Welcome back, friends. We want to conclude the question we asked last time – actually the question that God asked Cain in Genesis 4:9:

Genesis 4:9

⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”

He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

¹⁰ And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. ¹¹ So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹² And when you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”

¹³ And Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear!

PRAYER:

Father, we again, want to say thank You for this time. And we ask now that You speak to our hearts, from Your Word…in Jesus’ Name. Amen!

Our discussion comes under the Soul Searching Questions for Pleasing God Well. We’ve asked the question in our previous discussions: “where are you?” From Genesis 3:9, which God asked Adam. Then the second one, Where is Abel your brother? From Genesis 4:9. And we said that the first one had to do with our relationship with God – vertical relationship: intimate relationship with God. The second one has to do with our horizontal relationship: our relationship with fellow human beings – the relationship we have with one another.

We considered the context of the question. And we said that the context of the question was the unfortunate incidence of allowing sin to come into the family; and that was on the part of Adam and Eve. And that affected not only their lives, but also king’s life – their son Cain. And this spiritual carelessness was responsible for Cain offering to God worship that was unacceptable. So that was basically the context of the question.

Then we looked at also the content of Cain’s response. Cain said to God: I do not know about my brother; and I do not care either. The ‘I do not care’ aspect of it is from the response ‘am I my brother’s keeper’? He was saying, am I supposed to take care of my brother? And we said by this response Cain lied. He was also wicked in killing his brother. He was naïve in thinking that he could hide his sin from God who sees and knows every thing. He was also unjust in violating the bond of blood relationship. He was defiant the way he responded to God. He refused to admit his sin. He refused to confess his sin.

Now we want to look at the contrast to Cain’s displeasing response. When God asks you where is, your brother’, what will be your response? There should be a better response than the one that God received from Cain. A better response will please God. It will please Him if He will hear from you, from me: I know where my brother is, and I care about my brother. It will please God for Him to hear: I know that my brother has a healthy relationship with You. I know that You’ve accepted my brother. You’ve accepted his worship, You’ve accepted his offering; and I am not angry about it, I am not jealous, I am not envious. It will please God if He asks you where is your brother, to say: I know that my brother has fallen into sin, and I care enough not to kick him while he is down by gossiping about it – but I will nurse him back to spiritual health.

Somebody has observed that the Christian Army is the only army that kills their wounded. All other armies will try to nurse their wounded back so that they could fight one more day.

If God asks you where is your brother, it will please Him if you would say to Him: in spite of what I know about my brother, I prefer to dwell more on his strength than on his weaknesses. If God will ask you where is your brother, it will please Him to hear you say: I know that my brother has health challenges, and I will ceaselessly pray for his speedy recovery. If God will ask, where is your brother, you will say, I will pay serious attention to the over fifty instances where God has said something about my relationship with another person. The ‘one another’ scriptures – that’s what I call them. The each other statements that God has made in His Word, and this ‘one another’ ‘each other’ statements are given to us in the scriptures for the sake of maintaining a healthy brotherly relationship. There’re over fifty, but let me give you some of them. And with that we will close.

In Leviticus 19:11, God says, do not steal, do not lie, do not deceive one another.

In John 13:34, the Lord Jesus says,

³⁴ A new commandment I give you, love one another; as I have loved you, so you must love one another.

In Romans 12:10, the scripture says,

¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in brotherly love, honor one another above yourselves.

In Romans 12:16, the Word of God says,

¹⁶ live in harmony with one antler. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

In Romans 14:13, it says,

¹³ Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another, instead make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.

In Ephesians 4:2, the Word of God says,

² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

In Ephesians 4:32

³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

In Colossians 3:13, it says.

¹³ bear each other, and forgiving whatever grievances, you may have against one another; forgive as the Lord forgave you.

In Hebrews 3:13,

¹³But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

In Hebrews 10:24

²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,

In James 4:11

¹¹ Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.

1 Peter 3:8

⁸ Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another, be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

God is very much interested in seeing to it that we are our brothers’ keepers. The relationship we have with one another is very important to God. If we would take care of one another, and not hurt or kill each other, God will be well pleased. He has canceled: a tooth for a toot, and an eye for an eye, which we find in the Old Testament. But now, it does not obtain any longer. Why? If we would continue to practice ‘a tooth for a tooth’, ‘an eye for an eye’, somebody has observed, that a time will come when we will be all toothless and blind.

Friend, where is your brother? Your brother, in this case, may be your husband; your brother, in this case, may be your wife; your brother in this case me be the one who works with you in the same office. Where is your sister? Where is your brother? We please God well when we live in harmony, and take care of one another: in love, and in the fear of the Lord. This is what will help us have functional homes, functional society; especially in this terrible day around the world where there is so much destruction, so much violence. People do not care any longer for one another.

PRAYER:

Father, thank You again for Your Word. May the Holy Spirit continue to speak to the hearts of all in radioland, even as the voice of a man ceases now. Lord, we want to have healthier relationship with one another, we want to have functional homes. May You speak to the hearts of people, and draw them to Christ; that they may receive the salvation that is in Him – for this is the key to relating well with one another. Grant this, O God, we pray…in Jesus’ Name. Amen!