Genesis Chapters 3

From the beginning, humans were trying to pass the buck. Adam blames Eve; Eve blames the serpent. We never want to take responsibility for our poor choices. Let’s face it. If things had turned out differently and God was pleased with the disobedience, do you think Adam would have said “Eve made me do it”? Yeah, right.

Then, look at Cain and Abel. What’s the most quoted verse out of the Cain and Abel chapters? Yep. Cain’s response of: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Just a different way of deflecting blame.

What I find curious about Cain and Abel are all the assumptions that have been made and how those assumptions have been passed down from generation to generation.

• Cain and Abel were firstborn. The Bible doesn’t indicate the birth order of Cain or Abel. In fact, the Bible doesn’t mention the birth order of any of Adam and Eve’s children, nor does it indicate the number of children they had. Just because they are the first ones mentioned doesn’t mean they were the firstborn. Individuals may be able to deduce the order, but those deductions are based on assumptions.
• Rejection of Cain’s offering. For some reason, I thought sacrifices should be blood sacrifices so Cain’s offering was not acceptable. But, it was Cain’s attitude that was at fault. Verse 7 says that “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?” Clearly, something wasn’t right with Cain.
• Cain as a murderer. Was Abel’s murder a crime of passion or of premeditation? Most Christian translations have Cain luring Abel to his death while the Hebrew and Aramaic texts have Cain coming upon Abel by accident. Since Christian translations have Cain luring Abel, most theologians believe it was premeditated murder. I think there is a case for a crime of passion.
• Cain’s punishment. The infamous mark of Cain. Cain’s punishment was not death. He was to become a wanderer, marked by God. Precisely what the mark of Cain was is not stated although speculation abounds.

I’m only four chapters in and already I’ve found so many misconceptions about what the Bible really says. Am I the only one who had these misconceptions?