Something we must remember in the reading of the Bible, is that how we read something is almost as important as what we read.
Often times, when people read the Bible, they process the content one chapter at a time, or others, one or few verses at a time. Since many of us grew up with the Bible having verses and chapter divisions, it is easy to assume that that’s the way it’s meant to be.
The modern chapter divisions were created in 1227 by Steven Lengton. Wycliffe’s Bible (completed in 1382 before the printing press) was the first Bible to use Langton’s chapter divisions. Since this time, English Bible translations have followed the pattern, with other languages adopting the same division system1. Verses came much later.
So, prior to these 1382, the Bibles didn’t have the division that we know of today. What this means is that outside of the book divisions, like Genesis, Exodus or the Gospels, everything within a particular book was meant to be read as a continuous narrative. Furthermore, even some of the books are meant to be read as a single unit. The 5 Books of Moses, though divided by the different titles, are meant to be read and studied as a single unit. I’ll talk about that another time.
But, today, I want to share with you the first part of how such an approach opens up a depth of understanding.
Let’s take a look at Genesis 4 as an example. Many people have wondered why Cain offered the fruit of his labor rather than a lamb. Furthermore, why did he never ask for forgiveness for the murder? Why was his punishment of not being able to “work the land” such a big deal?
If we only look at chapter 4, it is very difficult to know what is going on. Our best bet is to make guesses or go with what commentaries may say about these questions.
But what if we approached the Bible as we should, and thought of the previous 3 chapters as the build up to this moment?
1.) First of all, Cain was born outside of the garden. He never knew about paradise. All that he heard growing up was how wonderful the place was, and how his parents messed up and got kicked out. He would have grown up with the continual reiteration of the hope that one day, they would be able to make it in.
2.) On top of it all, he would have been taught that the only way to return, would be to acknowledge his guilt and believe in the Messiah.
But, think about it from Cain perspective. He didn’t eat the fruit. He wasn’t there. It might not have made sense for him to acknowledge his guilt. This could have very well been a reason why he didn’t sacrifice a lamb. He could have thought that he didn’t need to say sorry for his parents sin.
Cain was a gardner. So was Adam. By bringing the fruit of his labor, he could have been trying to prove to God he could be as good of a Gardner, if not better than his father, who obviously failed in his task while in paradise.
If he struggled to see the need for an acknowledgment of his sins and his need of a savior, this would have been the logical alternative method to make his comeback to paradise.
For Cain, like the rest of his family, going back to the garden was his dream. Nothing was more important than that to him. So, when God didn’t accept his offering, you could see why he would have been upset. In the heat of the moment, he kills his brother, whose sacrifice God accepted.
But this act of senseless violence showed that he was just as guilty, far more guilty than his parents were and was hopeless without a Savior.
Finally, when God approaches Cain about the murder and tells him that he is no longer allowed to work the land, he goes berserk. He says his punishment is too great. For Cain, not being able to garden again, was of far more serious of an issue than the murder that he had just committed.
Think with me for a second. Cain didn’t see the need of a savior. Or else he would have sacrificed a lamb.
Then this would make sense. Cain could have very well hoped that he would be able to qualify to enter paradise again, based on his abilities as a gardner.
Looking at Genesis chapters 1-4 as a whole, I believe that the case is strong enough.
Cain never apologizes. This attitude continues throughout his descendants. Chapter 4 ends with Lamech, who kills a man for wounding him and demands that God go to the limits of his patience.
When we read the Bible as a continuous story, we willl begin to see a more dynamic drama unfold.
References
1 https://www.gotquestions.org/divided-Bible-chapters-verses.html
amodernheretic.com 