Genesis 4
The Way of Cain, the Way of the World

Genesis 4

Cain and Abel

1 Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD.” 2 Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground. 4 Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering; 5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. 6 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” 8 Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. 11 “Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 “When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is too great to bear! 14 “Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from Your face I will be hidden, and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 So the LORD said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him.

16 Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

17 Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son. 18 Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael became the father of Methushael, and Methushael became the father of Lamech. 19 Lamech took to himself two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22 As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, Listen to my voice, You wives of Lamech, Give heed to my speech, For I have killed a man for wounding me; And a boy for striking me; 24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

25 Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, “God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.” 26 To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the LORD.

Unpacking Genesis 4

Actions have consequences. We get that. What we may not get is just how far-reaching those consequences can be. Today, as we study Genesis 4, we see the consequences of Adam and Eve wanting to learn about evil back in Genesis 3.

Genesis 4 opens with the account of Adam and Eve’s first two boys: Cain and Abel. Verse 2 says Cain worked the ground, and Abel kept the flocks. In other words, Cain was a farmer, and Abel was a rancher.

Verse 3 says that over time, Cain brought an offering to the Lord. In verse 4, Abel did as well. While it’s great that Cain was the first of the two brothers to bring an offering, verse 5 says the Lord rejected it. This probably causes us to wonder why?

I wrote a paper on this topic when I was in seminary, and people have all kinds of theories about why the Lord rejected Cain’s offering, but it boils down to Cain’s heart. In fact, Hebrews 11:4 tells us, “By faith, Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.” Therefore, the Lord accepted Abel’s sacrifice because it was from faith. The Lord rejected Cain’s offering because it was not. Here we see that from the very beginning of mankind, the worshipper's heart is vastly more important than the kind of sacrifice being offered.

1st John 3:12 describes Cain as being “of the evil one.” This ominous description gives us a window into the heart of Cain’s worship. Although Cain seemed to devote his worship to the Lord, 1st John 3:12 lets us know that his religion was aligned with Satan's false religion and not the Lord!

Therefore, because Cain’s offering was not rooted in sincere faith like Abel’s and was the product of a religion rooted in God’s enemies, the Lord rejected Cain’s offering. Not surprisingly, Cain was resentful about this fact and in verse 5, he became “very angry and his countenance fell.”

The Lord met with Cain in verses 6 and 7 to show Cain the sin in his heart. The Lord gives Cain an important principle: “Sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” Just because we feel something does not make it permissible. We may feel many sinful impulses, but we are not to obey them.

Unfortunately, Cain does obey his sinful impulses, and he kills Abel. The Lord confronts him about this in verse 9, and Cain gives a haughty reply saying he’s not his “brother’s keeper.” The Lord replies that Abel’s blood cries up from the ground! He then pronounces judgment on Cain, stating that he would have difficulty farming and be forced to wander the earth. Cain says this judgment is too much for him to bear, so the Lord mercifully puts a “sign” upon Cain with the pronouncement that no one is to strike him down. We don’t know what that sign was, but it helped Cain.

Now, that’s a quick overview of the story of Cain and Abel, but that’s not actually the most important part of Genesis 4. The record of Cain and Abel teaches that true worship requires faith; it also sets up the next section, which is just as important! The next section of Genesis 4 records how Cain founded a sinful society. This sinful society becomes one of many attempts by mankind for self-rule and autonomy from God’s instructions. This disregard for the Lord will become a backdrop for many passages throughout the Bible.

So, in verse 17, Cain is married. Sometimes people ask, “Where did Cain get his wife?” The answer to that question is found in Genesis 5:4, where it says Adam “had other sons and daughters.” So, Cain married a sister. That might make us squirm, but in these early days of humanity, it was the only option.

Verse 17 continues to unfold how Cain built a city and named it after Enoch (not the righteous “Enoch” of Genesis 5:18). Cain’s building of this city was in direct rebellion to the Lord’s pronouncement to wander the earth in verse 12. Clearly, Cain had not repented of his sinful disregard for the wisdom of God’s ways.

The fruit of this rebellion produced an entire society that followed Cain's way, not the Lord's. In fact, Jude 11 even calls this “the way of Cain.” The “way of Cain” is disregard for the Word of God. It is a lack of repentance when we’re shown our sin. It is wanting to do our own thing rather than the Lord’s. It is indifference to God. It is self-made religion and, ultimately, a self-made, godless society. This is the way of Cain. We can see this in the society that Cain established. For instance, verse 23 says a man named Lamech celebrates killing a man and youth. Lamech followed the way of Cain and disregarded the way of the Lord. This self-ruled society was not righteous and did not glorify the Lord.

One last comment before we move on. Genesis 4 ends by mentioning that Adam also had a son named Seth. Noah was in the line of Seth, which means that all of us are in the line of Seth because we’re all descendants of Noah. Verse 26 concludes this chapter by saying, “Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.” Despite the way of Cain, people like Seth and his son Enosh still worshipped the Lord.

Genesis 4 shows us the consequence of choosing evil over righteousness: it produces false, manmade religion. It produces murderous anger. It produces a disregard for God and His Word. It produces an entire society at odds with the righteousness and holiness of the Lord. By God’s grace, we can break from the way of Cain and walk by Abel's faith and the worshipful reverence of Seth and Enosh.

Study and Discussion Questions

Listening to the Key Chapters Podcast on this chapter provides further insights into the following questions.

1. Circle every reference to the name “Cain.” Looking back over this chapter, how many times does his name occur? What does this tell us about who this chapter is ultimately about?

2. Underline every place where the Lord speaks. What kind of “tone” is in the Lord’s words? Why do you think the Lord speaks with this tone towards someone who is in outright rebellion to Him?

3. In verse 2, what were Cain and Abel’s occupations? How did that influence the offerings they brought to the Lord? Do you think that mattered to God? Why or why not?

4. In verse 4, what does it mean that God “had regard” for Abel and his offering? How do Hebrews 11:4 and 1st John 3:12 help us understand why God had regard for Abel’s sacrifice and not Cain’s?

5. In verse 7, what was tempting Cain? What was Cain’s responsibility in dealing with that temptation? How did he handle it?

6. In the New Testament, Jude 11 warns us about “the way of Cain.” What does this passage tell us about Cain’s self-made religion and self-made society? How has society today gone after the “way of Cain”?

7. According to the study, how does Genesis 5:4 answer the question, “Where did Cain get his wife”?

8. As you prayerfully look into your own life, are there any places where you are following in the ways of the world and not the way of the Lord? What would it look like for you to follow the way of Abel and Seth?

9. If you’re seeing parts of your life out of fellowship with the way of the Lord, how about laying those items before the Lord so that His transforming grace might enable you to live in conformity with His instructions?