1. Lesson One of the Book of Daniel, Introduction to the Book of Daniel

Studies in Genesis, Cain’s Insolence, (continued) Lesson XIII, Genesis 4:5-24

We have learned that God had respect of Abel’s offering for it complied with His word, His word requiring an offering of blood.

And in Genesis 4:5-7 we learn of God’s response to Cain’s offering, an offering given from the fruit of the ground:

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.

Now in God’s rebuke of Cain God pointed out the standard He had set but Cain instead compared himself to his brother.  

His brother received the respect of God and he did not.  

He saw his brother receive notice but he did not see the why of that notice.  

And it concerned obedience to God’s word.  

It is so prevalent to be judged by others as to the blessings received from God, not received because of favoritism but because of obedience.   

Simply obey God and be blessed! 

Cain’s response was not a reasonable response which God inferred when He asked, Why art thou wroth? If thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted.  

In other words just obey me and respect will also come your way.   

Why do you kick against the pricks of truth?   

For in that response you are always wounded. 

We learn as Peter learned from Acts 10:34,…. Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 

No respecter of persons but God is a respecter of obedience.

Obey His word and blessings will come regardless of whether you are a Cain or an Abel. 

Unfortunately Cain paid no attention to this instruction for Cain’s heart was far from God and therefore hatred built up against the one in whom God had respect. 

For this is the way of the world and this hatred continues in Cain’s offspring for those who walk in the way of Cain still hate truth and the messengers of truth. 

Now from our study of chapter four of Genesis it is obvious that both sons of Adam and Eve knew of the requirements of the word of God regarding sacrifice.   

Both knew of the skins that God had made their parents after the fall, skins used to cover their nakedness.   

For there was a need to have a God chosen covering to replace the man chosen covering of fig leaves. 

This of course is symbolic of that which is needed to cover man’s nakedness from God, to cover man’s sin, and in this the seed is planted that the only covering satisfying to our Father is the blood of His Son, a covering provided not by man but by God.   

Cain choose otherwise for he brought to God the fruit of his hands, a bloodless offering and was rebuked by God for his disobedience, and with God asking him, Why are you angry.   

Do right and obey and it will go well with you.  

But Cain was not about to listen to the counsel of God and his anger boiled within his soul resulting in this latter confrontation with his brother Abel. 

Cain rejected God’s counsel and soon learned of the consequences of that rejection. 

For we read in Genesis 4:8-15, 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.  

Now after the offerings presented to God by the two sons, we do not know of the state of Abel who had received the respect of God but we do know the state of Cain who had not for Cain was angry.  

As they talked in the field was Abel asking of Cain the same questions that God had asked him?   

Was Abel of a humble spirit trying to encourage his brother to obey God and bring the proper sacrifice?  

Or was Abel basking in the notice from God and making the situation worse than it could have been if he had been humble before his brother?   

We do not know the circumstances for all we know is that in the process of time when they were both together in the field where crops had been grown, where sheep had been shepherded Abel met his death at the hand of his brother.   

The serpent had said to Adam and Eve in the garden, Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.   

And now we see the fruit of that decision for their own son Abel was the victim of murder and their own son Cain was now the first murderer. 

At this terrible event again God responds with a question.   

Instead of asking Where art thou, as He did of Adam and Eve He now asks of Cain, Where is Abel, thy brother.   

God knows exactly where Abel is for he has heard Abel’s blood crying to Him from the ground for even blood has a voice that speaks to its maker. 

Cain is now a murderer and to this question he responds as a petulant child.  

Imagine the evil heart that speaks to God in that manner! 

Condescending, patronizing, high and mighty and to this add the new description of this first son, now a liar for he, knowing full well that his brother no longer lives and lies dead in his own field, says: I know not, Am I my brother's keeper? 

So lying not only enters the picture but disrespect of Cain’s creator also comes in.  

Cain’s offering was not respected and therefore God will not be respected. 

So Cain returns God’s question with an impudent question, sarcastic in its tone.  

What am I a keeper of your favorite?   

Just a servant of the one you prefer?   

Am I a shepherd of the shepherd? 

But God responds again with a question aimed so that Cain think of what has taken place.   

God, in saying thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground, is telling Cain that justice must be executed for blood has been shed and therefore justice demands its consequences for this is an absolute with God. 

In Adam and Eve’s case the ground was cursed but in Cain’s case he is cursed from the earth, for the earth is now the recipient of his brother’s blood, a task never before required of the earth. 

Cain, heretofore took much joy from the earth and the earth reciprocated but from now on he is cursed from the earth and will no longer have reward from its bounty. 

The soil had received his brother’s blood so now the soil withdraws its full strength and fruitfulness from Cain. 

Cain also is banished from its production and declared to be a wanderer eking out a living in the less fruitful parts of the earth. 

Adam and Eve had been banished from the garden but banished to a lesser fruitful and productive place but now justice demands that banishment be further extended to Cain, for the soil which now is tasked with holding Abel’s blood no longer is to provide fruit to Cain.

And along with this banishment which Cain says it greater than he could bear includes removal from the presence of God and the fellowship of his father and mother, and abandoned to a life of wandering and uncertainty.

Adam and Eve have lost their son Abel to murder and now their son Cain to God’s judgment. 

Sin is taking its toll for the toll booth of sin never closes.

But we also see no repentance from Cain for he is only concerned about his punishment, a punishment that he thinks is much too great.

So God again shows grace, and establishes a great cost on the shedding of Cain’s blood by placing upon Cain his mark of protection.

This mark, certainly visible or known to all in some way, was to help keep Cain from being physically harmed while he was a stranger and a vagabond. 

It was not a guarantee of his safety, it only promised a sevenfold worse outcome for those who harmed him.

God marked Cain and in the book of Revelation we learn that God marks his own but also we know that the Antichrist marks his people with a sign on their forehead and hand.

These marks indicate ownership and protection and in a way this was true with Cain’s mark.

So Cain again with a fallen countenance most likely, departs to a life of wandering as we read in:

Genesis 4:16-24, 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.

We now are given the first line of genealogy of which the Bible has many.

Moses wrote this line of genealogy and it is, I believe, given to contrast the righteous line that begins in verse 25 and continues in Chapter 5.

God’s word has two themes, the road of sin and the road of righteousness. 

To where do the roads lead? 

One road is called the broad way and the other road is called the narrow way. 

One road is traveled by the unrighteous line and the other by the righteous line. 

Cain walked the road of sin and we will find that those in his line also walked the road of sin, the road of worldliness, the road of the temporal, the broad way.

So along this road Cain built a city, certainly not the way of the wanderer or vagabond, but the way of the rebel who was given to be the wanderer as a punishment for murdering his brother but refused to live it. 

So Cain decided to be a city builder and a city dweller and he named that city after his son, Enoch.

And then we are given names of his grandson Irad, and great grandson Mehujael, and great, great grandson Methusael, and great, great, great grandson Lamech.

Lifespans were long in those days so I suppose Cain was around to see all of this come about.

Of these men Lamech is the one most noteworthy of mention by Moses for Lamech departs from the idea of one husband, one wife and took to himself two wives, with names of Adah and Zillah. 

Interesting for he took unto himself wives from A to Z.

Lamech was the father of cowboys called here, such as dwell in tents and have cattle, also the father of a line of musicians, and the father of the first of great brass and iron metal workers.

You will note that the pursuit of knowledge of good and evil is prominent in the line of Cain. 

We see here the beginnings of the march of technology, a march that has moved through the centuries but increased a hundred fold in the last several centuries.

It is a march of that which is good and that which is evil for that is what eating of the tree of knowledge will always bring.

Read Chapter 5 of the line of Seth, the godly line and there is nothing given regarding vocations, ambitions, or lines of worldly progress. 

Since the garden, since the knowledge of good and evil was given to man, that is what the quest of man is for that quest is the goal of being like gods. 

It is the quest of search instead of simply believing what God has said.

The quest is all wrapped up in the short question asked of Eve by the serpent. 

Ye hath God said?

Cain began that quest with his offspring, as knowledge centered in the city was searched for in order to improve the lot of man. 

No allegiances to the things of God are noticed in that city called Enoch for it was given totally to travel along the broad way, the way of search and research.