Cain is well known for the murder of his brother Abel. While that fact is accurate, there is more to the story and we will explore Genesis chapter four so we can understand the “way of Cain” (Jude 1:11).
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Cain’s problems started long before the rejection of his improper sacrifice. Unfortunately we don’t know very much history about Cain or Abel from the Biblical narrative. We don’t know how old they were at this time but we do know that Cain worked the land and Abel kept flocks. The sequence of events recorded in Genesis chapter four tell us that they made their sacrifices and offerings to the Lord and the Lord accepted Abel’s but rejected Cain’s. This made Cain angry and the Lord spoke to him about it and gave him the opportunity to make things right. Then Cain is said to lure his brother out to a field and kill him in what appears to be a premeditated act. Then the narrative progresses right into how Eve bore another son and named him Seth which indicated that she considered him a replacement for her dead son Abel, a righteous man (Hebrews 11:4). So if all that happened in a relatively short amount of time as it seems, then these events would have happened when Cain and Abel were well over 100 years old. We can come to this conclusion because we know that Adam was 130 years old when Seth was born (Genesis 5:3). In other words, Cain was probably a mature adult man and not an impulsive, inexperienced young man. He should have known better but he made the choice to embrace unrighteousness (1 John 3:12).
Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Genesis 4:1-8
So we know from the narrative that Cain was very angry and his face was downcast when he learned that his offering was not received with favor. He evidently had worked hard to perfect the farming techniques that led to this harvest. Then he would have logically selected the best of the best and made a nice generous offering which represented his hard work, expertise and honor for God. Because of later revelation in the Bible, we know it was rejected because the wages of sin are death and God requires death as payment for sin. The animal sacrifice that God made on behalf of Adam and Eve was the example to be followed as Abel did. Cain felt hurt by God and resentful towards Abel. These emotions must have blinded him to the great opportunity God offered him. First of all, he still had the chance to perform a ritual sacrifice of an innocent animal. Also, God warned him that if he didn’t, it would lead to a path of sinfulness and that he must rule over it or he would succumb to it. Cain did not heed God’s warning. He didn’t take the opportunity to correct his mistake. He allowed sin to ensnare him and it never did get better for Cain. He received a curse from God that the land from which he developed expertise in farming would not produce for him any longer. This forced him to leave the area and he decided to marry and have children. But even his descendants followed in his unrighteous footsteps.
Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.
Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.
Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for injuring me.
If Cain is avenged seven times,
then Lamech seventy-seven times.”
Genesis 4:17-24
We can surmise from Lamech’s dialogue that he was a vengeful murderer like his ancestor Cain. More than that, he took two wives which was not consistent with the pattern that God established with Adam and Eve. Furthermore, he mocked God by restating the sovereign protection God offered to Cain and sarcastically repeated it about himself, and even worse than that he boastfully expanded it greatly (Genesis 4:15, 24). This ungodly behavior is enough to conclude that all the descendants from Cain’s line were ungodly. With all the positive skills they inherited, not one word was recorded about them honoring God. We suspect they were eliminated in the Great Flood of Noah.
Noah was a descendant of the other named son of Adam, Seth, who was born when Adam was 130 years old and Seth served as the replacement for the murdered son Abel. It was through Seth that Christ would come and crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). The offspring prophesied, as we well know, was none other than the eventual incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son of David. His human ancestry would trace all the way back through Seth to Adam. Abel was righteous but had no descendants because he was murdered, Cain was unrighteous, so it makes perfect sense that the righteous line of Seth would eventually lead to Christ. Seth’s descendants began to call upon the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:26) and led to Noah, the only righteous man God chose to build the ark. Noah, his wife and their three sons and their wives repopulated the earth (Genesis 8:15-17). These were likely all descendants of Seth. We can conclude that because of the contrast between the two family trees. One was righteous and the other, unrighteous. Noah’s sons probably did not intermarry with Cain’s descendants because of their disposition to the Lord, so that would mean Cain’s descendants died in the flood and Seth’s descendants repopulated the world. This is a classic example of Psalm Chapter One which states:
Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
Psalm 1:1-6
This post is dedicated to Abel whose faith spoke through his actions. Though the Bible doesn’t record a single word he said, his actions still speak volumes to all human history.
By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
Hebrews 11:4
All Scripture quoted from:
New International Version (NIV)
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