This week we discussed episode 3 of the BEMA podcast: Master the Beast. Please consider listening to the episode before watching this video about our discussion.
Genesis 4 begins with Adam and Eve making love and then she becomes pregnant.
After betraying her in the previous chapter I wonder how Eve felt about the situation. Would she have felt betrayed? Does she have an idea of what betrayal is? Was she bothered by it at all? Was she even in the conversation between Adam and God? She named her first son Cain, which means acquired. Did she name Cain out of spite or out of joy? If she acquired her son with Adam I don't know how she would've named him in spite of Adam. One of the main themes of this chapter is betrayal. Think about Cain betraying his brother Abel and how Cain must've felt betrayed because God didn't like his sacrifice as much as Abel's. In the next part it begins to explain this scenario and how it played out:
It starts out explaining that Abel looks after the flocks of animals and Cain works the soil. Without Cain's crops the flocks don't get fed. I wonder how the idea of giving an offering to the Lord came about. Did it come about because Adam and Eve told their children that they should give an offering? Or did it come about because of their awe in God? I wonder also if Abel was preparing his offering and Cain came and inquired as to what he was doing. After finding out did he go over and try to slap something together to give it to God? I think about my own offerings to God. Do I give out of love and awe or out of a desire to give because I see other people giving and I don't want to be left out? After Cain got upset about God not looking on his offering with favor, God confronts Cain and asks him about his feelings.
God tells him that sin desires to have him. God can see what's coming and he goes to stop Cain from acting out on his anger. God didn't try to tell Cain to stop feeling the way he felt but to take control of his feelings and just do what is right. If we do what is right then will we not be accepted? How many times do we act out of fear? How often do I let my fear dictate my actions? Cain's anger comes from his fear of being less than Abel. It goes on to read:
God comes to Cain and asks where Abel is. The word for "where" is the same word from the previous chapter when God was looking for Adam. God knew where Adam was then and he knew where Abel was. God's not ignorant to their where Abel is, but he wants Cain to respond and give an answer for where his brother is. Cain's response is "I don’t know,” and he goes on to ask God: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” He lies to God's face about murdering his brother. God doesn't confront the lie, but he does tell Cain that he knows what's up. God says:
It amazes me that God doesn't strike Cain down for murdering and lying. How many times do I have this kind of grace? God sends Cain away instead of paying him back with death. Notice how his punishment advances in Adam's punishment:
Rather than just banishing Cain he gives him a curse to where he wouldn't even get anything from the land, even if he tried. Cain's job was looking after the crops. Now he can't even do that. How will he eat? He will have to depend on others. Cain goes on to state that:
His fear is still controlling him. Shouldn't he just be afraid of God? Shouldn't he just trust God? Instead fear of not being enough is ruling over him. Fear is the antithesis of trust. If he had trusted that God loved him and still loved him, even if He didn't like his offering, then Abel would still be alive. Even though Cain is still living in fear God meets him at his insecurity and offers him protection.
Just as God covered Adam and Eve in their shame, He covers Cain with a mark of protection. I think it's beautiful that God responds this way, despite Cain still not fully trusting that God loves him. God tells Cain that no one will kill him because he is protecting him, even though he fully deserves death God still loves him and protects him.
The question that often comes up next is "Where did Cain find a wife" or "Who is going to kill Cain if there are only a few people on the earth?" One thing that I was taught as a young teen was that God created many people and then created Adam and Eve so there would be a bloodline for the Messiah. When you look at it this way then the interference from the serpent makes sense. If the serpent is Satan or a representative of Satan wouldn't he want to prevent the savior of the world from coming? I don't know if Satan can look that far ahead or if this is all just a story to teach the Israelites coming out of Egypt something, but I don't think we should just assume that they were the only people on the planet. Especially since chapter 1 of Genesis states:
27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
I'm sure there are many interpretations or versions of this idea, but I don't think it should be something that trips us up. We really have no idea how all this went down, so it's not necessary to risk our salvation over it.
There were bookends to this chapter of Adam and Eve reproducing, thus making a chiasm. If you follow back from the end and forward from the beginning then the central verse is:
What's the treasure here? If a chasm leads the reader or listener towards the treasure and that treasure usually being in the center of the chiasm, then what is the treasure in these verses? I wonder if the treasure rests more with God's response to Cain's fear. God's response to Cain's fear wasn't anger or more punishment, but a special mark so no one would kill him. How has God protected you in your own life? I know many times I was afraid of a situation or a consequence and then God gave me some comfort. I have learned to trust God in many ways, but I still have a lot to learn. Not just about trust but also about His Word. What did you think about this week's discussion? What thoughts or questions came up while listening to episode 3 of the BEMA podcast?
This episode mentioned Rabbi David Fohrman's lesson called Serpents of Desire. I found that lesson in written form and here are the links to each lesson:
Check out The Beast That Crouches at the Door By Rabbi David Fohrman available at Amazon and at AlephBeta.
Learn more about Rabbi David Fohrman at AlephBeta.org
Learn more about the BEMA podcast at bemadiscipleship.com
Join us next week as we get together to discuss episode 4 of the BEMA podcast: His Bow in the Clouds
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