Recommended Reading: Genesis 4:1-26
After leaving the garden, Adam and Eve obey the command God has given them in Genesis 1:28 to “be fruitful and multiply.” This obedience shows both direct obedience to God’s command and hope that the curse given to the serpent is truly a blessing for Adam and Eve. In Genesis 3:15 it is said it will be through the woman’s seed that the serpent will be crushed. Adam and Eve’s obedience to God’s command shows they are trusting in God and understand the hope he has provided them. Adam and Eve end up having two sons, the older of whom is Cain, and the younger is Abel. Cain, who works the soil, and Abel, a keeper[1] of flocks.
The next thing we see happening, is we see Cain and Abel bringing an offering to God. This detail is quite interesting in the timeline of Genesis, as no one has yet mentioned anything about bringing an offering to God; however, if we were to read this story with the prior understanding of Leviticus 27:26 and 30, the idea of Cain and Abel bringing their offerings to God becomes less awkward. After their offerings are given to God, the scriptures tell us God had no regard for Cain’s offering which is another detail that, for me, raises more questions.
- Why does God have no regard for Cain’s offering?
- What is the difference between Cain and Abel’s offering?
- Does God prefer the offering of animals over the offering of everything from the land?
These questions are easily raised, especially when I read this without any knowledge of what Moses will author later; however, I can answer these questions by both understanding what an offering is and why God desires them, as well as shifting my focus from the thing – to the heart. See we give “offerings” to God as a way of showing him we trust in him. God needs not our offerings as he already has enough; however, as God desires to love us, he desires for us to love him as well. When we “offer” God our best, the first fruits of our labor, our undivided attention in prayer, etc., we show him our love for him as he shows us his love for us. It is mentioned repeatedly throughout the Pentateuch that God desires gifts from us, but the size or the type is of little matter compared to the heart. It is the way in which we give God our gift that matters, and with that understanding, it is the way in which Cain gives his offering to God that causes him to have no regard.
More importantly in this story is not the offering given by Cain, but how he responds when God has no regard for his offering. When Cain sees God’s response, he becomes angry. It begs me to ask myself, how do I respond when God doesn’t give me the response I wanted? See in response to Cain’s anger, God tells Cain he must do the right thing. God doesn’t cut Cain off, and we don’t even see evidence God is upset with Cain for being angry; however, God makes it very clear the danger of where Cain is at. God says, “But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:7b NIV). The word “desire” here is the same word we see in Genesis 3:16[2] to describe the woman’s desire for her husband. In this sense, following the usage of A desires B and B responds with C, observe these two scenarios:
- “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you” (Genesis 3:16b NIV)
- “Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7 NIV)
As the sentence structure is strikingly similar between these two verses, I’d say we can draw a reasonable conclusion that in moments when sin crouches at our own door, we must respond by subduing Satan. We must remember Satan has no authority over us, but we do have God-given authority over him.
The verses following detail the first murder, with a heavy resemblance to the question and response dialogue between God and Cain’s parents one chapter earlier. Just as Adam and Eve failed to take responsibility for their actions, Cain fails to take responsibility for the death of his brother Abel. Just as Adam receives punishment in the form of a cursed ground, so Cain receives punishment from a curse involving ground; however, this time he is the primary subject of the curse. And, as this is the first death recorded, we can assume Adam, Eve, and Cain have yet to experience death, therefore filling Cain with fear of what might happen to him when others find out. Just as Adam and Eve were filled with shame when their nakedness was exposed, Cain feared for his life when he realized what he had done. In both stories, God meets the people where they are at. God realizes Cain’s fear and protects Cain from the death at the hand of an avenger.[3]
This chapter ends with a continuation to the promise of the woman’s seed in Genesis 3:15. In 4:25 Eve says, “God has appointed me another seed in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.” This is the first appearance of “seed” (זֶרַע)[4] since the Genesis 3:15 curse against the serpent. We start this story with obedience to God and his command, showing the obedience, trust, and hope Adam and Eve have in God’s plan. We have a story of one who, again, does not master the sin crouching at the door, and yet Adam and Eve still have hope, with Eve praising God for their new son, Seth. Adam and Eve have just experienced shame, grief, probably anger, worry, as they sinned, were exiled from the garden, bore two sons and watched one die at the hand of the other. The emotional trauma they must’ve experienced is deep and real. They not only had to bury their son, which a parent should never experience, but they had to do it because of their other son’s anger. Yet, they somehow, through all the emotion, were able to continue trusting in God.
As I meditate on this chapter, I ask myself if I can have a fraction of the trust Adam and Eve have in God, even when things don’t happen exactly as I expect. I ask myself how I will respond to the sin crouching at my door. Why should I even give it a listening ear? We must remember we have power and authority over Satan. Satan is not a step above us and below God, for we have authority over him. We must exercise our authority and not allow ourselves to be ruled by one who was never given authority to rule over us. In every situation we have a choice – to do what is right and godly, or to give Satan a listening ear. What will I choose?
Have questions or comments? Please feel free to leave them below! Join us next week as we discuss the importance of genealogies in Genesis.
[1] This is a different word for keeper than that found in Genesis 2:15 and does not carry the same association as šāmar (שָׁמַר Strong’s H8104). Šāmar is not only used in Genesis 2:15 to describe Adam as keeper of the garden, but also in regard to the priestly Levitical calling to “keep the temple.” While Moses does seem to create many intentional connections between the different stories in Genesis, and while I’d love to find a connection between this sentence in Genesis 4:2b and something said earlier in scripture, I am unable to provide any substantial evidence for a connection in the Hebrew for this word. The connections that can be made for ʿāḇaḏ (עָבַד Strong’s H5647) (Prior usages include Genesis 2:5,15;3:23) and ‘ăḏāmâ (אֲדָמָה Strong’s H127) (Prior usages include Genesis 1:25;2:5,6,7,9,19;3:17,19,23) don’t seem strong enough to create any direct ties to another previous portion of scripture.
[2] Transliterated tᵊšûqâ (תְּשׁוּקָה). Strong’s H8669.
[3] This protection seems to also have similar resemblance to the three refuge cities Israel is asked to create for those who accidentally commit murder while they await their trial.
[4] Transliterated zeraʿ. Strongs H2233.
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