After Adam and Eve sinned, they hid themselves from the presence of God. But God came to seek them and promised that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). When Adam heard this, he immediately called his wife Eve (Gen. 3:20). Eve means “Living.” This proves that Adam believed God’s promise and received God’s gospel. Then, Genesis 4:1 says, “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have acquired a man, Jehovah” (Heb.). Cain means “acquired.” When Eve gave birth to Cain, she declared, “I have obtained it!” According to Eve’s concept, Cain was the seed of woman promised in Genesis 3:15. Her words in Genesis 4:1 prove that she believed that promise and received the gospel of God.
With such a background, man should have obtained God’s salvation by God’s mercy. Yet, how pitiful it is that man fell again.
Genesis 4 shows us two kinds of examples. Abel was an example of believing the gospel and living for the gospel, while Cain was an example of turning from God’s way of salvation. The latter brought about the second step of the fall.
One reason for Cain’s continuing the fall was that the Devil had gained him inwardly. At the time of Genesis 4, Satan had already entered into man’s body. Hence, in man’s second fall, apparently it was Cain who rejected God’s glad tidings; actually it was Satan who kept him from God’s way of salvation and even caused him to fall further. Thus, the second step of man’s fall was instigated by the subtle one who had gained Cain and worked within him.
God had shown man His way of salvation—to clothe him with the skins of sacrificial lambs (Gen. 3:21). However, Cain was presumptuous in that he forsook God’s way of salvation. He followed Satan and put aside God’s salvation. This was the cause of man’s further fall.
“Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And 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: but unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect” (Gen. 4:3-5). Both presented offerings to God. One offered according to his own opinion and the other offered according to God’s concept. Abel followed the way of God’s salvation to offer a sacrifice as his substitute by the shedding of blood. But Cain rejected God’s way in his service and offering; he invented a religion of man’s concept, according to his own ideas.
When he learned that God did not look upon his offering, “Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell” (Gen. 4:5). This is the result of serving God according to his own concept.
“And 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” (Gen. 4:8). Cain began by serving God, then continued by being angry, and finally ended by killing. No wonder the Lord Jesus says, “An hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think that he is offering service to God” (John 16:2). The question is not whether we serve God or we commit sin, but whether we act according to God’s way or according to our own opinion. We should not give any room to our concepts in all things that we do.
“And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen. 4:9). Cain’s answer to God was not only a lie, but it also showed how arrogant he was. Man was somewhat afraid of God after the first step of the fall. But here man dared to display his arrogance toward God.
As a result of the second step of the fall, God pronounced a greater curse: man would till the ground, but the ground would not yield to him her strength. Furthermore, he will become a vagabond wandering on the earth, and he was cast out of the presence of God, unable to see God’s face (Gen. 4:11-12, 14).
Eventually Cain and his descendants invented a culture without God. This culture included building a city for self-existence, inventing cattle-raising for making a living, inventing music for amusement, and inventing weapons for defense (Gen. 4:17, 20-22). The further man drifts away from God, the less he has His presence. Having lost God, man was forced to invent a godless culture. This is the result of the fall of man.