Read the Passage: Genesis 4-5

Listen to the Redeemed Mind Podcast: Genesis 4-5

Strife between Brothers (4:1–15)

While Adam and Eve had hope of salvation (cf. Gen. 3:15, 20), and God had graciously met their immediate material needs (cf. Gen. 3:21), their lives dramatically changed once they were driven out of the Garden of Eden. Gen. 4:1–5 introduces Cain and Abel, two of the sons of Adam and Eve. Gen. 4:2 reveals that Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer. The text says that Cain and Abel each gave an offering to God related to their vocation. Gen. 4:4 notes that “the Lord respected Abel and his offering.” This is because Abel’s offering was “by faith . . . through which he obtained witness that he was righteous” (Heb. 11:4). In contrast, God “did not respect Cain and his offering” (Gen. 4:5a), for as we later learn, “Cain . . . was of the wicked one” (1 John 3:12). God’s refusal to accept Cain’s offering led him to become “very angry, and his countenance fell” (Gen. 4:5b).

In His grace, God confronted Cain about his anger, and asked him, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” (Gen. 4:7). Despite God’s warning, Cain murdered Abel, “Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous” (1 John 3:12; cf. Prov. 29:27; Jude 11). When God confronted him, Cain’s spiritual condition was evidenced through his indifferent, sarcastic response. Subsequently, God cursed Cain (cf. Gen. 4:12) with a curse similar to the curse upon Adam (cf. Gen. 3:17–19). Furthermore, God told Cain that he would be “a fugitive and a vagabond . . . on the earth” (Gen. 4:12). When Cain objected to the severity of his punishment, God promised a degree of protection (cf. Gen. 4:13–15). Note God’s statement about Abel’s blood crying out, and His ensuing curse upon Cain, reveals that God is aware of the hidden sins of mankind, God is concerned about righteousness, and God will ultimately dispense justice.

Living with Sin (4:16–26)

Since Cain “was a tiller of the ground” (Gen. 4:2), when God said that “the ground . . . shall no longer yield its strength to you” (Gen. 4:12), Cain was understandably distraught. Indeed, Cain would now have to learn an entirely new vocation. Yet, as Gen. 4:16–18 reports, Cain adapted, as he moved east of Eden, started a family, and became a builder. Whereas Cain committed the first murder in Scripture, his descendant Lamech devised the first distortion of marriage in the Bible—that is, “Lamech took for himself two wives” (Gen. 4:19). Observe that polygamy is present in the Old Testament, but it is never condoned, and polygamy always produces disorder in the lives of those who practice it. It seems that Lamech’s polygamy may have been the result of his self-centered, prideful heart, as Gen. 4:23–24 records a haughty boast of Lamech about killing a man, possibly in self-defense.

While the account of the fall of mankind and the spread of sin is both ominous and depressing, details of hope are scattered throughout the narrative. Gen. 4:25–26 contains two such glimmers of light. First, Gen. 4:25 records that after the death of Abel, God blessed Adam and Eve with another son, whom they named Seth. The name Seth means “appointed,” which may reflect the hope of Adam and Eve that Seth would be the special appointed seed referenced in Gen. 3:15. While Seth was not the Messiah, he is mentioned in Luke 3:38 as being in the lineage of Jesus—albeit 77 generations before Christ. Second, Gen. 4:26 reports that Seth had a son named Enosh, and that in this generation “men began to call on the name of the Lord.” Although the text does not give any details about this calling, it is possible that the wide-ranging spread of sin moved man to realize his need of salvation.

Waiting for Salvation (5:1–32)

Whereas Genesis 4 gives details about the three sons of Adam and Eve, Genesis 5 contains information about the ten generations that followed Adam and Eve through the line of Seth. Fourteen people are cited by name in this passage, and many others are referenced. The genealogy ends with the coming of the flood in Genesis 6. One of the characteristics of the genealogy in Genesis 5 is that it is one of only two genealogies in Scripture that gives the ages of the individuals who are listed—the other being in Genesis 11. Furthermore, this genealogy is notable for its long lifespans, with the youngest person being Enoch at 365 years, and the oldest being Methusaleh at 969 years. Next, Gen. 5:1–2 gives a second, brief account of creation. As was the case in Genesis 1, so here we read that God created mankind male and female, in His own likeness (or image), and that He did so all on one day.

Application Questions:

1. Were Cain and Abel born before or after the fall of mankind? What difference would it make? From where did Cain get his wife?
2. Was there anything meritorious about the offering of an animal as compared to an offering of the fruit of the ground?
3. Can you draw any parallels between Cain’s fear of being a forsaken fugitive, and the Jesus’ incarnation (cf. Matt. 8:20; 27:46)?
4. If monogamy is the ideal for marriage (cf. Gen. 2:24), why does God allow polygamy among His people?
5. How might we explain the lengthy lifespans of the individuals who are listed in the genealogy of Genesis 5?