In short
Genesis 4. The first murder in history.
Why it is important
“Sin is crouching at the door,” Gen 4:7. Is this not true in our lives every day?
Main characters
- Cain, a farmer and Adam and Eve’s son
- Abel, a shepherd and Cain’s brother
What is in this story (Genesis 4)
- Cain and Abel bring offerings to God, separately (vs. 3-4)
- The LORD “had regard” for Abel’s offering (v. 4)
- The LORD “had no regard” for Cain’s offering (v. 5)
- Cain is “very angry,” and the LORD warns him about it (vs. 6-7)
- Cain kills Abel (v. 8)
- The LORD rebukes Cain (vs. 9-10)
- Cain is cursed to work and wander (vs. 11-12)
- We learn of Cain’s descendants, to include Lamech, a polygamist (vs. 17-24)
- Seth is born, to fill the void of Cain (v. 25)
Things that are not so well-known
- Cain’s worry of “whoever finds me” in verse 14 implies that there are other people on earth – probably many people. I always assumed Cain and Abel were Adam and Eve’s FIRST children, but it never states that. The end of chapter 4 mentions Seth, another son, and Adam was 130 when he was born (Gen 5:3), so there is no reason that there couldn’t be hundreds of descendants already at this point. They were told to be fruitful and multiply, after all.
- It’s the first mention of sin in the Bible (verse 7), and it’s not just a consequence; it’s portrayed as an animal of some kind (metaphorically, I’d say)
Theology and doctrine
The story leaves many of us with more questions than answers. Did they need to sacrifice? Were they told how? Was Cain’s offering a sin, exactly, or just not right and he should have tried again? But…
THE BIG QUESTION: Why did God not “have regard” for Cain’s offering? What does that even mean?
It’s good to wonder – you have to think that that’s the reason God left it so open-ended, to make us think. But I’d be skeptical of anyone with THE answer.
Some possible details in the text:
- Cain and Abel brought different things (plants vs. animals)
- Abel apparently brought the best of what he had; it implies that Cain did not
- God asks Cain why he is angry – which seems to imply that God was not furious; at the least, Cain should not have been so devastated
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