In Genesis 4:16, it mentions the place Nod. What is the meaning of “Nod?” Is anyone in that place now?
Before we consider that verse, let’s read Genesis 4:9-15, “Then the LORD said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ He said, ‘I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?’ And He said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cried out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 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.’ And Cain said to the LORD, ‘My punishment is greater that I can bear! 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.’ 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” (NKJV).
This true story of the first murderer is most solemn and tragic, for if you read the first 7 verses you will see that Cain had the same opportunity as his brother Abel to present the proper sacrifice to God which would have made him righteous in God’s sight. But instead he tried to come to God on his own terms (without faith and without the blood sacrifice of an innocent victim), even after God appealed to him to repent. Yet Cain refused to repent and in jealousy and in anger he killed his brother. This in turn caused God to pronounce His righteous judgment upon Cain, which would include WANDERING on the earth as a FUGITIVE and a VAGABOND. But God still showed mercy to Cain by putting a mark on him and by issuing a warning to others not to take the law into their own hands and kill him.
Now let’s read verse 16, “Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.” I have often wondered what would have happened if Cain had had change of heart (the meaning of REPENTANCE) and offered to God the sacrifice He had demanded, even at this late stage in his rebellion against God. I believe God, who is a merciful God, would have forgiven him. But instead we read that he “went out from the presence of the LORD.” In this act he sealed his doom, for God’s curse upon him then became a reality. He literally became a FUGITIVE and A VAGABOND and lived in the land of Nod. We don’t know where this was exactly, so we don’t know if anyone is living there today. But we do know what Nod means; it simply means “wandering.” How fitting, for Cain was to remain a “wanderer” the rest of his life, and thus he lived in the “land of WANDERING!”
Before we end our meditation, let me remind our readers that all of us were born into sin and like Cain we have “gone out from the presence of the Lord and are wandering in sin.” Isaiah 53:6 declares, “All we like sheep have GONE ASTRAY; we have TURNED, every one, TO HIS OWN WAY.” Dear friend, this is our spiritual condition outside of Christ (before we are saved). We are LOST SHEEP, wandering in this world of sin and having our own way. This was true of Cain, and it is true of every man, woman, boy and girl. Yet just as God had offered Cain a “way out” if he were to offer a blood sacrifice to Him, God has provided a sacrifice for us! We see this in verse 5 and the latter part of verse 6, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed…the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Do you believe Jesus Christ took your place on the cross and suffered for YOUR SINS? If you will believe, you will be able to say, “By His stripes we are healed.” (290.9) (DO)