Cain

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"...if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” - Genesis 4:7

A worker of the ground. He was the first son of Adam and Eve who failed to safeguard against sin in his anger and murdered his brother Abel.

Account

Birth

By her husband Adam, Eve conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD." She also bore his brother Abel.

Fall into Sin, Curse of Cain

Cain was a worker of the ground. In the course of time, Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD, but the LORD had no regard for his offering though He had regard for Abel's offering of the firstborn of his flock of sheep.

This made Cain angry. The LORD asked, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it."

Cain spoke to Abel, then when they were in the field, he killed Abel. The LORD asked, “Where is Abel your brother?” He retorted, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” So the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”

Cain said, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” So the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” He put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.

Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

(Genesis 4)

Way of Cain

Ungodly people pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. They rely on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. They walked in the way of Cain, abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error, and perished in Korah's rebellion. (Jude 1:1-13)

Cosmology

Cain embodies humanity in the context of earth, and Abel embodies humanity in the context of heaven. These are specializations of Adam’s cosmic role as mediator between heaven and earth.

Abel is the prototype of a heavenly authority and priesthood at the communal level. He is concerned with spiritual matters and the higher meaning of reality. Cain is the prototype of earthly power and kinghood at the communal level, concerned with possessing the land and dealing with its practical realities.

God accepts the offering of Abel rather than Cain because one is higher than the other in the vertical space of this cosmology (Intangible Meaning - Spiritual – Animal – Vegetable – Mineral – Meaningless Matter).

Abel was responsible for lowering the spiritual into the animal and raising the animal into the spiritual. He was a prototype of the priest who specializes in offering refined flesh to God. His name means “breath” or “bodiless meaning” for his lofty ideas without concrete facts.

Cain was responsible for lowering the vegetable into the mineral and raising the mineral into the vegetable. Thus, Cain and his offspring are prototypes of builders and smiths who specialize in making tools and vessels from refined minerals. “Cain” is connected to “nest” after his function to build a stable physical reality to host a higher spiritual identity.

In a perfect world, Cain and Abel would reach an agreement by which spiritual and material realities would have been joined correctly. Abel would cover Cain with spiritual meaning from heaven, and Cain would support Abel with physical power from the earth. Authority and power did not reach an agreement, though.

(The Language of Creation: Cosmic Symbolism in Genesis - A Commentary by Matthieu Pageau, 2018. Pages 89-92)