So now man and woman have screwed up and been thrown out of paradise. What do they do? How will they survive? Chapter 4 tells us how mankind will survive, as Eve gives birth to both Cain and Abel. Two of the most famous brothers in human history.
Abel is described very simply as a man who kept the flocks, while Cain is man of the soil. In a metaphorical sense, I think there is an allusion being made here to the personalities of both Cain and Abel. Cain is a man of the world or earth, while Abel is a shepherd. How often later in the Bible do we hear references by Jesus to being good shepherds? In John 10:11 Jesus actually refers to himself as the good shepherd. A shepherd watches out for the sheep in his care. He is nurturing and caring.
Yet Cain is a man of the world. He toils and digs for everything he has. He is dirty and soiled by working in the earth all day. When both Cain and Abel brought offerings to the Lord, God looked down on Abel's gift with favor, while he did not look on Cain's gift as favorably. The Bible doesn't tell us why one gift was more favorable than the other. I can assume that Abel's was made with great care as he gave the best of his flock, while Cain only gave some of his produce or what was seemingly required.
Naturally, Cain was angry that he had not found favor with the Lord. Who wouldn't be? If you've ever had a sibling you know what it's like when your parent seemingly favors one child over the other. It can tick you off and make you wonder if you're worth something. God actually tells Cain that if he does right, he will be accepted, but that sin is crouching at his door. So how does Cain respond to God's warning? He takes his brother Abel into a field and kills him. Yeah, not exactly reasonable.
After committing the terrible murder, God asks Cain what happened to Abel. This spawns one of the more famous lines in the Bible where Cain responds, "Am I my brother's keeper?" God knows what has happened already, and he's trying to get Cain to admit what he has done, but Cain responds with flippant disregard for God even when caught in the murder. The Lord then banishes Cain from the land, and he becomes a restless wanderer living in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
You'll see many literary allusions to these places "East of Eden" or the "Land of Nod." They originate from this story, and the banishment of Cain from another land of God. His parents were banished from Eden, and Cain was banished again later. Not really a great start for humanity. Even worse, the Lord takes away the one thing Cain was able to do, grow crops. Instead he had to live with the Mark of Cain, so that no one who found him would kill him. He would have to live in misery.
Here's a key point to remember. This is the first time we see the Bible refer to other people out in the world beyond just Adam and Eve. Somehow, Cain finds a wife and starts another family. There are other humans roaming around. Where did they come from? This was such an important issue that the question actually came up in the Scopes Trial, the famous trial that allowed evolution to be taught in schools.
This is where I think evolution and creationism sort of meet. I believe that evolution was happening, and I believe the missing link or the spark of intelligence that makes man a man was provided by God. That doesn't mean that there weren't other lesser developed evolutionary predecessors of humans rolling around during the time. We're not even sure how long the gap between creation and fall even is, or if it's just God's way of telling a story to people who really would have no concept of evolution at the time.
In either case, I don't believe that there was literally one man and one woman roaming the earth in the traditional sense. I believe that they were the first truly created God-inspired souls given to human form at that time. I believe that when Cain married, he married one of the less developed races and they intermingled to join with humans we know today, much as evolution would suggest. What evolution can't tell you is where the soul of the human comes from. The intelligence, the creativity, the inspiration beyond simple survival and animal instinct. That comes from God's hand.
Cain has children and a line of people that the Bible simply doesn't follow. They've fallen out of favor. Instead, the Bible focuses on Eve's next son Seth, and his line that leads to the eventual Tribe of Israel. So what ever happened to Cain? Did his descendents die out? We don't really know, but we can speculate. If you remember, we have a very big event coming with one of Seth's sons, Noah. And the weather clouds are looking a little stormy.
Study Thoughts:
1 - Where do you believe Cain's wife came from? Have you ever considered this question?
2 - Is man always doomed to fail and sin? How important then is redemption through Christ?
3 - How often do we give God the best of our "flock"? Or are we like Cain giving only what is required?
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