“Am I My Brother’s Keeper?”
(Training message for House Church and individual use: preached 7/11 – 7/17/2021)
“And the Lord said unto Cain, ‘Where is Abel thy brother?’ And he said, ‘I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?”
(Genesis 4:9, KJV)
“Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ He said, ‘I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”
(Genesis 4:9, ESV)
“And Jehovah saith unto Cain, `Where [is] Abel thy brother?’ and he saith, ‘I have not known; my brother’s keeper — I?”
(Genesis 4:9, Young’s Literal Translation)
Introduction: Matthew Henry’s commentary on Genesis 4:9.
“Cain’s plea: he pleads not guilty, and adds rebellion to his sin. For,
1. “He endeavours to cover a deliberate murder with a deliberate lie: I know not. He knew well enough what had become of Abel, and yet had the impudence to deny it. Thus, in Cain, the devil was both a murderer and a liar from the beginning. See how sinners’ minds are blinded, and their hearts hardened by the deceitfulness of sin: those are strangely blind that think it possible to conceal their sins from a God that sees all, and those are strangely hard that think it desirable to conceal them from a God who pardons those only that confess.
2. “He impudently charges his Judge with folly and injustice, in putting this question to him: Am I my brother’s keeper? He should have humbled himself, and have said, Am not I my brother’s murderer? But he flies in the face of God himself, as if he had asked him an impertinent question, to which he was no way obliged to give an answer: “Am I my brother’s keeper? Surely he is old enough to take care of himself, nor did I ever take any charge of him.” Some think he reflects on God and his providence, as if he had said, “Art not thou his keeper? If he be missing, on thee be the blame, and not on me, who never undertook to keep him.”
“Note, A charitable concern for our brethren, as their keepers, is a great duty, which is strictly required of us, but is generally neglected by us. Those who are unconcerned in the affairs of their brethren, and take no care, when they have opportunity, to prevent their hurt in their bodies, goods, or good name, especially in their souls, do, in effect, speak Cain’s language. See Lev. 19:17; Phil. 2:4.”
(Henry, Matthew. “An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of the First Book of Moses, Called Genesis.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, 6th ed., vol. 1, Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, LLC, 1991, p. 33.)
I. Where is your brother?
“And the Lord said unto Cain, ‘Where is Abel thy brother?’ And he said, ‘I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9, KJV)
II. You know where your brother is?
“And the Lord said unto Cain, ‘Where is Abel thy brother?’ And he said, ‘I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9, KJV)
III. You are your brother’s keeper?
“And the Lord said unto Cain, ‘Where is Abel thy brother?’ And he said, ‘I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9, KJV)
Conclusion: What hast thou done?
“And he said, ‘What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.” (Genesis 4:10)
OUTLINE:
“Am I My Brother’s Keeper?”
(A Message to the Ministers in the Body of Christ)
“And the Lord said unto Cain, ‘Where is Abel thy brother?’ And he said, ‘I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9)
I. Where is your brother?
II. You know where your brother is?
III. You are your brother’s keeper?
Conclusion: What hast thou done?
WORSHIP: