4:13,14
Cain does not like the punishment! He thinks it is too much for him to bear. This again is a common reaction. When we are found out and some penalty is imposed we complain about it, we do not like the consequences of sin. “I will be hidden from your presence”. There is a kind of double-mindedness here. Cain has been acting as his own man, doing what he wants to do without feeling any obligation to others, whether it be God or his brother. Yet he still has some sort of desire to be in the presence of God, to be under His care. “Whoever finds me will kill me”. He did not want to be at the mercy of others, knowing he could not survive.
4:15,16
Having pronounced His judgement upon Cain, God has not abandoned him completely. Anyone who killed Cain would “suffer vengeance seven times over”. Then God put a mark on Cain so that no one would kill him. Presumably this means that God would watch over him and ensure that he was not killed. There would still be some protection over Cain. Even so, Cain went out from the Lord’s presence. Previously he had been living in the Lord’s presence, where he still sinned. Sinful man cannot live in the presence of God. So Cai lived in the land of Nod, Nod literally means “wandering”.
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