I've said several times that these early Genesis stories aren't meant to be taken literally. This chapter is no exception; in fact, it's where we find the strongest evidence that it is more like a parable. If we take the story we've seen in chapters 2-3 literally, then Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel would be the only four people on earth. Yet, when Cain is driven away he worries about the other people of the earth killing him, he finds a woman to marry, and builds a city for his son. None of this makes sense unless the world is already filled with people. That would be a terrible problem if this were a literal story but, since it isn't, we can proceed without letting that kind of question distract us.
Cain and Abel are brothers, one herds animals and the other farms plants. Both brothers offer a sacrifice, they best they have to offer. God prefers Abel's offering (an animal sacrifice) over Cain's (an offering of produce) and problems ensue. Cain gets jealous, jealousy leads to an argument, and the argument leads to murder.
It is easy to identify with Cain's feelings as he discovers that life can be unfair. Most of us have been there, and many have reacted the way he does, by getting angry and sulking. It happens with we get passed over for promotion, or the person we're interested in falls for someone else, or when someone else seems to receive a shower of blessings that should really go to us. Most of us don't resort to murder, like Cain, but we do know what he's feeling.
There's a test of character here. All of us experience unfairness and jealousy; what matters is how we deal with it. God's words to Cain suggest one way to cope. They are expressed especially well in The Message version . . .
"Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won't you be accepted? And if you don't do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it's out to get you, you've got to master it."
This saying sounds simple at first, but the first part is controversial. Is God implying that Cain didn't do well and that's why his sacrifice wasn't rejected? There are some modern conservative Protestant commentators claim that Abel's blood-sacrifice was superior because it anticipated the atoning death of Christ on the cross. The problem with that is that it is a case of eisegesis, or of shoehorning our own ideas in and changing the meaning of the story. It's fine to believe in a doctrine, but we should be more concerned with what the text actually says than what we want it to say.
There is also an old Jewish midrash that says there must have been something wrong with Cain's sacrifice to explain God's rejection. While this is possible, there isn't much evidence to support it in the story. The only thing that is clear is that Cain is too worried about God's approval, and too quick to do something terrible when he doesn't get it. We can see the truth of God's second statement all too clearly. Cain is caught in the web of sin/jealosy. If he doesn't master his worst impulses, they are going to master him.
The same thing is happening here as in the story of the forbidden fruit. There is a chance for the brothers to live in harmony. God's preference of Abel would still sting, but if the brothers had a loving and trusting relationship, they could get past that. Instead, Cain kills his brother then tried to evade his guilt. When God asks him where Abel is, he knows the answer but tries to hide his guilt.
The deception is useless. Cain may not live in harmony with creation, but God does, and Cain's blood is screaming to be noticed. Like Adam and Eve before him, Cain discovers that there is no hiding from God.
Like the punishment of Adam and Eve, Cain's sentence reflects what he has done. He has rejected harmony with his family so now he becomes a man without family, wandering the earth. He has rejected harmony with creation by polluting the ground with his brother's blood, so now he will have to fight against the earth to farm. He has rejected harmony with God, and now he is banished from God's presence.
This exile is hard, but is is more merciful than we would expect. Usually murder calls for an execution, but God shows mercy by giving a lighter sentence. More than that, God places a mark on Cain. There has been a lot of speculation on what kind of mark this might have been, but the story doesn't say. We are only told that the mark is a form of God's protection and that it will keep the people he meets from killing him. Cain has turned away from God, but God has not entirely turned away from Cain.
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