Genesis 4:1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
8 Now 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 killed him.
Excerpt from "Christianity is Jewish" by Edith Schaeffer
"We cannot know what went on in the minds and understanding of Adam and Eve, but God has not left to our imagination what came next in the unfolding to the human race the way back to communion with Himself.
Cain and Abel, as sons of Adam and Eve, surely had some explanation of what had happened in the past lives of their parents. We know that they knew of God’s existence because they came to make 'an offering unto the LORD.’ It was not a problem to them as to whether God existed or not; they both brought an offering. In some way it had been explained to them what kind of offering to bring. From all of the rest of the Bible we know that God has told parents to teach their children the truth about Himself, and about how to come to Him. It would not be according to the character of God to suppose that these two boys had not been told as much as Adam and Eve knew about the promise (of a Kinsman Redeemer), and about how sin must be cared for as one is coming into God’s presence.
Now we can imagine two altars. Perhaps they were of rough, unpolished stone. Cain brings his fruits and vegetables, a beautiful array—perhaps an artistic arrangement with oranges, polished apples, artichokes, bananas, cabbages, bright carrots, shining purple onions, green grapes trailing their curls and leaves over the edges of the stone. 'How spiritual!' one might exclaim. One might think of a variety of outwardly beautiful offerings one could make, the work of one’s hands, the creativity of one’s imagination which would match the beauty of this offering. Abel brings a little lamb, a perfect one—'a firstling of the flock'—and kills it to place on the altar. How unbeautiful! What a sight to turn away from. What has this to do with worship?
We are told that God accepted Abel’s offering. Abel was really accepted into the presence of God. Why? On the basis of the lamb. God rejected Cain’s offering, making Cain angry indeed. Why rejected? Because Cain came with his good works, the result of his defiance of what God had said. Cain came not believing that he had to come in any special way, refusing to come in any special way. Cain came saying, in essence, 'You can just accept me, God, as I do my own thing. I am not going to believe it is necessary to do anything other than my own thing.’
In the book of Hebrews in the New Testament,… chapter eleven verse four says, 'By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, …' What is this saying? It is saying that because Abel believed what God had said, because he had faith in the truth of God’s given way of coming to Himself being necessary, because he chose to come with a sin offering which is the one that God had said was needed, he was therefore accepted by God. The verse goes on to say that although Abel is dead (and as Cain killed him in anger, he died very early) he ‘yet speaketh.' God is still ‘speaking’ to people. Abel’s belief is still a help other people in making it clear to them what God wants them to know. Abel’s action demonstrated his inward belief in what God had said, to anyone who cared to look-- to angels, to Lucifer if he were lurking around, to his brother who did not appreciate it, to God, and any who would hear the story of what he did at any point in history. Also God’s acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice made it clear to anyone (other brothers and sisters, Adam and Eve themselves— all who would hear the story down through the years) that coming with a lamb was really the way to come to God, looking forward in belief to a fulfillment of a promise that one day someone was coming who would fulfill the promise already given.
If it had been possible for us to stand there that day looking out over the future of history springing forth from those two alters, we might have something like this, if history could be charted… simply two lines— but what a profound truth each of there these two lines can illustrate! People, mankind, human beings divided into two kinds— not black or white, not rich or poor, not educated or uneducated— simply those who have believed God, believed what He has said, believed His Word and have acted upon that belief; and those who have not believed Him, but have said in one form or another 'I’ll do my own thing.’ All religions that have ever been thought up by man have had something in common, and that is that they think that through works, religious works or moral works, they will be accepted by whatever concept of God they have, or by what they might call their spiritual universe.
From the moment Adam and Eve turned to believe Satan, and God spoke to them about the results, there has been only one way to come back into communion and relationship with the true living God who created all things.
Cain and Abel’s sacrifices demonstrated this in a way that all who followed could have been aware….Abel’s bringing of a lamb was with some measure of understanding that he himself could not make up for what had been done, that it is impossible to figure out a way of paying for sin oneself, that it was necessary for the price to be paid in another way, and that God had really spoken the truth when He said to come with the lamb, as a sacrifice."
Both testaments teach: without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. See Leviticus 17:11 and Hebrews 9:22.
Genesis 4:8b Cain rose up against Abel his brother 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?”
"The interrogatory here reminds us of the question put to the hiding Adam, 'Where art thou?' It is calculated to strike the conscience. The reply is different from that of Adam. The sin has now advanced from hasty, incautious yielding to the tempter, to reiterated and deliberate disobedience. Such a sinner must take different ground. Cain, therefore, attempts to parry the question, apparently on the vain supposition that no eye, not even that of the All-seeing, was present to witness the deed. 'I know not.' In the madness of his confusion he goes further. He disputes the right of the Almighty to make the demand. 'Am I my brother's keeper?' There is, as usual, an atom of truth mingled with the amazing falsehood of this surly response. No man is the absolute keeper of his brother, so as to be responsible for his safety when he is not present. This is what Cain means to insinuate. But every man is his brother's keeper so far that he is not himself to lay the hand of violence on him, nor suffer another to do so if he can hinder it. This sort of keeping the Almighty has a right to demand of every one - the first part of it on the ground of mere justice, the second on that of love. But Cain's reply betrays a desperate resort to falsehood, a total estrangement of feeling, a quenching of brotherly love, a predominence of that selfishness which freezes affection and kindles hatred. This is the way of Cain Jde 1:11.” (Barnes’ Notes on the Bible)
10 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. 11 So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.
"Satisfied that the guilty fratricide is resolved to make no acknowledgment of his deed, the omniscient Judge proceeds to charge him with his sin [and to pronounce judgement]. And he - i.e. Jehovah - said, What hast thou done? Thus intimating his perfect cognizance of the fact which his prisoner was attempting to deny. What a revelation it must have been to the inwardly trembling culprit of the impossibility of eluding the besetting God! (Psalm 139:5). The voice of thy brother's blood (literally, bloods, i.e. of this and all subsequent martyrs - Chald. Par.) crieth unto me. A common Scriptural expression concerning murder… (Genesis 18:20, 21; Genesis 19:13; Exodus 3:9; Hebrews 12:24; James 5:4).” (Pulpit Commentary)
13 And Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! 14 Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.”
15 And the Lord said to him, “Therefore,whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.
"Enlightenment and conviction is the means that God uses to bring men to Christ and eternal life. Rebellion against God and resistance to the work of the Holy Spirit is the process in reverse that leads men into a final state of perdition. Heb. 10:39… the Lord decreed that Cain would be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth. This meant that he would always be running from justice. Like a vagabond he would wander from place to place and never find that place of rest. This is the picture of man turned over to his own human resources who must live out his earthly existence without ever finding the rest that comes from union with his Maker. Isaiah said, 'But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.' Isa. 57:20-21…
[CAIN SAID] "My punishment is greater than I can bear. 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 everyone that findeth me shall slay me." (Gen. 4:13-1) It is significant that Cain himself said, "everyone that findeth me shall slay me." Cain is the first case of paranoia we have in the Bible. The Lord did not pronounce this judgment upon Cain. This was a guilt complex that would follow Cain and haunt him all the days of his life. He was actually judging other men and what they would do to him by his own murderous spirit that killed his brother Abel. He was always suspicious, always looking for someone to come against him, interpreting men's actions, words and deeds negatively, thinking they were against him. What a terrible life -- never finding spiritual rest!" http://www.heart-talks.com/cainnabel.html
Jehovah God knows of your hatred towards your brother or sister... and the unforgiveness that you harbor towards them. You too are a vagabond on the earth. Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny." (Matt 5:21-26) Be your brothers keeper. Turn to Christ and live.
Genesis 4:16 Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.
"Adam and his family probably worshipped with their faces towards the Paradise, and Cain, on migrating from the whole land of Eden, regarded himself as beyond the range of the vision of God. (Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers) Cain went out from the presence of the Lord—"the appointed place of worship at Eden. Leaving it, he not only severed himself from his relatives but forsook the ordinances of religion, probably casting off all fear of God from his eyes so that the last end of this man is worse than the first (Mt 12:45).” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown)
The land of Nod.—i.e., of wandering.” (Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers) "The name Nod denotes a land of flight and banishment, in contrast with Eden, the land of delight, where Jehovah walked with men.” (Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament)
17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch.
“One of Adam’s daughters apparently clave unto her brother, in spite of the solemn decree of banishment passed upon him, probably, by his father, and followed him in his wanderings as his wife, and bare him a son, whom they called ‘Enoch.’"(Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers) "The marriage of brothers and sisters was inevitable in the case of the children of the first men, if the human race was actually to descend from a single pair, and may therefore be justified in the face of the Mosaic prohibition of such marriages, on the ground that the sons and daughters of Adam represented not merely the family but the genus, and that it was not till after the rise of several families that the bands of fraternal and conjugal love became distinct from one another, and assumed fixed and mutually exclusive forms, the violation of which is sin. (cf. Lev 18.)” (Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament )
"Mankind is now formally divided into two branches - those who still abide in the presence of God, and those who have fled to a distance from him. Distinguishing names will soon be given to these according to their outward profession and practice Genesis 6:1. The awful distinction according to the inward state of the feelings has been already given in the terms, the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent…
...The city is a keep or fort, enclosed with a wall for the defense of all who dwell within. The building of the city is the erection of this wall or barricade. Here we find the motive of fear and self-defense still ruling Cain. His hand has been imbrued in a brother's blood, and he expects every man's hand will be against him. ” (Barnes’ Notes on the Bible) Built a city-- "Thinking by this to be safe, and to have less reason to fear God's judgments against him.” (Geneva Study Bible)
18 To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.
"The most that can be said is that these names preserve the recollection of legendary persons, and that they have received a Hebraized form which rendered them easier of pronunciation and facilitated a symbolical interpretation.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)
19 Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 20 And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute. 22 And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.
23 Then Lamech said to his wives:
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!
For I have killed a man for wounding me,
Even a young man for hurting me.
24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
"One of Cain's wicked race is the first recorded, as having broken the law of marriage. Hitherto, one man had but one wife at a time; but Lamech took two. Wordly things, are the only things that carnal, wicked people set their hearts upon, and are most clever and industrious about. So it was with this race of Cain. Here was a father of shepherds, and a father of musicians, but not a father of the faithful. Here is one to teach about brass and iron, but none to teach the good knowledge of the Lord: here are devices how to be rich, and how to be mighty, and how to be merry; but nothing of God, of his fear and service. Present things fill the heads of most. Lamech had enemies, whom he had provoked. He draws a comparison betwixt himself and his ancestor Cain; and flatters himself that he is much less criminal. He seems to abuse the patience of God in sparing Cain, into an encouragement to expect that he may sin unpunished.” (Matthew Henry)
"Lamech has exacted the vengeance of death for the insult of a blow.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)
Genesis 4:25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.”
"Adam and Eve had many children who were not specifically named in the Biblical record, but Seth was worthy of mention because he ‘replaced' Abel and was the one to whom the promise of a deliverer from the seed of the woman (Gen 3:15) would be passed." (David Guzik) “… by calling him a ‘seed', she may have respect unto the promised seed, whom she once thought Cain was, or however expected him in his line, as being the firstborn; but he proving a wicked man, and having slain his brother Abel, on whom her future hope was placed, has another son given her, and substituted in his room, in whom, and in whose family, the true religion would be preserved, and from whom the Messiah, the promised seed, would spring see Galatians 3:16.” (Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible) "Cain, the firstborn, and Abel, who had outstripped him in prosperity, were both lost to Adam… Seth.—Heb., Sheth, that is, appointed, substituted: he was thus specially designated as the son who was to be the chief over Àdam’s family.” (Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers) As such, he would pass true religion to the next generation.
"Our first parents were comforted in their affliction by the birth of a son, whom they called Seth, that is, 'set,' 'settled,' or 'placed;' in his seed mankind should continue to the end of time, and from him the Messiah should descend. While Cain, the head of the apostacy, is made a wanderer, Seth, from whom the true church was to come, is one fixed. In Christ and his church is the only true settlement. Seth walked in the steps of his martyred brother Abel; he was a partaker of like precious faith in the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ, and so became a fresh witness of the grace and influence of God the Holy Spirit. God gave Adam and Eve to see the revival of religion in their family. The worshippers of God began to do more in religion; some, by an open profession of true religion, protested against the wickedness of the world around. The worse others are, the better we should be, and the more zealous. Then began the distinction between professors and profane, which has been kept up ever since, and will be, while the world stands.” (Matthew Henry)
26 And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of Yahweh..
"and he called his name Enosh... to be weak, faint, frail, designates man from his frail and mortal condition (Ps 8:4; Ps 90:3; Ps 103:15, etc.). In this name, therefore, the feeling and knowledge of human weakness and frailty were expressed (the opposite of the pride and arrogance displayed by the Canaanitish family); and this feeling led to God, to that invocation of the name of Jehovah which commenced under Enos. יהוה בּשׁם קרא, literally to call in (or by) the name of Jehovah, is used for a solemn calling of the name of God. When applied to men, it denotes invocation (here and Gen12:8; Gen13:4, etc.); to God, calling out or proclaiming His name (Exo 33:19; Exo 34:5). The name of God signifies in general 'the whole nature of God, by which He attests His personal presence in the relation into which He has entered with man, the divine self-manifestation, or the whole of that revealed side of the divine nature, which is turned towards man.' (Oehler). We have here an account of the commencement of that worship of God which consists in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving, or in the acknowledgment and celebration of the mercy and help of Jehovah. While the family of Cainites, by the erection of a city, and the invention and development of worldly arts and business, were laying the foundation for the kingdom of this world; the family of the Sethites began, by united invocation of the name of God of grace, to found and to erect the kingdom of God." (Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament)