Where Did Cain Get His Wife?

The Bible opens with one of many mysteries—where did Cain get his wife? Some people think it’s trivia, but it’s not. The gospel is involved.

Who was Cain’s wife? Who cares? At first glance, who Cain married seems little more than Bible trivia. But linger on it and you’ll discover important implications for the gospel.

Genesis 4:1-17- And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that 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. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 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. And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

Here’s the concern: Adam and Eve had Cain and Abel, Cain killed Abel, and then Cain went off and had a family with his wife. But where did Cain’s wife come from? It’s an age-old question with at least two distinct gospel consequences.

First, the unbeliever uses this sort of question to dismiss the gospel.

You see, many people today don’t believe the gospel because they don’t believe the book from which the gospel comes. They are convinced that the Bible has been disproved by evolution and its supposed ape-men, rocks that are billions of years old, and so on.

So a question like, “Where did Cain get his wife?” can be a real obstacle for them. If a Christian’s answer is, “I don’t know, but the important thing is to trust in Jesus!” their logical response is, “Why? If the Bible is wrong about history, then why trust what it says about eternal salvation?” The evolutionary view of history undermines the Bible’s authority, including what it says about sin and salvation.

Second, the believer’s response can distort the gospel.

Sadly, many Christians reject the history documented in Genesis and concede that God may have used evolution or created different people groups at the beginning. In that case, Cain’s wife would have come from people not descended from Adam. But this leads to a tragic, unintended gospel distortion. If some people are not descended from Adam, then the gospel is not for all people! Christ had to be made like us, “his brethren,” so He could redeem us. That means we must be related to Him to be saved.

Hebrews 2:17- Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

Thankfully, we are related to Jesus Christ through our common ancestor Adam. God’s Word tells us all people are descendants of Adam, and all people are sinners by nature and by choice and are under the judgment of death.

Romans 5:12- Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Romans 3:23- For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Since it was man who brought sin and death into God’s perfect creation, humanity needed one of its own to pay the perfect, infinite price to satisfy God’s righteous wrath. But how, since “all have sinned and fall short”? Wonder of wonders, God became flesh! God the Son became the perfect man, the Last Adam. He is of our blood, yet sinless—the just, perfect, infinite kinsman redeemer. Dying on the Cross, Christ paid our debt, absorbed God’s wrath due us, that those shackled by sin in the first Adam may repent and believe to receive salvation through the Last Adam.

I Corinthians 15:21-22,45- For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Bottom line, only descendants of the first Adam can be saved by the blood of the Last Adam, Jesus Christ.

With the gospel implications grasped, it’s time to answer the question at hand.

Genesis 3:20- And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

Acts 17:26- And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

The Bible is clear that Adam was the first man, Eve is the “mother of all living”, and all humans are of “one blood”. The fact that all people are descendants of Adam and Eve means there is only one biological race. (It’s also the reason we’re all sinners in need of a Savior.)

So, who did Cain marry? Genesis 5:4 is the key: “And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:”. Jewish tradition suggests that Adam and Eve had 33 sons and 23 daughters. That means originally, close relatives like brothers and sisters married. So Cain married a sister or possibly a niece.

Whether Jewish tradition is correct, or not, Adam lived over 900 years. He could have potentially had many children during that time.

Also, the Bible doesn't always give you every member of a family tree- just the most important ones. It is possible that Adam and Eve had more children before Seth. Regardless of when the girl was born, it is easy to see that Cain had to have married one of his sisters or cousins, since there was no other family around besides Adam and Eve's clan.

But wait—you can’t marry your relation, can you? Well, since there’s only one race, if you don’t marry a relative, you’re not marrying a human and you’ve really got problems! Abraham was married to his half-sister and it was not an issue. Until the time of Moses, 2,500 years after creation, God did not prohibit the marrying of close relatives (Leviticus 18:6- None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.).

But why was marrying a close relative originally okay and later forbidden by God? One reason people don’t marry close relatives today is that humans have accumulated mutations (damaged genetic information) within their DNA for thousands of years. Close relatives are likely to have mutations in common, which if passed on by both parties ofte​n result in genetic disease. If a person marries a more distant relation, they are less likely to have the same mutations, so they are less likely to pass genetic disease on to their children.

Adam and Eve were genetically perfect, preprogrammed straight from the hand of God. So there would be no genetic mutation occurring through the combination of their DNA.

— Bryan Osborne

Beauty Where the Blood Fell (video sermon)

If I Were The Devil

 ​If I were the devil
I would not come with fire and fangs,
But with feelings—soft, soothing, deceptive.
I would not roar—I would whisper.
Whisper until your soul sang lullabies in chains.

I would cradle a generation in emotionalism,
Make feelings their compass,
Make truth seem cruel,
And boundaries the enemy of ​love.
I would teach them to worship their wounds,
To wear offense like armor,
And to name their pain “identity.”

I would declare war on holiness with charm.
I would poison their hunger for righteousness
With a gospel made of glitter—
All shine, no sanctification.
I would convince them that conviction is abuse,
That correction is control,
That to be separate is to be hateful—
That to be like Christ is to never confront.

If I were the devil,
I would preach a gospel of comfort,
Not of crosses.
A gospel where tears replace truth,
And goosebumps take the place of God.
I would build golden calves of emotion
In the sacred places once reserved for the Spirit.

I would whisper:
“You are a victim. Always.
You are owed.
You are right.
You are the center.”
And they would listen.
Because it would feel good.
Because it would feel holy.

I would make sure they believed
That they could blend in and still burn bright.
That compromise is compassion.
That lukewarm is loving.
That they can sip from the cup of demons
And still feast at the Lord’s table.

I would tell them that happiness is the highest goal, That holiness is outdated,
That repentance is optional,
And that the fear of the Lord is religious trauma.

If I were the devil,
I would not need to curse them—
Just convince them
That they can be carnal and Christian,
Worldly and washed,
Anointed and apathetic—
All at once.

But I am not the devil.
And I will not be silent.

Church, awaken.
There is no revival without repentance.
There is no power without purity.
There is no fire without sacrifice.
There is no Christ without the cross.

Let us tear down our golden calves,
Let us rise from the altars of emotion,
And return—heart, mind, soul, and strength—
To the altar of the Living God.

For He alone is worthy.
And He is not impressed by our tears
If they do not lead to transformation.

-Author Unknown

The Comforter Has Come (poem)

 Oh, spread the tidings ’round, wherever man is found,
Wherever human hearts and human woes abound;
Let every Christian tongue proclaim the joyful sound:
   The Comforter has come!

The long, long night is past, the morning breaks at last;
And hushed the dreadful wail and fury of the blast,
As o’er the golden hills the day advances fast!
    The Comforter has come!

Lo, the great King of kings, with healing in His wings,
To every captive soul a full deliv’rance brings;
And through the vacant cells the song of triumph rings:
    The Comforter has come!

O boundless love divine! how shall this tongue of mine
To wond’ring mortals tell the matchless grace divine—
That I, a child of hell, should in His image shine!
    The Comforter has come!

The Comforter has come, The Comforter has come!
The Holy Ghost from heav’n, The Lord’s dear promise giv’n;
Oh, spread the tidings ’round, Wherever man is found:
  The Comforter has come!

-Francis Bottome

Thank You Jesus for the Blood (song)

What Kind Of Heart Do You Have?

 People today like to quote the adage about "following your heart". That's probably the worst advice you could possibly give someone! The Bible says the heart is deceitful. Not only that, but the Lord tends to take into account what's in your heart when He answers you.

Jeremiah 17:10- I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

The deceived heart.

Ezekiel 14:1-5- Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.

These men came before Ezekiel claiming to want to know what the Lord had to say, when in reality, they were harboring idols and looking for justification for their sins. The Lord answered them deceitfully and appeared to be giving them an allowance for what they really wanted.

The lying heart.

Jeremiah 42:1-3- Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near, And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:) That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.

These people claimed to want to know God's will. They promised they would follow whatever God had to say when in reality they had already made up their minds about what they were going to do.

Jeremiah 42:19-22- The LORD hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day. For ye dissembled in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us unto the LORD our God; and according unto all that the LORD our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it. And now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you. Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go and to sojourn.

God called out their lies, and told them exactly what would happen to them should they follow their own council. Guess what? They died in Egypt because they followed their heart instead of obeying the Lord.

The conniving heart.

Mark 11:27-34- And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

These religious leaders were demanding answers from Christ for questions they should have already known the answers to. If they had submitted to the preaching of John they would already know whose authority Jesus was working through.

However, they reasoned among themselves because they didn't want to answer honestly. Because of this dishonesty, Jesus didn't even answer them.

The uncommitted heart.

Matthew 19:16-22- And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

This man seemed to be honest. He appeared, even, to be righteous. But theLord saw through him and answered with the thing he wouldn't relinquish. You may come to the Lord in what you believe to be honesty, but you need to be ready to act on what He points out. It isn't that easy, because we don't know what lies deep inside sometimes.

The humble heart.

Matthew 15:21-28- Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

This woman came to Jesus with a very serious request. It was an honorable request. But, Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of Israel, not the Gentiles. He was under no obligation to help her.

He even went so far as to call her a dog. How humiliating! Yet, in her despair,she accepted his insult and replied in humility. And Jesus answered according to her humbleness. He stepped out of his dispensation to address her desire.

God is looking for the humble, believing heart. The one that will acknowledge what is being said, not puff up in anger at it. The one that will submit to His direction and change accordingly.

Isaiah 66:1-2- Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

God isn't obligated to make you believe. He isn't even required to answer you directly or honestly. He's going to respond to you with the exact same attitude as how you approach Him.

Psalm 14:2- The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. But woe to the man that is looking to use the Word of the Lord deceitfully!