Am I my brother's keeper?

Genesis 4:9

I made a living asking questions, that’s what you do in sales, and a good question is designed to derive information, not to be answered with a yes or no.  In the ninth verse God ask Cain such a question; “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”  I also learned that no matter how clear the question, you do not always get a truthful answer from the customer.  Often they are busy and want you to leave, sometimes they are involved with decisions on a product and do not want to defend their actions, in fact we could write a book on why people evade questions.

“Where is Abel your brother?”  That’s a good question that requires a response and it is always wise to frame the question to get the response you want.  Why was God asking Cain this question, God is Omniscient, why was God asking a question that he already had the answer to?

Cain replied, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”  Cain was caught, the jig was up, and it was time to fess-up, but that is not what Cain the murderer did.  Cain the murderer, became Cain the liar, many years later Jesus is talking with some Pharisees who are claiming Abraham as their father, and this is His reply; “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) Cain needed to confess but instead he chose to lie, he needed forgiveness but instead he challenged God with this question; “am I my brother’s keeper?” You could say Cain has the spirit of Satan controlling his actions.

How extensive is Cain’s question?  Jesus answered the question about our neighbor, they are the ones we come in contact with on any given day, but what is a brother?  I believe the Bible is clear that we are to regard all men as brothers, and those who are in Christ are our spiritual brothers, but we do have a common father in Adam, and the same Creator; Proverbs 22:2, “Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all.”  Jesus stated above that many of us have a spiritual kinship, but do we not have a blood relationship; “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the time set for them and the exact place where they should live.” (Acts 17:26) 

Cain had a listening problem, he knew the voice of God, but there was that other voice he was hearing, that voice was very similar to his voice, in fact it sounded just like his voice, so he did not examine it, he acted on it, and became the murderer and liar.  If only Cain would have heard God’s warning, “sin is crouching at the door.  Its desire is for you but you must rule over it.”  Satan or sin was right there talking to Cain in his own voice, and he does the same thing to you and me.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice