What is the "Curse of Cain" as described in Genesis chapter 4:2-17, and what does it say about God's concept of judgment?

The “Curse of Cain,” which takes place in Genesis chapter 4:2–17, is a scenario that has vexed Bible readers for centuries. In this story, we see interactions between Cain and Abel, the first recorded children of Adam and Eve. Eventually, Cain and Abel grew in to adulthood and went into vocations. Abel was a shepherd, and Cain was a “tiller of the ground, Genesis 4:2,” which for all intents and purposes means a farmer. When the time came to offer sacrifices unto God, Abel offered God the firstlings of his flock, namely a living sacrifice, and Cain offered God vegetation. God respected Abel’s offering, but not Cain’s. Cain was upset at the outcome and conspired to kill his brother Abel. He later slaughtered Abel in an open field. God questioned Cain about his deed, and the whereabouts of his brother, adding that “the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground;” Genesis 4:10. Abel then replied sarcastically with “ I don’t know where Abel is, am I my brother’s keeper?” God then proceeded to curse Cain with a curse. This curse on Cain had the consequences of no rest or vindication from his crime, applied social stigmas for his deeds, and hard work to earn his living with little to no gain for his efforts. This curse is similar to the curse that God placed on Adam in Genesis 3:17. Cain then told God that he would be seen as a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth, and that his punishment was more than he could bear, because anyone that saw him would immediately criminalize him, and try to kill him; Genesis 4:14. God then placed a protective “mark” upon Cain that made it so that if anyone did slay Cain, vengeance would be taken upon that person “sevenfold,” or seven times worse than their actions upon Cain. The Bible does not specify what this mark was, however it could of been any number of things. My speculation is that is was a legal implementation that God placed in the earth that made violent retaliation against a person without proper cause, a crime in and of itself. Cain then left from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in a land east of Eden, (the geographical location, not the state of Earth as it was known as the Garden of Eden.) This land, East of Eden, that Cain dwelt in after he murdered his brother Abel, is referred to in the Hebrew lexicon, as “Nod” or “Wandering,” which was essentially the state that Cain was in all of his life up to that point; he was without direction or purpose. The curse of Cain was somewhat of a blessing and a curse. His life was protected in such a way that no person could kill him just because of his stigma, at least not without punishment; however at the same time he would be eternally stigmatized by mankind for the act of murder. The curse of Cain has unfortunately been misinterpreted by many people in Judeo-Christian cultural traditions as a racial designation. Some people in these groups have speculated that the “mark” that God placed on Cain was both a curse, and a racial designation, namely color in his skin, and namely blackness. This assertion is for all intents and purposes a man-made tradition, and has no place in Biblical discourse for two reasons. Firstly, because the “mark” that was placed on Cain was not a curse, but a mark of protection. Secondly, because there are no Bible scriptures that allude to racial designations in relation to the mark. In relation to the corrupting influence that man-made traditions have on the scriptures, we see Jesus proclaim in the Gospel of Mark 7:13, “Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. This verse is applicable to any and all man-made traditions that contradict the scriptures as indicated in the Holy Bible. In summary, the Cain and Abel story ultimately shows that while God takes crimes seriously, namely violent crimes, he will never give the perpetrator a punishment that is more than he can bear.