Cain's Mark

The story of Cain and Abel brings up so many questions.

Was Cain's mark a visible thing or just a sign between him and God? The world had become populated enough that it wasn't possible for word of mouth to travel. Not everyone would know to not kill Cain or harm him without worse harm in return. Why did God do this for him? Why would he be worried that others would know about his bad reputation with God and yet not know that God didn't want him killed? Why didn't God want him killed?

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. - Genesis 4:2b-8

Most of us know the story of Cain and Abel. There was a rivalry between two brothers, a jealousy that ran amok, and a man who turned into the first murderer on Earth. The most interesting theory on their rivalry states that they weren't just at odds in this one sacrifice but rather "which one would have the Temple of Jerusalem built in his domain." (biblicalarchaeology) Throughout the Bible, there could only be one temple. It was the place where sacrifices were made, and one could not build a temple or altar without the express permission of God. It's a possible explanation.

Once God confronted Cain about his murder, He set a punishment upon him as a wanderer who would never again be able to farm the land.

Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. - Genesis 4:13-16

In various parts of the Bible (Ezekiel 9:4; Revelations 7:3, 13:6) God marks his people on their forehands and hands to show ownership and protection. The Beast or Antichrist in Revelations does the same to his followers. We know only one of those will be able to follow through in His protections.

It's hard to say with as little information is given, so we can't tell if Cain repents of his actions or simply is afraid now that there are consequences. So, either God is expressing his forgiveness or He felt wandering the Earth (a symbol of being spiritually lost) without the gift he once had (agriculture) was more punishment than death.

So, what was the mark, exactly? No one knows, so it's all wild speculation, and like everything else, some people used these wild speculations as reason to use the Lord's name in vain. Yeah, they used the Bible to explain why they were breaking it. One racist idea was that the mark was black skin. People used that as a reason to treat others as lesser than. First, that's not being love to others. Second, being hatred and blaming it on God is literally using the Lord's name in vain.

This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For the LORD brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. - Exodus 13:9

You shall bind them (commandments) as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. - Deuteronomy 6:8

Just as observances were to be like signs/marks and the commandments were to be attached to your hands and forehead (not necessarily literally) as reminders of God's ways and relationship with His people, God's mark on us would serve as a reminder that we are His. Cain's mark served as a reminder to everyone Cain met that God would punish those who harmed him. He is God's and all punishment remains with God.

It does seem, though, that it was a physical or obvious mark for everyone to know not to harm Cain. However, it could've been a figurative mark, or sign, between God and Cain like a promise of protection. In this situation, if anyone didn't believe Cain that God didn't want him killed, he or she would be met with consequence.

However, when we read that Cain "went out from the Lord's presence" to live even further from Eden, we get this sense that Cain was separated from God's presence. He went to the Land of Nod, which uses the root of the Hebrew word "to wander." His world is upset, and he no longer is connected to God's creation as a farmer. He establishes a city, but it's hard to say whether he settled there or merely established it before his family settled there eventually. Whether he was ever able to live in that city, he remains spiritually lost and disconnected from God and the grounded-ness of his former profession.

This is a story that serves as a reminder that, without God, we're all awash in a sea, lost, and disconnected from our roots, like Cain. Also like Cain, God gives every possible chance for salvation.

One hopes Cain eventually repented and accepted God's grace.

God bless!


Sources other than Bible:
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/cain-and-abel-in-the-bible/
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/bible-interpretation/what-happened-to-cain-in-the-bible/
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/mark-cain/
https://nakedbiblepodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/NB-171-Transcript.pdf
https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_715.cfm
http://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/what-is-the-mark-of-cain.html
http://apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=5098
https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/6/6/4

Trees of Life & Knowledge

And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. - Genesis 2:9

Tree of Life imagery is prevalent throughout the world.

The Tree of Life shows up in ancient Mesopotamian tales about a man named Gilgamesh. He realized he was growing old and one day would die, so he searched for the only person who survived the world-wide flood, Utnapishtim, as he was the only immortal man he knows. Utnapishtim told him there's a tree under the seas that, while it won't grant eternal life, it has powers of rejuvenation. He explained that his own immortality was a privilege given by god alone. Gilgamesh was unsuccessful in obtaining this tree.

Ancient Egypt also had a tale about the Tree of Life, which stood for the "hierarchical chain of events that brought everything into existence (sivana)." The first couple, earth and sky, came from an acacia tree, which holds both life and death as two sides of a coin.

By their plentiful artwork, the ancient Assyrians held the Tree of Life to be very important. Although depictions usually show beings taking good care of it and has symbols which many theorize to mean creation, no one knows for certain what place exactly it held in their society or beliefs.

In Hinduism, a Tree of Life was a banyan tree. When the whole world was covered by a flood, this tree was the only one unaffected. It symbolized a part of ourselves that stays pure as long as we're rooted in spirituality.

In Mayan, Viking, and Celtic mythology, there is a massive, mystic tree which connects the whole of the universe (even invisible worlds) and the heavens, and it plays a large part in creation. This tree can be both Tree of Life and Tree of Knowledge simultaneously in its portrayal as a source of wisdom.

In Genesis, we are presented with humanity's first moral dilemma: the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. Trees generally symbolize a connection between the earth and the heavens, namely God. The Tree of Life, in the Bible, is a symbol of God's salvation, and Jesus' death on the cross. He died so that we may have life.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. - John 10:10

So, what is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil?

Let's look at a few verses:

The LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.' - Genesis 2:16-17

Then the Lord God said, ‘. . . Now, lest [the man] reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. - Genesis 3:22b-24

So, someone who eats of the tree of knowledge will die, and once someone is dead, they no longer have free access to salvation. They can't save themselves.

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. -Genesis 3:22

This knowledge is forbidden to humans but something that God and angels already have.

And your servant thought, ‘The word of my lord the king will set me at rest,’ for my lord the king is like the angel of God to discern good and evil. The Lord your God be with you! 2 Samuel 14:17

However, people aren't born with this knowledge nor the ability to utilize it for good.

And as for your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. -Deuteronomy 1:39

He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. -Isaiah 7:15

God didn't originally wants kings to rule His people, but only someone who has this knowledge would rule effectively. So, King Solomon asked for this, and God gave it to him along with wisdom (the ability to utilize that knowledge).

Give your servant (Solomon) therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people? - 1 Kings 3:9

It appears this wasn't a Good Tree/Bad Tree dynamic. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was neither evil nor poisoned. The more I study about it, the more it appears that it was a forbidden tree because the ability to determine good and evil was more knowledge than we could morally handle. Although they were both ways to connect us with God, only one was the right way. It reminds me of the Tower of Babel as they used their knowledge and skills to try to reach into the heavens (and save themselves from the judgement of God through another flood), and God scattered them to stall progress for a time (Genesis 11:1-9).

But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. -Genesis 3:4-7

Here, they realize they're naked, as if that were a thing they could only know once they obtained knowledge of good and evil. Nakedness is not evil. God said everything was good as of yet in the garden. No, the fact they disobeyed God was evil. The fact that we thought we could know better than God what was good or delightful for us was evil. The fact that we know good and evil, but don't know what how to handle that knowledge, spreads evil like a cancer. For comparison, think about the technology we've developed and knowledge we've gained through the years that ended up in atomic bombs and warfare. Adam and Eve desired to hide their shame, but their method of covering up wasn't adequate.

The fruit of the Tree of Knowledge was a delight to the eyes because they were prideful of how good they would appear to have such knowledge. The tree was not wisdom itself, but the knowledge of knowing the difference between good and evil is needed in order to be wise (utilize the knowledge).

Later, when Jesus returns to walk among humans in the New Testament, came to spread the wisdom needed to utilize this influx of knowledge released by Adam and Eve.

The book of Revelation says that all is not hopeless. The Tree of Life is a river of rest and cleansing from our shame of mishandling the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. We will wash our clothes clean in it's waters, quench our thirst (unlike the Tree of Knowledge which brings a consuming hunger), heal from its leaves, and eat the fruit of everlasting life. We are invited back to the Eden of fruits and trees described in Genesis.

To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. - Revelation 2:7b

On either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. -Revelation 22:2

Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. -Revelation 22:14

If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. -Revelation 22:19

Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. - Genesis 2:9

Eden, itself, is a symbol of our first sacred place of worship, like a temple or church, where God and humanity walk together. In the very center of this garden, was placed both the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In Jewish temples, there was a place called the Holy of Holies, an area where only the priests could go. In this place, God resided, and it was separated from the rest of the temple by a thick veil. In a Jewish text, Midrash Tanhuma, explaining the temple and the holy of holies, it states:

Just as a navel is set in the middle of a person, so the land of Israel is the navel of the world [cf. Ezekiel 38:12; see also Ezekiel 5:5]. . . . The land of Israel sits at the center of the world; Jerusalem is in the center of the land of Israel; the sanctuary is in the center of Jerusalem; the Temple building is in the center of the sanctuary; the ark is in the center of the Temple building; and the foundation stone, out of which the world was founded, is before the Temple building.

The center of this first temple, Eden, was the holy of holiest places, where resided the trees. Some theories, both in Jewish and Christian traditions, hold the Tree to Knowledge was a veil of sorts before the Tree of Life. We all know this veil was torn when Jesus sacrificed His life on the cross.

In a way, Adam and Eve were seduced into thinking they could obtain knowledge of good and evil and gain wisdom, like God and the angels had, in order to save themselves and connect them with heaven. However, as we know, we're utterly incapable of saving ourselves (the angels failed in this too!) or of being truly like God.

We now all have access to the Tree of Life through Jesus.

God bless!


Sources other than Bible:

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/the-tree-of-life-and-the-tree-of-the-knowledge-of-god-and-evil/
https://www.biblicaltraining.org/blog/curious-christian/4-3-2012/what-tree-knowledge-good-and-evil

https://metode.org/issues/article-revistes/the-symbolism-of-trees.html
https://blog.sivanaspirit.com/sp-gn-what-is-the-tree-of-life/
https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/ascending-mountain-lord-temple-praise-and-worship-old-testament/tree-knowledge-veil

Being Saved - God's Continual Battle to Keep Us

I remember someone once told me that there's no such thing as stasis (a period or state of inactivity or equilibrium). We are always getting worse or better. That goes for relationships, personal development, really anything in life. You're either improving or deteriorating, and you know what? That was the first thing I thought when I saw this verse.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. -1 Corinthians 1:18

Not dead but dying. Not saved but being saved. Interesting concept. It reads this way as a state of continual progression in most of the versions I've looked at (NIV, OJB, ESV, etc). So, I checked out Strong's Concordance and double checked some sources. The Greek verb σωζομενοις for "being saved" is in the present passive participle, which means an ongoing passive action properly translated as "being saved" not just "saved."

It also brings to mind the fact that we can't just accept God as our savior, maybe get baptized, and just go on about the rest of our life not trying anymore. Don't get me wrong about salvation. Jesus said, "It is finished" (John 19:30). He paid the debt of all sin in full. However, we are continually being saved from the darkness of the world. We are in a battle where the outcome is determined but the sides are being chosen every moment.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. - Galations 6:9

And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good. - 2 Thessalonians 3:13

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. - Ephesians 6:18

Have you ever heard that romantic saying, "I choose you everyday." In any close partnership such as marriage, we must continually choose the other person. In every decision we make, we must consider our loved one. If we don't, our relationship begins to grow apart as life drives a wedge between you.

This is the same as our relationship with God. We may have committed to Him, but we must continue to accept His salvation and reach out to Him in every thing we do and say.

God bless!


Sources other than Bible:
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/1_corinthians/1-18.htm
http://www.kjvtoday.com/home/are-saved-or-are-being-saved-in-1-corinthians-118-et-al
Strong's Concordance
Oxford Dictionary