Cain & Abel (Part 1)

November 22, 2008, 11:31 am by dc-agape.

Genesis 4:1-12

In this chapter we meet Cain and Abel.  Most people who have any relation to the Jewish, Christian, or Muslim faiths know about the story about these men.  Let’s see if this story is similar to what is actually written in the Word.  To ensure we all know the characters:  Abel is the younger son.

Even gives YHWH all the glory for making her pregnant after having sex with her husband Adam.  I guess now days we must be truly arrogant to understand that pregnancy is the direct result of having sex with a member of the opposite sex.  Notice that she does not repeat the praise to YHWH for the second son.  Interestingly, Eve knows even at birth that her son will have a short live because she names her second son “Meaningless”.  The study notes say this about the name Abel:

^{Gen 4:2} How does she know that he will have a short life?

Next we get to the crux of the story.  Each of the sons has their specialty, Abel takes care of the livestock and Cain takes care of the fruits of the soil.  Cain is the first person to ever offer YHWH sacrifice.  In fact, the way it is written it would seem that Abel only imitates Cain’s offering.  Now a very interesting study note is written in the NIV.  The note speaks about how Cain’s sacrifice is not accepted by YHWH because of Cain’s carelessness, thoughtless offering!  Where does it say in the Word that Cain’s offering to YHWH was anything but the best he could offer????  It does not even look like Abel has ever offered YHWH a sacrifice before Cain gives YHWH his offering.  It would seem, from the Word that Abel had never even thought of sacrifice to YHWH!

Being an arbitrary being that YHWH is, he liked Abel’s offering better!  Can you imagine what your response would be, if you were Cain?  You have been the first person to ever offer sacrifice from your own hard work to YHWH; and he disses you for your brother’s copy of your act!  Well to say the least:

^{Gen 4:4-5} But Abel brought fat portions from some of the first born of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

So YHWH, being all powerful and omnipotent, has to ask Cain why he is angry.  YHWH then goes into a diatribe about doing right and wrong and how sin is waiting for Cain at every opportunity.  YHWH even says that he would have accepted Cain’s offering if it was right!  Cain did nothing wrong, yet he did not do it right.  Worst of all, he was the first person to ever give offering to YHWH, so as a result, he did not even have a manual for the proper way to give offering to YHWH.  He created the practice of sacrifice to YHWH, not his brother Abel.  This is very confusing, and I have not even read the first 11 pages of the Word!

Then we have the part where Cain kills Abel.  It does seem odd to hill his brother, Cain has issues with YHWH, not his brother Abel.  Why kill someone who copies you, instead of the one who is at fault?  I guess the concept of being angry at YHWH was unthinkable.  But any way, this is how Cain deals with the situation. 

After the murder, the omnipotent YHWH stops by to talk to Cain and asks where Abel is.  During this conversation we get the first famous one-liner from the Word:

Gen 4:9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” I don’t know,” he replied.  “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

This time YHWH does know the answer before asking:

Gen 4:10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.

Well, YHWH does not like what Cain has done.  So he curses Cain with soil that will not produce (worse than the curse Adam received from the loving YHWH) and Cain was also cursed to be a “restless wanderer”.  Within one life-time the human species has gone from living in a “garden of Eden” to back-breaking work, to the extra special curse that YHWH puts on Cain.

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