Ge. 4: Murder, the Don't-Kill-Me mark, and the land of Nod

So, outside the garden, outside of paradise. Adam is like, "Pitter-patter, let's get at 'er," and Eve gives birth to a son. Cain.

She recognizes that it is with the help of the LORD. What a miracle. Its the first childbirth, and Eve is in awe. That birth is common to everyone today does not diminish the miracle. Ever.

Abel kept the flocks, and Cain was the gardener.

Cain brings this offering to the LORD. Abel felt the need to sacrifice as well. Abel brought his fat portions, and Cain brought "some of the fruits." God favored Abel's sacrifice, because what he brought was the best, not just some fruit. Cain got all sulky. He didn't do what was right. The discovery here is that the type of sacrifice doesn't matter, the proper heart with which it is brought does. If Cain brought the brightest and best, there would have been favor. Instead, he kind of mailed it in. God also refers to this blunder as a sin (knowledge of good and evil). Cain knew what God expected. He thought he could slide by with junk like most of my college writing papers. God says that sin crouches at your doorstep if you do not do what is right. It desires you. You must master it.

Cain killed Abel, and then gives God lip when God questions him. We have another example of God's omniscience here. He saw the mur-diddly-urder. God drove him away from his livelyhood...live...livelihood...drove him away from what he did best: fruit farming and set him to wander. That's a hardcore punishment and an amazing example of mercy. Something you love results in your sin...God takes away that something. Was it to prevent future sins in a similar way? Why didn't God strike Cain down? He probably didn't want to become some cosmic referee.

Anyway, God protects this condemned man from death.

Cain's son was his inspiration for the city of Enoch. And there was further procreation. I don't have much to say about lists of weird names in the Bible, other than that I wonder how some names stick, like David and Joel and Jeremiah, and why some don't like Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz or Methuselah.

Lamech, a great...grandson of Cain, has a son, Jabal. Jabal is the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. Neat, its the birth of the Amish (apologies to any Amish who read this site...on their computers...).

His brother Jubal was a musician, and gave rise to harpists and flautists.

Their brother, Tubal Cain forged tools out of bronze and iron. After his bout with testicular cancer, he was renamed simply Bal Cain...no...not really.

Then Lamech addresses his wives and is quoted as saying,

"Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for injuring me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times."

What a loony...the only thing I can gather from this bravado is that because Lamech offed two dudes, instead of being avenged seven times, he will be avenged seventy-seven times. If there's anyone who doesn't understand God's mercy, it is Lamech. If there's anyone lousy at math, it is Lamech.

And at the end, we are introduced to Seth. Cain killed Abel, so Adam and Eve had to replace him.

At that time, men began to call on the name of the Lord.