Genesis 4:1 - Meaning and Application

Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters (Genesis 5:4), but Cain and Abel seem to have been the first two sons. Some think they were twins, much like Esau and Jacob, where the older was later rejected and the younger chosen. Even though God had driven our first parents out of paradise, he did not leave them without children. Instead, he continued the first blessing of increase, showing that he still had good gifts in store for them.

Though Adam and Eve were sinners, and though they felt the shame and sorrow that come with repentance, they were not left without comfort. They still had the promise of a Savior to hold them up. Here we see the names of their two sons. Cain means “possession.” When Eve bore him, she spoke with joy, thankfulness, and high hope: “I have gotten a man from the Lord.” Children are God’s gifts, and we should recognize him as the one who builds our families. Our comfort in them is greater and sweeter when we see that they come from God’s hand, and he will not abandon what he himself has made.

Eve bore Cain in pain, because of sin, yet she did not lose sight of God’s mercy in the middle of her suffering. Even mixed with sorrow, comforts are still more than we deserve, so our complaints should not silence our thanks. Many think Eve believed this son was the promised seed, the one through whom deliverance would come, and that is why she spoke with such triumph. If so, she was badly mistaken, just as Samuel was when he thought Eliab must be the Lord’s chosen one (1 Samuel 16:6). When children are born, no one can tell what they will become. The one who seemed to be the Lord, or at least a man from the Lord and fit to serve him, later became an enemy of the Lord. The less we expect from creatures, the easier it is to bear disappointment.

Abel means “vanity” or “breath.” When Eve thought she had gained the promised seed in Cain, she was so fixed on that blessing that a second son seemed like nothing to her. For those who have Christ and count him as everything, all other things are small by comparison. The name also reminds us that the longer we live in this world, the more clearly we see how empty it is. What we first value as a great possession, we later learn to treat as a passing thing. The name given to this son fits the whole human race, as the psalm says, “Every man at his best state is altogether vanity” (Psalm 39:5). We should learn to see both ourselves and others in that light. Childhood and youth are vanity.

We also see the work they were given. They both had a calling. Though they were heirs of the world and came from a noble family with great possessions, they were not raised in idleness. God gave their father work even before the fall, and he gave them work too. It is God’s will that each of us should have something to do in this world. Parents should train their children for useful work. As Mr. Dod said, “Give them a Bible and a calling, and God be with them.”

Their jobs were different, so they could trade and help one another as needed. The members of the human community need one another, and mutual love is helped by mutual service. Their work belonged to the life of a husbandman, that is, a farmer, which had been their father’s occupation. It is a necessary work, for even the king depends on the field. It is also hard work, needing steady care and attention. People now often look down on it, and the poor are sometimes put to such labor (Jeremiah 52:16). But the work was no dishonor to them, they were an honor to it.

It seems, from the order of the story, that Abel, though younger, entered his work first, and perhaps Cain followed his example. Abel chose the kind of work that best helped reflection and devotion, since pastoral life has often been seen that way. Moses and David kept sheep, and in their quiet places they spoke with God. The best calling or way of life for us is the one that is best for our souls, the one that exposes us least to sin and gives us the most chance to serve and enjoy God.