Читать книгу Bad Boys of the Bible: - Barbara J. Essex - Страница 13

Cain is a man tied to the land who rightly worships God by bringing of his bounty. But he pouts when God rejects his offering. He is horrified because God also rejects him. Rather than deal with God, Cain takes out his anger and frustration on his hapless brother, Abel, whose very name suggests one who is transitory, fleeting. When God confronts Cain, Cain lies, and becomes petulant. He basically tells God that if God is so concerned about Abel, God should be keeping him rather than expecting Cain to do so. God makes Cain pay, and Cain complains that the punishment does not fit the crime: that he was concerned about his life but had no concern for his brother Abel’s. A man tied to the land is forced to roam the countryside, although his descendants will build cities. Both Adam and Eve are absent from the story—Cain is left to fend on his own. God maintains a relationship with him, though, and provides for his safety.

The story of Cain and Abel is foreshadowed by tragedy: the Adam and Eve debacle. We are prepared to envision life outside the Garden of Eden as marred by bad choices and subsequent consequences. Cain goes down in infamy as a bad boy because he is the first recorded murderer in the Bible. After killing his own brother, he utters perhaps one of the most convicting questions ever: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” This question has haunted theologians, poets, novelists, sociologists, anthropologists, and screenwriters. It is an eternal question, challenging us to explore the nature of our relationships with other human beings.

Cain’s question echoes through the ages as we have sought ways to live together in peace and harmony. His story raises pertinent questions about equity, justice, retribution, anger management, sibling rivalry, and conflict resolution. His exchanges with God invite us to consider our own relationship with a God who sometimes seems capricious and unfair.

Further, Cain’s story raises some troubling questions: Where are his parents in this scenario? Why does God reject his offering? Where did the rest of the population come from if Adam and Eve were the first parents? What is the mark that God placed on Cain for his protection? Some of these questions will remain unanswerable. Let us explore, however, to see what we can learn.

On the surface, Cain’s story seems fairly straightforward. Cain is the firstborn son of Adam and Eve. He is born after his parents have been evicted from the Garden of Eden. Both parents now live under the consequences of having eaten the forbidden fruit. Cain’s father is portrayed as a passive, whiny man who seeks to blame others for his bad judgment (review Gen. 3:8–13). Cain’s mom is depicted as a verbal, knowledgeable, assertive, adventurous decision-maker (review Gen. 3:1–6).

The two are held accountable by God for their decision to eat the forbidden fruit (review Gen. 3:14–19). As a result, both must live with the harsh realities of life and are expelled from the idyllic environment of the garden. In the “real” world, they must eke out a living and produce a family.

Life outside the garden moves right along—the man and the woman have two sons, Cain and Abel. Adam and Eve continue the creation of humankind. Notice that Eve speaks but Adam (again) does not. But things are different. The parents have lost their innocence and now know good and evil. They also know consequence, rejection, and exile. They have been cast out and are forbidden to reenter the garden. They are forced to make their own way in the world. They know hardship, limitation, sorrow, and pain. It is into this changed world that Cain and Abel are born.

The narrator of the story explains Cain’s birth: Eve “conceived and bore Cain.” Eve makes a declaration that explains Cain’s name; the Hebrew Qayin likely means “to produce, acquire, create.” We are forced to pay attention to the firstborn son of the first family. Note that little elaboration is afforded Abel—“Next she bore his brother Abel.” The relationship between the two boys is established early: Abel is Cain’s brother. The name Abel is likely connected to the Hebrew hebhel and carries the connotation of vapor, breath, and transitoriness. It may signify the fleeting, temporary, even meaningless of Abel.

Cain is a farmer and his brother is a shepherd. Both continue the vocation of their father, Adam. There is no implication that one vocation is better than the other; together they represent the realm of vocational possibilities at that time. Cain and Abel are both connected to the land. Both recognize a power greater than themselves and bring offerings to God. This act of worship expresses gratitude. God “has regard” for Abel and his offering, but God rejects Cain and his offering. This sets the stage for the drama of this story.

There is no indication why God rejects Cain and his offering. Likewise there is no indication of how Cain learned of his rejection. Cain probably could have dealt with merely having his offering rejected, but God rejects Cain, too. How could God reject the product of the divine command to Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply? How could God reject the fruits of the earth that Cain has tilled as commanded by God? We are told that “Cain was very angry and his countenance fell.” The fallen countenance indicates the inner turmoil he must have been feeling; he is depressed and understandably so. Imagine bringing the best that your vocation affords and placing it before the Creator who created everything and called everything good! Cain has gathered the fruit of the land as an offering of worship and thanksgiving, and both he and his gift are rejected. Cain does not question God about the divine choice. Cain does not argue with God; he is silent in the face of God’s decision. As a character in the narrative, God appears arbitrary and uncaring. God chooses the younger brother over the older; God chooses animal offerings over the agricultural. And God provides no explanation for the choice.

Cain feels dejected, rejected, and ejected from God’s ring of grace and care. Interestingly, though, God interacts with him. As in the earlier story of Adam and Eve, God has human qualities and speaks to humans. God begins the conversation by taking note of Cain’s reaction to God’s choice of Abel and his offering. Already knowing what ails Cain, God nevertheless asks Cain why he is in a bad mood. Can you imagine how this makes Cain feel? God goes on to tell Cain that his reaction to the divine choice will have great consequences for his life:

YHWH said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.” (Gen. 4:6–7)

God acknowledges Cain’s anger and dejection. God does not apologize but pushes on with alternatives for Cain to consider. God does not explain the divine choice but instead offers Cain the opportunity to react to reverse his situation. God implies that the way Cain deals with this current situation will determine his future. If Cain accepts God’s choice with grace and works to do well, God will accept and have regard for him, and Cain will be able to lift his countenance.

However, if Cain continues to be angry and dejected, he will be overcome by sin. Notice that in verse 7 the word “sin” is mentioned—for the first time in the Bible. “Sin,” as used here, connotes an offense and its subsequent penalty. Sin is characterized as active, lurking, sneaky, waiting to pounce, consume, and overwhelm Cain. Sin is waiting to overtake him, but Cain is admonished to master sin. There are no clues about how to do this except that Cain should “do well.” God seems to assume that it is within Cain’s power to ward off sin and do well despite its lure and his inability to resist it up to this point. Is the implication that he has not done well? The text does not say but implies such. Here Cain has another opportunity to ask God about the divine choice of the younger brother; again, though, Cain does not question or argue with God. Cain stands passive in the face of God’s choice.

Cain, however, does not seem to heed God’s warning. Instead, he invites Abel into an open field—his territory. Then Cain kills his brother in cold blood! This is the first murder in the Bible. There are no details about the incident; it is revealed in a matter-of-fact manner in Genesis 4:8: “And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him.” We are not told how Cain killed his brother; we have no sense of whether Abel put up a fight or was caught off guard; and there is no indication of whether Cain was anguished after the dastardly deed. We might conclude, though, that Cain attacked his brother in the same way that sin waits to attack him. He acts out what sin will do to him if he does not change his attitude.

The storyteller is bent on outlining God’s reaction to the deed. God asks the simple question: “Where is your brother Abel?” (Gen. 4:9a). A simple question assumes a simple answer, but Cain continues to seethe in his emotions. Rather than confess his deed, Cain turns the question back on God. His lack of responsibility and remorse mirrors that of his father. When God confronts Adam about eating of the forbidden tree, Adam places the blame on God and Eve: “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate” (Gen. 3:12).

Adam’s way of coping with a difficult situation was to shift the blame from himself onto someone else. Rather than own up to his complicity in the act, he passes the responsibility to God and the woman God created and gave to Adam. Unfortunately, Cain has learned nothing from his father’s situation, nor has Cain heeded the warning of God to do well. Cain’s reaction heightens the tension in the story, and we suspect that nothing good can now emerge from the situation. Cain spouts the now infamous line of familial distress: “. . . am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen. 4:9b)

The Hebrew word translated “keeper” is from a verb whose meanings include: “to eye,” “to lie in wait for,” “to hedge about,” “to guard,” “to protect,” “to attend to,” and “to keep.” Thus, a range of possibilities is open for God to consider. Cain’s response has a double edge to it. Cain, produced by Eve with the help of YHWH, asks whether it is his job to watch over the weaker, younger, transitory brother. Cain may be implying that it is God’s job to take care of Abel since God accepted him and his offering over Cain. Abel’s identity is as Cain’s brother and his brother erased him. Abel does not speak and seems to be a mere foil for the action between God and Cain. However, Abel’s blood cries out to God from the ground—the ground to which Cain (and Adam) is intimately connected. The Hebrew phrase points to the cry of the afflicted, oppressed, abused, brutalized innocent victim. Cain’s attitude toward his brother causes great concern for God.

Cain denies knowing where his brother is, and asks if it is his responsibility to take care of his brother. God has created the situation, so God now has to deal with the mess. If God is so concerned about the chosen one and his gifts, then God should be the one watching over Abel, not Cain. Since Abel is acceptable, why should Cain be concerned about him? There is anger in Cain’s response—the hurt emotions are difficult to mask. He lives with his pain and takes what seems like a coping device—he eliminates the source of his despair. Instead of dealing with God, who started the whole thing, Cain chooses to get rid of his brother. Because God had warned Cain about his reaction, Cain had the choice of getting over the pain and moving on. Cain does not get over it, however, and chooses a violent way out. He is guilty of premeditated murder. In a fit of rage, he makes a conscious decision to rise up against his brother, perhaps hoping that this will allow him to lift up his countenance. Cain’s response drips with sarcasm, and the tension builds.

God reacts here as in Genesis 3 while searching for the man and woman in the Garden of Eden: God seeks an explanation for why things have suddenly changed. Prior to the humans’ eating of the forbidden fruit, God moved freely among them. Suddenly, God has to seek them and calls out to them. When God realizes that they are hiding, God seeks an explanation for their behavior. And this pattern continues. There is no indication of what the relationship between God and Cain has been, but now things have changed. God seems to have injected the tension between the brothers by accepting one and rejecting the other. And for no apparent reason, Cain is left to his own devices to deal with the blow to his ego and persona as he learns of God’s rejection. Still, God offers Cain a range of reactions—with their consequences.

Knowing that things have changed, God asks Cain to explain himself: “What have you done?” (Gen. 4:10a). And before Cain can answer, God moves into the heart of the matter by acknowledging Abel’s death and pronouncing judgment against Cain. God moves so quickly we can scarcely catch our breath as the echo of Cain’s question lingers in the air. But God now is angry that Cain chose not to take the high road. Instead, Cain gave in to his anger, jealousy, envy, and depression—and now there is a price to be paid:

“Listen; your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” (Gen. 4:10–12)

Blood is an important element in Hebrew theology; it symbolizes life and life’s power. To spill another’s blood is not acceptable (Gen. 9:4–7; Exod. 20:13; Lev. 24:20–21; Deut. 19:2). There is a penalty for spilling the blood of an innocent person, and Cain will have to pay. However, God’s punishment seems not to fit the crime. Cain is cursed from the ground that now holds his brother’s spilled blood; the earth, now contaminated with human blood, will not yield its fruits without great difficulty; and Cain will be a fugitive and wanderer upon the earth. His punishment also mirrors that of his father, Adam: the earth is no longer friendly and abundant for them. The earth becomes a source of hardship and suffering. Cain is sent into exile as Adam was banished from the Garden. Both men now live in a changed reality. Cain’s punishment seems like an overreaction by God, since there has been no stipulation against or penalty established for murder. But it may reflect Cain’s overreaction to God’s choice of Abel.

Cain is quick to let God know how he feels this time around. No longer passive and silent before God, Cain has the nerve to whine about his punishment:

Cain said to YHWH, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.” (Gen. 4:13–14)

Cain acknowledges the pain of being driven from the soil and from God’s face. This relationship is important to Cain, despite his breach of it. He cares about being connected to God; this may have been his purpose in bringing his offering to God in the first place. Now he regrets an action that breaks his relationship with God, although he expresses no remorse for killing his brother. Further, Cain will be a drifter. He no longer has a home, which is important for farmers and all people tied to the land. Cain is destined to wander the earth with no place to call home, estranged from the very land that was his lifeline. And now he is further estranged from the God to whom he offered his best yield. His choices now color his relationship with the One who created him and gave him his being. It is ironic that Cain is so concerned about his own life when he held so little regard for his brother’s. He is worried about being killed when he himself is a killer. Yet he finally speaks his mind and lets God know that he is anguished and afraid.

God has every reason to ignore Cain’s pain. But God is characterized as caring and compassionate even when the divine choice is denied. Even when he stands guilty before God, Cain is given mercy. God assures him that he will not be killed:

Then YHWH said to him, “Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.” And YHWH put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him. (Gen. 4:15)

God provides protection for Cain just as God provided support for Adam and Eve. When they were cast out of the Garden, Adam and Eve received suitable clothing to replace the fig leaves they had sewn for loincloths (Gen. 3:21). Even when pronouncing judgment and punishment, God still provides support and care. God has compassion for Cain who had none for his brother. God does well even when Cain has not.

THIS CURIOUS STORY leaves many unanswered questions. However, we are not surprised that Cain is among the “bad boys.” While we hope he will take the higher way, we empathize with him. The God he worships and adores rejects him in favor of his younger brother. We see that Cain is alienated before he kills his brother: he has no idea why God prefers Abel. God offers no clue and holds Cain responsible for the way he will deal with this dilemma. Cain stands as mute and passive before God as did his father Adam when caught after eating the forbidden fruit. Cain seeks acceptance and approval but does not receive it from God. The sin lurking at the door of Cain’s heart has its way and sways him to an act of violence against his brother. Abel is the victim of injustice and his spilled blood must be avenged. Cain is sent into a life of exile and wandering—headed east just as Adam and Eve were sent east from the Garden of Eden. The human family continues to move farther and farther away from God.

Cain’s punishment is especially painful because he is no longer rooted in a place. Further, his own place in God’s heart has been shaken. He is sent away from God’s presence and sphere of love. He is not cut off, but the relationship has been seriously damaged. Cain’s ego and self-esteem have been destroyed, and he is forced to live out the consequences of his decisions. His emotions got the best of him, and now he must pay for his actions.

Beyond the mention that Adam and Eve produced two sons in the opening verse of chapter 4, they play no role in Cain’s story. They are absent from the action; they offer no solace or advice to their son. They do not protect Abel nor do they provide any care for Cain. Their absence is curious.

God places a mark of protection upon Cain. Anyone who kills him will face the vengeance of God. We are told that Cain left the presence of God and settled in Nod, east of Eden. Nothing is known of this mysterious Nod; its name is embedded in a Hebrew word that implies the troubled roving of one destined for an unsettled life as part of God’s judgment and punishment. Thus, Cain leaves the comfort of family and friends and finds himself wandering aimlessly, never satisfied or content. Even when he settles in Nod, the very name implies a continuing restlessness and dissatisfaction with his lot. He is a restless wanderer in a land of restlessness. Cain can never feel at home in Nod or anyplace else. We are told that Cain’s wife conceived, and Cain’s family line is outlined. He is the father of city dwellers, musicians, shepherds, and smiths (Gen. 4:17–24).

So what are we to make of Cain’s story? It is shaped by the J tradition and sets the stage for issues that will occur repeatedly in Israel’s history. Time and time again, the men and women of Israel will deal with the nature of worship, the rights and privileges of the older son, violence, murder, dysfunctional family relationships, and sin and its consequences. We will read with fascination the family squabbles between Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, and the prodigal son and his older brother.

Throughout this narrative, Cain neither confesses to nor repents of his brother’s murder. He pouts and whines. He is stubborn, arrogant, and petulant. He is indignant and takes no responsibility for his actions. When he receives the punishment he obviously deserves, he complains that the sentence is too much. Further, he fears for his life when he has had so little regard for that of his brother. Yet God continues to bless him even when Cain is required to live out the consequences of his choices and actions.