The Weekly International Sunday School Lesson Preview
For Sunday, January 2, 2022
“JUSTICE, VENGEANCE, AND MERCY’
By Rodney L. Pry
P.S.S.S.A. Executive Director
Devotional Reading: Genesis 4:1-13
Background Scripture: Genesis 4
Printed Scripture: Genesis 4:1-15
This week, as we begin the brand new year of 2022, we also begin a new unit of lessons in the current quarter of lessons entitled “Justice, Law, History.” The new unit for January is entitled “God: The Source of Justice” and it has lessons from the Old Testament books of Genesis, Exodus and Deuteronomy. This week’s lesson is entitled “Justice, Vengeance and Mercy” and comes from Genesis 4:1-15.
The book of Genesis is a book of beginnings and firsts. It starts with the creation of the world and God’s creation of humans…Adam and Eve…and placing them in the Garden of Eden. Everything started out great…it was paradise…but things changed when Adam yielded to temptation and ate the fruit of the forbidden tree. That sin resulted in the first coupe being driven out of the garden. When sin came into the world, it also meant that Adam would have to work to get food to eat and that Eve would have to bear the pain of childbirth.
Verse 1 and the first part of verse 2 of today’s lesson tell us, “Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” And it continues, “Later she gave birth of his brother Abel.”
I’m sure most of you are familiar with the story of Cain and Abel. Abel kept flocks and Cain worked the soil. Verses 3 through 5 say, “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 offerings, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So, Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
Why did the Lord accept Abel’s offering and not Cain’s? Throughout the Old Testament you will see that the very best offerings that were given to the Lord were the firstborn and the “fat portions” were seen as the most prized parts of the animal. In other words, Able gave the very best that he had to the Lord. But what about Cain? It says that he “brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.” “Some of the fruits” doesn’t sound like they were anything special.
What happened next? Verse 8 says, “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.”
Verses 9 through 12 then say, “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 then protests that his punishment would be more that he could bear and that others might to kill him. But in verse 15, the Lord says, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” And it also says that the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one would kill him.
Was Cain’s punishment too extreme? Later Old Testament law tells us that the person who kills another person should himself be killed…part of the idea of punishment equal to the crime…an eye for an eye. But Cain was not killed. Rather, the Lord put a mark on Cain and sent him out into the world where he would be on his own…not even able to continue his farming profession.
This brings up some important questions about how we should view justice, vengeance and mercy in today’s world. Does justice always have to be “an eye for an eye?” As Christians, we should remember two very important things: First, God has said “Vengeance is mine.” In other words, we are not to seek retribution. We should act with mercy, as Jesus told us.
When someone does something that hurts you, how do you react? To you want to seek revenge or do you follow the teaching of Jesus and respond with love and mercy? Think about! Pray about it!
