Cursed is the Ground for Your Sake, Cain
Man came from the ground, and from the ground would come the food that he would eat. It was the ground that Cain was so taken with and so proud of. He was insistent upon being recognized for his husbandry. The ground was already cursed for Adam's sake and because of Adam's sin. Now, because of Cain's sin against the human race, against God, and against the ground, the ground would no longer yield to him. He lost his beloved vocation and was cursed to become a wanderer. It was a situation where the race had not had time to harden and where there was no peer group for Cain to run to and find consolation. One might have thought that Cain would have come clean, but he did not. Cain was not repentant. He complained to God: "This is too much--I don't deserve this. It is unreasonable!" That is what Cain was saying. It was no humble admission that this judgment was indeed heavy but he had deserved it. Cain was being defiant. "This is greater than I can bear. I cannot stand this. What are you trying to do to me? First you reject me and now you are disowning me and taking away my means of a living." The truth is that God was very gracious here. He could have slain Cain, even as He did the sons of Judah, Achan, Agag, and others. Cain had killed his brother for no reason. Abel was one of God's dearest servants in the history of the world. Yet God did not require Cain's life on the spot. He drove him out and Cain complained. "I am a fugitive and a vagabond. Anyone who finds me will kill me."
God's judgment was very generous. He could have reacted: "So what if the people that find you kill you? What do you think you deserve?" But God deals in mercy and grace, even with men like Cain. He extended his life, gave him the opportunity to think it over, and to repent. There is no indication that Cain ever did that but one thing is certain--he could have. Solomon said that a live dog is better off than a dead lion because as long as a man is alive, there is hope.
Everyone, Finding Me, Will Kill Me
Cain was worried, now that he was a murderer and an alien from his family and from God, that he would be a marked and a hunted man. Who was Cain worried about? Well, remember that there were a whole lot of people in the world before Adam died at the age of 930 years and they were all closely related to Abel. They would despise Cain for what He did to Abel. Cain did well to be worried about being chased down and killed.
God again was gracious and put a mark on Cain. What was that mark? There is an old view that He turned him black. Is that right? No, of course it is not true! That is as ridiculous a claim as has ever come from those who call themselves Christians. What is supposed to have happened to Cain's black race when Noah, who was a descendent of Seth, was the only one that was left on the ark?
So, What Was It?
What was the mark? I do not know what it was and I aspire to say that no one knows. The Bible does not say and it does not give any hint. Preoccupation with the question is diversionary from the reason for the information about the mark. The point is that the mercy of God is protecting Cain against being the object of every vengeful brother and nephew who would come along in the next eight hundred years of the life of Adam and Eve, hear this infuriating story, and go looking for Cain to avenge Abel. Cain could be found in the land of Nod because he was found by the sister who would become his wife. It would certainly not be hard for God to devise a sign or an appearance that would keep away those who would kill him. It might have been nearly anything from cherubim with a flaming sword, to a fierce appearance, to a loathsome disease. But it would be impossible for me to guess, and so I leave it there.
©Daniel Earl Cripe, December 26, 2008
I have 29 books on most of the New Testament and all of Genesis published on amazon.com Kindle page. This text can be read on Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, blackberry, all Kindle devices, and a few others. Covers, Titles, and a short piece about the book can be viewed prior to purchase. All information and needed software is available at the amazon site. To access, go to amazon.com, pull down "Kindle page" with the drop down arrow in the left hand text box and put my name, Earl Cripe, in the right hand text box.
Earl Cripe, Ph.D
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