There it is, the question that has been asked generation after generation almost since the beginning of time. And the answer is still....yes! It was true in the days of Cain and Abel, It was true in the time of Christ when he instructed those who listened and followed to love thy neighbor as thyself and it is true today. I wonder why it is that we struggle so much with the most simple of concepts. Perhaps it is still the second sin or perhaps it is as it was with Cain, that we simply to lackadaisical in our approach to God and to life in general.
I always think that it is interesting when we read the Bible that something new appears to us as though it were hidden from us in our earlier readings. In Chapter 6 when God limits the days of man to 120 years...is that an extension of the earlier curse? Or is God trying by more subtle means than the flood to bring us back within the fold?
Also the answer to how long Noah was on the ark, he entered on the 17th day of the 2nd month and they left on the 27th day of the 2nd month in the following year. That is a lot of compost to be dealt with!
I enjoyed your postings. I hope that we will be able to instruct one another out of the insights that God reveals to each of and thus participate in a kind of theological study that God can use to build up his people.
I am humbled to know that there are folks who are reading my ramblings. Proof again that God is gracious and kind; beyond that which we deserve.
Hope you have a wonderful God-blessed 1st week of the New Year
I always assumed before rereading these chapters that Cain and Abel were the only children of Adam and Eve, but in reading these passages it does not exclude the possibility that there were other children. I gather that Cain was the first male child that was born and he later had a brother, Abel. These two children are significant in explaining the idea that we are our brother's keeper, but unless there is something written somewhere else it certainly does not exclude the possibility of other children.
ReplyDeleteKathryn,
ReplyDeleteChapter 5 tells us that Adam lived to be 930 years if age and had other sons and daughters. We do not know the names or numbers.
Dave
So maybe I am taking this the wrong way but Adam and Eve had Cain and Able and then is says they married. But who did Cain and Able marry and where did they come from? Also can anyone suggest an easier read Bible for us. We are stuggling to get to the true meaning by the words we don't understand
ReplyDeleteKim & Jason,
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this will help you because most of what we might say about Cain & Abel and there wives is deduced by thinking about what the bible says about Adam & Eve. Adam lived to be 930 years old. If Eve lived to a similar age and their child bearing years were extended similarly, it is possible that marriage was between brother and sister or ofter a generation or two between cousins. Such relationships were not biblically forbidden until Moses. You might do a google and see what other biblical scholars might say about this puzzle.
What bible are you reading. I have several translations at church. You are welcome to use them and find one that is easier reading. I would recommend that you look at an NIV translation, but there are even easier reads in modern English.
Dave
"Eve gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying,'God has granted me another child in place of Abel..." Gen 4:24 (Sorry, the SS teacher in me took over ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming that the "120 years" (ch 6) took many generations to take effect. Shem- Noah's son- lived 500 years (ch 11) and each father / son after him lived fewer years.