“And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord”
And so the human race began to multiply with Cain my firstborn. I watched Eve writhe in pain to bring him into this world. Then I watched the love that showed in her face and eyes as she held him. Later I watched her laugh at she taught him things that only a mother can teach. Then I watched her weep for days when he murdered his brother Abel. Cain my son, strong and powerful. Cain my son smart and handsome. Cain my son rebellious and disobedient. Cain the one who knew that God was there but never wanted to obey Him. Cain as with all that were to follow was born with a disposition and nature to sin.
"And she again bare his brother Abel, and Abel was a keeper of the sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.”
Abel our second son was a delight to his mother’s eyes when he came forth. To think that despite our sin our Father would bless us with offspring giving us a chance to tell them about His wonderful forgiveness. Just as Cain seemed to be so rebellious Abel was just the opposite. He would sit for hours and listen as we told him of Eden and Gods love for us. While Cain would grow bored in a matter of minutes. Once Cain even blamed God for our disobedience saying well why did He let that happen? I answered in this way. Why is it that we want our freedom of choice and then when we make horrible ones we want to blame the one who gave us that freedom. Cain became a tiller of the ground growing wonderful vegetables that we all enjoyed. Abel became a shepherd tending to his flock with loving care. He would watch over them day and night bringing the sick to the camp to heal them. Keeping even the lame and disfigured ones. He was a shepherd just as our Father was our shepherd.
“And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the ground an offering unto the Lord.”
How well I remember that day. I was sitting outside of our home enjoying the morning sunshine and praying to our Father. I looked and saw Cain approaching with something in his hand. When he got close I saw that it was a wonderful stew that he had made out of the vegetables he had grown. My first thought was that he was bringing it to me and his mother. Then he said that he was going to offer it the Lord. I tried to warn him that this was not acceptable in our Lords sight. When I did he only got angry with me. He said the Lord will not be angry with me but delighted that I have decided to honor him. So it has been ever since men think that God is honored that they bring Him something. The reality is that He needs nothing. The reality is He sets the standard not us. The reality is that there is but one way to the Father and that is His way. His way has always been by His grace. His way has always been by what He tells us to offer not by what we think we should offer.
“And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Able and his offering.”
Many nights were spent telling Cain and Abel how the Lord covered Eve and me with the skins of the animals. How we had stood there in our own covering trying to hide our sin. It was not until the Lord covered us in the way that He had planned was He satisfied. It was the blood of sacrifice that satisfied His anger over our disobedience. It has always been that way and it will always stay that way. For that is the right of the one who created us. It is His right and not ours to decide what satisfies Him. Abel would sit and listen while Cain eyes would wander here and there. Able would ask questions while Cain would often fall asleep. Abel brought Gods sacrifice while Cain brought his own.
“But unto Cain and his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
I did not know what was wrong with Cain for he would not tell me. I only knew that he was angry because of something that had happened. You could see it in his face and watch it in his actions. If you tried to talk to him his answers were short and blunt. He seemed particular angry at his brother Abel and yet I knew of nothing that he had done to deserve Cain’s anger. It was not until much later that I found out that our Father had tried to correct him with these words about his offering.
“If thou does well shall thou not be accepted? And if thou does not well sin lies at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire and thou shall rule over thee.”
Our Father always warns us before we fall into sin. He warned Eve and me in the garden. And he warned Cain by telling him that all was not lost. All he had to do was come in the way that our Lord tells us to come. How many disasters have I seen in all of my years because of our refusal to listen? Our prideful will that makes us think that we can continue in our own ways giving no thought to or asking for any guidance from our Father. Be sure it always ends in disaster for we will either have our Father’s care and rule or we will be ambushed by our own desires and sin.
I sat at the tent that evening waiting for Cain and Abel to come home from the field. Cain from his garden and Abel from tending the sheep. As I looked out into the distance I could see only one of them approaching and as he got closer I could see it was Cain. As he got closer and came into view I could see that there was something on his face. I could not tell if it was dirt or something else but when he came up to me I could see that the mark looked like blood. I jumped up and called Eve and after seeing the mark she went and got cloth’s to dress and wipe it off. To our amazement it would not come off. Other than the mark Cain was physically fine. We asked him what had happened and with a quivering voice he said that Abel attack him in the field and tried to kill him. I asked him where Abel was because I wanted to confront Abel with Cain’s accusation. He said that he did not know and answered, “I am not my brother’s keeper.” When he said that I sensed that there was more to this than was coming out. We had always taught our children that they were responsible to help and watch out for each other. Cain then said that he was tired and needed to rest. Eve and I set out for the field to look for Abel.
We found him in the field near the sheep that he loved so much. His lifeless body was covered in blood. Death had come in the physical form to the ones that God had created. My sin again came crashing down on me for I knew that this was not how our Father intended it to be. A striking contrast between Cain and Abel for Cain was spiritually dead and Abel was physically dead. It was as our Father said in the day that you taste you shall surly die. We buried him there in the field beside his beloved flock. There where his foal could graze around him. Later after much questioning Cain did admit that he had rose up and slew Abel. I still do not think that he told us the whole story. When we continued to question him about the mark on his face he would only say that God put it there. I lost both my sons that day for Cain was soon to leave heading out into the desert. We never saw him again but I heard that he built great cities. I was never to know if he ever came back and worshiped our Lord in the proper way but from what I heard I do not think that he did
"And Adam knew his wife again and she bare a son and called his name Seth. For God said she hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel whom Cain slew.”
Our Father was again gracious to us and gave us another son. We named him Seth which means compensation for he also was like Abel. He listened as we told him of our Lord. He desired to follow our Father and obey Him as Abel did. In time Seth also had a son and named him Enosh who also followed our Lord. Men began to call on our Lord as they were taught about Him. They began to worship Him in the proper way. I will mention only two others though there were many who called on our Lord. First there was Enoch born of Jared. I think of all my offspring he was the godliest for his everyday life seemed to be lived in the presence of our Father. He radiated love and all that came in contact with him sensed that they had been in the presence of one who was intimate with our Father. Then one day he was gone and all knew that God had taken him home to be with Him. My sin was still evident as men began to grow even more wicked with each generation. After Enoch was taken very few followed our Lord. Wickedness began to abound everywhere. The one bright spot was Methuselah who was Enoch’s son for he still followed the ways of our God. I will end my story with the bi
rth of Noah. When he was born I sensed that he would do great things for our Lord.
My story is ended but yours is still being written. I thank our Lord and Jesus who came later but His precious blood extended all the way back to Eve and I covering us with His sacrifice. He does not asked for our perfection but He does ask for our hearts. Be sure your sin will find you out as mine did and if not confessed and forsaken will bring heartache and regret. Sometimes it will last a lifetime as mind did. I Adam, am now in Christ.
The End
Don Hatfield
Copy written 2015 Smash words Edition
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