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Adam: A Man Without Ancestry    Genesis1:21

Without worrying too much about the rivalries between evolution and creation, figurative or literal interpretations of Genesis, let’s take a bold look at Adam and subsequent personalities in the Bible (each in five or six hundred words, more or less). And let your enlightened imagination soar.

Adam was created in God’s image. Since God has no body, image must have meant the spiritual aspect of Adam: his intellect, conscience, will, soul and emotions including his temperament, personality and character. God, who had almost finished his earthly creation topped it off with a human being.

Adam was given a body to domicile the spiritual. Adam never had any parents or siblings, grandparents or cousins. Chances are he was fully grown when he suddenly (as we may assume) appeared. No doubt bewildered and curious, it probably took some time for Adam to adjust.

James Weldon Johnson, the beloved poet, wrote that God was still lonely so he made a man. Someone He could talk to in the calm of the early morning and while Adam was doing his daily chores (that was God’s idea, not his). He also realized that Adam could easily become bored. And lonely. So God did a wonderful thing. When Adam awakened after a deep sleep, Eve, in all her splendor, was at his side.

During the ensuing days, Adam forgot something important.God had warned him not to touch the magnificent tree in the center of thegarden. He should have avoided the tree, period. Eve, however, probably heard the admonition second-hand and didn’t take it seriously enough as she finally tugged at the fruit, savored it and offered it to Adam.

Since this was forbidden fruit, excuses were made. That woman you gave me, it’s her fault muttered the less-than-innocent keeper of the garden. Since that wasn’t admissible the adversary was blamed. God, their father, was probably torn between a fatherly looking the other way and disciplining them. If He simply excused them, His word would be nullified. If he was too severe, He could have invalidated the human race.

As Adam and Eve were banished from the garden, both knew they had done wrong. Theologians in subsequent years would call it original sin. Others would say unceremoniously that it plunged the whole human race into a state of depravity. Whatever, Adam had a choice whichwe call free will that has been passed on to every succeeding generation without exception. An android Adam was not.

Just how guilty was Adam? Actually, some think it was rather trivial. Tasting forbidden fruit, is hardly they would say, worthy  of expulsion from Eden. Yet it goes deeper than that. Adam failed to take God seriously, a predicament quite common to mankind. He also flirted with disaster in failing to keep his distance from temptation, another common transgression. He also failed to convince his significant other of the seriousness of the prohibition. Furthermore, he took something that did not rightfully belong to him and tried to cover it up, a most hazardous undertaking as many have discovered.

Adam lived a long time with many regrets as well as fond memories. As he looked back on his exile, he relived a millennium of memories. Not the least was the tragedy when their son was killed in a fit of rage by a jealous brother. To be blamed for ushering in millennia of shortcomings and indiscretions was an unpleasant memory as well. In his defense, had we walked in his sandals, we probably would have done the same. Or worse.  Only we might not have been quite as innocent.

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Eve: A MotherWithout Credentials Genesis2:26

Eve was never suckled at a mother’s breast or bounced on a father’s knee. She was not given premarital counseling and never heard of Dr. Spock. It is rather easy to underestimate the predicament of Adam and Eve as pacesetters, innovators or originators. Yes, it is tough being the first kid on the block, a misunderstood innovator, the first fugitive.

Unquestionably, both Adam and Eve were splendid specimens having emerged from God’s blueprint. As it has been said, "God doesn’tmake junk." They were both innocent (blameless) and human (capable of misconduct). Just how long their innocence lasted is anyone’s guess. When they did disobey God, something happened to them. One element is accentuated: they sensed that they were unclothed causing them to hide while fashioning a coverup. But God had a better idea.

Eve was being prepped for domestic life. She would soon be interested not only in clothing for vanity and comfort but also shelter. Some years ago I drove my family from Hebron to Jerusalem via Bethlehemi n a blinding blizzard, a winter climate probably not unreasonably unlike the mysterious Garden of Eden. Shelter would become a high priority.

Eve would have to decide whether or not she would cleaveto Adam or go it alone. She would have to decide whether to love, honor and obey or simply love. She had no clue of marriage or raising a family; preparing several meals a day was not a concern nor was finding the best midwife or locating an ideal preschool. Exactly how much she was coached by God Himself we have no idea but it seems quite unlikely that her heavenly  Father would abandon his pride and joy causing her to fend for herself. What God did not implant into her very nature He no doubt communicated in other ways. She was innocent, yes, but not unenlightened.

Even so, not everything went well. In spite of an intuitive sense, perhaps just short of being blessed with uncommon instincts, Eve enjoyed a role of her own. Very early in history, Adam and Eve were given tasks commensurate to their inclination as well as sex: male and female. Adam was to be the caretaker of the earth (which would never be effortless)and Eve was to be the mother of creation giving birth but not without pain (physical and emotional).

Eve would be beholden to Adam and would thrive on his affection. If we could recall their first moments together, be it weeks,months or even years, an equivalent to a honeymoon, they would learn thathoney moons do not last forever. As their intense love affair in the Garden of Eden mellowed, reality turned their banishment into reality. Adam would struggle with noxious plants and stubborn soil as breadwinner while Evewould maintain their home. Whether God intended to set in concrete the breadwinner/homemaker role of a nuclear family is debatable. Extended families, matriarchal societies and even single-parent families have prospered or endured.

That Eve never assisted Adam in the fields or with the livestock or that Adam never gave eve a hand with household chores appears most unlikely. What seems clear, however, is that Adam and Eve maintained their own roles and understood what they were, either intuitively or otherwise. Human beings, not as blessed as the animal kingdom instinctively, are endowed with common sense, sensitivity and if we dare say so, a divine intuitive discernment for matters of survival and posterity.

When crops failed, when Eve burned the roast, when Cain became enraged, when their children and their children’s children brought both joy and heartache to their aging grandparents, Adam and Eve could hold hands as the fading twilight summoned them to their eternal home.Their journey would continue because they were made in the likeness and image of their Creator.

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CAIN: My Side of the Story    Genesis 4:9

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: Iwish I hadn’t killed my brother.  It was unnecessary, unwarranted,uncivil.  Yet it happened.

Let’s go back to the beginning.  I was the firstborn,the uninitiated, the product of inexperienced parents (but then, aren’tall firstborn the same?).  For some reason, I followed in my father’sfootsteps more than I clung to my mother’s apron strings.  Early in life I learned to love the great outdoors, particularly the gardens and orchards and the great fields of grain.

My brother was more influenced I guess by his mother and was quite adept in the kitchen, a master butcher and a natural in cattle and sheep breeding.  He was good at everything he did although he rarely interfered with my dominion in the orchards and fields although he often admired my flowers which he picked frequently for his table settings and gourmet meals.

We were both taught the basics of our relationship with God as well as the subtleties of the enemy who had deceived both of ourparents.  Our parents taught us all they knew, quite literally, and we all knew that we had an obligation to present Him with our offerings on occasion.  We had seen it done by our parents many times and as we matured, we learned how to worship God ourselves.

At first I was proud of my accomplishments and brought Him the best.  At times it may have been a choice orchid, then a sheaf of the finest barley in the land.  As time progressed, I became a little careless.  I worshipped less frequently and began to bring the Creator merely gleanings.  I  knew what I was doing but didn’t seem to care, really.  As long as I made an offering, even though it was hardly first rate, I felt I was fulfilling my obligation.

One day I offered what was really a disgrace.  I grabbed some flowers that had peaked long before and threw in some barley left by the wayside, picked over by the birds.  Abel, on the otherhand, offered a beautiful lamb, actually his prize possession, a beloved pet to us all.  I trembled a little when I saw that helpless littleanimal go up in flames and told myself that no decent deity would demandthat.  That’s when God spoke rejecting my mediocre offering. I didn’t actually blame Him but I did resent it, especially in the lightof what was happening.

Later, I invited Abel to go with me into one of my orchardsso I could show him my prize specimens.  We chatted harmlessly for awhile as he admired my handiwork.  However, when he told me that without God’s provision, my orchards and vineyards would be useless. That’s when I lost my cool.  I picked up a rock that had been cast aside and threw it at him.  At first I thought he was pretending when he didn’t get up.  Then I realized I must have hit him pretty hard because he didn’t respond when I tried to awaken him.  The blood oozingfrom his head made me realize I had done something terrible.

Death was foreign to our family.  Yes, we had seen animals killed and we also had seen disease and drought ravish our crops. But never a human being.  Abel never awakened and we buried him quietly with tears that wouldn’t end.  I tried to justify my action but without success.  I tried to blame the enemy but this time it was my doing, not his.  I even tried to indict my parents who were at best novices but I knew better.  In spite of some shortcomings, they were wonderful people, and good parents.

When I complained to God about my punishment, He was kind,a nd just.  I did become an outcast.  Even though my parents probably forgave, they never forgot.  I was a marked man.  The scar I bore was not Abel fighting back but it could have been.  Resentment, jealousy, self-righteousness and hypocrisy are always ugly and must be dealt with before tragedy strikes.  I survived for years, buried my self in my work and family life but I never forgot Abel and found it virtually impossible to forgive myself.      Cain
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Abel:  MySide of the Story    Genesis 4:2

Cain was born first.  He had the uninterrupted attentionof my parents.  Then I appeared on the scene and the pattern was broken. Of course, Adam and Eve (which we never called them to their face) tried desperately to give us equal time but that was impossible.  I suppose it is true that we ushered in that infamous sibling rivalry equation which has been going on forever it seems.

We were not clones of each other.  We were as different as night and day.  I was perhaps more delicate than Cain so Dad didn’trough house as much with me.  I had a different temperament and interests. I loved to etch pictures on deerskins while Cain chiseled figures in rock. He raised some magnificent foods while I tried to make them delectably edible.  I was more of a dreamer whereas he was a doer.

I think this somewhat confused our parents because theycouldn’t treat us alike because we were so different.  After all, this was a new experience for them.  And us.  Even so, we were a relatively happy family although as we grew older, we drifted off in different directions even though we operated out of the same base, our home.

I suppose I didn’t realize it at the time, but Cain seemed to be a little jealous but nothing too serious.  In the give and take of family life, we had our ups and down with the typical disagreements and disappointments but nothing that should have triggered Cain’s anger the way it did.  Therefore, when he went berserk and threw that rock, I really believe he was venting his anger, not as much at me as at himself,his family and his God.  I just happened to be in the way.

Why do I say this?  In spite of our differences,we were still brothers, and as brothers, we had had some wonderful times together.  The good times far outweighed the bad.  Ironically,as he distanced himself from his God, he also distanced himself from his family.  When he began to make those feeble sacrifices, even I could see through it.  He was carving out new territory for himself and didn’t need either his parents or his brother to tell him how to live. Maybe he was the first rebel because I was pretty content living at home, following in the footsteps of both my parents.

Somehow, when he failed to take God as seriously as he might have, he let a few other things slide.  I noticed that he treated Mom less respectfully than he had and he argued quite often with Dad, usually over trivial matters.  I think he regarded me as the favorite son which wasn’t true but it apparently was seething within him until it exploded. There were several minor outbreaks at home before he picked up that rock. Evidently God triggered the matter because when his offering was rejected, as it should have been, he was peeved -- which probably is not a strong enough word.

We had been told over and over that God was personable. Father talked with Him in the garden regularly and my mother had her own quiet times when she listened, sorting out the wisdom of the adversary from that of God.  The Serpent seemed to tag along wherever we went but appeared to stick closer to Cain than any of us.

It is not pleasant to be rejected.  At times, Cain felt rejected and when God chastised him for his tawdry offering, he must  have cracked.  God’s requirements were not unreasonable but Cain wrote his own rules.  As he brooded, the guilt produced resentment coupled with revenge and he took it out on me.  Unfortunately, I was vulnerable and paid the price for his sin.
I know, you moderns don’t care much about that word sin but there is really no other explanation.  When he failed to take God seriously, his world caved in.  And so did ours. Abel
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SETH: A Non-substitute Substitute   Genesis 4:25
Scripture often is vague due to lack of space, informationor intrigue.  Not much is said about Seth which allows us to read between the lines and use some disciplined imagination.

Over the years, many of us have experienced, firsthandor otherwise, the loss of a loved one, a neighbor or a friend, or a mere acquaintance.  One of the most devastating losses is the death of a child.  Parents often struggle to cope with this and there isn’t a specific age where the loss is the greatest.  The elderly often grieve the passing of an adult child similarly to young parents who prematurely bid farewell to an infant or a toddler.  The pain is real, often relentless, tormenting the soul at times almost endlessly.

There is no way Seth could take the place of Abel even though Eve apparently believed that but he could help fill the vacuum createdby the missing son.  Seth could be different in many ways: temperament, personality, disposition although he could be quite similar in appearance, stature and valor.  Adam and Eve undoubtedly welcomed Seth with open arms and may have tried to mask their heartache by indulging their newborn even to the point of being overly protective.

As we shall soon see, it didn’t take very long before favoritism raised its odious presence in subsequent families.  With Cain in exile, Seth, at least for a while, was the sole survivor until other siblings surfaced.  When tragedy strikes, the human response is to never let it happen again.  We repair the gate or cover the pool; we sleep with one eye open.  We blame ourselves or anyone nearby and relive the past hoping to create a better future.

Seth may have been the victim of overly protective, distraught, guilt-ridden, doting parents or he may have been the benefactor of newly-sensitized, compassionate, appreciative and thankful parents.  He was given his own name, not that of his deceased brother, although at times concerned parents do attempt to perpetuate vicariously the name of the departed.

According to our records, Seth, the third born, became in effect the elder brother to other children born to Adam and Eve (Genesis5:5).  Considerable is said about the first born vs. the middle child vs. the last born as well as the only child.  Undoubtedly there is more truth than poetry in some of this.  I’m the eldest child and my wife is a middle child but we have never attached much credence to this although we may have missed something along the way.

More important is how we deal with our own situation. First borns do pave the way for subsequent siblings and the last born maybe unconsciously or otherwise treated solicitously.  True.  Butwhen tragedy or death strikes, parents, family, friends, neighbors and even strangers are profoundly affected.  Adam and Eve produced Seth who in turn generated Enosh who continued the lineage through Noah, Abraham, David and eventually to the Messiah.

God blessed them because they multiplied, filled the earthand subdued it (Genesis 1:28) but also because Eve recognized that it was the Lord who endowed her with another son.  Naming him Seth meaning granted or chosen (Hebrew) started him on the right course, a message he and his parents would want us to remember.
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Enoch: A Man After God’s Own Heart   Genesis 5:24

As we know, oral tradition was a highly developed skill before writing came into existence.  Enoch, not to be confused with Enosh (or Enos), a direct ancestor of Enoch, descended from Adam through Seth.  However, Cain also had a son named Enoch and named a city he was building after him.

Not only are names similar, they are repeated whether deliberately or unknowingly.  Mysteries abound, particularly early in the book of Genesis causing some to label the first dozen chapters pre-history, another way of suggesting that it was fictional, not historical.  To argue whether Adam represented the origin of humankind or was in fact a living person is of course debatable.  Either way, these early chapters and personalities are fascinating if not illuminating.

Where Cain met his wife has always been a question but that he married is not a disputable point. Rather than run over this well-trod territory, let’s explore the emergence of urban living.  It did take some time to move from an agricultural culture to where cities were fostered.  Not everyone would make a living toiling the soil or raising cattle.  Interestingly enough, the descendants of Cain were singled out for their competence.

Cain’s descendant Lamech married two wives.  Adah gave birth to Jabal who was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock (nomads).  Jabal’s brother, Jubal, was the father of all those who play the harp and flute (musicians). Lamech’s other wife, Zillah, had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron (craftspersons).

Then, to complicate matters even more, Seth had a descendant named Lamech who became the father of Noah who was perhaps a carpenter (or at least became one out of necessity).  Certainly, society became complex early in its history as necessity became the mother of invention.  If we think of Adam and Eve as the original aborigines, it does color our imaginations even though it does not answer deep-seated questions of, evolutionary hypotheses, cave dwellers, Middle Eastern aborigines or American cliff dwellers.  Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Seth, Enoch, Lemech, Adah and Zillah were people pretty much like our neighbors and relatives judging by their proclivities and consequences.

This brings us to Enoch, a direct descendant of Adam through Seth as well as an ancestor of Noah, Abraham, Boaz, David, Levi, Heli and Joseph (Luke 3).  He is singled out by the writer that he was not only the father of Methuselah (the oldest recorded human being) but that he walked with God 300 years and then he was no more because God took him.  What he did before Methuselah was born we can only hypothesize because it appears that if he walked with God for 300 years, it began when Methuselah was born when Enoch was sixty-five.

Becoming a parent is a sobering even for some; an excuse to make an exodus for others.  Enoch apparently decided to live a Godly life, apparently beyond the call of duty, because God then took him away.  Took him away.  Where?  Why?  Without unduly laboring the point, Enoch had other children after Methuselah yet managed to please God enough that God took notice.

The moral of the story seems clear.  Simply because the lineage, thanks to diligent fathers who insisted upon upholding oral tradition, was important enough to be recorded for our benefit, even without excessive detail (who among us delights in elongated lineages?).  God doesn’t miss a thing.  This is quite evident because he recognized Enoch’s admirable character as well as Cain’s despicable lack of it and acts accordingly even if not at a precise moment in history.

This is both sobering and comforting depending upon our finite ways coupled with God’s infinite wisdom.
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Noah: A Survivor:   Genesis 5:28, 29

Noah’s father, Lamech, hoped that the birth of Noah would bring him comfort because of the "labor and painful toil caused by the ground that the Lord had cursed."  It seems that Lamech endured the same chores many of us homeowners encounter with stubborn soil, pesky insects, waterless clouds and just plain old hard work. Yes, parenthood brings countless blessings as well as complications and burdens.

For Mr. And Mrs. Lamech, Noah was welcomed because he would give them more of a reason for living and laboring.  Whether that happened or not we don’t know even though Lamech lived a long time as husband, father and breadwinner.  Parenting often is less glamorous than anticipated but at the same time can be more rewarding than imagined.
Noah waited a long time before he became a father, long enough to realize that the world was not only becoming increasingly populated but abominably wicked as well.  Little did he realize how this would impact him in such an incredible manner.  It is often verbalized that our society is becoming more corrupt, immoral (or amoral) or just plain wicked with significant sophistication.  No doubt this has been said numerous times over the millennia by perceptive as well as naïve commentators.  For many, the proverbial cup is either half full or half empty.

In Genesis 6-8 we encounter considerable difficulties, theologically and otherwise.  My wife and I recently returned from viewing several national wonders including The Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion National Parks, The Colorado National Monument, The Arches and the unique Dead Horse Point Park.  We were again awed by these impressive sights, constantly reminded in writing that it took millions, possibly billions of years, to create these natural wonders.

Naturally I was reminded of Noah and the flood eons ago and what havoc as well as wonder it performed.  Then I was reminded that Mt. St. Helens created some very similar effects in a matter of minutes when it erupted.  Eons vs. yesterday.  Wind, rain, floods, erosion, porous rock, frost, sun.  So much we know and yet don’t know.

Noah was obedient and paid dearly for it when the crowds jeered his efforts, not because the ark was a monstrosity but because it was built on dry land with no water in sight.  When it began to rain, it wasn’t an ordinary shower.  Maybe many inches a day, perhaps fewre some days.  For forty days and nights.  What a wake up call but it was too late.  Only eight humans were on board we’re told; the rest perished.

Like Enoch, Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.  The earth was corrupt and God’s saw how the people had corrupted their ways. So God was forced to act.  Still, He didn’t have to produce a rainbow but He did, a sign that He hadn’t given up on His creation.

We quibble about a local vs. a universal flood.  We hunt feverishly for an ark hung up somewhere on or near Mt. Ararat (Kuhi-Nuh, the mountain of Noah).  We recreate the ark only to discover its box-like shape rather than that of a sleek 21st century luxury liner.  We question the practicality of the roundup of species by pairs from humming birds to elephants, roaring lions and grizzly bears, jackals and donkeys.  We are mystified when such a Godly man drank too much wine from his newly planted vineyard.  Was he celebrating or trying to forget his traumatic voyage?

Children sing lustily, Who built the ark? Noah! Noah!  Scholars strive to prove he never lived or that there was a worldwide flood.  Still, Noah was more than mere hero.  He was a human being with blemishes who still walked with God.  Maybe we too can take heart . . .

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Shem, Ham and Japheth: Sons of Destiny   Genesis 10:1

Noah’s three sons and daughters-in-law survived their voyage and quickly began to raise their families.  When Ham discovered his drunken father lying naked in his tent, he did what we would expect him to do.  His brothers then discretely covered his body, walking backward into his presence so that they would not see him naked.

There is some speculation about the propriety of that era causing one to wonder how the close quarters on the ark might have been transgressed.  Why Noah, upon becoming sober again, cursed his son for his untimely disclosure remains a mystery.  Possibly there might have been more to the story than revealed in the biblical account.  If so, and presumably Ham's brothers had to straighten him out, we then might more easily understand his father’s anger, disappointment, or embarrassment.

Interestingly, but hardly unusual for that era, we know little or nothing about the wives of these three brothers.  They could have come from similar or quite diverse backgrounds and might have played a major role in the life of their marriages and families.  The ark experience certainly must have made quite an impact on them.  Whatever, each son became the father of a distinct people each with its own "languages, tribes and land."

The tribe of Ham (hot) is depicted early in its history as an imperial power with a bent toward evil.  The Hamitic territory seems to have included Babel and Babylon with its empire ranging from modern day Iraq to Africa.

Japheth (widespreading) probably was the eldest son and had seven sons.  His territory spread into the coast lands of the Mediterranean Sea in Europe and Asia Minor also known as the "isles of the Gentiles."

Shem (name) received his father’s blessing which culminates in his lineage extending to the Messiah.  His descendants intersected with portions of the territories of Ham and Japheth ranging from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean including Canaan, Syria, Chaldea and parts of Persia (Iran) and Assyria.  The servitude of Canaan, the fourth son of Ham, by Shem seems to have culminated in Noah’s prophecy being fulfilled with the subjugation of the people of Palestine.

Once again we are reminded that we interpret much of Scripture in the light of contemporary events and enlightenment which can and does tend to blur important distinctions.  That a father would curse one son and bless another almost seems preposterous to us.  That three sons could be so different and move in such disparate directions might seem a bit less unusual.  That these details were recorded at all appears to defy chance.

Oral tradition is an amazing phenomenon.  Not only does it include lineage, it often explodes with a candid audacity.  Since writing did not appear until Moses, our Genesis chronicle is not only candid, it is often outlandish by putting words into the mouth of the Divine and attributing deeds specifically to God.  Perhaps these chroniclers had a pipeline of which we are unaware.  Even so, if God has brooded over the Holy Scriptures as we believe He has done, He has allowed these candid archives to survive as did Moses.  What a challenge this presents to us to interpret these efforts honorably.

Shem, Ham and Japheth as sons belong together.  Since they drifted apart, cooperated and fought as sibling often do, we should never underestimate the potential of three unlikely lads who weathered a unprecedented journey in an ark only to make an indelible mark on their culture which may have been superseded only by an obedient father.  Noah we remember.  Sham, Ham and Japheth we should never forget.