Jan's Bible NotesGENESIS 4
1 "Knew" or "had relations with": sexual intercourse. This does not mean they did not have sexual intercourse until this point; it is merely a way of saying that at this point, they conceived a child. What does the terminology "to know" say about God's intent for the sexual relationship? Are we like animals, having sex with just anyone, just to satisfy the desire of the moment? Is Cain the first child born to Adam and Eve? It doesn’t say, but it would seem probable. Cain's name means "gotten one" or "man, the Lord." What had God promised back in 3:15? What did Adam and Eve probably think about their first son?
2 Is Abel the second child? It doesn't say, and it is not necessary to assume so. Are Cain and Abel the only two children of Adam and Eve? We are obviously not told every detail of Adam and Eve’s life, only the details that we need to know, and that have to do with God’s plan for us as revealed in the Bible. Does the Bible record every incident in the life of each person mentioned? Should we assume that if the Bible didn't record something, it didn't happen? Why doesn't the Bible tell us the details of the rest of Adam and Eve's life, or all their other children? Why aren't we told every detail about Cain and Abel? We read of only one other child, Seth, but compare Gen. 5:3-5. What did God command them in 2:28? Look how many years they lived. It’s possible that they had hundreds of children, but these are the two that figure in this story of the first murder. We also see here the first conflict between farmer and rancher.
3 "In the course/process of time" can be translated "at the end of days." Some think this means at the end of the week, the Sabbath. "Brought … to the Lord" could imply a designated place. What example had God set as an acceptable offering for sin in 2:21? The shedding of blood, the death of an animal in their place so they would not have to die to pay for their own sin. Adam and Eve’s bloodless covering for sin had NOT been acceptable. What type of sacrifice is Cain bringing? Do we know how young or old Cain and Abel are at this point? Look at the life spans in Gen. 5. This could have happened at any point in their long lives. What clue tells us they were probably at least grown men?
4 Why did Abel bring an animal sacrifice? We are not told specifically, but we know that God had already introduced the concept. Apparently Adam and Eve had continued to sacrifice for sin, and had taught their children to do so.
5 If they hadn’t taught their children about sacrifice, God would be judging Cain unfairly. He must have known, because God holds him accountable. What was Cain’s response to God’s displeasure? Did he show shame, sorrow, repentance, or humility? What does this tell us about Cain? What does Heb. 11:4 tell us Abel had that Cain didn't?
6-7 God chastises, warns him. When we are tempted to sin, is it inevitable that we give in to temptation? I Cor. 10:13. God is telling Cain that he has a choice here. Here is the first use of the word “sin” in the Bible. It is always interesting to note the context of the first use of important Bible words.
Just as with Adam in the garden, God asks a question. In the gospels, Jesus often answers His accusers' questions with another question, instead of a direct statement. Why might God use this method? Do you think He is more interested in what we do, or why we do it?
Has the Law been given yet? So has any law been broken? What standard is God holding him to? ("If you …", and "if you do not …") Apparently at this point in history, man is operating in the dispensation of conscience. God tests men in different circumstances, or dispensations, over time. After the flood, we will see man under human government, then under the Law, and today, under grace. When Christ returns to rule His earthly kingdom, with Satan bound, man will be tested in another way. But man fails every test; in every circumstance, God is showing us that we are unable to satisfy God's standard of holiness. God must do it for us, so He provided the perfect sacrifice, His Son Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament times, animal sacrifices pointed to the sacrifice of the Lamb of God who was yet to come. Today, we look back to His sacrifice every time we re-enact the Lord's Supper.
8 The first murder. Was it premeditated?
9 Doesn't God know where Abel is? Why does He ask? Is Cain repentant or remorseful? What tone of voice do you hear in his answer? Does he answer truthfully? So what sins has Cain committed that we know of? What do we learn about Cain in I John 3:12? In Jude 11, Cain is grouped with Balaam and Korah. What do these three have in common? Read Num. 22:1-24:25 and Num. 16:1-50. Were Cain, Balaam, and Korah pagans, those who did not know (or know of) God? They were all outwardly religious, but what did their actions reveal about them?
10-11 Again God confronts him by asking a question. Why? NOW a man is cursed (one man, not all men). Later in the Bible, we will see that murder is a capital crime; God has not yet given any laws to keep, and apparently man has not yet either. So we assume that human government has not yet been instituted; God will institute this after the flood, Gen. 9:5-6. Before the flood, man is guided by his conscience. We will see in the next few chapters how that works out.
12 What is Cain's penalty?
13-15 If this statement was true, what should Cain have done at this point? Is he repentant? Is he more concerned about his sin or his punishment? Although no one has committed murder so far except him, what does he assume about other men? Since he isn't concerned with pleasing or obeying God, why would he be concerned about being hidden from God's face? What part do you think God played in his life?
16 Did Cain obey God? What had God commanded him to do in 12? Cain continues to defy God. "Out from the presence of the Lord" again implies that they met with the Lord at a particular location.
17 Interestingly, the first mention in the Bible of a city is one built in defiance of God. Cities are often where civilization flourishes, but civilization also tends to go hand in hand with the godless world system. This is what the Bible often means by "the world" (Greek, "kosmos"). In the New Testament, believers are often warned against "the world." Jesus speaks much about "the world" in John 14-18. Also compare I Cor. 1:20-21, 2:12, 3:19, Rom. 12:2, Eph. 2:1-2, James 4:4, I John 2:15-17.
The next city mentioned in the Bible is found in Gen. 10:10; what city is it? Chapter 11 tells the story of this city and its defiance of God. Babel is the city that later become Babylon. At the end of the Bible, in the account of the judgment at the Lord's return, we again find Babylon, called "the great city Babylon," Rev. 18:10-21. (This city may be the actual rebuilt city of Babylon, or Babylon may be symbolic of the godless world system, or the major cities of the world where the world system is centered.) We find that God's judgment is on this city and the godless world system that it personifies. We find in Revelation that God judges the world system in three specific areas: big government, organized outward religion, and big business--the one world system to come. The Bible ends with a description of a holy city where God reigns. What city is this, Rev. 21-22?
A big question for many people is, where did Cain get his wife? Do you have any ideas? Why would there be no problem with Cain marrying a sister (or a descendant of a sister)? Was there a law against this practice at that time? When was that law given? Lev. 18:9. Why were such laws given? To protect us from what genetic problem? Such mutations would not be present early in man's history, so intermarriage was practical. As mutations accumulated in the gene pool over time, following the curse of sin, intermarriage became unsafe, so God protected us by giving a law against it. Over time, we have come to think of this restriction as a moral issue too, but that was not its origin.
Adam and Eve obviously had many children. Some say there must have been other humans along with Adam and Eve, and that we are only told their story. However, this does not fit with the account of creation, of original sin, or of I Cor. 15:45. Eve was the mother of all the living, 3:20. They had other sons and daughters, 5:4. In 14, Cain is concerned that other men will kill him, so we must assume that there were many men already. This tells us this incident did not happen early in his life, but we have no idea how old Cain and Abel were. Consider the life spans mentioned in Gen. 5, and consider the mathematical possibilities if Adam and Eve had children regularly throughout their lives. Those children would marry each other, and have children throughout their long lives. Many generations would be alive and reproducing at the same time. Someone has calculated that with an average of only six children per family (which is probably a ridiculously small assumption), Cain ALONE could have had 100,000 descendants by age 400.
18-26 Now we have some genealogical information. By comparing the Bible’s many genealogies, Bible scholars have come up with very recent dates for the earth’s creation, compared to the evolution theory. Many date it around 10,000 years. The only reason for the long dates postulated by evolutionists is to allow enough time for everything to evolve slowly and uniformly. Uniformitarianism requires billions of years for the universe, the earth, and all of life to evolve. Catastrophism, on the other hand, recognizes that catastrophes (the flood, in particular) are responsible for many major geological changes. The dates proposed by evolutionists cannot be independently verified by any known process. Many of them are arrived at by circular reasoning; strata are dated by the fossils found in them, and fossils are dated by the strata in which they are found.
We see Lamech defying and rejecting God’s pattern for marriage, and justifying revenge killings. This brings up the topic of polygamy, which we find often in the Bible. Don’t many people make the mistake of assuming that everything Bible characters did was OK, because it’s in the Bible? These are historical accounts; we need to compare them to God’s commands before we draw conclusions. The Bible records many sinful acts, even by believers.
20-22 Do these people sound like primitive cavemen? No; more evidence of intelligence and technology.
25-26 Many think of Adam and Eve as having three children; one died, now the third is born. Does it say that? All we know from this verse is that Seth was born after Abel died. Surely they had many children, 1:28 and 5:3-4, but we are only told about these three because their stories are crucial to the message of the Bible. Do you think Adam and Eve realized that Cain was not the promised man? The Bible indicated that Cain was not righteous, yet he was the closest in time and relationship to the only two people who knew God in a perfect relationship. Did they fail to pass on their knowledge of God, as Adam failed to pass God's words on to Eve? We don't know; we do know that each person is held accountable for his response to whatever knowledge of God he has. Being godly parents does not guarantee godly children. A relationship with God cannot be inherited from parents.
26 "Then men began to call upon/by the name of the Lord." Something began to change at this time. Some think "by" is the better translation, meaning perhaps at this point, some began to identify themselves as God's people, while others did not.
A theme we find throughout the Old Testament is genealogies, particularly two lines: the line leading to Christ, and the rejected line. This concept is first hinted at in 3:15. The rejected line is given first, followed a little ways, then dropped. Then we have the line leading to Christ, which is followed on through the birth of Christ. Here this thread is introduced. We have Cain’s line, through 24, then Seth and his line, which leads to Christ.
In this chapter, we see man in rebellion against God and the beginning of the spread of godless society.
Copyright 2003 Jan Young