I was having a discussion recently about Cain, about his hard heart, about his murder of his brother (Abel), about his (Cain’s) punishment, and about his (Cain’s) mark. The passage is found in Genesis 4.

Two types: Shepherd/herdsman (Abel) & Farmer/worker of the soil

“Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground” (Gen 4:2, ESV).

Fratricide/murder of a brother:

³ In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, ⁴ and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, ⁵ but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. ⁶ The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? ⁷ If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

⁸ Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰ And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. ¹¹ And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹² When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” ¹³ Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. ¹⁴ Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” ¹⁵ Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. ¹⁶ Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. (Gen 4:3-16 ESV)

Questions we could ask: 1) Why did God have regard for Abel’s offering? 2) Why did God not have regard for Cain’s offering? 3) Is the firstborn of Abel’s flock more valuable vis-a-vis devotion to God? 4) Why was Cain “very angry” (Gen 4:5b) when God asks him in verse 7, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?”

It seems that Cain had a heart that was hostile to God’s rule. In modern parlance, we might term Cain the classic case of hardheartedness. He’s a rebel against God, and he’s a rebel against his brother. He is a case of moral defiance. He makes his theology visible by way of his sullenness towards God and his violence towards man.

Yet we see God still act with grace and mercy towards the murderer Cain. God marks him:

“If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” (Gen 4:15-16 ESV)

Encouragement/takeaway: I think it is quite easy to distance ourselves from Cain too quickly. We may be tempted to overestimate our goodness. We may be tempted to think we’d never be like Cain; we’d of course be “the good guy” (Abel). But is that true? How many of us have resented others? How many of us have hated our brother in our heart? How many of us have sulked before God, going, “Why, Lord?” I won’t speak for others, because I’m guilty of all of the aforementioned. And yet God was gracious and merciful to Cain. He preserved him for a season. We are debtors–great debtors–to God’s mercy.