Genesis Chapter 4
1. Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, "With the Lord's help I have produced a man!" 2. Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. 3. When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. 4. Abel also brought a gift-the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, 5. but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.
So Eve has two sons, Cain and Abel. It's worth noting that Eve was so happy to have had a son and remembered that it was with God's help that she had him. Abel became a shepherd and Cain became a gardener/farmer (he grew crops). It came time for them to present to God some of their work. Cain presents some of his crops to God. Abel, however, gives God his best-his firstborn lamb. Not only does this show that we should give God our very best, but it also is a picture of how God gave His only Son for us. Therefore, God accepts Abel and his gift, but does not accept Cain or his. Cain becomes very angry about this and looks "dejected." Dejected means to look sad and depressed or dispirited. So Cain became not only angry, but depressed. He lost his spirit.
6. "Why are you so angry?" the Lord asked Cain. "Why do you look so dejected? 7. You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master."
God confronts Cain with his feelings. God wants us to tell him why we feel things. He has the answers for everything and can lead us in the way to not be sad, depressed, or angry if we just ask and talk to Him. God tells Cain that he will be accepted if he brings his best to God. All he has to do is what is right. This shows that Cain knew what was right and did wrong anyway. It's not like God would reject him without him first knowing what he should have brought. God always gives clear instructions on right and wrong. It's for us to decide if we obey. God then warns Cain to be careful, because if he refuses to do what is right and does what he wants, sin will creep in and control him. That's how Satan works. I am a huge Star Wars nerd, so when I think about this part of the story I always imagine Cain fighting with the "dark side". We all fight it. The dark side is very seductive and Satan waits for just the right moment to make his move and creep into our mind and control us. God says to Cain-and to us- "Be careful!" We have to control sin and cut it off before it takes hold.
8. One day Cain suggested to his brother, "Let's go out into the fields." And when they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him.
Oh, Cain. The sin took hold and led to something terrible. Cain lures his own brother into a field and kills him. I wonder how long he let his anger go until it got to this point. We only have the span of one verse. So whether it's a long time or a short while, sin did what sin does and caused irreversible consequences.
9. Afterward the Lord asked Cain, "Where is your brother? Where is Abel?" "I don't know", Cain responded. "Am I my brother's guardian?" 10. But the Lord said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground! 11. Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has swallowed your brother's blood. 12. No longer will the ground yield good crops for you, no matter how hard you work! From now on you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth."
Much like Adam and Eve after they ate the forbidden fruit, God asks Cain where his brother is. He wants him to confess his sin. Instead, Cain lies and says he doesn't know. He goes so far as to then ask "Am I my brother's 'keeper'? " Then God tells Cain He can hear Abel's blood crying out from the ground. He knew. Of course He knew. Now Cain knows that he can't hide it anymore. God then tells Cain his punishment. He is banished from the ground. He will no longer be able to grow crops because his brother's blood is in the ground. Cain will have to live his life as a homeless man, wandering around.
13. Cain replied to the Lord, "My punishment is too great for me to bear! 14. You have banished me from the land and from your presence; you have made me a homeless wanderer. Anyone who finds me will kill me!"
Cain did the crime, but he doesn't want to do the time. Now He cries out to God. God could have easily struck him down and killed him then and there for what he did, but in his mercy and grace He allows him to live. Cain feels that if people know what he did, they would kill him for it. He is scared. How many times do we get caught and then we decide we are sorry? We're only sorry we've been caught!
15. The Lord replied, "No, for I will give a sevenfold punishment to anyone who kills you." Then the Lord put a mark on CAin to warn anyone who might try to kill him. 16. So Cain left the Lord's presence and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
More mercy. More grace. God tells Cain that, no, He will not allow anyone to kill him. It isn't our (as humans) place to take life into our own hands. God will handle the judgment. He places a mark on Cain so that people will know not to touch him. What the mark was, we don't know, but whatever it was surely made people know that Cain was not to be killed. God would punish them even worse if they did. So Cain leaves God's presence and settles in Nod. How sad. Cain never again gets to be in the presence of God Himself because of his sin. Sin again takes someone away from God.
The Descendants of Cain vs. 17-24
17. Cain had sexual relations with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, Enoch. Then Cain founded a city, which he named Enoch, after his son. 18. Enoch had a son named Irad. Irad became the father of Mehujael. Mehujael became the father of Lamech. 19. Lamech married two women. The first was named Adah, and the second was Zillah. 20. Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the first of those who raise livestock and live in tents. 21. His brother's name was Jubal, the first to play the harp and flute. 22. Lamech's other wife, Zillah, gave birth to a son named Tubal-cain. He became an expert in forging tools of bronze and iron. Tubal-cain had a sister named Naamah.
So Cain's story isn't entirely over. The Bible shows us some of his lineage and what things they accomplished. Cain has a son named Enoch and he names a city after him. Other generations follow and then we see Cain's great-grandson, Lamech. He marries two women. We see this quite often throughout the Bible, but this is the first mention of multiple wives. So his first wife has sons who become a farmer (raising livestock sort of like a rancher) and a musician. The other wife's son becomes an expert forger and tool-maker. This son, named Tubal-cain has a sister named Naamah.
23. One day Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; listen to me, you wives of Lamech. I have killed a man who attacked me, a young man who wounded me. 24. If someone who kills Cain is punished seven times, then the one who kills me will be punished seventy-seven times!"
Lamech comes to his wives one day and tells them he has killed a man, presumably in self-defense. We never find out if this is true or not, but what this story tells us is that he didn't show much remorse for his killing. He was much more worried about being punished for it! He makes the exclamation that basically what he did wasn't anywhere near as bad as what Cain did, so if anyone killed him, they would be punished much worse. This goes to show that as time progresses, people are getting more and more use to sin and making excuses for it. The value of a human life is not looked at as precious. The world is changing day by day.
The Birth of Seth vs. 25 & 26
25. Adam had sexual relations with his wife again, and she gave birth to another son. She named him Seth, for she said, "God has granted me another son in place of Abel, whom Cain killed. " 26. When Seth grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh. At that time people first began to worship the Lord by name.
Eve didn't mean that Seth's birth was replacing one son with another, but rather this son could be the Godly man that Abel was meant to be. He must have done exactly that, because God's word tells us that when Seth's son was born, people started worshipping God by His name. God's name is so important. We don't worship and nameless being. We worship a God with so many names and so many different aspects. God is our Father, our Lord, and so much more!
'Til Next Time!
-Heather
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