The "Mark of Cain"

I've been wondering why a mark was placed upon Cain rather than he getting his just desserts.

After Cain was found guilty, he was surprisingly 'protected' by God.  God had placed a mark upon him which was more of a warning or deterrent to others not to kill him. 

Remember those old Western flicks where murderers had their "mugshot" on posters with  a Reward $2000 Wanted: Dead of Alive" sign on it?    That did not happen here.  With Cain, what he got doesn't seem fair and is a gross injustice to the murdered Abel.  Thus, I wasn't too happy with Cain getting away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

However, Christopher Wright in "Old Testament Ethics for the People of God" opines that Cain was :

"...put under divine protection lest he himself become the victim of spiraling violence.  The mark upon Cain is not punitive but protective."

According to Wright, the Fall "meant the disordering of human society" with the "Genesis narratives rapidly portray the corrupting of all social relationships around which human life is structured."  He goes on to make three (3) points:

1. The fundamental relationship within marriage is twisted...the relationship degenerates into one of harsh domination and lust.
2. All derivative relationships are correspondingly debased, by spirals of jealousy, anger, violence and vengeance (Gen 4).
3. The whole race is characterized by wickedness and evil (Gen 6:5)

Thus, the story of Cain and Abel is part of the undoing of Creation, where there is Disorder to what God has ordered in Creation.  The sad case of the brothers "...illustrate the accumulating disorder within human society, starting at the very place where love and support should be strongest-between brothers".

God wanted to put a stop to the cycle of violence and disorder.  As Wright quotes Marshall, "In the story of Cain we see a legal order appearing. Penalties are established for Cain's murder of Abel but Cain in turn is not left to suffer anarchy.  A legal order is established with penalties and this order incorporates Cain and anyone who seeks revenge on him... The 'mark of Cain' is not merely particular to Cain as an individual: it is a sign that God has appointed an order to maintain justice.

I am not sure I can entirely agree with that but that sure gives some food for thought, doesn't it?