Where did Cain's wife come from?

I havent heard this objection in a while but heard it today in a coffee shop.  A friend and myself were chatting about God and this guy who had overheard us talking asked us this question.  My friend said that its an easy question and the answer is that God just created a wife for Cain.  Is this the answer?

First I have to say that of all the things in the bible that people honestly object to or have a hard time understanding I dont run into this very often.  But it is a question and it deserves and answer

I can understand why my friend would think that God just created a wife for Cain, but that is reading meaning into the text, rather than reading the meaning of the text.  We read in Acts 17:26 that "From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live."  so we can see that God did not supernaturally create other people.  Also in Genesis 1:28 we read that God said to Adam and Eve "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

So from these texts we can see that from one man all of mankind was born and that Adam and Eve were fruitful and multiplied.  So it makes sense that Cain would have married either his niece or sister.

Now that is very hard for us to understand today.  I could never participate in this, but this is how the human population started, and it makes sense.  Also God did prohibit incest in to law in Leviticus 18:9

Its not an easy answer, its not a comfortable answer but it is the truth.  When we can answer these questions rather than deflecting them we can move onto other questions and take down roadblocks to the Gospel

Also I have to say on the lighter side, when I was searching for an image to use for this blog Pictures of John McCains wife kept coming up, so that made me laugh :)