Seder 3: Genesis 3:22-4:26---East of Eden

In Gen 3:22-24 Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden of Eden, with cherubim guarding the way back.  God's plan (the "long game") is to bring mankind back to Eden, however.  So we can also think of the cherubim keeping the way open for people to return.(See this recent column by Rabbi Daniel Lapin.)

In Gen 4 we read about Cain and Abel, two sons of Adam and Eve.  This chapter is the source of lots of speculation and a rich body of Christian and Jewish legends.

Both Cain and Abel make offerings to God, and Abel's offering is acceptable, while Cain's is not.  We're not told why explicitly, but verse 4 says that Abel brought the best of what he had, and the same statement is not made about Cain. We also see Cain's angry reaction, an indication of the attitude with which he brought his offering. 

We read in 4:5,7 that Cain's "countenance fell", which could mean that he is not "seeking God's face".

Cain goes on to murder his brother.  When God confronts him about his actions, he denies knowledge of, or responsibility for, them.  A midrash has Cain saying that God is responsible for what happened, since God is the one who gave people an "evil inclination" that they must master (v. 7).  However, God continues in verse 10, asking Cain, "What have you done?"  Cain must accept responsibility for his actions.

Cain has earned a death penalty for his actions, but God sentences him to be "a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth" (v. 12).  Cain goes east (v 16), foreshadowing the later exile of Israel.  One motif in Genesis is that when someone goes east from the land of Israel, that person is going away from God into dangerous territory, toward places like Sodom and Babylon.

Ironically, Cain the murderer is afraid of being murdered.  God, however, creates a "city of refuge" situation for him, where he is protected from being killed.  Cain has a family, and they are busy with the activities of life.  Away from God's presence, though, they won't have rest in their busyness.

It is interesting that God seems to be investing more effort in working with Cain than with Abel.  We're reminded of Jesus' example in passages like Matt 9:111-3; Luke 5:30-32.. God gives Cain every opportunity to repent and seek Him.

1 John 3:11-12 contrasts Cain and Abel as an example for us:

"For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.  We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous."

And John continues in I John 3:16,

"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers."