“The Lord said, ‘Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.'” Genesis 4:10
All life that God the Father created is found in the blood.
When injustice, wrong and evil is committed, it demands that the perpetrators pay with their own blood. If you, like myself, have lost a loved one to a murder you will understand that the more serious the crime, the more bloody the deed, the more the blood of the victim seems to have a voice crying out for justice, vengeance and retribution.
In the text before us we look at the very first instance in the history of mankind when human blood was shed; the world’s first act of murder. Cain, overcome by jealousy and envy, turned on his brother in hatred. Abel was his younger brother whom he ought to have protected but he killed him instead. A scarlet, crimson sin it was; a premeditated murder in the first degree; fratricide.
Abel’s blood, as it lay on the ground, cried out to God for vengeance and retribution. God punished and cursed Cain and little more is said of him until a reference is made in the book of Hebrews. “You have come to God, the judge of all men…to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:23-24)
A remarkable comparison is drawn between the blood of Christ and the blood of Abel.
Both Christ and Abel were innocent victims of hatred and jealousy, and, in both cases, their blood cried out to God from the ground. In the old covenant of ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ God pronounced a swift judgement on his murderer. Yet, the attitude in the New Covenant from this same God towards the murderers of His only Son is completely different.
We need to listen, especially in this day and age of increasing violence and bloodshed. The voice of Christ’s blood cries not for war, vengeance and retribution. It cries for forgiveness and mercy:
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:24). Many may not agree, but that is indeed a better word.
A Prayer: Thank you Lord that your precious blood cries out for my redemption and salvation, even though it was my sin that put you to death on the cross. Thank you for loving me so much. Amen.
Acknowledgement: Every Day with Jesus – Selwyn Hughes