Cain and Abel
After this event, Adam and Eve never separated themselves from their son, even when he went to make an offering, until the day that Adam dies. Sadly, Cain did not return for his father’s burial, but remained below the mountain where they resided. As Adam lay dying, he gave his son Seth instructions on what to do with his body, and even prophesies the coming judgment of flood. But more importantly to our study is what he tells Seth regarding Cain.
Then, again, sever thy children and thy children’s children from Cain’s children; do not let them ever mix with those, nor come near them either in their words or in their deeds.” 2 Adam and Eve 8:15
It seems that although Adam learned his lesson from the death of his son, his other son, Cain, did not. His life continued to be that of refusing to follow the commands of God. Adam knew that if Seth’s children spent any time at all with the children of Cain, that they would become like them, opposing God and His will. Even then, the people of God had to separate themselves from the rest of the world because of Satan’s influence on the world. Satan truly influenced Cain and his children and Adam didn’t want the same fate for the rest of his descendants.
When Adam died, Seth, his son Enos, and Enos’ son Cainan prepared Adam’s body per his instructions and then came to the altar on the mountain.
But Eve said to them, “Wait until we have first asked God to accept our offering, and to keep by Him the soul of Adam His servant, and to take it up to rest.” And thy all stood up and prayed.” And when they had ended their prayer, the Word of God came and comforted them concerning their father Adam. After this, they offered their gifts for themselves and for their father.
And when they had ended their offering, the Word of God came to Seth, the eldest among them, saying unto him, “O Seth, Seth, Seth, three times. As I was with thy father, so also shall I be with thee, until the fulfillment of the promise I made him – thy father saying, I will send My Word and save thee and thy seed. But as to thy father Adam, keep thou the commandment he gave thee; and sever thy see from that of Cain thy brother.” 2 Adam and Eve 9:8-9; 10:1-4
Even though they have walked in His commands, Eve did not assume that God would take Adam’s soul and give him rest, but beseeched Him, offering up a sacrifice in hopes of being found acceptable so that Adonai would receive the soul of Adam. These people truly had humble hearts. We could all learn many lessons from them, but this one, I believe, is the most important; only a humble heart will find favor with Adonai.
After the death of Adam and of Eve, Seth severed his children, and his children’s children, from Cain and his children. Cain and his seed went down and dwelt westward, below the place where he had killed his brother Abel. But Seth and his children, dwelt northwards upon the mountain of the Cave of Treasures, in order to be near to their father Adam. And Seth the elder, tall and good, with a fine soul, and of a strong mind, stood at the head of his people; and tended them in innocence, penitence, and meekness, and did not allow on of them to go down to Cain’s children. But because of their own purity, they were named “Children of God,” and thy were with God, instead of the hosts of angels who fell; for they continued in praises to God, and in singing psalms unto Him, the their cave – the Cave of Treasures. 2 Adam and Eve 11:1-4
There are a couple of verses in Genesis that many, many people have been looking at of late, trying to understand exactly what it tells us.
Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. Genesis 6:1-2
Many people believe that the “sons of God” refers to the descendants of Seth while the “daughters of men” refers to Cain’s descendants. The second book of Adam and Eve seems to be the source of that interpretation. The Book of Enoch and the Book of Jubilees, on the other hand, clearly states that these “sons of God” were angelic beings, who fell from their heavenly positions due to the sin of lust. I leave it up to the reader to decide which is true.
The tragic tale of Cain and Abel contains messages for us all, if we will only take the time to meditate upon the story. It is the story of a man whose heart was turned towards Adonai and his brother whose heart was not. The sacrifices they both offered where neither good nor bad; it was the heart behind the sacrifice that mattered in the eyes of their Elohim (God). Adonai has commanded us to offer sacrifices to Him so that we may be found righteous in His eyes. Many don’t believe that this still applies today, either because there is no Temple in which to offer sacrifices, or because Yeshua was the final sacrifice. Neither of these excuses us from continuing to keep the commands of Adonai. He still desires us to offer sacrifices because He doesn’t change, and neither does His commands. So what do we do?
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. Psalms 51:17
I will praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving. And it will please the LORD better than an ox or a young bull with horns and hoofs. Psalms 69:30-31
The sacrifices were given to us to teach us how to worship Adonai. These lessons still need to be learned by all of us, so we must continue to study the sacrificial system and the Temple service if we are ever to fully understand how to worship Adonai our Elohim. It could be that the story of Cain and Abel was in the mind of Paul when he wrote to the believers in Rome:
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2
If we were no longer required to offer up sacrifices, then why would Paul tell the believers in Rome (who had no access to the Temple) to continue offering? Obviously we are supposed to continue sacrificing to our Elohim. Here we also find instructions regarding just how to sacrifice without the Temple: we are to offer our minds as well, allowing Adonai to renew us. We must learn to think as He thinks, not as Satan. When we listen to the world, we are actually listening to the enemy of our souls. Every time we turn off the TV and open the Word of God, we are sacrificing our time and our will to Him. We are not to be of this world, like Cain, but to be above this world, as Abel.
The author of the book of Hebrews also understood this principle.
Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:15-16
When we give freely of our time and our resources, we are engaging in worship. It is that simple. We no longer have a Temple or an altar to offer up our sacrifices, so we must find other ways to sacrifice. The Jews teach that good deeds and prayer are what we must now offer up to Him as our sacrifices as the verses above also indicate.
The story of Cain and Abel can be seen as a measuring stick for believers. If, in our hearts, we are trying to find a way around the idea of our continued need for the offering of sacrifices, then we have the heart of Cain. If, like Abel, we desire to spend time with Adonai to the point of it costing us dearly, then we, like Abel, will be found acceptable in His sight. The question is, “Just how much are we willing to give to Him?” Are we willing to give our time, resources, and finances as well as our relationships in order to worship Him more fully? If there is something that you desire, as Cain desired Luluwa, but God has other plans, will you do whatever it takes to have your desire, or will you give your entire life, hopes and dreams included, in order to be pleasing to God? I guess that’s the key: who are we serving, He or ourselves?
Satan approaches us in many forms, using whatever means necessary to cause us to turn our backs on Adonai and His ways. He will promise us the world if we will only follow him, yet he never delivers on his promises. Cain learned this the hard way, or did he? According to the ways of the world, Cain was very successful, marrying the most beautiful woman in the world, having many children, building a city, yet his heart was hard and cold and far from his Creator. Is this what we want for ourselves? Regardless of what he offered, the desire for sacrifice was not there. This is why God did not care for him, because Cain cared not for God.
Although Abel’s life was short, according to the books of Adam and Eve, his life was sweet. A vapor in the mist, by the time we realized he was here, he was gone, yet his legacy lives on in every true believer on the face of the earth. Having a heart for God made his offerings acceptable, regardless of what it was that he offered. This is why the widow’s mite was much more valuable than the Pharisee’s riches.
And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44
Although this woman might not have been rewarded in this world for the sacrifices she made, Yeshua made sure to point her out to His followers and she is included in two gospels. This shows again the value that He places on our hearts, for it was out of the goodness of her heart that she gave ALL that she had. Are we willing to give the same?
In the days to come, each of us will have a decision to make. We must all decide, once and for all, whom we are following. Are we really following Adonai El Shaddai and His ways? Or are we really following the rest of the world, blindly following Satan? Just as with Cain and Abel, the key is our heart and its willingness to sacrifice, offering up the best of what we have to a most Holy God on His terms. One deviation from this goal, one waver of the heart, and the enemy will be able to whisper in our ears and enter into our heart and before we know it, we’re his.
If He asks us to give up our friends for His sake, will we do it? What if it’s our family we need to leave, or our place of business? Could we keep ourselves from our own brother if we know that he would lead us astray? These are the questions we need to be asking ourselves as we “work out our salvation with fear and trembling”? (Philippians 2:12)
Our heart condition is one of the major themes of the entire Bible, especially Psalms and Proverbs. We are to treasure His word in our hearts. Once we do, then we won’t be inclined to sin against Him. Remember, sin is the breaking of God’s Law, which includes the command to sacrifice. If it is not within our hearts to offer up sacrifices to Him, then we, like Cain, can, and will, be easily deceived. If we have the heart to sacrifice whatever it takes to be found within His kingdom, we will be able to easily spot the lies of the enemy and turn to Him for deliverance, just as Abel did.
Two brothers, born of the same womb, should have turned out the same, or so we’d think, but that’s not the way of life. Just as Esau and Jacob, Cain and Abel were as different as could be when it came to the love of Adonai. Simply put, one had it and one did not. In both cases, it seems that these boys were just born that way, one loving God and one, well, not. It’s not that Cain hated God; it’s just that he didn’t love him. There is a difference. Why is that? Why is it that one person is born with an immediate love of God, and another born with no thought of God at all?
Could this be a direct result of Adam and Eve’s fall into sin? Could it be that the knowledge of good and evil has corrupted our gene pool in such a way as to affect some of us differently than others, some leaning towards good and others towards evil? Yeshua once said that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven (found in Matthew, Mark and Luke). Cain was a rich man, who seemed to get away with murder (although he was eventually killed by his own descendant, Lamech) but could not find favor in the eyes of God because his heart was more focused on the things of this world then on God. This is why he couldn’t sacrifice, not like Abel. Like the widow, Abel was not focused on the things of this world, but on Adonai. His reward was severely lacking in this world… but his righteousness is spoken of to this day, and will be for a long time to come.
How would you like to be remembered?