Bible Study Genesis Part 53-Mark of Cain

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Well, we're back in the book of Genesis.

We're going to be here for quite a while.

As you can tell, it takes us a little bit of time to get through some of this very old language.

This takes us all the way back, all the way back literally to the beginning of time.

And so it's going to take a little bit of effort for us to start to catch up and pick up steam.

But I do believe over the next few chapters, we are going to start moving a little bit faster.

But believe me, the stories become more exciting and more applicable, and we have to pay attention.

Just as much as we've had so far, we've had to can we'll have to continue to put our nose to the grindstone, as they say, which sounds really painful.

Anyhow, the book of Genesis has so much to tell us about God and about his plan and about the people he's put into that plan.

And not only that, we're getting to know a lot about what he has in store for all of us.

Now let's quickly read what we've already covered before we get started on tonight's topic, starting at verse one of Genesis four.

And Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord, and she again bare his brother Abel.

And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground, verse three.

And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.

And Abel he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.

And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering.

We know why.

We talked a lot about it.

There's a place we're supposed to be paying attention.

When we come to the Lord for whatever reason, we have to make sure we come on his terms.

Verse 5.

But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.

And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth?

And why is thy countenance fallen?

If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?

And if thou doest not well, sin or sin offering lieth at the door, and unto thee shall be his Abel's desire, and thou shalt, thou Cain, shalt rule over him Abel.

And Cain talked with Abel his brother, and Cain said to Abel his brother, and it came to pass when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him.

And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother?

And he said, I know not, am I my brother's keeper?

Be very careful about being a smart aleck with God.

And he said, What hast thou done?

The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground, or thy brother's bloods, actually.

That's what it says in the original.

We ascertained last time that God must have been talking about Abel's posterity, the people that will never be born because he was murdered.

Those people, those bloods of him cried up from the ground unto the Lord.

And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand.

When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength.

A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth, and from thy face shall I be hid, and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth, and it shall come to pass that everyone that findeth me shall slay me.

Cain was afraid he was going to be murdered.

He was a murderer, so he figured everyone else was a murderer too.

And the Lord said unto him, Therefore, or not so, not so, whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.

And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

And of course, of course, it's not getting any easier.

One of the most debated topics in the history of biblical scholarship, both Christian and Jewish, is what is this mark?

What is the mark of Cain?

And as usual, there are lots of theories.

Now, some say it was one of the Hebrew letters from the Tetragrammaton, which you all remember was the four Hebrew consonant name of God.

The one that scholars have had to add a couple of vowels to so that we can pronounce it.

Now, the corresponding letters from our alphabet, the ones that correspond with the tetragrammaton are J H V H.

And with the added vowels, we pronounce it Jehovah.

Now, just a quick reminder: some say that's not it at all.

The alternate claim is that the corresponding letters of the tetragrammaton are YHWH.

And with similarly and but different vowels, it is pronounced Yahweh.

Similarly, they had to add vowels.

They added a couple extra vowels, those that claim it's WHYHWH, we pronounce that Yahweh.

Now, as a non-Hebrew expert, I think it's okay to use either.

No one is going to be confused if you decide to stick to one or the other.

From a Hebrew grammar perspective, we may not be all that accurate, but as long as you get to point, we're good.

Now, here at Chapel, we've decided to settle on the Jehovah name and use it more often than Yahweh.

Again, for our purposes, being exact on this point isn't important.

Since technically speaking, both English words are made up.

You can use Yahweh or Jehovah or both if you wanted to, and you won't get a correction from me.

Now, some know it all might tell you you're wrong and then proceed to give you a 90-minute lecture as to why, but we won't do that here.

Either is fine.

So back to Cain's mark.

As I said, some have theorized that the mark is actually one of the three Hebrew letters that make up the Tetragrammaton.

I thought you said it was four.

Well, that's technically not accurate.

The name contains four letters, but three, but there are really three letters from the alphabet with one being used twice.

Now, in case you're wondering, the three letters are, as pronounced poorly by me, Yud, He, and Vav.

He is used twice, making up the four-letter tetragrammaton.

Do you have that up there?

Yeah, Catherine has that on the slide.

Now, one of those three letters were placed somewhere visible on Cain, or so the theory goes, presumably to indicate his close connection to God, a sort of brand, I guess, or a seal of some sort to indicate ownership.

Now, other Jewish scholars surmise that the Hebrew letter Tav appeared on Cain's forehead as a sign of contrition for the sin he committed.

The assumption is based on the fact that Tav is the first letter of the Hebrew word Teshuba, which means repentance.

Again, I'm sure I butchered the pronunciation, but then again, from what little I do know about Hebrew, it's a tough language to pronounce like a native, so I don't feel so bad.

Moving on.

Others say that the mark wasn't, in fact, some sort of physical spot or tattoo on his person, but rather a mannerism or a way about him, if you will.

For example, now, why are we going through this, John?

Because someone is going to ask you.

Some smart alec is going to ask you, okay, you studied Genesis.

What is Cain's mark?

Well, here are some of the answers.

The first answer you should give is no one really knows for sure, but here are some possibilities.

That's why I want you to be Bible experts.

I want this to be important to you.

God wants it to be important to you.

As I said, there are some who feel this is a mannerism or a way about him.

For example, one scholar feels that Cain was a paralytic, and that this is what distinguished him as unique.

Now, it is presumed that this idea came from a rather left-field translation of the verse from the Septuagint that describes Cain as groaning and trembling, and this was the so-called mark, and the groaning and the trembling were due to this unfortunate, though likely fictional condition.

Now, another hypothesis says that the mark or sign was actually invisibility, invisibility, not invisibility, invincibility, invincibility, that Cain was impervious somehow to injury.

Now, one ancient document describes it this way: quote, a sword could not pierce him, fire could not burn him, water could not drown him, the air could not blast him, nor could thunder or lightning strike him.

Now that's not a biblical document, but it is some extra biblical document.

Other theories were even wider stretches of the imagination.

One scholar believes the sign was actually his brother Abel's dog, who had become Cain's constant companion throughout his journeys.

None of these have any basis, in fact, whatsoever in the Bible, but that doesn't stop anyone from coming up with a theory.

And then there's even a rabbi who surmises that the sign was a horn that protruded from Cain's forehead.

Now, as usual, this great variety and diversity of opinion is diffic is indicative of a difficult translation.

As you know, that's not uncommon.

We've seen a few of those already in our studies through Scripture and not just here in Genesis.

Now, this is a big reason as to why we here at Chapel, when we do these Bible studies, we go to the original languages as soon as and as often as we can.

You see, it is our belief that going back as close to the source as possible usually yields better results.

Looking at what the oldest manuscripts say and then seeing if we can pull out a less daunting and or less confusing meaning.

In this case, I agree with Adam Clark, who appears to believe that the word mark is what is causing the uncertainty.

And the Lord set a mark upon Cain.

Now, the Hebrew word being translated there is oath.

Oath is found throughout Scripture, but it's only here in Genesis 4.15 that the translators decided to use the English word mark.

Oath is usually defined as referring to a sign or a token.

For example, just a few chapters down, following the flood that devastated the whole earth, God set his bow, the rainbow, in the cloud, as a token, the Bible says.

God set the rainbow as a sign that he would never again send a flood to destroy sinful flesh.

That's exactly what he says.

Now the same meaning I believe applies here in 4.15.

Genesis 4.15, I believe that's how the word oath is being used.

God didn't tattoo Cain with a mark, but rather God gave to Cain a sign.

God showed Cain a sign, and that sign indicated somehow, we don't know how, because we aren't told, but somehow that sign consisted, what it consisted of, but apparently the sign told Cain that God would never allow anyone to murder him.

Therefore, the sign or the mark was there for Cain to see and not for others.

Now, with this, God was ensuring or demonstrating or showing that he alone wouldn't render justice on Cain.

Now, this interpretation, in my opinion, seems to demystify the whole situation and make the passage a little less heavy.

As we've been saying recently, it's far better to find the simplest answer to perplexing problems in Scripture whenever we can.

Now, as we move through the rest of this chapter, I'm warning you, we start getting bombarded with these dreaded begat statements.

Let's finish it up with only a minor amount of commentary along the way.

Verse 16.

And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.

Now, no one knows for certain where this land of Nod is located.

In fact, some believe this isn't actually referring to a bounded geographic territory or region, but rather the name speaks of something symbolic.

The Hebrew word node, or as we've transliterated it, nod, node or nod, is defined as meaning vagrancy or wandering.

Now, it is possible that this simply means that Cain would be dwelling in a general state in which all vagabonds find themselves, one of aimlessness, isolation, and privation.

I mean, in our day we have similar descriptors, don't we?

Phrases like Skid Row or the Badlands or something similar are often used by us not so much as a reference to a specific place, but instead as a type of existence.

It's not exactly the same, but I think you get the point.

Now, some even say that this sentence was translated wrong.

Instead of saying Cain dwelt in the land of Nod, it should actually say Cain dwelt as a vagabond on the earth.

Now, in the grand scheme of things, I don't think it matters if this were an actual place or something else is meant by this part of the verse.

To be honest, again, we get the point.

He was banished from God's presence, and his existence was then now one of wandering and loneliness and regret.

Next verse, verse 17.

And Cain knew his wife and she conceived, and bare Enoch and builded a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son Enoch.

Now, let's quickly say this and get it over with.

Yes, Cain's wife was a relative.

She had to be.

There weren't many people on the earth yet.

Some even say she was a quote later daughter of Adam.

Okay, but later or not, she was still his sister.

Of course, this is absolutely aberrant to us today, but you must realize that then there could be no other way.

The human race had to be built up.

Now, the main reason we today view intermarriage with such disgust started out with the realization of the actual physical ramifications of such a relationship.

Now, I'm not sure everyone, if everyone knows why it's universally universally egalyal to marry a close relative, but it's actually based on the science of genetics.

The closer genetically two people are, the greater likelihood of passing on recessive physical characteristics.

Now that may not sound too bad, but this includes anomalistic traits, meaning diseases or other mutations.

There are many diseases and conditions that are passed on genetically.

And if both parents are related, it's likely that they both carry the same problematic genetic code.

And if that's the case, then there is a much higher likelihood of the disease or the condition becoming dominant in their offspring.

For this reason, intermarriage is not legal.

Now, the reason why this did not present them itself early on is because the initial sons and daughters of Adam and Eve were still pure genetically.

So there was nothing anomalistic to pass on.

But naturally, as the human race began to decay as a result of the expulsion from the garden, the further we got from the source of life.

I know I said I'd be brief, but we'll have to be brief later.

As the human race drifted further and further from the garden and the source of all life, namely God the Father, then disease and infirmities started to make their way in.

Our once pure DNA, and it was pure at one time, started becoming affected by our distance from the Creator.

And that condition increased with every successive generation.

By the time of Moses, intermarriage was prohibited because by then the human genetic code was terribly corrupted.

Now the human psyche now finds intermarriage absolutely unacceptable, but not so in the very beginning.

If it had been, we wouldn't be here.

So we must put away our modern sensibilities.

Okay?

So back to scripture.

Let's pick up the pace.

By the way, one more point.

Some have tried to avoid the ugliness of this fact by saying that there were others, quote, others on the earth at the time besides the family of Adam and Eve, and that Cain married a member of this other group.

But I have to tell you, that is seriously flawed speculation and, in my opinion, ridiculous.

Ridiculous, blasphemous, and entirely unscriptural.

The reason why the lines had to be pure was because Jesus was going to come from it.

Jesus had to be purely human.

He had to be a member of the family of Adam purely.

You cannot start throwing in aliens and giants and all of these other things into the earth as a part of this.

Yes, we're going to talk about that when we get to the flood.

I'll have more to say about it then.

But we have to remember the line of Jesus has to be pure.

Verse 17.

And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bare Enoch, and he builded a city and called the name of the city after the name of his son Enoch.

So we can see that although Cain is banished, God cannot afford for him to go it alone.

Cain, despite his great sin, is still vital to the building up of the human family.

And so he's granted a wife and at least one child.

As we said before, there must have been a reason that God spared Cain when he did.

God's plans will not be thwarted by even our weaknesses and failures.

Cain is a part of the be fruitful and multiply aspect of God's intentions.

So God gives Cain a son.

Now the child's name is Enoch.

And by the way, there are other more well-known Bible characters that go by this name.

So I don't want you to get confused.

What's with the detail?

I wish somebody would have shared these details with me when I first went to Bible study, because it's very easy to get confused about Enoch.

And which Enoch are we talking about?

And which, you know, all of the names that are repeated in the Bible.

This is not that famous Enoch, for example, the father of Methuselah.

If you don't know who that is, no problem.

We will be getting to all of that soon enough.

So back to Cain.

We are told here that Cain built a city and named it after his son.

Of course he named it after his son.

He couldn't have named it after himself.

I mean, would you move to Hitlerburg?

Isn't that why we reverted Stalingrad back to the original name of Volgegrad and Leningrad back to St.

Petersburg?

Yeah, no one wants to live in a city named after murderers.

So he named it Enoch.

Nonetheless, here we see the beginning of urban life.

Now there are many who speculate that the building of this city was to stoke Cain's own ego.

And I think that's entirely possible.

Down through all of human history since then, men have been trying to construct lasting tribute to themselves in an effort to live on forever.

Now, Cain must have known, sadly, must have known that he and the whole race of mankind lost the possibility of living eternally.

He must have known that there was a time when he and all that are like him were to live eternally, and that all went by way because of sin.

That reality may have been more than he could handle.

The loss of such a thing must not have been easy on a person like Cain.

So perhaps he thought he could regain eternity through a building project.

As I said, he wasn't the only one to think that would be possible.

Now the word Enoch in Hebrew means initiating, initiated or dedicated.

Now there is some disagreement as to what the significance of this is, but there's speculation.

Listen to me, that Cain dedicated his son and the city as a sign of his repentance and willingness to overcome his sinful nature.

Others interpret it to mean to be trained up, the word Enoch to mean to be trained up, and thereby demonstrating that Cain prepared his son not in the ways of God, but rather in his own evil, sinful ways.

I lean towards the latter.

We don't know for sure, but if I were to speculate, it would be the latter.

Verse 18, and unto Enoch was born Irad, and Irad beget Mahujael, and Mahujael beget Methusael, and Methusael beget Lamech.

As I said, here come those begets that so many student Bible students love to lament.

But just remember, as I've said to you, everything in the Bible is here for a reason.

And just because we can't figure it out or it annoys us doesn't make it any the less important.

I've often told you, by the way, that it is my belief that all of these begats in Scripture are here to prov here to provide solid evidence of our Lord's genealogy and humanity.

The family, the pedigree, if you will, of the human being Jesus, I don't think you understand, is of immeasurable importance in God's word.

Listen, to be a king, you must present indisputable evidence of your lineage in order to prove the legitimacy of your reign.

And Jesus is apparently of no exception.

Each of these momentously boring statements about who was born to who are actually links in the royal line of our master and king Jesus.

Now, notably, almost none of these names are ever mentioned again in scripture except for Lamech, and we'll get to him in a second.

But the other names never again appear in the Bible, so their importance to us is limited to only their place in the above-mentioned lineage, which again is proof to me that that's why they're there.

God puts nothing in the Bible by accident.

So God is going to put these names just there for the moment to make sure we can make the link all the way back to Adam for our Lord Jesus.

Adam, what Jesus was the second Adam.

That's what the Bible calls him.

Jesus picked up the federal headship of the human race from his earthly father Adam.

It's very important that that genealogy be preserved.

Now, one more thing to note.

Each of these names, like all of the names in the Bible, mean something.

Many Bible scholars have tried to speculate as to why they are named in such a way.

And some of the speculations, at least in my mind, went a bit over the top.

We're not going to cover those.

There's really no time and probably no reason to, but I just thought I would mention it.

There is a reason everybody was named, the reason they were named, how they were named.

And also to say we must be careful of trying too hard to make mundane biblical statements a little more exciting by attaching meaning that was never intended.

That's but one way that heresy enters the church, as Jay Vernon McGee would say, let scripture speak for itself.

Verse 19, and Lamech took unto him two wives.

The name of the one was Ada, and the name of the other Zilla.

Here we have the world's first polygamist.

It didn't take very long.

Now the fact that he took two wives is given to us, and even their names, but not the reason he decided to take two.

I mean, I suppose because he wanted to.

Maybe he couldn't choose between them, but it's likely this is presented to us to demonstrate the rapidly decaying moral state of mankind.

This was not what God wanted.

God's ideal from the beginning, as you remember, is that the two shall become one flesh.

It's here that we're starting to see that humans are now adrift and heading toward disaster.

But God also takes the time to show us that not all is gloom and doom and sin and rebellion.

And I think that's probably where we'll pick it up next time.

See you then.

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