Cain and Abel

by Shannon Tillman | Nov 21, 2024 | Bible Study

Have you ever seen something new to you, even though it has always been there? No, I am not referring to a Christmas love movie. Actually, I am thinking more of a crime scene. There are many reasons that I could never be a detective. For one, I faint at blood. Another, is that I do not pay attention to details.

A few months back, my husband and I were walking the neighborhood when I saw a solar panel fixture in the median. I said, “Look at the new solar panel light.”

He replied, “Shannon, that has always been there.” After years of walking the same route, I finally saw the solar panels. No one would hire me to investigate a crime.

I felt the same way recently when I read the Cain and Abel passage. I have heard this crime tale for years, but something struck me in a different way this time when I read again about the gruesome scene when one brother killed the other.

Genesis 4:2-16
” …Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.  And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

The Lord tells Cain that If he does what is right, then his offering would be accepted. In other words, his offering was wrong. Throughout Scripture, we see animal sacrifices. Could it be (now this is my attempt of being a detective establishing motive, so bear with me), could it be that Cain knew that the acceptable sacrifice was a lamb? Did he know that blood had to be shed? If so, then why did he bring vegetables? Is there a possibility that Cain did not want to ask his brother for a lamb so he decided to bring vegetables instead?

Ponder this with me. I had never thought about this before, that Cain could have received a lamb from Abel or even traded vegetables to get one from him. Instead of doing this, Cain chose his own way, his own opinion, his own desire. What if the sin began because Cain refused to humble himself and admit that he had lack in his life, or that his way would not work, or he needed help or guidance from others? Unfortunately, he would rather bring an offering of his own choosing than have his brother help him.

Before we judge Cain, we should look at ourselves. Have we chosen to do what we want to do even though it was outside of God’s will? Have we “spiritualized” our actions even though the attitude is really not of God? Have we refused to humble ourselves before others to get the help we need? Have we become angry at others who truly are righteous because we do not want to face the unrighteousness in our own lives? Could it be our attitudes led to more sin because we refused opportunities of humility along the way? (Like a detective, I am asking a lot of questions!) Cain needed a lamb and refused. We, too, need a Lamb, Jesus. When we choose pride, we reject the Lord’s ways for our lives.

Cain refused to humble himself to ask for a lamb. Cain refused to humble himself when rebuked by God. Cain refused to humble himself and acknowledge his attitude against his brother was wrong. Refusing humility opened the door to shocking sin.

Genesis 4:8
“Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.”

Cain ignored God’s warning and murdered his brother. Cain killed his brother instead of killing the wrong desires in his own heart. Cain blamed Abel for being righteous compared to judging the unrighteousness in his own thoughts and actions. Before we congratulate ourselves for being a better person than Cain, let us read the words of Jesus:

Matthew 5:21-22
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”

Been angry at anyone lately? You are subject to judgment. Called anyone names? You should stand before the court. Condemning others? That puts you in danger of being condemned. We are Cain. We have hurt our brothers and sisters due to our own pride and selfish ambition. Cain suffered consequences for his actions.

Genesis 4:9-12
“Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

Cain never acknowledges his sin against his brother. Even after God confronts him, he still is only concerned about the punishment he received compared to the actions he had committed.

Genesis 4:13-14
“Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 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.”

Even though Cain never humbled himself, God still showed him mercy.

Genesis 4:15
“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.”

Even in the light of mercy shown to him, Cain did not acknowledge his sin. Proud until the end, Cain did not even show remorse for the biggest loss of all.

Genesis 4:16
“So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.”

Cain went out from the Lord’s presence. He never acknowledged that he was bothered by the loss of God in his life. He would rather live under punishment than humble himself and receive forgiveness.

Today, we can choose a different response.

Matthew 5:23-24
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”

Cain’s refusal to humble himself to acquire a lamb from his brother, Cain’s anger at the rejection of his offering, Cain’s lack of humility at God’s rebuke, began a series of events leading to crime and punishment. Cain looked at his brother instead of looking at himself. We justify punishing others instead of changing ourselves. Our lack of humility can lead to the same.

We can have a different response than Cain’s response at the altar. We can choose the path of humility and pursue reconciliation. By doing so, we place ourselves in right relationship with God and others, staying in His presence, the greatest gift of all.

Ahab in Our Homes

by Shannon Tillman | Nov 7, 2024 | Bible Study

I hate confrontation. Actually, I tried to write I “dislike” confrontation but did not
think that word was strong enough to explain my emotions. I hate it.
Unfortunately, I have made many compromises in my life in attempts to avoid it.
I have also suffered drastic consequences for not speaking up when I should have
done so. Unfortunately, I can relate to Israel’s most evil king, a man named
Ahab. He also did not speak up or do the right thing when it was in his power to
act.

Ahab was a military expert but a failed husband and father. Despite miraculous
military conquests enabled by the Lord, Israel’s king, Ahab, continued to allow his
wife, the infamous Jezebel, to expand her evil religious domain in Israel. Not only
did Ahab not confront her, he eventually joined her wickedness as she expanded
demon worship throughout the kingdom. Although Ahab would receive counsel
from God’s prophets, he ultimately allowed the choices of Jezebel to prevail.

1 Kings 16:29-33
In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of
Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. Ahab son of Omri
did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. He not only
considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also
married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve
Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he
built in Samaria.   Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the
anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

Although the king would worship Baal, Ahab wanted the Lord to help during
military battles.

1 Kings 20:1, 10, 13, 21
Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram mustered his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-
two kings with their horses and chariots, he went up and besieged Samaria and
attacked it… Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, be
it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a
handful.”… Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, “This is what
the Lord says: ‘Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and
then you will know that I am the Lord.’”… The king of Israel advanced and overpowered the horses and chariots and inflicted
heavy losses on the Arameans.

Although the Lord proved time and again that He was God alone, Ahab wavered
between victory on the battlefield and defeat at home. Ahab did not care about
the spirituality of his family. As long as Ahab had kingdom victories, he did not
exert energy to ensure spiritual victories in his family. His wife and children could
serve idols as long as his “ministry”, his work, his fights were won.

I feel like this too often defines Christian families. We neglect obvious issues in
the home. Sometimes, more energy is expended to address “kingdom” issues
instead of dealing with problems in our families. We are conquering the world in
God’s name while avoiding confrontation in the family. If those like Ahab do care,
then they are not willing to risk the argument that would ensue by confronting
and tearing down the idols in the home. We are so bold for the kingdom, yet so
weak in our homes.

I knew of a minister whose children were evidently wounded from problems in
the home. When the situation was addressed, most church members ignored the
issue, deciding to look the other way. A growing church was more important than
broken children. The minister rejected help and turned the loving confrontation
into a violent attack on those who spoke up. The dysfunction continued. Ahabs
and Jezebels continue today. They have kingdom victories while idols in the home
destroy the families. The church celebrates the victory and looks away at the
evident dysfunction, issues, in other words sin, to the detriment of the children.

Deciding to not deal with idols, with strongholds, with sins in one generation can
lead to devastating consequences later on. One of the daughters of Ahab
murdered others in order to gain the throne in Judah:

2 Kings 11:1

When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded
to destroy the whole royal family.

Athaliah expanded her control by force. Her mother, Jezebel, murdered as well in
order to get what she wanted. When we do not deal with our sins, it can lead to
brutal sins in the next generation.

We must take drastic action in our lives for the sake of future generations. We
need to stand in authority, cast out family idols, and lead our family in the
worship of the Lord. But to do this, we must evaluate ourselves, to ask the Lord
to show us what we value more than Him. Whatever or whoever is placed first in
our lives is an idol. That idol cannot be dealt with gently but must be cast down.
Radical effort is necessary for radical change. Future generations will be blessed
by the effort exerted to restore the Lord as the King of your house.

Touching the Prayers of Jesus

by Shannon Tillman | Oct 31, 2024 | Bible Study

She was alone. Her disease process had caused her excruciating pain. The pain
of her body, however, did not compare to the loneliness of her soul. She had been
forced into isolation. The laws of her day condemned her as “unclean”. Anyone who
came into contact with her would be contaminated and considered “unclean” as well.
The woman had not been allowed on the temple grounds for over a decade. She felt far
from God, an outcast from His Presence. She suffered physically, emotionally,
relationally, and spiritually.

The woman had suffered financially as well. She had lost everything in desperate
hopes for healing, but none came. For she had…

been subject to bleeding for twelve years.26 She had suffered a great deal under the care
of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew
worse. (Mark 5:25b-26)

She heard about a Teacher who had been healing others. But how could she a
woman, an unclean one at that, get near him? He could possibly shame her in front of
everyone. But she had endured so much pain and longed desperately for healing, not
only for her body, but for relationships, for contact, for love, for God.

A messianic prophesy from the book of Malachi spoke a word of promise. Could
it help her?

But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings;
(Malachi 4:2a)

The rabbis of the day proclaimed that when the Messiah came, He would be able
to heal through His wings. These “wings” were the tassels on the prayer shawl worn by
Jewish men. The woman believed that if she could touch the wings, the hem of His
garment, she would be healed.

With great risk she set out. She knew that if discovered, she could be punished
severely. The crowd may become angry, for touching her would make them unclean.
What if the leaders publicly flogged her? She understood the risk, but she knew it was
her only chance for healing, for change, for life. Despite the potential consequences,
she decided to go to the Healing Teacher. She quickly hid herself among the people in
the crowd following Him.

27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his
cloak,
28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” (Mark 5:27-
28)

The cross-reference of the story in the book of Luke specifies the part of the cloak
touched by the woman.

43 And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by
anyone,
44 came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak… (Luke 8:43-44a)

The woman reached out and by faith touched the “wing” of the Messiah.

29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her
suffering.

30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around

in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can
ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.

33 Then the woman, knowing
what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him
the whole truth.

34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and

be freed from your suffering.” (Mark 5:29-34)

This woman experienced physical, emotional, social, and spiritual healing in one
encounter with Jesus! By faith, she reached out and touched the edge of His garment.
This would have been the fringe on His prayer shawl. She touched the prayers of Jesus
and her life was changed.

The power of Jesus healed her body immediately. Yet, He wanted to restore her
in other ways as well. It is not enough to be physically whole but remain emotionally
broken. He would not move further until she came to Him. The crowd wanted to move
on, but Jesus waited patiently for this precious woman to reveal herself, to become
vulnerable in front of Him. When she did, Jesus began healing the woman’s soul. Jesus
called the lonely, isolated woman “Daughter”, restoring her into relationship with God
and others. The woman, who would have been considered under a curse because of
her disease, finds herself commended by Jesus as a woman of great faith. After years of
emotional turmoil, she is commissioned to go forth in a life of peace. Because of her
encounter with Jesus, she received instant deliverance from all of her suffering. Her
spiritual, physical, emotional, and relational strains dissipated in a moment. Jesus
healed His daughter in every way.

This woman experienced healing because she had put herself at risk, stepped out
in faith, and touched the fringe of His garment. Her desperation drove her to Jesus, and

Jesus freed her from all of her painful circumstances that had made her desperate.
Jesus heals, delivers, restores, and tenderly cares for His daughters.

When we come to the end of ourselves, we must extend our faith to touch the
prayers that Jesus prays on our behalf.

34
… Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the
right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. (Romans 8:34b)

Jesus prays for you. You can come to Him by faith and receive His tender ministry
toward you. Do not look at your “uncleanness”. Do not focus on your “issues”. You do
not need to hold back. Instead, you can reach out to Him, for Jesus cannot be
blemished by you. Instead, Jesus releases His wholeness, His answers, His prayers into
your life. Jesus restores you back into full fellowship with God and with others. He will
free you from your suffering.

Stones Left Behind

by Shannon Tillman | Oct 24, 2024 | Bible Study

I live a life of embarrassing moments. Whenever we share stories, mine usually
win. I live awkward. That may be why I relate to the awkward situation we find in
John 8 where a woman is held up to shame by a crowd but Jesus restores and
transforms her.

John 8:2
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered
around him, and he sat down to teach them.

Imagine a huge crowd of people. Most likely the tallest person in the group is
standing right in front of you blocking your view. (At least, that seems to be what
always happens to me.) Some of the group is able to hear and see clearly. Others
are straining to see and hear Jesus. Suddenly, people break through the crowd.

John 8:3
3  The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in
adultery. They made her stand before the group

Think about the humiliation, the embarrassment. We do not know if she was
dressed or how well she was dressed. She may have had just a blanket draped
around her. She had been ripped out of a personal situation. In front of the
crowd, in front of Jesus, she is forced to stand before them in her sin, in her guilt.
Before all these people, she is exposed physically, relationally, and emotionally.

Here this woman stands before them guilty and probably angry for she stood
alone. Where was the man she had been with moments before? By Jewish law,
he was guilty as well. Had he betrayed her? Was this a set-up, a plot using her in
an attempt to trap Jesus? We do not know. All we know is that she stood alone,
in front of a crowd in her shame. Moments later she finds out why.

John 8:4-6a
4  and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.  5  In the
Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”  6  They
were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

These men were not concerned about the law. They just wanted to trap Jesus.
She knew now that she was being used. Her life to them was meaningless, she
was only a pawn in their game.

How often do we use others? We may try to justify it and say, “I’ve never had
anyone’s life threatened like these Pharisees are doing to this woman.” But have
you used anyone for your own personal gain? Have you had secret motives
behind your actions or words? At times, we have all been deceptive. Who do we
hurt in the process? The innocent, maybe even the guilty. This woman was guilty
but that did not justify the Pharisees actions. There have been people in our lives
that have been guilty but we are still accountable to what we do to them. God
never called us to revenge. He will handle judgment. He called us to love and
forgive others.

The author of love is faced with a question. “Should we stone this woman or
not?”

John 8:6b
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.

If my life was in someone’s hands, I sure would want him to say something! This
would not be the lawyer I would be asking for in my defense. Jesus stays silent.
The crowd stares. His finger marks on the stony ground.

We do not know why Jesus did this. We are not told what He wrote. Some in the
crowd probably thought it was a strange reaction. But I like to imagine that Jesus
did this to lessen the embarrassment of the woman. He took the focus off of her
and put it on Himself. Is this not what He did for us on the cross? He took the
sins off of us and took them upon Himself. He took the shame and
embarrassment that we deserved. Jesus shows compassion to us even though we
are guilty and deserve punishment.

John 8:7a
7  When they kept on questioning him…

The Pharisees kept pestering Him. No one else said a word. There was a huge
crowd around. I am sure others saw how wrong this was. They knew this woman
was being used, yet no one said anything.

How often do we stand by while injustice takes place? We never raise our voices
in defense, while people around us are being hurt.

As a counselor I have seen and heard many upsetting things. The one that breaks
my heart more than others is when I hear about children who have been abused
and you hear about neighbors who knew but did nothing. I have heard the
phrase “I didn’t think it was my place to get involved.” How often do we
Christians say that? We sit back and do not get involved and then we wonder
why our nation is falling apart. We are called to be the salt and light of this earth.
The unsaved will act unsaved. That is all they can do. We have to be different.
We are not part of the crowd. We should be leading them. We are the only ones
who know the Way. Who is the Way? Jesus. We have to lead people to Him. We
cannot look like the world. If people do not recognize us as being a Christian,
then what good are we in advancing Christ’s kingdom?

I heard about a minister in Haiti. He asked the congregation who had been
witnessing to the lost about Christ. He finally said if you are not witnessing to
people then you might as well leave the church because you are taking up space.

Ouch. Harsh words. Real truth. Christians, we need to speak up.

That day only one Person spoke up. Jesus was the One who came to this
woman’s rescues. The crowd was silent; all eyes were on Jesus.

John 8:7b-9
…he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be
the first to throw a stone at her.”  8  Again he stooped down and wrote on the
ground.
9  At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first,
until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.

Everyone left, the Pharisees and the crowd had gone. All that remained was Jesus,
the woman, and the stones. The stones, which were the evidence of her judgment, were lying on the ground in the sand. The punishment she deserved
never transpired because of Christ’s intervention. The punishment you and I
deserve did not transpire because of Christ’s intervention on the cross. He came
between this woman, and our lives, and the sentence of capital punishment
looming over us.

John 8:10-11a
10  Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one
condemned you?”
11  “No one, sir,” she said.

Jesus came not to condemn, but to save. That was His purpose. He still does that
for us today. We can be saved from our sin by believing in Him.

Once we come to know Him as Lord and Savior, should we stay the way we were
before we knew Him?

John 8:11b
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of
sin.”

He tells us to go and leave the sin. He saves us first and the He transforms us into
His beautiful image. Too often people believe the lie that they have to get their
lives right before coming to God. That is not how it works. We are all sinners.
We cannot come to God any other way. Come as you are. Experience His love
and mercy. He wants to give to you. You will never be the same. He has saved
you from so much, all you will want to do is live for Him. He saved your life. Now,
He will help you live it.

Where do you see yourself in this story? Are you like the:

• The Pharisee: judging others even though we are all sinners.
• The Crowd: Staying silent and allowing the world to rule instead of standing up for
  what is right, no matter the cost.
• The Woman: Facing the sins you have committed; your life feels exposed. Jesus does
  not want to condemn you; He wants to change you.

There were a lot of people there that day, yet only one remained with Jesus. The
person judged as the “worst” sinner, was the only one saved. Everyone else left
Him. Stones marked their departure. Only she had her life changed. Others
threw shame at her but Jesus restored her dignity. They left stones behind, but
she left her old life behind. She was transformed. Jesus willingly does that for
each of us. May we be changed even today.