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Now…into todays content!

For better or worse, no one knows you like your siblings.

I have two sisters who mean the world to me but, as anyone with siblings knows, it wasn’t always easy.

You learn a lot living under the same roof as others; especially when that time makes up the first two decades of your lives.

I’m blessed to have emerged from those decades with two wonderful sibling relationships. (Love ya, Jenn and Jess!)

But others aren’t so fortunate.

This leads us to the story we’ll focus on for our series- one of the oldest sibling tales known to man.

The story of Cain and Abel.

Cain and Abel

Cain and Abel’s story takes place in Genesis 4, right after the famous “Fall of Man” in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve have been exiled from the Garden of Eden and now must start a life in a world marred by the sin they introduced. 

It’s here that Eve gives birth to Cain and, sometime later, Abel. 

Cain would grow up to be a farmer, working in the soil. Abel, meanwhile, worked in the fields as a herdsman/shepherd. The conflict comes when the boys bring sacrifices to God only for God to receive Abel’s but not Cain’s.

God then sees Cain’s bitterness and provides him with a warning:

Then the LORD 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.” (Genesis 4v6-7)

Cain, tragically, does not heed God’s advice and his rage leads him to murder Abel.

(And y’all thought your sibling fights could escalate.)

“Lurking at the door…”

Like his parents before him, Cain is exiled for his actions and sent east. 

With Cain, humanity’s moral tapestry continues to unravel as verses 23-24 show his descendants carrying on the act of murder.

The story is a reflection on human nature, how the behavior we indulge in is the behavior we persist in. And that’s exactly what we’ll explore in this series.

So join us as we confront the identity of this sinister force God warned Cain was “lurking” at his door, desiring to consume him whole…

..and us, too.

For now, be blessed.

For now, be blessed.

Jon,

Theophilus Newsletter