I’ve never been content with the basics of a story, I always want to know the “what” and “why” . Why did that little boy keep crying wolf? What kind of attention was he lacking in his personal life? Why was the Emperor so easily fooled? Was it because he thought so highly of himself that he forgot to be honest with himself? The account of Cain and Abel that we read in our bible gives us some basic facts. There is nothing wrong with the facts except it seems so dry and the people involved don’t seem human. The book of Jasher is a great historical book that gives great detail into the hearts and actions of people who, like us, are human. Jasher is not a person but a word that means the upright and correct record. It is mentioned in the books of Joshua and Second Samuel and is suspected to have existed in the archives in Alexandria, Egypt. Jasher chronicles the events of the book of Genesis and gives us greater insight into the people we read and study.
Cain was a tiller of the ground, a farmer. Abel was a keeper of sheep. Adam gave them each a portion of land and after a few years they both brought an offering to the Lord. Abel’s offering was approved by the Lord, being consumed by fire, because Abel brought the best of this flock for an offering. Cain did not bring his best fruits and vegetables for his offering. Cain became downcast and jealous over Abel’s offering being approved. But this is not the only reason Cain killed Abel. The book of Jasher tells us that some time later both Cain and Abel were out working in the fields. Cain was tilling and ploughing while Abel was feeding his flocks and some of Abel’s flocks started eating out of Cain’s fields. This made Cain angry. He was already not happy about his brother’s offering being approved by the Lord and now his brother’s flocks were eating his food. Cain confronts Abel and tells him to leave. But Abel points out to Cain that he was eating the flesh of his flocks and wearing the wool from his flocks. Abel said he’d leave if Cain took off the wool he was wearing and pay him for the sheep he ate. Cain threatened Abel and asked who would know if he killed him, but Abel said God would know and avenge him because the Lord knows all the secret things and would judge him for declaring it.
Cain got mad for what Abel said and he grabbed an iron part of his plough and killed him. Cain immediately grieved what he did to Abel and repented. He dug a hole and buried him. The Lord appeared to Cain and asked where Abel was. The Lord tells Cain that his brother’s blood cries out from the ground and that Cain is putting up a false front trying to conceal the truth. The Lord also points out that Cain imagined that the Lord didn’t see him or knew what was going on. The Lord told Cain that the ground would now be cursed because of what he did, so Cain left the area, married his sister, had children, and built a city.
Another book that provides some interesting insights is the First Book of Adam and Eve. Written in this book we see that Cain had a hard heart but that Abel had a meek heart. Cain always wanted to rule over his brother. Adam suggests they bring offerings to God so that God would cleanse Cain’s heart but Abel’s heart is what God approved of. But because Cain came with a hard heart before God his offering wasn’t approved. Contentions between them grew. We then see Satan come to Cain to entice him to kill Abel. Once Cain kills him he leaves with his sister and builds a city. We then see that the children of Cain are evil on the earth.
After this time Eve had another son named Seth. The bible jumps through chapter five giving lineage but no details. This is where the book of Jasher becomes very important. One reason, which we will see later, is the inference of evil throughout the land long before the time of Noah. The significance of the linage recorded in the Genesis 5 is that it tells us again, God’s plan for the redemption of man. In the garden God tells us that through the linage of the woman, someone would be born who crushes the serpents head. Humanity was now polluted with the seed of the serpent but there would be a way to redeem mankind. Cain’s behavior is so typical of people’s behavior today. Watching the local news seems like characteristics of this story are in every crime. Someone is mad about something and with blatant disregard of life, acts out in a manner that harms others.
We are all Spirit, Soul and Body, but somehow mankind’s spirit became polluted in the garden, taking on the nature of the serpents seed. Maybe like the stripping of the outside covering of a seed leaves the seed dead and unable to sprout and grow. The promise was to redeem mankind through a matrilineal line. Through a woman the seed would be recovered so that we could once again sprout and grow spiritually. Since the day of Pentecost we have had the option of regaining that spiritual connection. Compare this with what Jesus said as recorded in John 8:37-47. Jesus points out that even though they trace their linage to Abraham they are of the seed of their father, the devil, because they sought to kill him.
The Lord God said in the garden that the man has become like one of Us to know good and evil, Gen 3:22. The problem then would be if he would eat of the tree of life and live forever, that is why man was sent out of the garden. Now a plan to redeem mankind could be brought forth without man living in a fallen state forever. The names of the children of Adam and Eve in chapter 5 of Genesis tell a story of the future plan.
Adam-man
Seth-appointed
Enosh-mortal
Cainan-sorrow
Mahalaleel- The blessed God
Jared-shall come down
Enoch-teaching
Methusela-his death shall bring
Lamech-the despairing
Noah-comfort
Man is appointed mortal sorrow; the blessed God shall come down teaching and his death shall bring the despairing, comfort.
Here is the plan of redemption written in the names of the descendants of Adam and Eve. When I look at the time it took to proclaim this it was a couple hundred years. Moses sums it up in Genesis 5 without other background information regarding these people. How did Adam and his kin know this plan from God? In the First Book of Adam and Eve we have some interesting accounts where they were told the exact plan of God. Adam and Eve despair of their state after being sent out of the garden. Adam states how they used to see the angels worshiping all the time and now their eyes are flesh. God says he would send the Word of God to them and he would redeem them. Adam also talks to God the Lord who then tells him the plan of redemption.
The First Book of Adam and Eve 14:3-5 Again said God unto Adam, “All this misery that thou hast been made to take upon thee because of thy transgression will not free thee from the hand of Satan, and will not save thee. But I will. When I shall come down from heaven and shall become flesh of thy seed and take upon Me the infirmity from which thou sufferest, then the darkness that come upon thee in this cave shall come upon Me in the grave, when I am in the flesh of thy seed. And I, who am without years, shall be subject to the reckoning of years, of times, of months and of days, and I shall be reckoned as one of the sons of men, in order to save thee.”
The First Book of Adam and Eve 24:4-5 Then came the Word of God to Adam and said unto him, “O Adam as thou hast shed they blood, so will I shed My own blood when I become flesh of thy seed; and as thou didst die, O Adam, so also will I die. And as thou didst build an altar, so also will I make for thee an altar on the earth; and as thou didst offer thy blood upon it, so also will I offer My blood upon an altar on the earth. And as thou didst sue for forgiveness through that blood, so also will I make My blood forgiveness through that blood, so also will I make My blood forgiveness of sins, and blot out transgressions in it.”
That is the plan that has been proclaimed from the beginning, it was also written in the heavens which we will explore at a later time. This plan was not a secret; Satan knew the plan and tried to hinder it as we can see throughout history. Fortunately for us we can see the plan fulfilled as we can look back to the life of Jesus, but what must it have been like for Adam and the first descendants?
From the book of Jasher we see that as man multiplied there were several things they did to rebel against God. Jasher says they afflicted their souls and hearts by transgressing and rebelling. In the days of Enosh men served other gods and idols of wood and stone and they forsook the Lord. The book of Jasher says that the Lord caused the waters from the river Gihon to overwhelm them, destroy them and consume them and a third part of the earth. But this did not cause the survivors to turn from their evil ways. There was famine at that time as from the time of Adam the ground was cursed with thorns and thistles but the book of Jasher says that men continued to corrupt their ways and the earth became corrupt as well. (Again as in a previous blog we see the connection between us and our world) Cainan was born to Enosh and he wrote on stone tablets about what would take place in the future and he turned men to the service of God. He was wise and ruled over spirits and demons.
Also the book of Jasher tells us how men began to transgress God’s commands by not bearing children. The men gave their wives herbal drinks so that they would not bear children and keep their youthful figures. The men despised the sight of the child bearing women and would leave them as widows. It is not stated in Jasher but it would be my assumption that this was to keep the prophesied seed of the woman from coming forth to crush the serpents head.
I think about what it must have been like to have lived in those days; what was it like not to have the Holy Spirit on the inside? What must it have been like to be learning about God through stone tablets and one wise man, rather than all the resources we have today? What would it have been like to know Adam and Eve as they were still alive at this time? Would I have pursued God or would I have not cared? Without having the Holy Spirit to convict of sin would I have even known there about sin and then guilt and remorse?
Eventually we come to Enoch, which is where we will pick up next time. Another interesting book to read is the book of Enoch. It will be referenced quite a bit as we head into the understanding of the fallen angels.
