Day 24 of 40 day fast

Adam and Eve’s children, Cain and Abel, brought their offerings to God. Abel brought fat portions from some of the first born of his flock but Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil - an offering from the ground that God had cursed. God did not, could not, look at Cain’s offering with favour. This made Cain angry. Although God warned him that sin was crouching at the door and that Cain needed to master it, he attacked his brother Abel, after inviting him out to the field, and killed him. “the Hebrew word for ‘crouching’ is the same as an ancient Babylonian word referring to an evil demon crouching at the door of a building to threaten the people inside. Sin may thus be a picture here as just such a demon, waiting to pounce on Cain...The first murder was especially monstrous b/c it was committed with deliberate deceit.” (NIV note Gen 4:7,8)

“The Lord said, ‘What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened it mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. Whe you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” (Gen 4:10-12)

“Confronted with his crime and its resulting curse, Cain responded not with remorse but with self-pity. His sin throughout the chapter was virtually uninterrupted: impiety (no reverence toward God) v3, anger v5, jealousy, deception and murder v8, falsehood v9, and self-seeking v13. The final result was alienation from God Himself v14,16.” (NIV note Gen 4:13)

Read Genesis 4

Reflect on the connection between murder - bloodshed on the land - curse. Reflect on the progression of Cain’s sin and how that compares with the progression regarding abortion.