Genesis 4 - Printer Friendly

Even as God continues to provide for the first few generations of humans, the consequences of human sin and spiritual separation from God become obvious. Adam and Eve start having children, including Cain and his brother Abel. Eve knew she was directly responsible for the pain she experienced in childbirth (Genesis 3:16), but she still gives God credit for helping her to bear Cain.

Cain and Abel grow up and choose different professions, both apparently maintaining a relationship with God. When both bring offerings to God, He shows favor on Abel and his offering of the fat of one of his slaughtered lambs. God does not, however, show favor on Cain or his offering of the fruit of the crops from the fields he has been working. This might have been due to a poor attitude on the part of Cain. Or, Cain's offering might have been smaller or less sacrificial than it ought to have been. For whatever reason, God does not find his efforts pleasing.

Cain becomes angry, and envious of his brother Abel. God warns Cain that sin is crouching at the door and Cain must master it. If sin and temptation are allowed to be in control, tragedy is soon to follow. Instead, Cain meets Abel in a field and murders him. This first recorded human death, and murder, once again sees God confronting His own creation over their sin. He comes to Cain and says that He can hear Abel's blood crying to Him from the ground.

In a scene similar to God's curses on Adam and Eve after their sin in the garden, God punishes Cain by cursing him from the ground. It will never again give him crops. God also sends Cain away from his family to wander the earth. Cain complains that without God's protection someone will surely kill him in retribution of Abel's murder. So, God marks Cain somehow for his own protection and promises to avenge seven-fold anyone who kills him.

Cain wanders to the land of Nod (which means "wander"). He marries, helps to build his city, and has a son, who has a son, who has a son. Lamech, Cain's descendent who was seven generations from Adam, seems to share Cain's rebellion, arrogance, and violence.

Adam and Eve have another son, though. Eve sees Seth as God's replacement for lost Abel. Seth and his line become known as people who rely on God and call upon His name.

Genesis 4:1–16 tells the beginning of human history in the wake of Adam's and Eve's sin and separation from God. This passage details the murder of Abel by his older brother Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve. Cain and Abel work the ground and tend sheep. They worship God, but Cain kills Abel in a fit of envy over God's rejection of Cain and his offering. The first human born on earth becomes the first murderer. God forces Cain to leave his family and wander the earth, but God also marks Cain with a promise of great vengeance on anyone who would kill him.

Genesis 4:17–26 describes Cain's family line after his murder of Abel. While the details are limited, Scripture does mention a few points of concern. Lamech, Cain's great-great-great-grandson not only took two wives, he also bragged about murdering a younger man. This attitude of blatant defiance sets the stage for God's judgment of a depraved earth in the story of the flood in Genesis chapter 6. This passage also describes Adam and Eve's son Seth, born after Cain, who becomes the ancestor of Noah.

The consequences of sin become apparent in chapter 4: envy, arrogance, rebellion, murder, punishment, separation from family, and separation from God. Adam and Eve's firstborn son, Cain, jealously murders his brother Abel and loses everything. Adam and Eve lose them both. Cain's descendants amplify his sinfulness. Still, God provides help for Eve in childbirth and even provides protection for Cain in his wandering. Eve remains a woman of faith, even in her loss. And the sons of Seth, born after the murder of Abel, become a people who proclaim the name of the Lord.

The first three chapters of Genesis explain the creation and loss of paradise, as Adam and Eve are separated from God both physically and spiritually. Their relationship with Him does not end, however. Eve recognizes His help in bearing her son Cain and later Seth. Cain and Abel both worship God until Cain kills Abel. God provides protection for Cain, whose descendants become innovative, artful, arrogant, and violent. The descendants of Seth, however, begin to call on the Lord's name. This chapter bridges the story of Genesis from our ultimate origins to the story of Noah, introduced in the next chapter.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.