Cain and Abel: A Creation Manifesto

The story of Cain and Abel is commonly known as the story of two brothers, one of whom murders the other in a fit of jealous rage. However, the story of Cain and Abel is so grounded in the creative narrative that this story also powerfully reflects God’s love for his creation, and demonstrates how deeply bonded He is, to the earth.

Creation is Offered

Genesis 4:2 describes Cain as a crop farmer and his younger brother Abel as a shepherd. Each man was responsible for a portion of God’s creation which they each cared for.

4:3 states that “Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD”. Notice that Cain is the first to make his offering before God. This tells us that there is nothing inferior or unsuitable about his offering – in the eyes of the Lord; Cain’s grain holds just as much value as Abel’s animal sacrifice. Both animals and plants are equal as God’s creation and make a suitable sacrifice.

It is also significant that both brothers use a portion of creation to make their sacrifice. Cain is a farmer who brings a portion of his edible crops. Scripture does not indicate if this is his best produce or whether, perhaps he was bringing seconds or even inedible goods. Abel is a shepherd who is said to bring the ‘firstlings’–likely fattest of his flock – as a sacrificial contribution (Gen 4:4). Both brothers choose to bring the fruit of their work within creation as an offering, directly utilising God’s creation in their working life and in their devotional life.

Creation is Fallen

Cain’s ominous actions are bound up with the created order.

Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. (v.8)

The act itself was committed outside, a point that is explicitly referenced within the story – twice. This is important – killing Abel is not just an offence against humanity, but an offence against the cosmos on a fundamental level.

When Cain commits the unspeakable, God asks where Abel is.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper? (v.9)

Cain denies the crime outright, as if he could conceal his actions, and his sin from God. God doesn’t need an admission from Cain. He feels the full weight of Cain’s massacre upon God’s creation.

What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. (v.10)

The earth cries out to God on Abel’s behalf. This cry is a demand for vengeance from the earth which has in some way absorbed the solemnity of Abel’s death. The details about this are scarce – perhaps Cain had buried Abel’s body in the ground hoping that his crime might go undetected, or perhaps in that fatal moment, Abel’s blood spilled on the ground. In any case, the earth took the burden of Abel’s death and cried out to God for justice. A similar story takes place in Luke where, if the people’s praises were silenced, the stones would cry out in praise (19:40). In Luke, the ground, the stones, and all of the created order recognise God as their creator and saviour, and yearn for redemption from its fallen-ness, through Him.

Creation is Angered

Genesis goes onto state;

So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand (v.11)

We now know that Abel’s blood was not lying on the ground, openly spilt. The surface of the earth opened its mouth to receive it. Again, this may indicate that Cain buried Abel, in an attempt to cover up his transgression. We see this in Numbers, where we are told that;

…blood pollutes the land, and no expiation can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed in it. You shall not defile the land in which you live, in which I also dwell… (35:33-34)

God dwells in the land in Numbers, and in Genesis with Cain and Abel, and he finds blood to be a pollution upon his creation. The result of this pollution is that the earth will no longer co-operate with Cain. Cain has abused God’s created order and it now rejects him. Abel’s blood has damaged God’s relationship with creation, and separated him from it.

When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth. (v.12)

In cursing the ground by murdering Abel, Cain has in turn been cursed by the ground. He is fated to live in the absence of his usual agricultural activity, wandering restlessly within a created order that no longer recognises him. This indicates a kind of ‘poetic justice’, where we recognise that the punishment has been established to fit the crime. Cain was an agronomic man who would have enjoyed in his work, so in keeping with the nature of his crime, God punishes him using the earth. Cain is ruined – the ground will no longer be fruitful for him, and he will no longer be able to produce a living from the work, and the life, that he has known up until this point.

The story of Cain and Abel sheds some light on God’s relationship with creation, and how he feels about us neglecting or directly harming any part of his created order. Become a part of the solution TODAY, by subscribing, and signing the petition to establish Creation Day as a national holiday.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/creation-day

The Need for Care and Compassionate Use of Earth’s Resources

There is need for us to recognize how important our environment is. It is the platform or foundation on which we live. If we do not take care of our environment we will all suffer for it, hence it is the joint responsibility of everyone to contribute to the sustenance of our environment.

We should take cognizance of the way we use earth resources because they are limited, they will not continue to be available forever, which is, water, gas, oil, trees, animals, forests, air, etc. Many people use these things as if they are unlimited in supply. Many species of animals, birds, fish, plants, and other organisms have gone into extinction as a result of this, yes many do not realize that they need to change in the way they use earth resources.

God created all of these resources for our use, and He even make them in a way that they can be regenerated if they get exhausted, but the truth of the matter is that the rate at which they are being depleted far outpaces the rate at which they are being regenerated. Many times, regeneration can take up to over hundreds of thousands of years before it fully takes place, hence many of these resources will never be allowed to get regenerated.

The earth and all its available resources are being used without any respect for the law of nature. Many people don’t find it difficult to believe there is God, but they don’t understand that He who created the earth wants us to use it in His way.

We need to ‘see’ God in our environment because He is not restricted to heaven alone. He is in the trees of the forest, among the animals in the bush or fishes of the sea. The works of Jesus are not restricted to saving souls alone, but to reconciling all things to God.

The time has come for us to begin to do what God created us for, that of care and compassionate use of the earth. God gave to Adam the special task of continuing the beautification of earth by making use of its resources in the way ordained by God. We are descendants of Adam and the same task extends to us. We need to harness the potentials in the oceans, forests, sky and other available places and use them for God’s glory.

When we use earth resources in a way that problems like pollution, oil spillage, killing of wildlife results, we are doing the damages directly to Jesus.

If God who created the earth is still sustaining and investing in it till today, it only shows that He values His creation, and if He has put us in charge; to dominate, to multiply, and to subdue the earth, then it also means that He holds us with high regard.

If we hold a special position in the creation of God, if the Almighty can entrust us to keep and care for His creation, then we too should reciprocate back by appreciating Him for it.

We should devote our lives to worship, serve, and obey Him all the days of our lives, at least for the earth’s resources that He has given to us.

A day for this purpose has been set aside already, it is called the creation day, and it falls on the first Sunday of March of every year. It is a day that we all ought to offer praise and worship to God in recognition of His great love for us, but unfortunately many do not know about this day talk less of giving it the recognition it deserves.

Here we are pushing forward the idea of making this Day of Creation a fully recognized holiday, and will like you to join us just by registering here.

Little Things you can do to Save the Earth

You might be wondering how little things you do can have any significant effect on our big earth.

the truth of the matter is that what you are doing that is depleting earth resources are the things that countless others are doing in various places where they are located, hence if your activities are less significant, by the time you add up what others are doing it becomes very alarming.

When you try to change your ways you have reduced these harmful activities by a little amount, and you have also pave the way for others around you who you can reach to hear from you how they too can save the earth.

Seriously speaking, the earth is reeling in pain, under various unhealthy, environmentally hazardous activities that individuals and corporate organizations are doing today.

Activities like; driving automobiles, running industrial machines, mining, fishing, killing wildlife, cutting down natural vegetation, etc. are actually killing the earth but you can help reduce them by doing the following on daily basis or as occasion demands, and you can also help to tell others to do them.

Take note of how you use water. Do not leave your water tap open while you do not actually need the water and in particular fix every leaking pipe in your house to prevent wastage, go for tap water when you need to drink and not the bottled version so that you will prevent littering the environment with disposable plastics.

According to EPA when you keep your car off the road just for 2 days in a week, you will reduce greenhouse gas emission by about 1,590 pounds annually. This you can do if you combine all your trips together, use bike or mass transit transportation system.

Encourage recycling by opting for products that has less packaging. A company with 7,000 workers who recycled her office paper wastes for a year will reduce greenhouse gas emission by the same amount that will result when 400 cars are taken off the road.

Reduce the amount of solid wastes you are generating to help reduce the amount of space these wastes are occupying in landfills overtime.

Above all of these points, you have to love people that are living around you. This is the most important thing you have to do if you must save the earth.

When you love your neighbor you will not do any evil against the fellow, talk of murder, lying, fighting, stealing, etc. all of these brings upon us God’s wrath making our earth vulnerable to His judgment.

You may be thinking that the wrong things you are doing are insignificant, but think of what results will come up when we combine that of others in other places on earth.

To save the earth you must recognize the one who created it, understand the reason why He did that, and also His guidelines for living on earth.

The earth is much more that a physical creation, the maker, God Almighty is watching over it to preserve it, you must be in agreement with this God if you want to enjoy the earth.

Have you heard of the day of creation, it is a day set aside to recognize God, if we all give this day the recognition it deserves we shall surely save the earth.

Can Humanity Actually Save the Earth?

Can humanity save itself? That is a real thought provoking question in the face of all the challenges the human race is facing today, and because of the fact that we are full of activities that are capable of destroying the earth instead of saving it.

Most of the simple things that we do daily are actually consuming earth’s resources; when you buy a new car for example, many materials taken from the earth has gone into the manufacturing of the car, and also for the number of years that you will use it, you will be emitting environmentally hazardous gases into the atmosphere.

The same thing happens when you use electricity, when you buy a package of food, or just any other product that you need for yourself. They are all sourced from the earth, and they have no means of being replenished back into the earth because they are being removed at a fast rate.

A child born in the U.S will consume nothing less than 45,000 pounds of metal in his lifetime through all kinds of products and materials he would be exposed to. The same experience is obtainable at various degrees in other parts of the world.

The dangerous results that this kind of living is bringing to earth is that we are gradually altering our environment, although in a negative way; by deforestation, releasing of harmful gases to the atmosphere, poisoning the rivers, destroying massive natural habitats, polluting the oceans, and altering the chemical composition of our atmosphere.

The unfortunate thing about this evil trend is that we are turning back to destroy the very earth that is helping us to live, the source of everything we use for our existence, how sad.

In the face of the problems listed above, human population keep increasing by leaps and bounds making the fast depleting resources of earth grossly inadequate for the population available.

The more you look at this disturbing trend, the more you will see the hopeless situation we are in, hence the answer to the question, can humanity save itself is no.

If we cannot save ourselves, then who can save us? If science, technology and other human inventions have failed then where lies the solution that we need.

The answer is in God. The word of God has rightly said in John 15:5

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. NASU

We are not sufficient of ourselves, our sufficiency is in God. There is no way we can forsake our creator and expects to achieve the right results we desire. The God who created the earth also created its inhabitant. If there is anyone who has the blueprint of the earth, and the user manual for successful living on it, that person is God.

God is the only one who can teach us how to live successful on earth; He can provide solution to the problem of depleting resources we are experiencing now, for the earth is of the Lord and the fullness thereof.

Just like when Adam was doing the will of God in the Garden of Eden, and everything in the Garden was in perfect harmony and peace, without scarcity or dearth of any resources, the earth can enjoy abundant supply of resources if we recognize the maker and accept Him as the Lord and Savior.

Many may see it as a joke when we talk about God because He is invisible, many may laugh because we are living in a generation where technological advancement has made man to record astounding achievements seemingly without the help of God, but no one can deny the fact that we have serious problems that we are combating with, which technology cannot solve, and as a matter of fact, technology has succeeded in bringing its own problems as well.

God said in His word:

If they hear and serve Him, They will end their days in prosperity and their years in pleasures. But if they do not hear, they shall perish by the sword and they will die without knowledge. Job 36:11-12 NASU

The question now is which is better, to continue to live in rebellion to God with attendant ever increasing environmental problems threatening to destroy us, or to obey Him and enjoy His abundance?

Going for the latter will bring the much desired positive change that the earth’s inhabitants want. This was what the proponents of the Day if Creation had in mind when they came up with the project, that we need to set aside a special day for recognizing the one who gave us the earth, and who supplies the needs of the inhabitants, you can be part of the project now and save the earth.

Noah and the Flood- The Great Lesson We Need to Learn

Not long after God finished the creation work, He became angry with the people that were living on earth then as recorded in the book of Genesis Chapter 6. God had no problem with other creatures but with humans.

They lived in sin and were doing all kinds of things God cannot stand, beginning from Adam who ate the forbidden fruit, to Cain who killed Abel and to countless others who followed in their footsteps, the story goes on and on.

To make the matter worse, in Genesis chapter 6 verse 2 it was recorded that;

that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. Genesis 6:2 NASU

It has been established that these sons of God are actually fallen angels, and their unholy relationships with humans brought further abuse of the earth, hence God was really angry to the point that He decided to destroy the people.

God instructed Noah to build an ark and bring all his family members in, and in addition to that bring pairs of all existing animals inside the ark. Noah obeyed, and God carried out His judgment upon the world that was in existence then.

All men died, and all things that breathe on the surface of the earth, and there was no place for them anymore.

The great lesson God wants us to learn in this story is that He is ready to judge the people on the surface of the earth if the need arise, but He is ready to preserve the earth.

The flood that came in the time of Noah renewed and refreshed the earth. God could not stand those who killed and polluted the earth with the blood of their innocent victims, those whose imaginations were evil every day.

He had created man to praise, worship and give Him pleasure but instead they only gave total disobedience and sin, he expected them to depend upon Him for their existence, but instead they all went their ways living according to the evil imaginations of their hearts.

Finally God decided to get rid of them before they succeed in ruining the earth, and He brought the flood upon them, He swept them away and repopulated the surface of the earth through the descendants of Noah.

If we look at this story critically we will observe that the way we are using earth’s resources today is not different from the way those who lived in the time of Noah used them. We commit all the sins they committed, and in addition to that we deplete the resources that God gave to us without even giving any regard to the giver.

Today as a result of uncontrollable and selfish use, there is global warming, seas and rivers are drying, ice formations are thawing, and there are dangerous trends in climate changes.

We need to see the writing on the wall because we are heading towards another Genesis chapter six. We are practically making the earth desolate and barren and God will never allow that.

We need to reverse this trend as quickly as possible by returning back to God, recognizing Him as our creator and the giver of all good things we are getting from earth.

This we can do by recognizing the day of creation and using the day to send our repentance, praises, and worship to heaven. God will accept us if we come with a broken heart and a contrite spirit.