“God, Where Are You?” (or, A Theodicy Odyssey) Part II
INTRODUCTION – Genesis 4:1-12 – A theodicy is a defense of the ways of God in the face of evil. Last week, we considered the fall of Adam and Eve and found that God’s goodness was in evidence before, during, and after that sad event. Today, we will study the account of Cain and Abel. How could God permit the murder of a godly man?
- WE CAN EASILY OVERLOOK THE MERCY OF GOD
Death for both Adam and Eve could have been immediate, for, as we read in Romans 6:23a, “the wages of sin is death.” God in His mercy had withheld His righteous judgment. We have all sinned (probably in the last twenty-four hours), yet here we are, all because of God’s mercy. Are there any complaints from anyone? The children of Adam and Eve were born because of the mercy of God. God’s mercies are new every day (Lamentations 3:23, 24) and endure forever (Psalm 136). Psalm 23:6 combines these two truths: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” Do we want to deny Cain God’s mercy? Where would we draw the line? Do we really desire to attack the merciful character of God?
- WE ALWAYS UNDERESTIMATE ETERNITY
Because our minds and bodies are limited, we cannot fully appreciate the eternity that God inhabits. God is completely comfortable with eternity: it is His milieu, His natural place, His home. How does this fact impact Abel? Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” As we see in Genesis 4:9-10, God knew of Abel’s circumstances and did not directly intervene. As we demonstrated last week, each of us is created in the image of God and thus possesses a will. Cain exercised his will for heinous evil. In his last few moments, did Abel feel abandoned? Did he cry within, “God, where are You?” Paul answers Abel’s (and our) perplexity in II Corinthians 4:16-18. Paul’s Spirit-inspired insight is impeccable and irrefutable: this life, however short or long it is, is not even an infinitesimal percentage of eternity. Thus, as we see in Hebrews 11:4, Abel’s life of God’s mercy is now an eternal life of the fullness of God’s mercy. Cain is responsible for temporary evil; God is responsible for everlasting good.
- WE SEE THE CONTRAST OF MAN AND GOD
In Genesis 4:9b, Abel asks the sniveling question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The answer must be affirmative, for, as we concluded last week, accountability is part of any good relationship. Because Cain was angry with God, he became angry with his brother; the increasing anger in our culture and anti-social media has the same source. The contrast to God is absolute. We read in Matthew 25:40 that Jesus, God the Son, comes alongside the most vulnerable and calls them (and us) “my brethren.” Likewise, in Matthew 28:10, Jesus calls all believers “my brethren.” Jesus is fully accountable in His relationship with us.
CONCLUSION – On the Cross, Jesus suffered the greatest evil to provide the greatest good, eternal life offered through faith in Jesus. Truly, in the face of evil, God remains good.