Cain and Abel and a Big Flood

So Adam and Eve are out of Eden and they have a couple kids, Cain and Abel. I suspect they’ve had several more as well. The Bible doesn’t always follow a strict linear timeline and aside from that, one must do something to get into the Bible. Adam and Eve have a son that dutifully tills the field, marries an eventual sister or niece, and they live a reasonable, good, otherwise quiet life, and they get numbered in the “other sons and daughters” portion of a verse. There’s no shame in that, none at all. The great bulk of people throughout history, some even great, are simply other sons and daughters.

So Cain kills Abel out of jealousy because God had shown Abel favor because it seems that Abel had been more open with his sacrifices than Cain. Anyway, Abel is dead and Cain killed him. God, asks Cain where his brother is and Cain responds with one of the most famous lines in history (Gen 4:9) “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” Really a bit of smart ass that one. I mean, he’s talking to God here, not some cop or even a parent. Again, God is not amused and says “What have you done? Listen!” “Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.” Now God, remember They (God) didn’t curse Adam and Eve for disobedience, but God curses Cain, saying “Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground…” Strange, no? Offend God and you have to leave Eden; kill your brother and you are cursed to the land of Nod which basically makes him a wandering vagrant for the rest of his life. Bit of a difference between Adam and Cain, aside from the nature of their offense. God asks Adam what he’s done and Adam wilts saying “She made me do it” while Cain gives a rather proud, shoulder shrug of a response roughly akin to “How am I supposed to know.” God marks Cain so that no other person would take action against him in vengeance for Abel. What did that look like? Some guy is walking along and sees Cain and thinks “That’s Cain. Dude killed my uncle Abel. He’s going down.” The he gets a look at this mark on Cain and changes his mind. “That dude is so jacked up, I don’t even want to kill him.” This must have been some mark.

So fast forward to Noah. Big boat, a lot of rain, a whole lot of animals, and a long, stinky Mediterranean cruise with generally bad weather. Just over a year after drop number one falls, Noah and company get off the boat. God make a deal with Noah and uses a rainbow as a sign of this covenant and promises never to destroy all life on earth again. Also, you can eat any of these animals and anything that grows so long as it doesn’t have its “lifeblood still in it.” Then God says this (v5-7):

And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.
6 “Whoever sheds human blood,
by humans shall their blood be shed;
for in the image of God
has God made mankind.
7 As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”
In other words, as I read it, “I understand that there was a misunderstanding in the past, but let’s be clear now, You are your brother’s keeper and if you spill another’s blood, you’ll answer to me for it. But have a great life and lots of kids. By the way, isn’t the rainbow cool?”

This makes me think and causes me to ask a lot of questions that I don’t necessarily want answered. As you read it, it should do the same so I don’t have to list the questions it poses to me.

You are your fellow human’s keeper.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t know that I’m prepared to answer to God on that one yet.

And now for something completely different. I don’t always understand the Bible. The Tower of Babel story doesn’t resonate with me. I don’t get it. There are a few other things I don’t get as well. If I ask about the Babel story, and I’ve looked on line a little, the answer I get is that “Well, man was prideful in building the tower and so…” Yes, I’m sure that’s an aspect of it, but I feel like I’m missing something. Genesis leaves out a lot. Like dinosaurs, who was Cain married to, and a couple other things. Cain’s wife is easy enough and I touched on that earlier, Dinosaurs are something that get’s thrown at Christians by nonChristians who are being smart asses. My answer to the dinosaur question is “who cares?” But other people feel compelled to answer this and come up with rather bad hypotheses. There’s a line later in the Bible that goes something like, “Be prepared to justify your faith.” Hence the bad hypotheses and Christians that look like inarticulate fools. I don’t think you have to understand everything. It’s okay not to know or not to get every detail. You get what you get. As far as justifying your faith goes, (1 Peter 3:15):

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

hardly means be able to explain everything. Simply explain what gives you hope. “You know what, I don’t know anything about dinosaurs, I don’t know who Cain was married to and I don’t get the Tower of Babel. But when Jesus said “I am with you always, to the very end of the age,” it spoke to my heart and gave me hope. That’s all I can really say.”

If that isn’t good enough, then even if you could explain dinosaurs, it wouldn’t matter.

Y’all know I love ya.


© Carl Mealie, 2011