Petition of the Wicked Cain (Genesis 4)

 Petition of the Wicked

Cain was a wicked man. He did not have faith. He was jealous and had hated and murdered his own brother even after being warned by God.

And when he was being questioned by God about it, straight up tried to lie to God about it and did not repent or confess. And when God showed He knew what happened there was no sign of a real repentance.

It is clear that Cain was an unbelieving wicked man unlike Abel.

And yet something interesting can be seen in regards to the character of God.

In Genesis 4 we see a process of judgment similar to Genesis 3. An offense happens, God questions the offender, a sentence is given and then executed.

But in this sentence we see an interesting conversation between the wicked Cain and the righteous God.

Scripture says the prayer of the wicked is an abomination to God. He does not hear it in the way He hears the prayer of the righteous. He hates it.

Yet it is in God’s character to even consider the petition of the wicked sometimes in this process of judgment. Even in His punishment of the wicked He is sometimes merciful and open to petition.

Genesis 4 tells us this:


[Gen 4:9-15 NKJV] 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where [is] Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know. [Am] I my brother's keeper?" 10 And He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground. 11 "So now you [are] cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 "When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth." 13 And Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment [is] greater than I can bear! 14 "Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen [that] anyone who finds me will kill me." 15 And the LORD said to him, "Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.


Cain was condemned to be a fugitive and vagabond on the earth. He would not get enough food from the place he was at first. He had to move away. But there were already many other people on the earth at this time which means some time had passed.

So Cain responds to God and says that some may kill him, especially if he wasn’t at the place which God had blessed anymore and outside of God’s care. He was scared of the punishment and feared someone could kill him and he was right.

He presented this before God.
God could have rightfully kept the punishment severe. Cain tried to minimize his guilt. He said the punishment was greater than he could bear. Though this may be true, it is a clear sign of an ungodly repentance that only cares about punishment.

But God still listens to Cain and said that anyone who would kill Cain, would receive vengeance. A mark was put on Cain to make sure none would kill him.
Thus God Himself protects this wicked rebel who was being punished by hearing the response of Cain. Cain did not deserve it nor did he repent in a way that would change his eternal destiny.

Yet there is something in the character of God to even listen to these kinds of people sometimes.

He can even be merciful in these cases for His own purposes.

And if God can consider the prayers and petitions of these wicked people in temporal matters, will He not care much more about the prayers from His believing children? Would He not hear Abel?


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