And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;
God confronted Cain after he murdered Abel in the field and then lied about it, declaring that his brother's blood cried out from the ground and placing him under a curse from the earth that had received that blood, so the soil would no longer give him its strength and he would live as a fugitive wanderer. That judgment added a second, distinct curse upon the ground to the curse that had followed Adam's sin, so the curse on the earth was doubled and increased. The added curse did not at once destroy the earth's beauty and fruitfulness, but decay was already seen, and the curse grew heavier still at the Flood and afterward as transgression increased. The murder was the first outworking of the enmity between Satan and his followers and Christ and His followers, with Cain moved by the wicked one to kill Abel because his righteous life condemned sin. Cain's life was spared though murder deserved death, and his continued rebellion showed the universe what allowing sinners to live forever in rebellion would bring, proving God's sentence of death upon the fallen race both just and merciful.
Context and Sentence
Cain was a tiller of the ground and Abel was a keeper of sheep. Cain refused the specified spotless lamb pointing to Christ and brought only fruit, which had no value without the lamb, while Abel brought firstlings with fat. God gave no sign of acceptance to Cain but consumed Abel's offering with fire from heaven.
Cain grew angry that his younger brother was accepted while he was rejected, argued about his offering, and refused to admit disobedience. He rose up against Abel in the field and slew him while a heavenly Watcher saw the whole transaction. He then lied that he did not know where Abel was, denied being his brother's keeper, and refused his responsibility as elder brother to care for and protect Abel from evil.
God first asked where Abel was and what Cain had done, giving him time to reflect on the enormity of the murder and the lie to hide it and giving him opportunity to confess and admit his sin. But Cain remained rebellious, so punishment was no longer delayed. The same voice that had spoken in pleading and warning now spoke in judgment.
God declared that the voice of Abel's blood cried from the ground. He placed Cain under a curse from the earth, which had opened her mouth to receive his brother's blood from his hand. The soil would no longer yield him its strength when he tilled it and he would be a fugitive and wanderer or vagabond in the earth. The cry and curse show God knew Cain's act, being acquainted with his every act and even the thoughts of his heart, and held him accountable.
Cain's anguish over the punishment was remorse, not repentance. Adam remembered that curse pronounced on Cain and grieved over Cain as Abel's murderer.
Earth Under Double Curse
The sentence on Cain stands inside the larger curse that followed Adam's sin, under which both the ground and the human race lay cursed, and it was out of that cursed condition that Cain's resentment against God grew. His murder of Abel then drew down a further curse upon the earth, distinct from and added to the curse for Adam's transgression, so that the curse on the ground was doubled and increased. The earth opening its mouth to receive Abel's blood from his hand marks the earth's direct part in his crime and in the curse that followed it.
The curse first laid at the fall had been felt only lightly, but after the murder a double curse rested upon the ground. That added curse did not at once take away the earth's beauty, richness, fruitfulness and abundance, yet decay and evident tokens of decay were already seen in comparison with its former condition. The curse did not come all at once, but was first felt at Adam's fall, was increased at the murder of Abel, and was greatly increased at the Flood, so that in the days of Noah a double curse was resting upon the earth.
That curse from the first murder, together with the curse following Adam's sin and the curse of the Flood, helped bring the earth into its blighted and diminished condition. Since the Flood it has rested heavier and heavier upon men and upon beasts, and trees and all vegetation have also felt its effects, as the human family have forgotten God and transgressed His commandments, while through inspired history exalted blessings are promised on condition of obedience and curses are threatened for disobedience. After the earth was cursed it brought forth thistles and thereby increased the work of those who till the soil, yet the ground was still to be tilled. That continued tillage fulfilled one of God's purposes in creating the earth, the wise and healthful employment of the physical powers of its occupants in useful labor of brain, bone, and muscle.
Warning and Wider Meaning
The murder was the first example of the enmity declared between the serpent and the seed of the woman, between Satan and his subjects and Christ and His followers. Through faith in the Lamb of God a soul renouncing the service of sin kindles Satan's wrath, and Abel's holy life testified against Satan's claim that it is impossible for man to keep God's law. Cain, moved by the spirit of the wicked one, killed Abel when he saw he could not control him, and the same spirit is manifested wherever any stand in vindication of the righteousness of the law of God. It is the spirit that through all ages has set up the stake and kindled the burning pile for the disciples of Christ, with cruelties instigated by Satan and his hosts because they cannot force submission to their control, the rage of a vanquished foe, yet every martyr of Jesus dies a conqueror by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of testimony, loving not life unto death.
Cain stands for the wicked, unbelieving class and Abel for the righteous, believing class that would exist from the fall to the second coming of Christ. Cain's slaying of Abel shows the wicked will envy and hate the righteous because they are better than themselves, and will be jealous of them. They will persecute and put them to death because their right-doing condemns their sinful course.
The sentence under curse from the earth spared Cain's life when his murder deserved death, granting him opportunity for repentance. That continued life was used only to harden his heart, encourage rebellion against divine authority, follow Satan as a tempter to others, and become the head of a line of bold, abandoned sinners whose example, life, teaching, and demoralizing influence corrupted the earth and filled it with violence until its wickedness called for destruction by the Flood. His story demonstrates the danger of allowing sin to go unpunished. Sparing the first murderer set before the whole universe a lesson on what permitting the sinner to live on forever in rebellion would bring, and fifteen centuries after the sentence its fruition appeared in the crime and pollution that flooded the earth. It proved the sentence of death upon the fallen race for transgression of God's law both just and merciful, since the longer men live in sin the more abandoned they become, so long life is not a blessing to the determined sinner and the divine sentence cutting short hardened rebellion and freeing the world from its influence is a blessing rather than a curse. Had the transgressors at Sinai been spared as Cain was, the same results would have followed and even greater evils, until the earth became as corrupt as in the days of Noah, so it was mercy that thousands should suffer to prevent the necessity of judgments upon millions.
Cain refused the specific requirement to bring a lamb for a burnt offering typifying the Lamb of God whose blood shed to save a lost world was prefigured in every offering, following his own will, ideas, reason and understanding instead, and this neglect led to the death of his brother. The Lord's words to Cain are to be repeated to the close of earth's history, that choosing one's own way and will and honoring one's own imaginations lets the tempter take possession of the mind so that one's own will blends with the will of Satan and he masters and controls the mind and judgment. Placed under God's curse, Cain withdrew from his father's household and went out from the presence of the Lord, and having first been a tiller of the soil he then founded a city named for his eldest son. The curse meant casting away the promise of restored Eden to seek possessions and enjoyment in an earth under the curse of sin, making him the head of those who worship the god of this world, distinguished in mere earthly and material progress but regardless of God and opposed to His purposes for man. Cain is the standard example of a murderer, so that to slay one's own son is to be a second Cain, causing one to be looked upon as a murderer and causing one's teaching to be rejected and despised and one's power to do good to fellow men to be destroyed.
God confronted Cain after he murdered Abel in the field and then lied about it, declaring that his brother's blood cried out from the ground and placing him under a curse from the earth that had received that blood, so the soil would no longer give him its strength and he would live as a fugitive wanderer. That judgment added a second, distinct curse upon the ground to the curse that had followed Adam's sin, so the curse on the earth was doubled and increased. The added curse did not at once destroy the earth's beauty and fruitfulness, but decay was already seen, and the curse grew heavier still at the Flood and afterward as transgression increased. The murder was the first outworking of the enmity between Satan and his followers and Christ and His followers, with Cain moved by the wicked one to kill Abel because his righteous life condemned sin. Cain's life was spared though murder deserved death, and his continued rebellion showed the universe what allowing sinners to live forever in rebellion would bring, proving God's sentence of death upon the fallen race both just and merciful.
Context and Sentence
Cain was a tiller of the ground and Abel was a keeper of sheep. Cain refused the specified spotless lamb pointing to Christ and brought only fruit, which had no value without the lamb, while Abel brought firstlings with fat. God gave no sign of acceptance to Cain but consumed Abel's offering with fire from heaven.
Cain grew angry that his younger brother was accepted while he was rejected, argued about his offering, and refused to admit disobedience. He rose up against Abel in the field and slew him while a heavenly Watcher saw the whole transaction. He then lied that he did not know where Abel was, denied being his brother's keeper, and refused his responsibility as elder brother to care for and protect Abel from evil.
God first asked where Abel was and what Cain had done, giving him time to reflect on the enormity of the murder and the lie to hide it and giving him opportunity to confess and admit his sin. But Cain remained rebellious, so punishment was no longer delayed. The same voice that had spoken in pleading and warning now spoke in judgment.
God declared that the voice of Abel's blood cried from the ground. He placed Cain under a curse from the earth, which had opened her mouth to receive his brother's blood from his hand. The soil would no longer yield him its strength when he tilled it and he would be a fugitive and wanderer or vagabond in the earth. The cry and curse show God knew Cain's act, being acquainted with his every act and even the thoughts of his heart, and held him accountable.
Cain's anguish over the punishment was remorse, not repentance. Adam remembered that curse pronounced on Cain and grieved over Cain as Abel's murderer.
Earth Under Double Curse
The sentence on Cain stands inside the larger curse that followed Adam's sin, under which both the ground and the human race lay cursed, and it was out of that cursed condition that Cain's resentment against God grew. His murder of Abel then drew down a further curse upon the earth, distinct from and added to the curse for Adam's transgression, so that the curse on the ground was doubled and increased. The earth opening its mouth to receive Abel's blood from his hand marks the earth's direct part in his crime and in the curse that followed it.
The curse first laid at the fall had been felt only lightly, but after the murder a double curse rested upon the ground. That added curse did not at once take away the earth's beauty, richness, fruitfulness and abundance, yet decay and evident tokens of decay were already seen in comparison with its former condition. The curse did not come all at once, but was first felt at Adam's fall, was increased at the murder of Abel, and was greatly increased at the Flood, so that in the days of Noah a double curse was resting upon the earth.
That curse from the first murder, together with the curse following Adam's sin and the curse of the Flood, helped bring the earth into its blighted and diminished condition. Since the Flood it has rested heavier and heavier upon men and upon beasts, and trees and all vegetation have also felt its effects, as the human family have forgotten God and transgressed His commandments, while through inspired history exalted blessings are promised on condition of obedience and curses are threatened for disobedience. After the earth was cursed it brought forth thistles and thereby increased the work of those who till the soil, yet the ground was still to be tilled. That continued tillage fulfilled one of God's purposes in creating the earth, the wise and healthful employment of the physical powers of its occupants in useful labor of brain, bone, and muscle.
Warning and Wider Meaning
The murder was the first example of the enmity declared between the serpent and the seed of the woman, between Satan and his subjects and Christ and His followers. Through faith in the Lamb of God a soul renouncing the service of sin kindles Satan's wrath, and Abel's holy life testified against Satan's claim that it is impossible for man to keep God's law. Cain, moved by the spirit of the wicked one, killed Abel when he saw he could not control him, and the same spirit is manifested wherever any stand in vindication of the righteousness of the law of God. It is the spirit that through all ages has set up the stake and kindled the burning pile for the disciples of Christ, with cruelties instigated by Satan and his hosts because they cannot force submission to their control, the rage of a vanquished foe, yet every martyr of Jesus dies a conqueror by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of testimony, loving not life unto death.
Cain stands for the wicked, unbelieving class and Abel for the righteous, believing class that would exist from the fall to the second coming of Christ. Cain's slaying of Abel shows the wicked will envy and hate the righteous because they are better than themselves, and will be jealous of them. They will persecute and put them to death because their right-doing condemns their sinful course.
The sentence under curse from the earth spared Cain's life when his murder deserved death, granting him opportunity for repentance. That continued life was used only to harden his heart, encourage rebellion against divine authority, follow Satan as a tempter to others, and become the head of a line of bold, abandoned sinners whose example, life, teaching, and demoralizing influence corrupted the earth and filled it with violence until its wickedness called for destruction by the Flood. His story demonstrates the danger of allowing sin to go unpunished. Sparing the first murderer set before the whole universe a lesson on what permitting the sinner to live on forever in rebellion would bring, and fifteen centuries after the sentence its fruition appeared in the crime and pollution that flooded the earth. It proved the sentence of death upon the fallen race for transgression of God's law both just and merciful, since the longer men live in sin the more abandoned they become, so long life is not a blessing to the determined sinner and the divine sentence cutting short hardened rebellion and freeing the world from its influence is a blessing rather than a curse. Had the transgressors at Sinai been spared as Cain was, the same results would have followed and even greater evils, until the earth became as corrupt as in the days of Noah, so it was mercy that thousands should suffer to prevent the necessity of judgments upon millions.
Cain refused the specific requirement to bring a lamb for a burnt offering typifying the Lamb of God whose blood shed to save a lost world was prefigured in every offering, following his own will, ideas, reason and understanding instead, and this neglect led to the death of his brother. The Lord's words to Cain are to be repeated to the close of earth's history, that choosing one's own way and will and honoring one's own imaginations lets the tempter take possession of the mind so that one's own will blends with the will of Satan and he masters and controls the mind and judgment. Placed under God's curse, Cain withdrew from his father's household and went out from the presence of the Lord, and having first been a tiller of the soil he then founded a city named for his eldest son. The curse meant casting away the promise of restored Eden to seek possessions and enjoyment in an earth under the curse of sin, making him the head of those who worship the god of this world, distinguished in mere earthly and material progress but regardless of God and opposed to His purposes for man. Cain is the standard example of a murderer, so that to slay one's own son is to be a second Cain, causing one to be looked upon as a murderer and causing one's teaching to be rejected and despised and one's power to do good to fellow men to be destroyed.