4:1 AND ADAM KNEW EVE HIS WIFE; AND SHE CONCEIVED, AND BARE CAIN, AND SAID, I HAVE GOTTEN A MAN FROM THE LORD.
4:2 AND SHE AGAIN BARE HIS BROTHER ABEL. AND ABEL WAS A KEEPER OF SHEEP, BUT CAIN WAS A TILLER OF THE GROUND.
A.ADAM KNEW: The Bible term for intimate relations between hus-band and wife; Note the next three words, AND SHE CONCEIVED.
B.FROM THE LORD: Eve knew that God is the Giver of all life.
C.These were the first two human beings other than Adam and Eve, and this is the BEGINNING of childbearing.
D.Cain and Abel were born outside the Garden, away from the tree of life, and therefore were born to die, not because of their sin, but as a consequence of their father's sin.
4:3 AND IN PROCESS OF TIME IT CAME TO PASS, THAT CAIN BROUGHT OF THE FRUIT OF THE GROUND AN OFFERING UNTO THE LORD.
4:4 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:
A.Cain's offering may have been beautiful, but it was not that which God had decreed; It was not authorized.
B.The acceptance of Abel's offering shows that God had communi-cated in some way with the two men and informed them that He requires death as the punishment for sin; Therefore they were to kill a sheep as a blood sacrifice.
C.Basic to this foundational theme is Lev 17:11 and Heb 9:22.
D.This theme runs throughout the Bible - cf Heb 10:1-4.
4:5 BUT UNTO CAIN AND TO HIS OFFERING HE HAD NOT RESPECT. AND CAIN WAS VERY WROTH, AND HIS COUNTENANCE FELL.
A.God's grace and mercy are seen in his provision of a way for sinners to come to Him and make acceptable sacrifice.
B.On what basis could God respect the one offering and reject the other? Was this an arbitrary (frivolous) choice?
a.The action was Cain's own way of approaching God, not God's prescribed way, and the result is a "pre-answer" to the question, "Won't God accept any sincere effort we make to please Him?" - cf Jer 10:23.
b.To approach God in any way except the way God revealed is presumption and sin, and the effort will be rejected.
c.So this is the BEGINNING of religious error!
C.COUNTENANCE: His visage, his appearance, changed; His face became long and pained. When we do what is right, it is easy to have a pleasant look on the face.
4:6 AND THE LORD SAID UNTO CAIN, WHY ART THOU WROTH? AND WHY IS THY COUNTENANCE FALLEN?
A.Again God's grace and mercy are seen in His effort to reason with angry Cain.
B.The question, "Why are you angry?" gave Cain an opportunity to be honest and to repent of his sinful thinking.
C.God was warning him about allowing anger to run its course.
4:7 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.
A.IF THOU DOEST WELL: If he would keep the law of God as Abel did, then he would be ACCEPTED as Abel was.
B.IF THOU DOEST NOT WELL: By continuing to reject God's appointed means of making sacrifice.
C.SIN LIETH AT THE DOOR: Perhaps this is saying (by a figure of speech) that a sin sacrifice was lying at the door -- but he did not choose to offer it! Or it may be saying that Satan and his devices are always near, and sin was waiting to take control of his life - cf 1Pe 5:8-9.
D.HIS DESIRE: It was sin's (Satan's) desire to have Cain.
E.THOU SHALT RULE OVER HIM: Cain could have heeded God's warn-ing, and then by God's power won the battle with Satan.
4:8 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.
A.Instead of listening to God, he listened to the devil (as his parents had done) and by his own voluntary choice, he devel-oped in himself the nature of Satan, the nature of rebellion to God's law and transgression of God's law.
B.Cain "let the sun go down on his wrath" (cf Eph 4:26), and thus allowed anger to cause him to sin - cf 1Jn 3:10-12 (Cain's works were evil because he broke the law; Abel's works were righteous because he kept the law).
C.The first sin separated man from God - 2:17; cf Isa 59:2.
D.The second sin separated man from man - (Cain killed Abel).
E.All people belong to God because He is the Giver of life to all people; The offense was not just against Abel, it was against God, and He requires death as payment for sin.
4:9 AND THE LORD SAID UNTO CAIN, WHERE [IS] ABEL THY BROTHER? AND HE SAID, I KNOW NOT: [AM] I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER?
A."Am I his nursemaid? Have I been appointed his guardian?"
B.This is the worst kind of arrogance, insolence, impudence, irreverence, insubordination even to the point of blasphemy.
4:10 AND HE SAID, WHAT HAST THOU DONE? THE VOICE OF THY BROTHER'S BLOOD CRIETH UNTO ME FROM THE GROUND.
**Abel's blood was crying out for vengeance - cf Jas 5:1-11.
4:11 AND NOW [ART] THOU CURSED FROM THE EARTH, WHICH HATH OPENED HER MOUTH TO RECEIVE THY BROTHER'S BLOOD FROM THY HAND;
4:12 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.
4:13 AND CAIN SAID UNTO THE LORD, MY PUNISHMENT [IS] GREATER THAN I CAN BEAR.
4:14 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.
A.THE GROUND: He faced a crop failure every year henceforth.
B.A FUGITIVE AND A VAGABOND: Cut off from all family connec-tions, with no fixed place of residence, no security.
C.Cain did not want to be hidden from the face of the Lord (which is to forfeit Divine protection - Deu 31:15-17).
D.Other farmers would be affected by his failure, and would want to kill him for bringing disaster upon them also.
4:15 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.
A.Anyone who dared kill Cain would be punished seven times as severely as was Cain.
B.We do not know (cannot know) what the MARK was, but two reasonable suggestions are:
4:16 AND CAIN WENT OUT FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD, AND DWELT IN THE LAND OF NOD, ON THE EAST OF EDEN.
4:17 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.
A.NOD: The word means "wandering;" The location is unknown.
B.Often-asked questions: "Where did Cain get his wife? Were there other people in addition to Adam and Eve?"
C.The Bible does not say, and it does not really matter, but (1) We are curious; And (2) Believers need to be able to show that the Bible does not state an impossibility.
D.Note that it does not say he FOUND his wife, or GOT his wife, but that he KNEW her -- Be reminded, this is the Bible term for intimate relations between husband and wife; Note the next three words, AND SHE CONCEIVED.
E.So there is no reason to conclude that there were people already living in Nod, and Cain married one of them.
F.The logical trend of the narrative would suggest that he had already married when he WENT OUT FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD (v16), and just took his wife with him to Nod.
G.Adam and Eve had other children - Gen 5:4; And there was a growing population - vv14-15; So Cain could have married either a sister or a niece or a cousin.
H.Whatever the details were, there was no additional creation of other people, for Eve was the MOTHER OF ALL LIVING - 3:20.
4:18 AND UNTO ENOCH WAS BORN IRAD: AND IRAD BEGAT MEHUJAEL: AND MEHUJAEL BEGAT METHUSAEL: AND METHUSAEL BEGAT LAMECH.
4:19 AND LAMECH TOOK UNTO HIM TWO WIVES: THE NAME OF THE ONE [WAS] ADAH, AND THE NAME OF THE OTHER ZILLAH.
A.Learn the diacritical markings (Bibles may vary slightly).
B.Here is the BEGINNING of (1) Bigamy; And (2) Man's trend toward total disobedience.
C.Note that this is the line of Cain; The genealogies and his-tories which follow indicate this line to be marked by sin and corruption, general worldly-mindedness as they followed the example of Cain -- Note their thinking in the following verses, as they filled their lives with material and physical things without considering God (they built towns, raised cattle, and made tools and musical instruments -- None of this was wrong; What was wrong was that they concerned themselves with things and excluded God from their lives).
D.God started a new line with Seth in order to keep His promise to bring a Deliverer; Notice in what follows that the line of Seth tended toward love for God and obedience to Him.
E.And note that Satan's seed (children) will oppose God's seed (children); But Satan's children may be religious! -- Cain worshipped at an altar, and later, the Pharisees were the most religious people of their day.
4:20 AND ADAH BARE JABAL: HE WAS THE FATHER OF SUCH AS DWELL IN TENTS, AND [OF SUCH AS HAVE] CATTLE.
**The BEGINNING of ranching, and of the nomad type of life.
4:21 AND HIS BROTHER'S NAME [WAS] JUBAL: HE WAS THE FATHER OF ALL SUCH AS HANDLE THE HARP AND ORGAN.
**The BEGINNING of musicians.
4:22 AND ZILLAH, SHE ALSO BARE TUBAL-CAIN, AN INSTRUCTOR OF EVERY ARTIFICER IN BRASS AND IRON: AND THE SISTER OF TUBAL- CAIN [WAS] NAAMAH.
A.The BEGINNING of blacksmithy and metallurgy; These were not ignorant stone-age cave-dwellers who had no fire.
B.NAAMAH: She is the first female named since Eve (the record is not intended to be a population roll call, but a condensed tracing of the vital genealogy).
4:23 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.
A.This verse is the BEGINNING of the literary device known as Hebrew poetry (parallelism).
B.See this often in the OT (especially in Psa, Ecc, Pro); Be aware of it and how to understand it in order to grasp the meaning much better.
C.The Hebrew rhyme is not of sounds, but of thoughts; See it in this verse:
4:24 IF CAIN SHALL BE AVENGED SEVENFOLD, TRULY LAMECH SEVENTY AND SEVENFOLD.
A.This seems to be just what Lamech thought, as he tried to justify his revenge to his wives.
B.This early history continues to play out in our day as people rush away from God into further moral decline.
C.Sin is not God's fault; To ask, "Why does God let terrible things happen?" is to ask the wrong question -- The question is, "Why do people refuse to do right?"
4:25 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.
4:26 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.
A.THEN BEGAN MEN: May suggest the BEGINNING of organized wor-ship; Seems to have been only individuals before, but the word MEN now indicates a collectivity.
B.Note that the line of Seth is headed in the right way, and it would be through his line that the Deliverer would come.