in attitude.
It is easier to pick the plants from the field, which did not involve much thought and effort than it is to kill something. If your heart is right, you will feel grief and remorse.
God was pleased with Abel’s sacrifice, and he accepted it, but he was not pleased with Cain’s offering.
Because God refused to accept Cain’s offering, he became wroth, which means he was full of anger with the intent to do harm. But God, who is a loving and merciful God, told him he should not be angry, but if he brought him a proper offering, he would accept it.
We cannot just give God anything; we have to give him what he asks for. We have to give what he requires. We can’t have the attitude of Cain - take it or leave it.
Cain did not listen and one day while out in the field with Abel his brother, he killed him. God asked Cain, where is your brother? Cain replied I don’t know; he is a grown man. I don’t keep up with his whereabouts. How am I supposed to know where he is? (my words) Am I my brother’s keeper? God replies, you have killed your brother, and the voice of his blood is crying out from the ground.
When we look at how Cain responded, how often have we responded in this manner?
- Cain was not asking a sincere question
- He was avoiding responsibility
- Humanity still asks this question today
Each of us answers Cain’s question by how we treat people.
I John 4:20-21 says, if we do not love our brothers, if we do not love our sisters who we see, how dwelleth the love of God in us. Anybody who says they love God who they have not seen and does not love their brothers and sisters, you are a liar and the truth is not in you.
Why did Cain kill his brother? Because his deeds were evil, not because of something Abel had done, but because he assumed Abel had done something. He assumed his brother was the cause of his so-called grief from the Lord. I John 3:12 “Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.”
- Abel gave his best
- Cain gave what was convenient
- Wrong worship produced wrong attitudes
- Jealousy turned into murder
Oftentimes this is our response. We get angry at other people because God is blessing them and accepting them. Instead of looking at ourselves to see what the reason for God not accepting our sacrifices might be.
We must ask ourselves, am I my brother’s keeper? The scriptures tell us who our brothers and sisters are in the Lord. Matt 12: 46-50. One day while Jesus was preaching to the people, his mother, and his brothers came and wanted to see him, but the crowd was huge and they were not able to get in. Some people told Jesus, your mother and brethren are at the door and want to see you. Jesus replied, who is my mother? Who are my brothers but they who do the will of my Father.
These people are my relatives. These people are my family. When we are born into this world we are born into a natural family. Then when we are born again of the water and Spirit, when we take on the new birth according to St John 3: 5-7. We are born again into a spiritual family
We now have a spiritual family, and our family now consists of the people of God who become our brothers and sisters. So Jesus was saying now your family is a new family. You have been born again; you have been filled with the Holy Ghost and you are no longer who you used to be and now your family consists of the people who are called by my name. We are responsible for one another.
The scripture says in Galatians 6:10, We are we to do good unto all people but especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.
One day in St Luke 10:25-36 a lawyer came to Jesus, and he asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus replied what does the scripture say? The lawyer said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. Jesus said thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live and the lawyer said who is my neighbor? He asked Jesus this question because he was trying to justify himself.
When we think about our neighbors, we think of them as people who live near us. We think of this as someone who lives across the road from us or someone who lives down the street from us. These are the people we think of as our neighbors. Our neighbor is someone we can go to in our time of need. However, Jesus sees someone as being our neighbor in a different way.
When the lawyer asked Jesus this question, he did not answer the lawyer, instead he told the lawyer a story because the lawyer was trying to justify himself.
Jesus said, there was a certain man who went down to Jericho. He went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among thieves, who stripped him of his raiment and wounded him and departed, leaving him for half-dead. This is what Satan does. He beats us up; he wounds us; he strips us of our raiment and then he leaves us for dead.
When Satan leaves us for dead by striping us of our raiment, he strips us of our love, our joy, our peace, our happiness, but the most important thing he tries to strip us of is our faith. He wants to strip us of our faith because the scripture says that without faith it is impossible to please God and if we have faith as the grain of a mustard seed, we can say to the mountain to move, and it shall be moved. All it takes to move God is faith.
Satan tries to strip us of the fruit of the Spirit. He tries to strip us of the seed that has been planted in us by the Holy Spirit. He tries to take everything away from us that God has given us because he wants us to die. He wants to destroy us. He wants us to turn our backs on God; he wants us to deny the faith. The scripture says in St John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
During the time of Jesus, Jericho was known as an oasis city. The Bible describes Jericho as the “City of Palm Trees.” Jericho was the “pass-through” place for travelers to Jerusalem and it catered to the rich and powerful during the time of Jesus, and homeless people often lined the roads in and out of town because it was a good place to encounter people who had money and ask for handouts.
This man that had been robbed could have been a priest; he could have been a Levite. He could have been a brother in the Lord.
So, by chance, here comes a man. This man is a priest. He continues to walk and sees something in the road. He sees that it is a man, but he doesn’t know if the man is wounded or if it is a trap. People were known to get robbed on this road. Perhaps the man was moaning, which would indicate that he was in trouble. The priest says I cannot stop; I have just come from performing my duties at the temple and if the person is dead, then I will have defiled myself and I don’t want to defile myself. We just finished up our conference. I just finished preaching and ministering to the people and I just want to go home and relax. I was planning on taking my family out to dinner and if I stop, then I might need to call the police or an ambulance, then I will have to wait for them to ask me questions. So, he crosses over to the other side and continues on his way. Because this man was a priest, he was a worker for the kingdom of God, he should have helped the man. He saw the need but kept walking. He did not show love or mercy. Today, we are kings and priests of God.
Next here comes someone else. This person comes, and he also sees something. This person is a Levite. He is coming down the road and he says, what is that up ahead? I do not know what that is. Let me see. So, he walks up, and he sees the person lying there. He sees the person has been stripped of his clothing; he sees the person has been left for half-dead. He sees the person has lost his joy; the person has lost his peace; the person has lost his strength. He sees the person has lost his faith; he comes close; he is personal; he sees what has happened. But he says to himself, “I see that you are in need. I see that you are going through. I see that you have problems. I see your situation. I see you are hurting. I see you are weighed down,” but I cannot help you. I just finished my job for the Lord. I just finished playing the music or singing on the praise team. I just finished with my deacon duties or usher duties.
I’m tired and I just want to go home. The Levite came close but did nothing.
Like the Pharisees who challenged Jesus for healing on the Sabbath day. They have the letter of the law but no Spirit. People who think it is more important to help in the service than to help someone in need.
Next, here comes someone else, this person is a Samaritan, this person is someone who is considered to be least of all people, the Samaritan’s were considered dogs, they were considered to be people you did not want contact with, but here comes the Samaritan. He is coming down the road, he stops and he sees something in the road, he says I wonder what that is in the road, so he goes up to the person, he sees there is a man laying there, he sees he has been robbed, beat up, stripped of his clothing and left for half-dead. He sees the man has lost his joy, he sees the man has lost his peace, he sees the man has lost his strength; he sees the man has lost his love, faith, patience and temperance. He says I see your situation. I see what you are going through, I know you have been beat up, I know the devil has whipped you.
He said I have some important business to take care of, but I see your situation and I am going to help you. He goes to the man, and he cleans and binds the man’s wounds, and he picks him up and puts the man on his own beast. He does not just keep going, he takes time out from his busy schedule and helps the man. He helps him to overcome. He helps the man to regain his strength. He helps the man to regain his love, to regain his peace and his faith. He takes him to an inn, he doesn’t just drop him off, he takes care of him.
The next day when he departs, he tells the innkeeper, “I have somewhere to go. I have some business to take care of, but I want you to take care of this man, here is two pence and when I come back, I will make up the difference if it costs more.” So, this man, this Samaritan who was considered as nothing, he was considered as a dog, he must have had character. He must have been a man of integrity because the innkeeper did not object, he did not say, “I don’t know about this, you might not come back, it might cost more than what you have given me, and I might be stuck with taking care of this man.” No, he did not object, therefore the Samaritan must have been a man of integrity. He must have been somebody the innkeeper knew he could trust.
That is what God expects from his people, he expects us to keep our word. He expects us to have integrity. He expects our character to be one in which if we say we are going to do something, we do it. Because people are looking at us, people see our actions and if we say we are going to do something, and we don’t then our words are not true. We must be someone people can trust.
Then Jesus said to the lawyer, which now of these three men were neighbor unto him that fell among thieves? Who was this man’s neighbor? This is what Cain said to God, am I my brother’s keeper? Jesus said yes, you are your brother’s keeper. You are supposed to help take care of your brother.
The scriptures say, in Proverbs 3:27&28 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
Therefore, if your neighbor is in need and you have it in your power to help and you tell them go and come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you then the love of God is not dwelling in you, because the person is in need of your help right then and there.
Scripture also says in James 2:14-17 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
It’s not going to profit you anything.
Jesus said in Matthew 25: 41-46 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
He is going to say depart from me.
People are going to say Lord how can you say depart, when did we see you naked and hungry and in prison, Jesus said you have done it unto the least of these my brethren (our brothers and sisters in Christ) therefore you have done it unto me.
“Cain asked, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’
Jesus answered that question at Calvary.
He carried our burdens, healed our wounds, and saved us when we could not save ourselves.
And now He calls us to do the same for others.
