JAN 29

Genesis 4:11-24
Memorise Jude 11
“My punishment is greater than I can bear…”

Because of Cain’s crime of murder, God pronounced a judgment against him in Genesis 4:11-12. To him, the ground was now cursed and it would no longer yield its increase. He would no longer be able to practice his occupation as a tiller of the land, for his harvests would always fail. He would now have to roam the lands as a wanderer and a vagabond, unable to settle in a place to grow his crops. He would have to constantly forage for food, or live off the charity of others.

Cain understood the implications of this curse and cried out, “My punishment is greater than I can bear!” He also understood that as he wandered from place to place, people (they would actually be all his relatives - his own siblings and their children) would recognise him as Abel’s murderer, and would kill him for it. As a result, God placed a mark upon Cain and passed a law that no one was to slay Cain, for the one who did so would be severely dealt with as well. Through all this God shows the seriousness of the crime of murder. It is a sin that God hates, and He will not allow it to pass lightly. We also realise that while Cain lamented about his punishment, nonetheless God is always just and fair, and will never pass a judgment that is too lax or too harsh. It will always be perfect, just and good.

Yet God did spare Cain’s life, and he married a wife and established a family. The rest of Genesis 4 records the lineage of Cain and where he settled in the land of Nod, meaning ‘land of wandering’. We see the record of 7 generations until Lamech, who himself was also an ungodly man. He was polygamous, marrying two wives, and was also a murderer who proudly declared his heinous act. He proclaimed that he had slain a man, and then made a mockery of God’s protective mark upon Cain by saying that as the seventh generation from Cain, he ought to be guaranteed a seventy and sevenfold vengeance upon any who harms him! Through this we see that Cain’s descendants continued to rebel against God, and ere not the chosen line. The chosen line was through Seth, the third son of Adam and Eve, and we will read of him tomorrow.

Thought: God’s judgments are always fair.

Prayer: Lord, may I learn to fear Thee, and never rebel against Thy will and Thy word.