Genesis Chapter 4:

Genesis - Chapter 4
1And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
2And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4And 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:
5But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
6And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee [shall be] his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
8And Cain talked with 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.
9And the LORD said unto Cain, Where [is] Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: [Am] I my brother's keeper?
10And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
11And now [art] thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
12When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
13And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment [is] greater than I can bear.
14Behold, 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] every one that findeth me shall slay me.
15And the LORD said unto him, Therefore 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.
16And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
17And 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.


Ok..Here we go today...Now, taking the King James version at face value. Not reading into it and not taking into account the added bits of the story that we've all heard in Sunday school...

Why wasn't God happy with Cains offerings? Cain offered to God, the fruits of his labor. His labor was "Tiller of the earth"? Why wasn't his offering just as favored as Abel's? At face value, we don't see why. We see that Cain is upset by it and God doesn't offer much in the way of comfort.

Second, question...Who is Cain afraid of that will kill him? Who else is out there? Who is Cain's wife? We've been told, through the church, that Cain's wife is his sister. Must be his sister, who else would there have been, right? Who is he telling God that he's afraid will kill him? His brothers and sisters? Their children? They would know what happened though. Were there other people? This is one of those places in the Bible that feels more like an outline and less like a blueprint. Seems like there's quite a bit of information missing. I guess the message that's suppose to be gleaned from this story is the murder of one brother by another brother and how , once again, we see someone sent away.

Tracy