A Look At Cain

Raising Cain!

Genesis 4:1-16

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.

In Genesis 3 we have the ROOT of sin. In Genesis 4 the FRUIT of sin.

In Genesis 4 we have several firsts:

First birth

First false religion

First mention of anger/wrath (connected with a worship service).

Cain was wroth because God didn¡¦t accept his form of worship.

He’s mad over church! God wasn’s conducting the worship service in the way Cain thought it should be done! So he gets mad.

First murder (result of a false religion). Most wars are religious wars.

First man is cursed (Cain). He is cursed because his religion was of the earth that was cursed.

First city (v. 17). First mention of a "city."

Cities are connected with murderers (Rev. 17:6, 18).

Cities are centers of sin. The more concentrated the populace, the higher the crime rate.

Cities are generally referred to in a negative sense (cf. Rev. 11:8; John 19:20; 2 Cor. 11:26; Dt. 28:16; Luke 19:41; Heb. 11:10; 12:22; 13:14; Rev 17:18; 18:10; 21:2).

First musical instruments

First case of polygamy

Cain is mentioned 13 times in Genesis 4.

Abel is mentioned 7 times.

A picture of a child of the devil and a child of God.

VERSE 1: "knew" = carnal knowledge / intimate

She believed that Cain was the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15.

However, she was mistaken. Cain was not a man-child FROM THE LORD (cf. 1 John 3:12).

VERSE 2:

The indication is that Cain and Abel were possibly twins. Eve conceives once (4:1) but she "bare" twice.

Cain is a type of the anti-Christ.

Both are "seeds" of the wicked (2 Thess 2)

Both have "marks" (v. 15; Rev. 13:13-18)

Both are murderers (John 8:44)

Both are cursed (Ps. 119:21)

Both are religious

Both are "city-slickers" (v. 17)

Abel is a type of Christ:

Both are Shepherds

Both are hated without cause.

Both die violent deaths at the hands of their brethren.

Both are murdered because of envy (Mt. 27:18)

Both their sacrifices were accepted by God (Eph. 5:2)

VERSE 4:

The Bible says God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34; Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9).

Yet, here is a case where God is a respecter of persons (cf. Ex. 2:25; 2 Kings 13:23).

Some would think this is a contradiction. However when taken in the context, one can see there is no contradiction.