1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7 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.
8 And 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 slew him.
9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.
21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.
23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.
1. Eve gives birth to Cain and Abel.
2. Cain offers an inappropriate sacrifice to Yahweh.
3. Cain murders Abel.
4. God places a curse on Cain, and he becomes a vagabond on the earth.
5. Cain produces generations of children.
6. Eve gives birth to Seth.
Verses 1–8. After leaving the Garden of Eden, Eve gave birth to two sons, Cain and Abel. In time, Cain became a farmer, raising crops for food, and Abel raised sheep, presumably for wool for clothing. They both presented God with a sacrifice: Cain of his crops, and Abel of the sheep of his herd. But God outright rejected Cain’s sacrifice. Cain did not acknowledge that a sinful man who wants to approach God in worship cannot do it apart from blood sacrifice. No mere offering of fruit and vegetables will do. We see that Cain minimized the issues that separate God and man when he offered his unacceptable sacrifice.
Cain took this rejection badly, betraying a strident pride in his own heart. In his angry response, he demonstrated an unwillingness to submit to God’s requirements to worship Him on His terms.
It is interesting to note that at the same time as Cain was resisting God’s requirements, Yahweh was taking the time to address Cain as a father would speak to a wayward son who is on the brink of total rebellion. In His challenge to Cain, God described sin as “crouching at the door.” We can imagine a mountain lion about to gain the victory over an unwary soul. As long as Cain was aware of the sin (or the lion) he might take the preemptive opportunity to jump the lion and kill it. If he were to ignore the beast, it would eventually overcome him and devour him. As the story unfolds, Cain refused to face his sin and the lion consumed him.
Verses 9–15. Among the most serious sins men commit, murder stands out as particularly egregious. The Creator always takes it seriously. He cannot ignore the shedding of innocent blood, and here we witness His absolute commitment to His standard of justice.
God designated the civil magistrate to be His minister to bring vengeance upon those who do evil things (Rom. 13:4). When Cain murdered his brother, there was no civil government in place to address such a crime. Because God never intended for the family to administer the death penalty, He forbade anyone from lifting a hand against the man. It was not until after the Flood that God ordained the office of the civil magistrate and issued the first civil law requiring that all murderers be put to death (Gen. 9:6).
In this case, Yahweh placed His own curse on Cain and sentenced him to the life of a vagabond on the earth. Cain would be both rootless and fruitless. He was to forfeit relationships with family and friends, and even his labors to produce crops would be fraught with more frustration and failure. When farmers plant a field with corn seeds, it is always God who determines whether those seeds yield ten or ten thousand pounds of corn. God is in total control of the increase produced by the labors of men’s hands. God made farming more difficult for Adam after the fall, but here He made it even more difficult for Cain.
Verses 16–24. These verses continue to chronicle the line of Cain by listing his sons and grandsons. His family began to build cities, herd cattle, produce music, and work with metals. What makes this chapter important is that it presents the development of the “children of men,” which will stand in sharp contrast with the line of the “children of God,” the line of Seth in the next chapter (Gen. 5).
As they perpetuated more rebellion against God, the line of Cain built the city of man. This project reached a climax later with the building of the tower of Babel. Both then and now, men without God are driven towards building great empires in defiance of God. Typically, they centralize power with the intent to establish a one-world-government, devoid of Christ’s rule. Since Cain built his first city, this has been the passion of the men who run from God.
Consider also the further rebellion of Lamech, Cain’s great, great, great grandson. Over a century after God’s declaration against Cain, Lamech continued to mock and twist God’s Word. Apparently, someone had injured Lamech, so Lamech took vengeance into his own hands and murdered the man who offended him. Then Lamech set himself up as a god over the Creator Himself. He went so far as to taunt God with his own declaration of vengeance, promising to avenge any that should offend him—ten times more than what God would require. This is the genesis of the tyrant, a powerful man who refuses to bind himself to the laws of God and feels no qualms about tyrannizing others by the most severe punitive measures. This is ultimate and radical rebellion against God. We see this today in tyrannical communist and socialist governments that try to take the place of God.
In a further attempt to destroy human relationships and undermine the oneness of covenant marriage, the line of Cain introduced polygamy. With the rejection of his relationships with God and his brothers, Cain built cities of anonymity, gave birth to tyrannical governments, and advocated polygamy. When a man destroys his relationship with God, he usually proceeds to destroy his own relationships as well.
Verses 25–26. After this terrible story of disobedience in Cain’s line, the chapter ends with a light of hope—God gave Eve another son, whom they named Seth. It was this line of children that began to call on the name of Yahweh.
1. In this chapter, Cain asked the question: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” He pretended that he was not responsible to love and care for his own brother. By shirking his responsibility to look out for his brother, he denied the mutual accountability and love that should exist in brotherly relationships, both in church and family. Of course, God expected Cain to be his brother’s keeper. He expects us to look out for the well-being of our brothers and sisters as well.
2. The life of the vagabond, the wanderer, and the stranger is a cursed life. It is a life void of long-term relationships, accountability, and real community. It is very much the picture of life in the modern city. As men build their cities and wander from community to community and church to church, they gradually give up on maintaining close relationships and accountability. They become increasingly comfortable in their world of anonymity. But let us rather strive to live in good relationships with our families and churches. A heart that constantly seeks to gravitate away from relationship with God and relationship with brothers and sisters is not a heart we should desire.
3. Often men ignore what God requires in worship and they present their own novel forms to Him. With Cain of old, these people are more interested in worship that is pleasing to themselves, than the worship that pleases the God whom they are supposedly worshiping! We must always bring God the worship He desires. Thankfully, the entire Bible presents the will of God concerning the worship of God. The book of Psalms is particularly helpful in this.
4. Murder is a terrible crime. From elsewhere in Scripture, we learn that the shedding of blood defiles a land, and the blood of the innocents cries out to God for His interposition. That is why the civil government must deal with this wicked crime by putting murderers to death. That is also why abortion, the killing of unborn children, is such a heinous sin in the eyes of God, who has created these little ones in His image.
1. What are the themes of Chapters 1 through 4?
2. What was Cain’s first sin in this chapter? What was his second sin?
3. Why didn’t a civil government deal with Cain’s criminal act of murder?
4. What was the curse that God placed on Cain?
5. Which of Cain’s relatives considered himself greater than God? How did he express this?
6. Which of Adam’s sons began a righteous line?
1. To what extent have we lived the life of the “stranger,” moving from city to city and state to state, over the years? Do we have well-established roots in our community? Do we seek out accountability, or do we try to avoid developing close relationships?
2. Are we careful to look after each other’s spiritual and physical well-being in our family? For example, if you saw your brother stepping into a bear trap, would you intervene? What if your brother was falling into a sinful habit? Would you be able to approach him in a loving way and offer helpful correction? Would you ask for forgiveness and try to reconcile with your brother if you offended him