Monday 02 October 2023

Psalm 130 

Background

In today’s passage we move out of the idyllic scenes in the Garden of Eden to a world which will increasingly become more complicated. We read of Adam and Eve beginning their family and the birth of their two sons: Cain followed by Abel. It's good news one would think. They grew to be men and took on the tasks of tilling the ground and looking after the sheep. All seems to be well, and we read (vs 3-4) that both bring offerings to the Lord from the work they had been undertaking.

However this is where the problems begin, for it seems that whereas the offering of a lamb was well received, God was less pleased with the crops of the ground, causing Cain to feel resentful towards his brother. It would seem that while the lamb had been the best of those available, although it's not spelled out, Cain's offerings had perhaps not been the best of the crop available, hence the response he received from God for his gift. 

The Lord’s response to the offerings clearly raises a sense of injustice in Cain who feels he has been badly treated. In a rather over the top response Cain kills his brother, and the idyll would seem to be over. Cain is challenged by the Lord to explain what has happened and he has no real answer, and finds himself alienated from all that he has known, as a child in that beautiful garden of Eden, and as a first-born son of his loving, proud parents. He also finds himself marked and sent out to wander in the wider world. The land he had so proudly tilled is now barren, and he feels separated not only from the Lord, but from all that he has known. The darkness which is to become familiar in the years and ages to come, has begun.

To Ponder:

• Do you agree that this story is written from someone who looked at the world many years on and sought to find the beginnings of the darker place which that world has become?
• Does the description of the offerings made by the brothers say something about the way in which we give our lives to the Lord?  Do we always give the best we can, or look for what might do? In other words, offer a second-class gift?
• What can we learn about the Lord’s purpose for the world from reading about the relationship between the brothers? How might it speak to us today?

Prayer

Lord, help us to use the story of the brothers as a challenge, as we seek to serve you in our lives. Help us to always give our best and seek to obey the command given by Jesus to love you above all else, and then love our neighbours, who are our brothers and sisters. We ask that you will walk with us to truly fulfil your promise in us.  Amen.