Children...

Chapter 4 of Genesis is the account of the world's first children. We can all take comfort, no matter what our children have done and or put us through, in Adam and Eve's parenting experience! When sin entered the world, it did so in mighty ways! The firstborn son was Cain, whom God decided would be a farmer. The second born was Abel, whom God destined to be a rancher. This gives me pause to reflect on occupations. Our culture tends to negate the role of farmers and ranchers and elevate professions such as lawyers, doctors, techno-wizzards, etc. However, the Lord saw the most important jobs as those which provided sustenance to the people. Without them, human existence is not possible. We owe much to those who provide the food for our tables.

We know the story - the young men offered sacrifices to the Lord from their respective domains and Abel's was acceptable and Cain's was not. So the big question was why; what was wrong with Cain's offering? It came from the fruit of his land. Was God saying that blood sacrifice was better than others? Perhaps - because it does connect with the blood sacrifice of Jesus centuries later. This is where I and many people could go bonkers and just say that none of this makes any sense. In fact, Garry (my husband) and I had a discussion about this very issue yesterday afternoon, and then our son-in-law, Brandon, brought it up last night.You might check out Garry's comment on my first post concerning his thoughts about the boys. Anyway, I looked into the matter via a good commentary. BTW - if you want to be a serious student of the Bible, you must have at least one good commentary! I'll list my study sources on the side of the blog page. According to my research, it was not the offering but the attitude in which it was given. Cain was a sour puss! He gave grudgingly to the Lord. Another lesson for me! The evidence is in his reaction - anger and resentment. His reaction to the Lord and Abel was so strong that God warned him that "sin is crouching at the door and its desire is for you." WOW! I had never really seen that verse before. Sin is crouching at the door and its desire is for ME!!! My mind raced to 1 Peter 5:8 - "...be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour." Sin did get the best of Cain, and he killed his brother; thus, humanity experiences its first death. God banished Cain to the eastern desserts and a very difficult, nomadic lifestyle. Lesson: Separation from the Lord leads to a life filled with emptiness and endless wandering for purpose and meaning. Eventually, Cain's entire branch of the family tree is wiped out in the great flood.

Later, Adam and Eve were blessed with another son, Seth, who seems to have had a closer walk with the Lord than Cain. In fact, the one man who found favor in God's sight amidst the total wickedness of the world came from the lineage of Seth - Noah. Also in Seth's line was a guy who gets a little extra bio in the family tree, and that is Enoch. We don't know a lot about him other than the description that he "walked with God." And did you notice that Enoch didn't die? Read the family tree in chapter 5. And so-n-so lived so many years and became the father of so-n-so and then died after so many years...That's how it goes - until you get to Enoch. Four verses are devoted to Enoch! Verse 24 is the highlight - "And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him."  He is mentioned again in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11! He must have been a strong man of faith. I would love to be worthy of having my tombstone inscribed with, "She walked with God." Another interesting fact about Enoch - he was Noah's great gramps! No wonder Noah found favor with God - he grew up in a family that showed him how to be a man of faith! Another lesson learned.

Can you believe that the first five chapters of the Bible are so full of Truth? Can't wait to continue on this road!