V1-16
This passage follows the story of Cain and Abel. Both brothers offered God a sacrifice, but God only looked with favour on Abel’s offering. Cain was consumed with anger and jealousy, so he murdered his brother Abel.
The Hebrew word translated “and looked favourably” in verse 4 is וַיִּ֣שַׁע (way·yi·ša‘) from the verb שָׁעָה (shaah), which means to gaze, to look at, regard with attention, to look at with favour, regard graciously.
But on Cain and his offering he did not look with favour (v5)
In the Amplified Bible* the footnote for Genesis 4:5 says that Cain offered the work of his hands. “He insisted on approaching God on the ground of personal worthiness.” Cain thought he could impress God with the crops he produced, or in other words, with his work.
Abel, on the other hand, offered a lamb as a sacrifice for his sins. He knew that he could not earn God’s favour. Maybe this was why Abel’s offering was acceptable to God, but Cain’s was not.
We cannot earn God’s love and favour by impressing him with our works. Isaiah 64:6 says that all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. When we worship God, we need to come to him with humility, trusting in Jesus, our sacrificial lamb.
1 Samuel 16:7 says that man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. God knew what was in Cain’s heart. He knew that Cain was wrestling with anger and sinful desires (Genesis 4:6-7). Perhaps God did not accept his offering because he brought it to God with the wrong motive.
Jesus told his disciples to make things right with their brother or sister before offering a gift at the altar (Matthew 5:23-24).
God cares about our relationships with other people. Jesus said we should love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, but we should also love our neighbours as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31).
Sin is crouching at your door… You must rule over it (v7)
The imagery of this verse suggests that sin is a hungry beast lying at your door, ready to devour you if you open the door.
Romans 6:6 says that when we give our lives to Christ our old self is crucified with him and sin no longer rules over us. We are no longer slaves to sin, so when sin comes knocking at your door, act quickly and send it packing!
The ground … will no longer yield its crops for you (v12)
Cain was proud of the crops that he offered to God. God humbled Cain by making it harder for him to produce those crops.
I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me (v14)
After the murder of Abel, Cain was afraid. He felt separated from God, restless and without peace.
When I rebel against God, I find it hard to settle down to any particular task. I feel a conflict within me. In the long run, it is better to obey God than to live with inner turmoil.
V17-24
I have killed a man for wounding me (v23)
We see the downward spiral of sin within this passage. One murder is used to justify another. Lamech’s act of revenge is greater than the crime committed against him, and he believes God will not condemn him for it.
However, Lamech’s assumptions about God are not born out by what God says in the rest of the Bible. In Leviticus 24:20, God tells Moses that a person’s punishment should fit their crime. In Matthew 5:38-48, Jesus said that if we want to go further and be perfect like God, we should love our enemies and not take revenge.
V25-26
The Hebrew word in verse 26 meaning to call is לִקְרֹ֖א (liq·rō) from the verb קָרָא (qara), which means to cry, call out, shout, to cry for help, to call upon, invoke, proclaim, publish, praise, celebrate.
At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord (v26)
There is some good news at the end of this chapter. Adam and Eve had another son Seth. At this time, people started to call on the name of the LORD.
* The Amplified Bible, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, 1987, page 5
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