1.
Wandering.
Yahweh intervenes, not to punish Cain
like a judge but rather, like a midwife, to prepare him to face the labor which
human creativity demands. Yahweh teaches Cain that he will survive in the land
of Nod (foraging and scavenging) to supplement farming. Cain will farm, but not
without difficulty. Labor, Yahweh teaches, is life, not a life sentence.
Cain protests. Hunters kill human scavengers like animal
predators. Yahweh concedes. Cain must continue to scavenge, but the mark or
tattoo on Cain warns hunters that he is under divine protection.
2.
Producing a family,
Cain had marital relations with his wife, and she
became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch.
3. Building
a city.
Cain built a city, and he named the city after his
son Enoch.
God’s treatment of Cain is a demonstration of mercy. Even
though he wandered and had a hard life, Cain did produce a family and he even
provided an inheritance for his son – a city! The mercy of God is something
wonderful. It goes far beyond the mercy that mankind sometimes shows to a
murderer, but not always.
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