He's Your Brother

Genesis 4:9-10

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”
He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.”

The first murder in the Bible was one brother against another. Cain rose up in anger at his brother Abel, whose offering was accepted by the Lord while Cain’s was not.

After that, Cain feared for his life, but God marked him. It wasn’t a red light on the forehead that we see in movies today when someone points a gun. It was a mark singling Cain out as one who is protected. His punishment was to live out his years as a fugitive and a vagabond, so God made sure no one took it upon himself to kill Cain. He went on to bear children who would carry his sin through the generations. Cain’s grandson Irad’s great-grandson Lamech (Gen 4:23) killed a man for wounding him. This is not the same Lamech who was Noah’s father. Noah came from the lineage of Seth, the third son of Adam and Eve.

Do you think that God has forgotten you? God was there to protect the one who committed the first murder. Certainly God can protect you too.

God sees us and knows us and loves us anyway. No matter what we do, God still reaches out to us. Obviously, he’s not happy about our bad attitudes and bad decisions, but he loves us.

Can you think of a way to thank God today for his persistent love for you? Maybe you’d like to start a journal and record all of the times you’ve seen God’s hand at work in your life.