Today’s study brings us our first glimpse of life outside the Garden of Eden. Man is no longer sinless and now has to work to earn his dinner. His world is no longer paradise.
Verse 1 announces the birth of a child, Cain, and then, in verse 2, we see the announcement of another child, Abel. As we study Genesis, or the Bible in general, we will see that birth announcements typically cover the birth of male children. The births of female children are seldom recorded. Remember, the events of the Bible, and the writing thereof, occurred within ancient Middle Eastern cultures so the birth of female children was generally not thought of as pertinent. When these female births are mentioned, it is only because they are necessary to the story. Please do not think that God’s people never delivered female children. This omission is simply cultural.
Verse 2 also tells us that Cain’s occupation was to till the ground farming while Abel herded the flocks. This was probably the division of labor or responsibilities within the family. Verses 3-4 tell us that it came time to bring an offering to God and each of these men brought an offering from their occupations. Cain brought food he had grown and Abel brought fat from some of his flock.
If we were to look at some of the other books of The Law, those within the Torah, or Pentateuch, we will see that harvested items (Leviticus 2) and fat portions (Leviticus 3:16) are both pleasing offerings to God. So why do verses 4-5 tell us that God accepted Abel’s offering and not Cain’s? There are several schools of thought on this:
- Whenever the Bible speaks of grain or harvest offerings, it always uses the term ‘first fruits’. Notice that Abel’s offering came from the firstborn of his flock but there is no mention of Cain’s offering being from the first of his harvest.
- Leviticus 2 gives very detailed instructions on how to present grain or harvest offerings. Perhaps Cain did not prepare his offering in a way that God had instructed.
- Hebrews 9:22 tells us that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. Myself, I tend to discount this possible explanation because, there is no indication here that this offering was intended to seek forgiveness of sin. However, this possibility does have merit and bears mentioning.
Here is the conclusion I have come to in my understanding of this story. God has not seen fit to tell us why Cain’s offering was not accepted. Perhaps it is irrelevant. What is relevant is simply the fact that Abel’s offering was accepted and Cain’s was not. It probably doesn’t really matter why Cain’s offering was subpar. We should just accept God’s word for it and move on (Hebrews 11:4).
Notice the second part of verse 5. The fact that Cain’s offering was not accepted makes him very angry. What does he decide to do about it? That’s right, folks… he pouts. How many times have we been guilty of that? I am sure that Cain, deep down, must have realized that the rejection of his offering is really his own fault, but instead of owning his mistake he decided to pout. Cain was caught up in his own little pity party.
Verses 6-7 show God confronting Cain about his anger and pouting. He points out to Cain that he had brought this on himself by not doing what he knew to be right. He assures Cain that, if he had done what he knew to be right, his offering would have been accepted. This was not personal. It was the natural outcome of Cain’s choice to not do what he knew to be right. Just as in the case of Adam and Eve, Cain had exercised his free will to make a bad choice. Adam and Eve’s sinful nature has been passed down through their offspring. Notice that God then cautions Cain that sin is at the door wanting to consume him, and he needs to get control over it.
In the very next verse (verse 8), Cain lures his brother, Abel, out to the field, attacks him, and kills him. Obviously, much has been left unsaid. Undoubtedly, Cain must have sat brooding and jealous, growing more and more resentful with each passing minute. He probably toyed with thoughts of taking it out on his brother Abel. But as we said yesterday, fantasizing about how good sin will feel almost always leads to acting upon it. Nevertheless, this is all conjecture. You fill in the blanks as you will, but Cain did not heed God’s warning to get control over his sin and the result was disastrous.
What can we learn from Cain’s experience? Harboring sin is dangerous. Sitting around being jealous built resentment and eventually led to murder. That is the thing with sin. The more we let sin take hold in our lives, the more it leads to additional sin. We lose inhibitions and our sins become greater and greater. God had warned Cain that sin was at his door desiring to have him but Cain had not paid attention. He should have heeded God’s wisdom.
In verse 9, just as He did in the garden with Adam and Eve, God gives Cain the opportunity to confess when He asks, “Where is your brother Abel?” (God still loves man and wants to show mercy.) And Cain lies to God. Sin has taken a foothold in Cain’s life. In verse 10, God confronts him with the truth. (God is still truth.) And in verses 11-12, God goes on to dispense punishment to Cain for his sin. (God is still just and must punish sin.) We are seeing a pretty consistent picture of God in His behavior and reaction to sin (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8). Let’s add another trait of God to our list… God is unchanging.
As we look at verses 11-12, let’s consider Cain’s punishment for a moment. Do you remember from verse 2 Cain’s occupation? Cain was a farmer by trade and made his living working the soil. As his punishment, God gave him a brown thumb. The earth was no longer going to be yielding crops for him since he had used it to cover his brother’s blood. He is now going to roam around the earth as a “fugitive and vagabond” (KJV) or “restless wanderer” (NIV). This punishment is a bit severe but God takes very seriously the taking of another’s life (Genesis 9:5).
Verses 13-14 find Cain crying out to God for relief as his punishment is more than he can handle. Considering the traits of God we have discussed so far, what do you think of Cain’s claim that he will be hidden from God’s presence (Psalm 139:7-12)? He also claims that everyone who finds him will want to kill him. Cain is fearful of his family’s vengeance.
This brings us to an important point. At this place in the story, the Bible has only told us of two births… Cain and Abel. In fact, the Bible will only ever tell us of Eve birthing three sons. Since God sent Adam and Eve out to multiply and fill the earth and there does seem to be, in the stories that follow, multiple people, I think we can safely assume that the only births mentioned are the offspring whose stories we will read. Adam and Eve apparently had plenty of other children besides the three sons whose births are recorded here in Genesis.
That being said, I am pretty certain that those would be killers Cain was so worried about were his family. Who else could it have been? Cain had killed a member of their family and they would probably have been angry. So God promises vengeance on anyone who kills Cain and puts a mark on him so that anyone finding him would not kill him. There has been much speculation, through time, as to what this mark must have looked like. I have always pictured Cain with a big “Do Not Kill Me” sign on his forehead. You use your imagination, but it was definitely something his family would recognize and be reminded that God had promised vengeance on anyone who killed Cain.
Notice also that the vengeance would be “seven times over”. This tells us that vengeance would be complete. The number seven, in the Bible, is always representative of completeness. Just as the world’s creation was completed in seven days, here we see God promising His vengeance to be seven times over or complete. The number seven is the most commonly occurring number in the Bible, always representing completeness.
Now verse 16 shows Cain leaving and going to live in Nod. Write the following warning from God in your journal - I John 3:12.
Responding to God: When was the last time you brought an offering of praise and thanksgiving to God? Praise Him now that He is unchanging, just, merciful, truthful, and loving. Thank Him for His Word which teaches us. In prayer, ask God to help you to examine yourself. Are you prone to self-pity, jealousy, or anger even when you know your problems are largely your own fault? Are you obeying God when you exercise your free will? Are you attempting to gain control over sin by resisting it or are you letting it get control over you by wallowing in it? Are you heeding God’s wisdom by obeying the things taught in the Scriptures? Discuss these issues with God, confessing where you have failed, and asking His help to honor Him going forward.
Further Research: If you would like to learn more about the number seven in the Bible, use the internet or Bible commentaries to search for Bible numerology.
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