Shadows of Christ~ The Death of Abel

It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these, so here you go!

If you are unfamiliar with the account of Cain and Abel, I would encourage you to follow the link and read through it.

Cain murdered his brother out of anger and jealousy.  As a side note, it is interesting that Cain chose to attack and destroy his brother, rather than raise his behavior to the standard that God has set. I think this is an interesting lesson for Christians today.

But I want us to focus on God’s questioning of Cain after the murder.  In what I think is one of the most chilling moments in the Bible, God says to Cain, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground! And now you are cursed from the ground which opened it’s mouth to receive your brother’s blood.”   Can you imagine hearing such a pronouncement from your Creator?

So what was it that Abel’s blood spoke to God?  Have you ever wondered about that?  It seems from what God says and does next, that it asked for vengeance and justice!  But even though Abel cried out for justice, God showed mercy and placed a mark on Cain to protect him from vengeance.

What does any of this have to do with the Christ?  Well, it is true that Jesus himself told the lawyers and Pharisees that the death of godly people from Abel to Zecheriah would be avenged by God.  But that’s not really where we are headed.

I am more interested in a relatively obscure passage in Hebrews 12.  Here the writer says that Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant through his blood; blood that speaks a better word than Abel’s.   So what does that mean?  I think it is saying that while Abel’s blood cried out for justice, Christ’s blood cries out for mercy!

Abel prefigures Christ in that he was a man who was killed merely for being right.  He was killed by one weaker than him because he pleased God.  Christ came to earth and lived a life without sin.  By shining a pure light he exposed the darkness in the souls of humans.  While some saw this to be a healing light and welcomed it.  Many people were angered by this, and they killed him for what he was.

But thanks be to God that Christ has not called down the vengeance of God on us for this!  Instead Christ gave that life as a free offering to spare the lives of others.  Every time you read Genesis 4, remember that you have been spared the curse of Cain.  Remember that as a Christian you bear a mark that protects you from God’s justice!

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