Bill Fritz
Adult Education
Fellowship Bible Church
Table of Contents
(Gen 4:1-2 NKJV)
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and
she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the
LORD." 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a
keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
“A wordplay in the Hebrew suggests that the name Cain
( qayin) came from the verb "had" ( qaniti) in Eve's comment, I have
had a male child.” (Holman, 2010)
“4:2 The name Abel means "Breath";
the term is used elsewhere in the OT to refer to that which passes away quickly
and is unsubstantial (Ps 62:10; Ec Ecc 1:2).”
There were other
birth to come which will be evident in verse 17. Scripture does not tell us who named Cain and
Able. Because their names have
significant meanings it may have been God who named them.
The Brothers Offering
(Gen 4:3-5 NKJV)
3 And in the process of time it
came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the
LORD. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And
the LORD respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his
offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
Scripture does not tell us why Cain, and then Able
sacrificed to God. We are told Cain
brought fruit of the ground. The
assumption here is Cain’s offering was of grain, or barriers neither required
much work, nor any real sacrifice on Cain’s part.
We can assume both
brothers were told the story of what had transpired in the garden. We can also assume that Adam, the spiritual
head of the family, told them how God slew an animal to cover his sin.
4. Was the
sacrifice/offering given by Cain and Abel, a sacrifice, for a sin they had
committed or a sacrifice thanking God for his blessings?
God rejects Cain’s offering.
Why would God reject this gift from Cain?
Abel’s also brought a gift. Abel’s gift was his first born
lamb, which Abel would have prized greatly.
Why was Cain’s gift unacceptable while Abel’s gift was
acceptable to God.
The word sacrifice in the Genesis context is translated from
the Hebrew word minchâh, pronounced “min-khaw'; from an unused root
meaning to apportion, i.e. bestow; a donation; euphemistically, tribute;
specifically a sacrificial offering (usually bloodless and voluntary):—gift,
oblation, (meat) offering, present, sacrifice.” (Strong's, 1996)
Knowing the meaning of sacrifice, contextually, tells me
that this was a voluntary offering to God, and not an obligatory offering. God, through Moses, would establish
obligatory sacrifices in the future (ref Leviticus).
I believe Cain’s gift would have been acceptable if it had
cost Cain something to give it. God was
pleased with Abel’s gift because it was the best of his flock. Perhaps the sire of his flock, a lamb without
blemish. God saw this sacrifice as a foreshadowing of the sacrificial
death of Jesus.
God Speaks to Cain
(Gen 4:6-7 NKJV)
6 So the LORD said to Cain,
"Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 "If you do
well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the
door. And its desire [is] for you, but you should rule over it."
The word countenance refers to the expression on Cain’s
face. God tells Cain what he can do to
please Him. He tells Cain failure to do
well will give Satan a chance to move in; this would be the slippery slope to
eternal spiritual darkness.
Satan wants to foil God’s plan for the human race. Satan can’t see the future, and hence he
believes he still has a chance to defeat God. God wanted Cain’s very best as He does ours. In everything we do, we must do as though it
was an offering to God; this is the Christian work ethic.
The Murder of Able
(Gen 4:8 NKJV)
8 Now Cain talked with Abel his
brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up
against Abel his brother and killed him.
On the surface, this sounds like a chat brother to
brother. Cain did not show Able his
anger until he was ready to strike; this was the textbook murder, that is to
say, Cain planned the crime with malice aforethought to kill Able.
“And Cain talked with Abel his brother--Under the guise
of brotherly familiarity, he concealed his premeditated purpose till a
convenient time and place occurred for the murder ( 1 John 3:12 , Jude
1:11 ).” (Jamieson, 1871)
This was the first recorded murder, and it was brought about
through Cain’s jealousy towards his brother.
God Confronts Cain
(Gen 4:9-10 NKJV)
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.
This question and answer session was not because God did not
know what happened; it was meant to give Cain a chance to admit his sin and
repent.
Cain did not feel sorry for killing his brother. Obviously his jealous anger was deep seated,
and still affecting his thoughts. Thus,
Cain lied by denying Abel’s whereabouts compounding his sin with yet another
sin.
God’s Judgement of Cain
(Gen 4:11-12 NKJV)
11 "So now you [are] cursed
from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from
your hand. 12 "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."
The curse God placed on the ground for Adam’s sin was only
to make it more difficult for Adam to grow food. The curse placed on Cain was to make it
nearly impossible for Cain to grow food.
Consequently, Cain would be a wanderer with no place to call home.
There is no scriptural reference as to who would be seeking
Cain. Scripture makes no mention of any
other humans on in the land of Nod at that time. Therefore, I believe this curse was meant for
a time in Cain’s future after he began to populate the earth.
Cain’s Grievance
(Gen 4:13-14 NKJV)
13 And Cain said to the LORD,
"My punishment [is] greater than I can bear! 14 "Surely You have
driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your
face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen
[that] anyone who finds me will kill me."
The callousness of Cain is unbelievable. He still did not feel in his heart remorse or
the severity of his sin against his brother.
Consequently, Cain felt God’s judgment was too severe.
God did not lessen Cain’s punishment, but through His grace
and mercy, He would alleviate Cain’s fear that he would be killed. We will see
God’s solution in verse 15.
The Lord’s Proclamation
(Gen 4:15 NKJV)
15 And the LORD said to him,
"Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him
sevenfold." And the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him
should kill him.
Scripture does not tell us what the image of this mark. It is evident that any descendants of Cain
would recognize Cain's mark. So,
therefore, this mark must have been unique.
We don’t know where this mark appeared on Cain. We do know it would have been easily
visible. This sign or mark would be a
constant reminder of Cain’s sin.
Cain Leaves With His Mate
(Gen 4:16 NKJV)
16 Then Cain went out from the
presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.
The word Nod in Hebrew means wander. We know Cain was to be a wander. We can
assume, from this words meaning, that it was a vast area somewhere to the East
of Eden. We know by verse sixteen the
general location of his wanderings.
To pinpoint a location is impossible because the topography
of the world was very different. The
world as we know it would not be changed until after Noah’s flood.
The Lineage of Cain
(Gen 4:17-26 NKJV)
17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch.
And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his
son--Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael
begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech. 19 Then Lamech took for himself
two wives: the name of one [was] Adah, and the name of the second [was] Zillah.
20 And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have
livestock. 21 His brother's name [was] Jubal. He was the father of all those
who play the harp and flute. 22 And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an
instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain
[was] Naamah. 23 Then Lamech said to his wives: "Adah and Zillah, hear my
voice; Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for
wounding me, Even a young man for hurting me. 24 If Cain shall be avenged
sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold." 25 And Adam knew his wife
again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, "For God has appointed
another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed." 26 And as for
Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then [men] began to
call on the name of the LORD.
Bibliography
Holman. (2010). Hcsb Study Bible Christian
Standard Bible. Holman bible Publishers. Retrieved June 2018
Jamieson, R. ,. (1871). Commentary Critical and
Explanatory on the Whole Bible. Retrieved May 04, 2018, from
https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/
Strong's, J. (1996). Strongs Exhaustive Concordance.
In J. Strong, Strongs Eshaustive Concordance. Nashville : Nelson
Publishers, [1996]. Retrieved February Thursday, 2018, from
http://www.eliyah.com/lexicon.html
