Keepers

Cain brought from the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. Abel gave to the Lord from the “firstlings”—the best of his flock. The Bible doesn’t say in Genesis 4 why the Lord rejected Cain’s offering yet accepted Abel’s. Hebrews 11:4 says that Abels’s offering (a blood sacrifice) was more excellent than his brother’s, calling him righteous. God knows our heart's motives and expects that we gladly give Him the best of our money, talents, possessions, and time.

Cain was outraged—his countenance couldn’t hide the fact. The Lord asked him why he was angry and downcast and allowed him time to correct the wrong, saying if he didn’t, sin would overtake him. But Cain’s heart didn’t change. Instead, he went into the field with his younger brother and murdered him.

God asked Cain where Abel was: “And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” Genesis 4:9b. Can you hear the irreverent tone and sarcasm in his blatant lie? “What have you done?” Omniscient God knew what Cain did, just as He knows when we do something wrong and wants us to tell the truth and confess our wrongs.

Am I my brother’s (and sister’s) keeper? Yes, and so are you (Phil 2:4). Treating others the way we want them to treat us means we will use every opportunity to concern ourselves with guarding their good name and welfare—caring about their hurts, concerns, and spiritual conditions. God’s Spirit, the Keeper of our souls, guides us to live rightly and alerts us to rethink wrong decisions to escape the impending consequences. When He asks, “What have you done” (or the good you haven’t done), it isn’t because He doesn’t know. God’s grace allows us to confess our sin and free us of its bondage.