The Beginning of Time ~ Part 2

Welcome back to another post about the history of the world. The Beginning of Time series is doing a very brief recap of the first chapters of Genesis. In the last article, I wrote about Genesis 1 to Genesis 3. Today’s article will cover Genesis 4 and 5. If you were wondering, I always use the King James Version or the Authorized Version of the Bible for all of the verses I quote. I prefer this version because it is straight from the original Greek, rather than being translated from the Latin Vulgate or the Wescott-Hort translations. The only problem in the King James Version is that it doesn’t capitalize pronouns referring to God which I personally take as a capitalization error.

In Genesis 4, we hear about the first murder in human history: Cain kills his brother, Abel. In this chapter, Cain is an example of, not a symbol of, (the fact is very important; many accounts in the Bible actually happened) the unregenerate man who chooses to rebel against God’s laws. God gave Cain multiple times to repent of his sins:

The first time came after Cain and Abel gave the mandatory sacrifices to God. These sacrifices were used as an atonement for people’s sins until Jesus gave Himself as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. God accepted Abel’s sacrifice, but didn’t accept Cain’s. There are a number of reasons why this was so. Most likely, Cain sacrificed begrudgingly unlike how God commanded us to give (“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” – 2 Corinthians 9:7). He might have sacrificed only because his parents told him to.

Whatever the reason or combination of reasons were, this action showed what Cain thought about his sin. He believed that he didn’t need a sacrifice to pay for his sins. He was going to attain salvation his own way. Because God didn’t accept his sacrifice, Cain became really angry, not at his sins or himself but at God. God gives him the first opportunity to repent in verses 6 to 7: “And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.”

The second time came after Cain murdered Abel. Abel is an example of the righteous man who obeyed God willingly. Apparently, the motive for this murder is Cain’s inability as a wicked man to be around a righteous man. It was his guilty conscience that led him to quiet Abel. Although He knew what had happened, God asked Cain in verse 9 only to receive a disrespectful reply: “And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?” Cain disrespectfully lied by telling God that he wasn’t accountable for Abel’s murder. Just like those murderers in crime fiction novels!

God judged Cain by making him a wanderer or vagabond who would never successfully farm again. To some people, always traveling might seem like a delightful life, but what would traveling be like if you never had a home to return to? This might have been what Cain experienced in addition to people hunting to kill him and avenge Abel’s death. After all, so far in human history, only Adam, Eve, and their children were around and news traveled quickly in this culture. But God gave Cain another chance to repent of his sins by sparing his life. But we still do not have any account of him ever repenting. He even tried to defy his punishment by attempting to build a permanent residence.

Even though Cain deserved to die, God blessed him with many descendants. Some of these descendants were even responsible for scientific improvements such as breeding livestock, forging musical instruments, and mining. Although many evolutionists refer to the people during this era as “Neanderthals,” humans during this time were actually highly intelligent, and most likely even more intelligent than us nowadays! Also, Neanderthals or “Neanderthal Man” are scientifically classified as stronger, more intelligent humans. Perhaps, the fossils of Neanderthals derived from the pre-Flood era.

We are introduced to Lamech later in the genealogy of Cain. Lamech was an ill-tempered polygamist. He is the first recorded person to have more than one wife, and he is also the first recorded poet. Verse 23 records his morbid poem: “Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.” The words wounding and hurt merely refer to what we would define as a slap or punch that is taken during a serious quarrel. Lamech has no justifications for killing these two individuals, but he takes pride in what he has done. For those of us who have read murder mystery, we have probably all come across the murderer who flaunts his actions after he has been finally caught just like Lamech. This is the sorrowful plight of man without any recognition of God.

But not all hope has been lost. Seth, another example of the righteous man before God, was born. Genesis 5 records the genealogy of Seth. Prominent Sethites (that might not be a word) include Enoch who was raptured to meet God in heaven. Enoch’s son was the longest-living person ever recorded in history. Methuselah lived for 969 years (can you imagine that?). Next time, I will discuss Noah who is certainly one of the more well-known Biblical characters.

The verse for this week is Genesis 4:7. It says, “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” Sin is personified as something that waits to enter into one’s heart although sin is already innate in man. This is not a doctrinal error, but instead, it refers to the choices we make to either follow God or sin. Cain is one of the examples in history that we can learn from. In order to be a student of history, we conclude that admitting our sins to God and trusting in His promises is the best way to live our lives. Doing otherwise will only bring judgment like Cain.

Here is also a quote which Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie’s most famous detective, said in Death on the Nile: “Do not allow evil into your heart. It will make a home there.”