Previously in Genesis, we discussed the consequences of man’s sin, and how this sin nature would be passed down to each subsequent generation. Not only is man affected by the curse, all of creation groans and travails until the present (Rom 8:22) We also saw how the Lord made provision for that sin. The Lord made coats of skins for Adam and Eve, and had to shed the blood of animals in order to do so. In this we see a picture of the Gospel in that God sent His Only Begotten Son to shed His blood, dying on the cross for us, and by faith we get to receive His righteousness. One day, creation will be delivered from the bondage of decay into the glorious liberty of the children of God (Rom 8:21). We also see a marvelous prophecy as Satan’s head was bruised and he was defeated once and for all at the cross. In this study, we will look at Genesis 4, and get our first glimpse of how ugly sin can get.
It states that Adam knew his wife, and she conceived and bear Cain. The word “knew” or “to know” is a polite way of saying they had sexual relations, and is the first time it is mentioned in the Bible. Today, most words and phrases used to describe sex are crude and demeaning, but the Bible describes it as a way of getting to know one another in an intimate and personal way. It is also mentioned in connection with marriage (i.e. it is between husband and wife). As we discussed in Ephesians, sex outside of marriage is what the Bible calls fornication, and is not to be named among us. I heard a saying the other day, “No woo-hoo until you say I do.”
The name Cain means possession, and it is possible Eve thought she had given birth to the promised deliverer. After this Eve also bore Abel his brother. Now Cain was a tiller of the ground, and Abel was a shepherd. Contrary to what is normally taught, early mankind were not primitive cave-dwellers, but practiced agriculture and animal husbandry.
Eventually the time came that both of them brought an offering to the Lord. Cain’s offering was from the fruit of the ground, but Abel’s offering was of the firstlings of his flock. This begs the question, why did God accept Abel’s offering but not Cain’s? Both grain offerings and animal sacrifices were accepted by the Lord in the Old Testament. The author of Hebrews gives us some insight. He writes, “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” From a human standpoint, an offering of produce makes more sense, since it is cleaner and all they had to do is bring it to the Lord. It takes faith, however, to believe that by shedding the blood of an animal the Lord will forgive their sins.
God accepted Abel’s offering, but Cain’s He did not. Man’s works, apart from faith, can never please God, for no matter the good works he has done, it can never erase his bad works. Even man’s “good works” are often tainted by sin and impure motives. Man has always had to approach the Lord by faith in both the Old and New Testaments. The author of Hebrews again writes, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
Well, this displeased Cain as it usually does those who are works oriented. If you talk to those who really pride themselves in their works such as Jehovah’s Witnesses (or any other religious group for that matter), the idea that we are saved by grace through faith alone is offensive to them. So rather than humbling himself, Cain became very angry with the Lord and his brother. He was envious that his brother’s sacrifice was accepted when his was not. As a result, the Scriptures state that his countenance fell, or another way of saying this is that he became depressed. Cain wanted to come to the Lord on his own terms, rather than the way the Lord had prescribed. Nothing will bum us out more than walking in rebellion to the Lord through carnality and sin. This undealt with anger and envy turned into hatred and bitterness toward his brother.
The Lord spoke to Cain saying, “…Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” If you remember from Genesis 3, the Lord uses a similar phrase in talking with Eve. Again, the idea here is that sin was desiring to rule over Cain, but the Lord was saying he needed to rule over it. This of course would be through faith rather than by his own strength or efforts; for as we discussed in Romans, apart from faith in the Lord, there can be no mastery over sin. Unfortunately, Cain did not listen to the Lord’s words, but proceeded further in his anger and hatred toward Abel. He talked Abel into going out to the field, and once they were there, he rose up and killed him. Unchecked hatred and bitterness never get better over time, but always grows worse. This is why the Bible states that if we have hated our brother, we are a murderer at heart (Matthew 5:21-22 and 1 John 3:15). Murder always starts in the heart, for we have written them off and deemed them unworthy of love and forgiveness. In our hearts it is as if they are dead, and in the case of Cain it led to the literal act of murder.
The Lord then asks Cain “Where is your brother?” Cain then responds by saying, “I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?” Notice there’s no admission of wrong-doing or sign of contrition, but an attempt to cover himself by lying and making excuses. You see people who are works oriented are too proud to admit they are wrong, and will go to great lengths to cover up and make excuses for their sin. The problem is this does not work with the Lord. The Lord already knew what happened to Abel, but again He wanted Cain to confess his sin. The Lord said to Cain, “…What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.” The Bible states that the life of the flesh is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11), and Abel’s blood had been needlessly shed. The Lord then cursed Cain from the earth, and told him that it would no longer produce food for him. The thing he took so much pride in would now be a futile task. He would be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth. Again, we see Cain’s refusal to humble himself and confess his sin, but proceeds with the all too familiar victim mentality. He stated his punishment was too great for him to bear, and as a result the Lord in His mercy placed a mark on Cain so that no one would kill him in vengeance. There has been a lot of speculation over the years as to what this mark was, even going as far as to say it was black skin. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young both taught that the mark that God placed on Cain was black skin. Brigham Young stated, “What is the mark? You will see it on the countenance of every African you ever did see...." And, "the Lord put a mark upon [Cain], which is the flat nose and black skin.” However, the Scriptures simply do not tell us what the mark was. Besides, all the descendants of Cain were destroyed by the flood, so to attribute this curse to people with black skin is plainly wrong and unscriptural.
The Scriptures then state that Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in Nod. What a tragic end to an already sad story: Cain could have admitted his sin and asked for the Lord’s mercy, but instead he was content to continue in his pride, stubbornness, and excuse making. ultimately, he was willing to be separated from the Lord’s presence. I wonder how the story would have turned out differently if Cain would have humbled himself and repented from his sin. I think that, although there would have still been consequences, the Lord would have restored Cain to fellowship with Himself, because that is the Lord’s nature. Remember, the Lord does not point out our sin to condemn us, but in order that He can forgive and restore us. Unfortunately, Cain’s actions would begin a string of violence that would only grow perpetually worse until the days of Noah which I hope to cover in a couple weeks.
Notwithstanding, we still see some good things come out of the line of Cain. Among his descendants was a guy named Lamech. Lamech had two wives who bore him children. These children were the inventors of cattle ranching, musical instruments and the music arts, and the first craftsman in brass and iron. Again, early man was not primitive and unintelligent, but even after the fall as we can see, man was capable of great achievements. Within the first 100+ years or so from creation, they were already using iron and brass, something that didn’t show up after the flood in ancient Israel until the time of Solomon.
At a certain point, Lamech told his two wives that he had killed a man for wounding him, and that if God was going to avenge Cain seven-fold if someone came after him, then God should avenge him seventy-seven-fold. There is no evidence Lamech believed himself to be in danger of losing his own life, so using lethal force appears to have been an overreaction. This is an indicator of the state of Cain’s descendants in a relatively short time.
Next the Scriptures tell us that Adam and Eve had another son, and they called him Seth: “For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.” The name Seth means appointed. It is possible that they had thought that Abel would have been of the promised seed referred to in chapter 3, and now the Lord had given them Seth in his place. With each son, they were on the look-out for this seed that God had promised, and this is what we should do with the Lord’s promises as well. As we will see, this will prove to be correct: It is through the line of Seth that the Gospel of Luke traces the genealogy down all the way to Jesus Christ.
In the days of Seth’s son, Enos, the Genesis account states that men began to call on the name of the Lord. In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament used by the early Church, it states it as, “This one (Enosh) hoped to call upon the name of the Lord God.” This would mean that Enos called on the name of the Lord, and would pass his faith onto his descendants. Ultimately, what we see in Genesis going forward is that Seth’s direct line would remain godly, while the rest of the world would descend into hostility toward God, sexual immorality, and violence.
In what ways are we like Cain? Do we know what the Lord’s word says, but insist on doing things our own way? This will result in our work not being pleasing in His sight, and we will not be blessed. Remember, we must first approach Him by faith: this is faith in the person of Jesus Christ for salvation, and faith in what His word says is true. This naturally translates into living in obedience to that truth.
Second, how do we respond when we are corrected for something wrong we have done? Do we lie and seek to cover up what we have done? Do we play the victim in an attempt to make others feel sorry for us? Are we so intent on our own way that we would sacrifice our fellowship with the Lord to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season? The correct response, of course, is to admit our faults, confess our sin to the appointed man, Jesus Christ, for, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Sin wants to rule over us, but we must rule over it through our faith in the Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Lastly, are we struggling with depression? While certainly not all depression is linked to sinful behavior, I do believe it is significant that the first time it is mentioned in the Bible it is connected with sin. We need to ask the Lord to search our hearts as David did. It may not be open rebellion, but simply an area we are not aware of that we need to change our thinking. In the following chapter, we will see the genealogy of Adam all the way to Noah, and some interesting insights along the way.
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