Cain & Abel Cursed From the Ground

 

Cain & Abel

Cursed From the Ground

God said, “Now you are cursed from the very ground which received your brother’s blood by your hands. From this day forth, you will work the ground, but it will not yield food. You shall roam the earth, a fugitive and a wanderer.” —iBIBLE Chapter 3   Scripture reference: Genesis 4:11–12   In the garden, when God confronted Adam for eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God issued forth a punishment: the ground itself would be cursed. It would produce thorns and thistles and cause work to forever be difficult for him and all who were to come after.   In murdering his brother, Cain had spilled his brother’s blood on the ground. That very blood cried out to the Lord, testifying to the evil that had been done. Now was the time for God to confront Cain’s sin directly. God gives Cain his first punishment, saying: “Now you are cursed from the very ground which received your brother’s blood by your hands.” Instead of creation being cursed, like in Adam’s case, Cain himself is cursed from the ground.

Instead of the environment being cursed, like in Adam’s case, Cain himself is cursed from the ground.

God explains, “From this day forth, you will work the ground, but it will not yield food.” He will work and toil and the earth, having been forced to experience his brother’s shed blood, will not produce food for him. As someone who worked the ground, Cain should have been tending it with water and fertilizer and helping the plants grow, but now—despite his best efforts to grow things—it will be futile. He is cut off from the land, the key to his own vocation as a farmer.   The second punishment that Cain receives is that he will “roam the earth, a fugitive and a wanderer.” This displacement is also reminiscent of Adam and Eve being barred from entering back into the garden after their sin. But this time, there is no place for Cain to rest—no place where he will feel like he is home. His actions will follow him wherever he goes, and that guilt will be with him for the rest of his life as he wanders the earth.

Our Response “At least I haven’t killed anyone,” is a common response that people give when asked the question: “Are you a good person?” And it’s certainly true that murdering another is evil, as evidenced by Cain’s story, and as stated in the Ten Commandments. Cain had taken away the gift of life given to his brother Abel, and God’s attitude toward murder has not changed.   True, we may not have murdered anyone, but Jesus helps us look at the true state of our hearts when He says,

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” —Matthew 5:21–22 [ESV]   We are called to not only refrain from our evil inclinations that actually hurt our neighbor, but we are to refrain from the evil inclinations of our heart in harboring resentment or anger toward them. If we are to measure ourselves against this law, we would all be guilty of it to some degree at some point in our lives.   The Good News is that Jesus Christ came into the world to save His people. He came to save us from our anger, from our wrath, from our inclination to vengeance and revenge. And He died to secure a place in Heaven for us, knowing that we would fall short of His perfect standard.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” —Ephesians 1:7   So, when you find the anger bubbling in your chest, or bitterness toward your neighbor growing by the day, look to Christ. Repent and find forgiveness in Him. Trust in His complete work on the cross, knowing that God can forgive any sin, and brings healing to all suffering.

A Prayer for This Week Dear Heavenly Father, we admit that we sometimes play the comparison game, looking at our brothers and sisters in Christ and believing that we are somehow better. But, Lord, you’ve given us your Word which says: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Yet you do not leave us in our sin forever, You readily forgive and renew us. Thank You for Your grace which you so mercifully give to all of us. Help us to walk in Your ways and love those around us well. In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen.

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