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Originally posted by VirginiaHuguenot
This is an interesting question. Although civil government was not yet established on the earth and capital punishment was not instituted until Gen. 9.6, yet God certainly could have taken the opportunity to execute Abel himself, as he did Onan later on (Gen. 38) and others, because the killing of one made in the image of God himself warrants no less than death. Matthew Henry points out the great mercy extended to Abel which is designed to lead to repentance, but yet we see Abel's quarrelling with God over the equity of his punishment. It is also noteworthy that God prohibits vigilanteism wrt to Abel, though Abel's disgrace is always upon him. Whether the end of the wicked comes suddenly (like Onan or Nadab and Abihu, for example) or the wicked is allowed to live out his days (like Abel or the wicked who seem to prosper in Ps. 73), yet God's justice and mercy both work out to his glory and ought to make us consider what our own sins deserve and what goodness and forbearance has been shown to us to lead us to repentance.
Originally posted by pastorway
Originally posted by VirginiaHuguenot
This is an interesting question. Although civil government was not yet established on the earth and capital punishment was not instituted until Gen. 9.6, yet God certainly could have taken the opportunity to execute Abel himself, as he did Onan later on (Gen. 38) and others, because the killing of one made in the image of God himself warrants no less than death. Matthew Henry points out the great mercy extended to Abel which is designed to lead to repentance, but yet we see Abel's quarrelling with God over the equity of his punishment. It is also noteworthy that God prohibits vigilanteism wrt to Abel, though Abel's disgrace is always upon him. Whether the end of the wicked comes suddenly (like Onan or Nadab and Abihu, for example) or the wicked is allowed to live out his days (like Abel or the wicked who seem to prosper in Ps. 73), yet God's justice and mercy both work out to his glory and ought to make us consider what our own sins deserve and what goodness and forbearance has been shown to us to lead us to repentance.
{moderator note}
in this post quoted above, please substitute Cain for Abel.
hehehe