The First Recorded Murder

Genesis chapter 4, and we'll finish up, well not finish up chapter 4, but we're going to leave just a little bit of it and hopefully next time finish up chapter 4 and go on in.

Chapter 5, as we kind of see the contrast, I'll just go ahead and give you kind of a heads up, a contrast between two civilizations, two lines of civilization.

Next time it'll be Cain, starting with verse 16 in chapter 4, we're going to see Cain's progeny and just kind of a short description of those who were born out of Cain and the civilization that was the result.

And then that's all we're going to get out of Cain. Then we're done with Cain. The Bible's finished with him because it's not the intent of Scripture to follow his line.

The intent of Scripture is to follow his brother's line, Seth. And we mentioned Seth last time, close of chapter 4. And so the rest of the Bible is going to be concerned with Seth and those born to Seth, ultimately to Jesus and God's redemptive plan that runs throughout the Bible.

Alright, so that's next time. Tonight we're going to look at verses, well a part of verses 1 to 15 because we started on this and didn't finish it.

Let me go ahead and read, in fact I'm not going to read the whole text to begin with. We'll read it as we go along. But just to refresh your memory, last time I started with the first recorded children on planet Earth, born on planet Earth.

And specifically Adam and Eve's sons, Cain and Abel. And then again at the close of the chapter we have Seth. There were other kids born, I believe, in this period of time.

And certainly in the time intervening between Cain and Abel and ultimately Seth. There were other children born and grandchildren born and probably great-grandchildren.

You know, the space of time that chapter 4 encompasses was, I think, a fairly lengthy time. And so there were children born. But these are the three that are mentioned.

So that's why I say the first recorded children born on planet Earth. So we saw that last time. And then second, we saw last time the first record of worship on planet Earth.

And first, Cain and Abel's worship didn't turn out so well for Cain. It did for Abel. And the reason is because Cain's worship was unacceptable.

And it was unacceptable because it was incorrect worship. And it was incorrect because it was not according to faith. Now, Abel's, on the other hand, was acceptable worship.

God did accept it because it was correct. And it was correct because it was according to faith. And we can go to Hebrews chapter 11 and see the testimony of Abel's worship and why it was accepted.

Because by faith he offered up a more acceptable sacrifice. All right, so we saw that last time. But then we also, I closed by pointing out Seth's worship.

And not so much looking at Seth himself and seeing how he worshipped personally because the Bible doesn't tell us anything about it. But we know about Seth's worship because of how the chapter closes by saying that men began to call upon the name of the Lord.

And so, with Seth, we see a continuation then of the correct worship that we saw in Abel's worship. It was a correct worship. They were calling upon the Lord and worshiping in the correct way.

But it was also corporate worship. I think it's the first example, clear example, of organized corporate worship. And that started with Seth.

And it's been continuing on ever since. And we do that every Sunday when we meet for corporate worship. All right, so now we're ready for the third thing. And this is what we'll spend time on tonight.

And that's the first recorded murder on planet Earth. All right, this is very logical as you kind of go throughout the chapter. We have all these firsts. And this third one, of course, is a very dubious first.

It's the first recorded murder. All right, we'll just kind of take this systematically. That's why I chose not to read the whole text first because we're going to read it as we go along. So, the first thing we see here in regard to the first recorded murder, the first thing is we have this conversation.

Well, it's difficult to call it a conversation because Cain doesn't respond. At least there's no indication that he responded. But we do have God speaking to Cain. I'll call it a conversation, assuming that maybe Cain did respond.

But this is the first of two conversations recorded in Scripture between God and Cain. This one is before he murders his brother Abel. And then the second one will be afterward.

And we'll look at both of those. And so, starting with verse 6 of chapter 4, that's where we're going to start. Verse 6 opens this way, So the Lord said to Cain.

Now, just to make sure we know where we are here, this is right after the two brothers brought their offering, their worship.

And of course, Cain's was not accepted and Abel's was. And it made Abel very angry, tells us in verse 5, and depressed or kind of downtrodden.

And so, the Lord says something to Cain. Now, this is, by the way, a direct personal communication from God to Cain.

It may seem a little unusual. God actually spoke to Cain. I don't think that we have to necessarily assume that this was the first time Cain ever heard God's voice.

Certainly, Adam and Eve heard God's voice, spoke with God. In the garden, they walked with God. And in what form, we don't know.

Personally, I think it's pre-incarnate Jesus that they walked around the garden with. But anyway, so they had conversations with God.

And we can assume that their offspring, at least for a time, did as well. And Cain did. He heard God's voice. Now, they didn't have the printed word, of course.

But this was the word of God that was coming to Cain when the Lord spoke to him. And he carried with it the same authority that his written word has.

And so, Cain heard from God. He got the word of God. And here's what God said to Cain. He told him, or told Cain, three things.

Or we could divide what Cain says, or God says to Cain. We could divide these words into three parts. Or maybe we could call them categories.

Or emphases. Three of them. The first thing that God says to Cain. It's important that we understand this. The first thing he says is intended to get Cain to confess his sin.

That's the first thing that God desires to do with Cain. And what does he say to it? He says, why are you angry? Why are you angry?

And why has your countenance fallen? That's how it's worded in the New King James Version. Now, I say, submit to you, that God's intent here certainly is not to gain information.

God doesn't need to be told anything. He knows all things. I mean, that's just a given, isn't it? We have this appearing all throughout Scripture, don't we? Even into the New Testament, Jesus quite often would ask people questions.

And you know he knows the answer. It's not that. We do it kind of as parents. You know, we'll ask our kids, what have you done now? And we already know what they've done. You know, but we kind of want them to kind of fess up, you know, own up to it.

That kind of thing. And this is exactly what God is doing here. But he's doing more than that. The word why here is important. And it's not, don't think I'm majoring on the minors here.

The word why, I mean in English we have that one word. We have why. In the Hebrew language there are two words that are often translated, more often than not translated why.

They mean slightly different things. The word why could be the Hebrew word madua.

You don't need to write that down if I won't remember that. But that's the word madua. And it basically means why. All right, that's real profound. So you can just write down madua however you want to translate it and say it means why.

You say, okay, all right. The idea is what is the cause of your anger? That's pretty straightforward. That's pretty obvious, isn't it? That's exactly what we normally mean when we use the word why.

What's the cause of it? And if that was the word used here, and it's not by the way. We'll get to the second one here in a minute. If that was the word, the meaning, then it would really cause Cain to focus no further than just the event.

He's angry, or he could say, I'm angry because, you know, you didn't accept my sacrifice. Or I'm angry because you like Abel better than you do me.

Or I'm angry because, you know, I worked pretty hard on that sacrifice. And here it is, I brought it up there, and you didn't even take it, didn't even accept it. See, the why in the sense of madua, what's the cause of your anger, is just superficial.

It's just the event, just the circumstantial aspect of what's going on there. But the other word is lama. L-A-M-M-A would be how you spell it in English.

And it's also translated Y, but it would be better translated Y4. Not Y4, the number 4, but Y4. Or, well, let me put it this way.

To what end are you angry? Or really, more specifically, this asks, what do you hope or plan to accomplish through your anger?

Now, we wouldn't ask why. We might ask why. And at the same time, desiring that kind of answer, we might ask our kids that, you know.

Why'd you do that? Not what was the cause of it. But what were you thinking? You know, what's at the root of this? And that's the word that we have here.

Y4, what do you hope to accomplish? And so, here's the idea. God framed the question. He inspired Moses, who wrote Genesis, to use that word. But God framed the question in this way in order to direct Cain's attention deeper than just the event.

Just the surface of it. But to direct his attention to his own heart. What's going on in the heart here? Why for?

Or to cause him to look to the very root of his anger here. Now, God is calling upon Cain to do what Cain needed to do in order to get better.

And that is for Cain to examine his heart and to confess his sin. See, the sacrifice that Cain brought was not accepted on two levels.

Number one, because it was not the right sacrifice. But God also said, if you remember, if we were to look back there, God also rejected Cain himself.

Cain and his sacrifice. So, it's not just simply the wrong sacrifice, but there's a wrong heart here. Something's not right in the heart. And actually, that's the first level.

He brought the wrong sacrifice because there was something wrong in his heart. He had not accepted God's instructions for the right sacrifice, the proper sacrifice, and Cain, because his heart was wicked, Cain brought a sacrifice that was produced by his own pride, his own self-righteousness, his own self-sufficiency.

And so, God is asking the question in this way because he wants Cain to examine his heart, and this is God's goal. He wants him to confess, come to grips with his sin.

And that's what confession means. It doesn't mean we're informing God. It means we're agreeing with Him. And so, in order to agree with Him, you've got to see it for what it really is. And this is what God is wanting Cain to do.

And so, what was his sin? Cain's sin was self-righteousness. It was rejection of God's provision for sin. And all these things. You see, to kind of make an application here, people who hold on to their sin, their sin lifestyle, their sin choices, and hold on to their self-righteousness.

I'm talking about those who reject God, reject or rather love their sin, cherish their sin. People who trust in themselves rather than in God.

People like that become angry with the Word of God. become angry with it. Because it stands in judgment of them. It stands in contradiction to them.

And so, people who love their sin and love their self-righteousness, they don't like this book. And not only that, but they don't like the God of this book. And not only that, but they become angry with those who believe this book.

And those who obey this book. That's why we have persecution. Whether in a mild form or in some of the severest of form. That's why we have that today. See, Cain had no reason to be angry with his brother Abel, did he?

What would Abel do to that? Now, ultimately, Cain is going to murder his brother. Did Abel have anything to do with God not accepting Cain's sacrifice? Not at all.

Not at all. But Cain hated Abel because Abel believed God's word and obeyed his word. And Cain, because of the wickedness of his heart, his heart was wrong.

He not only hated God's word, he hated God, and he also hated Abel, his brother, and ultimately murdered. Someone said that anger is a kind of psychological influenza.

It's a psychological influenza that incapacitates you just as a physical disease would.

Anger is a choice as well as a habit. And it is a learned reaction to frustration in which you behave in ways you would rather not. And that's pretty wise.

But it goes even deeper than that in the spiritual realm. Alright, so number one then, the first thing that God says to Cain is intended to bring him to self-examination, examine his own heart, ultimately to bring him to confession, confession of his sin.

The second thing God says is an invitation to repent and to respond in faith. The second thing He says, God's intent here is to extend an invitation to Cain for Cain to repent.

Repent of his sin and to respond in faith. Now what does He say to it? He says in verse 7, He says, If you do well, will you not be accepted?

What's God saying? He's saying, Cain, Cain, go back. Let's start this thing all over. Forget that first sacrifice you brought.

It's no good. So Cain, go back. And do the right thing now. Now what's involved in going back? That's repentance.

He needs to repent. He needs to turn. Turn back. And then, to respond the right way, do the right thing, that's faith. Faith. You see, faith is more than just simply believing something.

Faith is responding obediently to God's Word. And this is what Cain needed to do. And so God is giving him an opportunity. And so He's saying, just go back, Cain, and do what is right.

And what is right is what I've told your parents and what I've told your brother and what I've also told you. They got it. You need to get it. Or you can do.

Alright, so there's first confession. That's His intent in the question. And then, there is His invitation to repent. And then the third thing God says is a very frightening warning concerning the bondage of sin.

He's really telling Cain, if you don't repent, this is what's going to happen to you. And sadly, exactly what God said would happen to him did happen to him.

And so what does He say to Cain? He says in verse 7 again, and if you do not do well, and if you don't go back, do this thing the right way as I have commanded you, just like your parents have done, just like Abel just did, and you observed, if you don't go back and do that, then He says, sin lies at the door.

Lies in wait for you. And its desire is for you. But you should rule over it. And what is God saying to you? I think God's saying, you've got a choice, Cain.

You've got a choice, man. You can do what's right, which means acknowledge your sin, acknowledge your self-righteousness, acknowledge your hypocrisy, your self-reliance, acknowledge that you have not been willing to obey my word to this point, and acknowledge that you are a sinner, and then obey what I told you to do, and bring an acceptable sacrifice to me.

And if you don't do that, then sin is crouching at the door. That's kind of a literal expression.

Sin is crouching at the door. It's kind of like a wild animal. That's the idea here. The imagery that this phrase paints for us.

It's like a lion crouched at the door, ready to spring upon you, and to grab you, and rip you, and shred you to pieces.

That's the image. And he's saying, you're going to spend, then, the rest of your life under its vicious control in your life.

And your whole life will be a constant battle to master it. And you will fail every time. That's what he's saying.

Remember 1 Peter 5, verse 8, where Peter says, this is Satan, he says he's like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

And that's the same idea. Alright, so we have God speaking to Cain. Second, we have a conversation between Cain and Abel.

Alright, this is the second major move in the text. First, we have God's conversation with Cain. And now we have a conversation between Cain and Abel, or at least it's implied.

And by the way, it's the last one the two brothers would ever have together. Because Cain's going to kill his brother. Verse 8 says, now Cain talked with Abel, his brother. And that's all we have about this conversation.

There isn't anything about it specifically. What did they talk about? We don't have any idea. We could guess, I guess, the Old Testament prior to Christ was translated by 70 Jewish scholars translated into the Greek.

It's called the Septuagint. And in the Septuagint, they have Cain saying, they give a little bit more information. I don't think it's accurate, but maybe they're assuming.

But it says there that Cain said to Abel, let us go into the field. And I guess they're assuming that that's what he said there.

So they inserted that because they certainly did go into the field. And only one came out. But the truth is, we don't really know what Cain said to Abel.

There's nothing in Scripture about it. We only know what happened next. And so what happened next? Third, then, the third movement, we have Cain murdering his brother Abel.

Alright? Verse 8, the latter part of verse 8, and it came to pass when they were in the field, because I guess Cain invited Abel out there in the field. Anyway, they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him.

Murdered him. Alright, so what happened next? Exactly what God said would happen if Cain did not repent and do the right thing. The sin that was crouching at the door pounced on Cain figuratively and turned him into a murderer.

And he could not resist it. He could not master it. And, you know, kind of ironic when you think about it, Eve, his mother, sinned, of course.

But she had to be talked into sin. But Cain couldn't be talked out of it. Even by God himself. And that's the way of sin.

Sin, this little ditty, and I've said it a few times, sin will always take you further than you want to go. It will always keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay.

And Cain is a living testimony of that. Now, why did Cain murder his brother Abel? Well, the answer is Genesis 3, verse 15.

At least, part of the answer is this. Let me read it just to remind you this is part of the curse that God put on Adam and Eve after they sinned.

Actually, this is the curse that God issued to the serpent. Verse 15, And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.

And this was ultimately fulfilled, of course, with Christ. The seed of a woman. But Eve had other seed and there was conflict between the two seeds because, you know, really, the two sons, Cain and Abel, they were sons of Eve.

Two seeds. One on the side of God that was Abel. The other on the side of Satan. Cain.

Now, how do we know that Cain was the seed of Satan? Well, 1 John 3.12. 1 John 3.12 says, Cain, who was of the wicked one, and murdered his brother.

So, John tells it very clearly. Cain was the seed of the serpent. And he murdered his brother and then he goes on to ask the question, why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brothers were righteous.

By the way, too, I would add this, though I don't think we have to really press this too hard, but the word for murder that John used in 1 John 3.12 is a particular word that only appears nine times in the New Testament.

Now, John's referring to Genesis chapter 4 here. Cain murdering his brother Abel. But John chooses a word that's quite unique or really a word that's very specific.

appears nine times in the New Testament and once right here in 1 John 3.12 the other eight times excuse me ten times in the New Testament the other nine times all appear in the book of Revelation and all ten times it is a reference to the sacrifice the slaying of the Lamb of God.

That's kind of interesting that he used a word that is more specifically at least in the New Testament more specifically used for the slaughter of the victim for the sacrifice.

And that's the word that John used to describe what Cain did to Abel. And so if John's right and we assume that he is because he's inspired by the Holy Spirit he gives us a little more information by divine revelation than contrary to the movie the Bible and probably you've seen that movie and I think there in that movie if you refresh my memory I think Cain killed his brother with a big stick wasn't it?

Something like that? I think it was a jaw. Alright something like that. Very likely though based upon how John records the event that Cain slit his throat with a knife.

Like you would slaughter the victim for a sacrifice. In fact just exactly the way Abel just before that had slaughtered those lambs that he brought for an offering.

Now what would be the significance of that? It's like Cain saying alright God if you want a blood sacrifice here you go. Kind of in your face.

Now I wouldn't press that too hard but it is interesting that John the Apostle John uses that word to describe Cain's murder of his brother brother Abel.

Now moving forward we go to a fourth movement in the text. We have God's second conversation with Cain. Alright and here's the second one and this time Cain does respond or at least we have it recorded here but God of course speaks first and the Bible says in verse 9 then the Lord said to Cain and what did he say?

Well he started out with a question. He asked Cain where is Abel your brother? And again of course you know he's not asking for information here.

He knows the answer. But a couple of things that we can understand from this especially when you tie it to what Cain how Cain responds.

Number one Cain apparently had fled the scene. God asks a question because Abel is not there with Cain anymore. Now how far he fled from the scene of the crime I don't know but he had fled from it trying to get away from it because he didn't want to be found out and then he lied.

He lied and we know that from what comes next. Cain said I do not know. But he did didn't he? And so he lied and why would he lie?

Because he's covering it up and how absurd to try to cover up something before God. And then he adds this Am I my brother's keeper? And we've heard that phrase many a time.

And exactly what Cain meant I don't think we know for sure but certainly it was disrespectful of God. And I really think that he meant God if he's missing that's your business not mine it's it's it's not mine it's not my fault if he can't find him.

How disrespectful of the Lord. But now here's what we ought to understand about this event right at this point. This is in my opinion yet another opportunity for Cain to confess and to repent.

God brought the question to him because he wanted the truth. Now what would God have done if Cain had told the truth?

What if Cain had said well actually Abel's out in the field over there he's dead right there where I left him after I murdered him. If he had been honest about it God would have had mercy.

Would there have been repercussions? Would there have been some judgment? I think so. But it is an opportunity to repent. And again God did not ask the question because he wanted information because the rest of that portion of the chapter tells us God knew Abel was dead because in verse 10 he says the voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground so he knows Abel is dead so he didn't ask the question to find out if Cain had murdered him because in that very same verse God said to Cain what have you done what have you done and so he knew all about it and again how totally absurd to think that God does not know about our sin have you ever caught yourself trying to hide your sin from God and we put it in those terms of course not and yet sometimes our actions even our thoughts betray us and hopefully we come to ourselves and think it's ridiculous we can't hide this from

God he knows and so again confession is not informing God confession is agreeing with what God already knows and then of course responding in repentance and that's God's desire alright what comes next we wrap this up pretty soon God says to Cain verse 11 so now you're cursed you're cursed from the earth which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand alright so the inevitable happens to Cain and it is what happens to all who do not repent they are eventually indicted by God and eventually all unrepentant unregenerate sinners wind up at the judgment bar of almighty God and just kind of think consider how this unfolds here for Cain first God is the interrogator he asks the questions what have you done or literally how could you have done this and then

God is the investigator he brings forward the evidence the voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground and then finally God is the prosecutor and the judge and he issues judgment and that is verse 11 so now you're cursed from the earth all the questions are now over I'm not going to ask him more questions Cain has had his chance and now you're cursed from the earth which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand verse 12 then spells out the curse it's kind of generally stated there in verse 11 and then verse 12 kind of spells it out it's kind of two fold first verse 12 says when you till the ground it shall no longer yield its strength to you and that's pretty straightforward really not complicated what was Cain by profession he was a farmer the Bible says a tiller of the ground and

I think it's perfectly fine to assume that he was a pretty good one when he brought the sacrifice there isn't anything in the text that suggests that it was a meager kind of offering that he brought or that it was unacceptable because it was not really the best I think he brought the best of his own efforts I think Cain was a very successful farmer tiller of the ground I think we can assume that but that ground which has now just received his brother's blood God is saying that ground no longer will yield its fruit for you you're not going to be successful as a farmer at all from now on now farming is always hard work and part of the curse given to Adam and passed on to all the rest of us is that if you're going to yield anything for you it's going to take hard work sweat and toil and you're going have weeds to deal with and all these things but this is more this something different here

God is saying no matter what you do it will not produce any fruit for you saying that Cain is not going to be able to survive now as a farmer and he can work all he wants to but it's not going to produce anything and really I think God cursed Cain at the point of his pride because when he brought the sacrifice the offering he brought the fruit of his own labors he's very proud of it that's exactly why those kind of offerings can never be acceptable to God anything that we could produce or anything that we could bring out of our own self effort is not acceptable because there's pride involved in that there's self reliance involved in that and God will never accept any kind of sacrifice from us like that and so he really cursed him at the point of his pride you are cursed from the earth or cursed from the ground but

God's not through he says then verse 12 a fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth actually there is no and in the text it really reads a fugitive vagabond it carries with it a really strong force we we could say wandering wanderer it kind of sounds redundant that's why the English translators put and in there as a technical term I've forgotten the name of it a roaming roamer it could be that now the idea is not that Cain is now going to be kind of a nomad I mean we have had entire civilizations groups of people that have lived on this planet and have been very successful just as nomads like shepherds or whatever and they just have their tent and they carry their tents with them and some of them are very successful that's not the idea here not talking about just a nomadic life

Cain from this point on did not just simply roam around living in a tent like a shepherd he was a vagrant vagrant God is saying Cain you will never ever be able to do anything but wander and just kind of scrape together enough to survive that's going to be your life you're not going to succeed in anything really and you're just going to be just barely making a living inking out a living is what he's talking about a vagrant that's a terrible curse Cain going to be a vagabond he's going to live the rest of his life aimlessly and detached from civilization without any roots and he's just going to be roaming around the earth under the judgment of God for the rest of his life and Cain lived a long time a terrible curse and so what was

Cain's response well verse 13 Cain said to the Lord my punishment is greater than I can bear surely you have driven me out this day from the face of the ground I shall be hidden from your face I shall be actually literally I shall have to hide my face from your face hide myself I'm going to have to be a vagabond from you I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me here's Cain's response and we might be tempted to feel sorry for him you know well come on that sounds kind of like a confession there but that's not repentance there's not any repentance there in fact when he said my punishment is greater than I can bear what is he saying to God he said you're not fair you are an unjust God now you might have that opinion and maybe be right when related to a man but

God is perfectly righteous and just and any suggestion that he is not is sin and this is what Cain is saying this is too much for me to bear you're not fair there's not repentance far from it and it was repentance that God required and God gave Cain plenty of space to repent and he would not he would not and so Cain recites his curse and then he adds something to it at the end of it he says and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me and he was probably right about that now I think this indicates when Cain spoke of somebody else if anybody the implication is there were some other buddies other people out there not people born you know from some other mother and father Adam and Eve were the ones who started it but the point here is that population has now been growing during this time all coming from

Adam and Eve and if at this point population was still very small it was going to get bigger soon would get much bigger Adam and Eve had many many other children that the Bible does not mention had thousands of children and grandkids and great grandkids and great great grandkids and the population grew quite rapidly their kids had kids when they grew up and so forth and so Cain was probably right about this complaint population was growing and Cain was going to live a long time and the people would be born and they would have children and they would all know about Cain they would all know that the killer of Abel they would know that and why would they know it because they're all relatives you know they're all family they're going to know and we've got to deal with this guy and somebody's going to come along and say you know

I'm going to snuff this guy's life out and so Cain was probably right and he's saying I'm not only going to hide from what did God do verse 15 the Lord said to him therefore whoever kills Cain vengeance shall be taken on him seven fold seven is the number for completion and so the idea is simply complete vengeance I think what God is saying is they're going to die too eye for an eye tooth for tooth and so forth but this was a demonstration though of God's grace if it's nothing else it certainly is this God's common grace but it also was a way I would suggest to you a way for God to slow down the escalation of murder at this point kind of squelch that now he didn't for long

I mean it didn't for long but think about it you know Cain killed his brother Abel and somebody else comes along and kill Cain and maybe one of his sister's husbands you know well I didn't like this they kill him and suddenly we've got just multiplication of murder and that's going to begin to happen but God I think slowed the escalation of murder down at that point by overruling any attempt to take vengeance upon Cain and really the principle is taught throughout scripture that God says vengeance is mine save the Lord I will repay and so God put a guard on it and then to make sure everybody knew the Lord set a mark on Cain lest anyone finding him should kill him alright and everybody wants to know what was that mark what was the nature of that mark and you just take out a piece of paper and write down what you think it is and we'll collect them and whoever gets the most whichever one gets the most we'll just go with that one because we don't know

I don't know and it's crazy to suggest that you do know there are all kinds of speculation about it the mark was not part of the curse it wasn't marked because he was cursed the mark actually protected it so that's not the curse you know I've heard all kind of wild crazy ideas about that and I'm not going to mention them here but the word mark just simply means sign a sign and it does not I would say to you does not necessarily have to mean a visible sign though I think it was it doesn't have to be a visible one it could be figurative that is like we would use the expression Cain was a marked man from that point on he was marked because God said so and so everybody looked at Cain and said yeah there he is there's that Cain he's a marked man and so it served then as a warning obviously a warning to those who would seek to kill Cain take vengeance upon him and it also served as a constant reminder of the severe penalty of God for his sin and I'll think also a visible tangible lesson on

God's grace God's common grace that God would be gracious