9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear.14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.REFLECTIONSWritten by James DavidsonAbel’s blood cried out to God for justice (v 10). God’s justice demanded that Cain’s life be taken from him – ‘a life for a life’. But God shows extraordinary mercy. He disciplines Cain. He curses him (v 11, 12), but he allows him to go on living and even protects him from those who would kill him (v 15).How can we account for such mercy? Only by ‘the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel’ (Hebrews 12:24). That sprinkled blood is the cross sacrifice of Jesus applied to all who trust in him. Abel’s blood cried out for justice, but Jesus’ blood cries out for mercy, and enables mercy. We are all murderers. Jesus equated anger with murder (Matthew 5:21, 22). John said, ‘Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer’ (1 John 3:15). Also, we are all implicated in Jesus’ death. In the words of the great hymn, ‘Ashamed I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held him there.’ Peter said to the crowd on the Day of Pentecost, ‘You put him to death’, but he also said, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins.’ (Acts 2:23, 38)Thank God for such sweet, costly forgiveness.QUESTIONIn verse 9, Cain said he wasn’t his brother’s keeper – that is, it wasn’t his job to worry about whether his brother was OK. In what ways should we be our brother’s and sister’s and friend’s keeper?ABOUT THE AUTHORJames can’t believe that for such a young man, he’s already been blessed with six grandchildren! He wants you to pray with him that they will all grow up trusting and loving the Lord Jesus.