Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 4:17, 23, 25-26

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.

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.

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.

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.

At this point in Genesis we have a divide among the people. Cain is the father of one line, and Seth of another.

Cain’s line seems to be an industrious and inventive group, they begin building cities, raising herds of cattle, and playing musical instruments. However they also continue the more evil traditions of their father, such as in verse 23 where Lamech admits to murder.

We do not learn about the craft of Seth’s descendants, but we are told that they “began to call upon the name of the Lord.” Many interpret this as meaning that Seth’s line distinguished itself by continuing to worship of God, which practice was no longer universal. It is quite possible that this is what the “sons of God” and “daughters of men” in Genesis 6:2 is referring to. Those that continued to believe in and rely on the Lord were the “children of God” and those that did not were the “children of men.” And for a time these two groups continued separately, but eventually intermingled.

And this idea of two people, one led by God and the other not, is a common theme in the Bible. It occurs most famously between the Jews and the Gentiles, but the first instance of it was with the line of Cain and the line of Seth.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 4:13-15

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.

Cain’s proclamation of woe speaks to a very basic fear that lurks in all of us: the fear of ostracization, of being outcast from society, of being marked, of being known first and foremost as “the person that did that terrible thing,” of watching society happily continue along its way while we stand on the outside looking in.

I can only imagine how crushing a condemnation one must feel when sentenced to jail. I would expect that “unfit for society” and “a danger to others” are hard labels to take out of the mind, even after being released back into the wider world. Even after one is “reintegrated” do they actually feel so?

To be sure, our crimes against our fellowmen drive a very real rift between us, and murder is the most separating crime of all. Sooner or later, though, all of us would become ostracized from one another if not for grace and healing.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 4:11-12

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.

This is very powerful imagery that God evokes: the earth’s mouth having to receive the blood of an innocent, and thereafter refusing to yield its increase to the one who was responsible. God speaks of the earth as a sentient being, capable of taking offense and returning a consequence.

What we do to this earth matters. Our actions works their way into its soil and change its behavior. If nature seem chaotic and violent, might it not be because it is ruled by violent and evil stewards? How might the forces of nature change if all mankind suddenly gave up any violent disposition? Joseph Smith once counseled that ‘men must become harmless, before the brute creation.’ Perhaps if we achieved peace with all our fellowmen then the earth would be willing to have peace with us, too. Then, at last, the lion might lie down with the lamb.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 4:8-10

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.

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.

All it took was one generation for mankind to find out the deepest depths of what sin one can do to another. To murder a fellow-person is contrary to our very nature, but Cain had found out how to break that barrier inside of him, and having introduced the idea it would now be repeated many times over.

The first instance of murder, and also the first account of lying. Adam and Eve may have hidden themselves in shame, but when God called for them and asked what had happened they told the truth. Telling the truth is a natural instinct for each of us, and to lie also requires another breaking of something inside. But Cain was able to do that as well, denying knowledge of what he had done, and then following it up with a most damning statement of cold indifference.

I wonder if Cain really thought that God could be deceived. Did he not realize that every soul was in God’s hand, and that “not a single sparrow falls to the ground” without God knowing it? In fact, God’s omniscient awareness and compassion is the one encouraging note in all this story. Cain had opened Pandora’s Box, and this first murder has been followed by an unfathomable number ever since. But while we as a people may have become desensitized to the act of killing, it is good to know that God knows and mourns each and every one.

Posted on by Abe Austin · 2 Comments

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 4:3-5

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 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 coffering:

5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

This account doesn’t give an explanation for why God respected Abel’s offering but not Cain’s. Several theories have been made, each seeming credible in their own way, but there is no telling which—if any—of them are the actual real reason why. And I don’t think it really matters.

As I have mentioned before, what is useful to me is how this story resonates with similar experiences of my own life. I ask myself what it teaches about me, more than what it teaches about Cain. And this account reminds me of how I used to make sacrifices of time and energy to try and offset all the wrong things I was doing in my addictions. I was fundamentally warped inside, harming myself and those around me, but devoting hours of service to my church in the hope that I could tip the scales in my favor.

And you know what? It never worked. Just like in Cain’s story, I felt like God had no respect for my offerings. All of that effort and it just wasn’t going anywhere, I was running in place without ever moving forward. And like Cain I felt angry about it. It seemed cruel to me that God just wouldn’t care about what I did. I was trying so hard, why wasn’t He seeing that and fixing me?!

In hindsight, though, it would have been immensely cruel for God to have supported me in that moment. If He had done so, it would have affirmed all my broken philosophies. It would have led me to believe that I really could offset all my sins if I just did enough other works that were good. There would have been no grace in my life, no inviting God to come into my heart as it was now to heal it, no coming to see Him as He really is.

So yes, I have been Cain, rejected and angry, but I know now that when God rejects an offering it is meant only as a kindness to His child.