Why didn't Cain get the death penalty?

[rattletrapmusicman]

In the laws handed down to Moses, God talked about an eye for and eye and stuff like that. He also said after Noah landed that "if a man sheds another man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed". So why didn't God smoke Cain on the spot?

 

[Mr.Cheese]

Grace.

 

[Rafael]

Cain was marked by God and left as a witness on earth, and none were allowed to kill him. God has reasons for allowing the existence of evil.

The law did not come untill much later on in man's history.

 

[PRMan]

Plus, God had not yet commanded people not to kill. Cain may not have even known that humans COULD be killed that way.

 

[Knee V]

I think it could possibly be an object lesson. Not only did God not kill Cain, he also put a mark on him SO THAT OTHERS WOULD NOT KILL HIM. By God allowing evil to go unchecked, it resulted in the condition of the earth that we find in Genesis prior to the flood. If crime is never punished, evil overtakes a society. After the flood, He commands us to shed blood for blood. This may or may not be the right answer, but it at least makes sense to me.

 

[Anti-Fear]

God can make any exception he wants, he may have used Kain as example for other purposes.