# 4 - Cain & Abel - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein we explore the powerful story of Cain and Abel, delving into the deep lessons of faith, jealousy, and the consequences of unchecked emotions. Through this ancient narrative, we reflect on the human condition and our capacity for both love and hatred, ultimately pointing to the hope and redemption that is available to us all.
Episode 4 of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein is inspired by the Book of Genesis.
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For more information about Yael Eckstein and IFCJ visit https://www.ifcj.org/
Today's opening prayer is inspired by Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart”
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Show Notes:
(02:46) Intro with Yael Eckstein
(05:47) Cain & Abel - Cinematic Retelling
(35:21) Reflection with Yael Eckstein
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Speaker 1: Previously on the chosen people.
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Speaker 2: This is the tree of life. Its fruit is a gift,
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Speaker 2: a gift to be cherished forever. It is the life
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Speaker 2: I offer you, a life of unity with me.
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Speaker 3: It's beautiful.
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Speaker 2: This is the tree of knowledge, the knowledge of good
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Speaker 2: and evil. You may eat of every tree in this garden,
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Speaker 2: but the tree of knowledge of good and evil you
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Speaker 2: shall not eat.
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Speaker 3: What will happen if I.
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Speaker 2: Do knowledge of good and evil, which leads to evil itself.
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Speaker 2: While the tree of life brings eternal life, the knowledge
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Speaker 2: of evil brings death.
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Speaker 3: Aye, Oh, my dear, you won't die?
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Speaker 4: Do I look dead to you? God does and want
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Speaker 4: you to eat it? Because if you do, your eyes open.
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Speaker 5: Maybe it was a lie. After all, we could be
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Speaker 5: like God.
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Speaker 1: Eve stroked the fruit. Adam was frozen. He knew he
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Speaker 1: should stop Eve. He knew he should smack it out
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Speaker 1: of her hand, But he was drawn by a similar curiosity.
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Speaker 2: Could he really be like God?
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Speaker 1: They had been deceived into thinking God was holding back
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Speaker 1: from them, and perhaps something better awaited them if they
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Speaker 1: separated themselves from him.
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Speaker 2: Adam, I called you to cultivate and steward the earth.
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Speaker 2: But now it shall be cursed because of you, The
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Speaker 2: earth will struggle against you. You will eat of the
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Speaker 2: earth through sweat and pain. All the days of your life.
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Speaker 2: You will wilt against the stones, Thorns and thistles will
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Speaker 2: scrape your hands. This pain will remind you of the
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Speaker 2: paradise you rejected. Then, after a lifetime of struggle, you
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Speaker 2: will return to the dust of the earth. For from
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Speaker 2: the dust I made you, and to the dust you
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Speaker 2: shall return.
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Speaker 3: What do we do now? Where should we go? What
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Speaker 3: is there beyond leading.
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Speaker 6: In the shadow of Eden, the first blood was spilled,
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Speaker 6: brother against brother, The first family harmony was shattered by
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Speaker 6: a single death, stating act of rage. Shello, my friends,
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Speaker 6: I'm ya l Xtein with the International Fellowship of Christians
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Speaker 6: and Jews, and you're listening to the Chosen People. In
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Speaker 6: each episode, we are swept away into the dramatic scenes
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Speaker 6: straight from the Hebrew Bible. Our aim is to awaken
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Speaker 6: our imaginations and open up our hearts to deep reflection
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Speaker 6: in God's word. If you are inspired by today's episode,
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Speaker 6: please share it and subscribe. If you're interested in what's
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Speaker 6: happening with our holy work here at the International Fellowship
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Speaker 6: of Christians and Jews, you can visit our website at
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Speaker 6: IFCJ dot org. Together, let's explore our shared heritage and
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Speaker 6: the stories that shape our faith. I'm here in Israel,
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Speaker 6: and you are across the world. Let's jump in. What
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Speaker 6: holds us together. What we all know wherever we are
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Speaker 6: in the world right now, is that our world is
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Speaker 6: filled with horrors, hatred and anger, bitterness and murder. It's
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Speaker 6: in the headlines, it's on our screens, it's in our neighborhoods.
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Speaker 6: I'm speaking you from here in the Holy Land, where
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Speaker 6: just a year ago we witnessed horrors beyond imagination, as
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Speaker 6: thousands of terrorists invaded this land, the tiny Israel the
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Speaker 6: size of New Jersey, and murdered more than one thousand,
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Speaker 6: two hundred innocent people, injuring thousands more and brutally taking
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Speaker 6: hundreds of men, women and children between the ages of
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Speaker 6: one year and eighty five years old hostage. Here in
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Speaker 6: the Holy Land and across the globe, the shadow of
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Speaker 6: death looms large, a relentless specter that haunts humanity and
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Speaker 6: seems like it's only getting stronger. And these horrors do
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Speaker 6: we have a beginning? An origin story is dark and
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Speaker 6: as deviant as that of any movie villain. Today, we
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Speaker 6: are going to look at the day that hatred began.
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Speaker 6: We look back at the story of Cain and abel
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Speaker 6: Kin and Heaven, as we say in Hebrew, two brothers
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Speaker 6: born in a world freshly stained by sin. Their tale
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Speaker 6: is more than ancient history. It's a mirror that still
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Speaker 6: reflects the brokenness of our world today. So let's open
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Speaker 6: up our hearts and minds as we turn to Genesis
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Speaker 6: four and remember, even in the darkest stories, there's always hope.
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Speaker 1: The cave was dark, only slightly lit by the nearby firelight.
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Speaker 1: Eve's quiet and determined breaths echoed through the night. Beads
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Speaker 1: of sweat like pearls descended her brow. Adam knelt beside
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Speaker 1: Eve as her hands and knees pressed against the floor.
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Speaker 7: Is this death? Is this the curse?
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Speaker 3: God spoke of no Eve. I don't think this is death.
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Speaker 3: I think this is life.
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Speaker 1: With that final encouragement, Eve let out a groan. Shadows
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Speaker 1: danced on the cave walls. The sound of Eve's struggling
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Speaker 1: was replaced with the cries of a newborn baby, the
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Speaker 1: first child born east of Eden. Adam wrapped him in
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Speaker 1: his arms and wiped him with woven wool. He held
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Speaker 1: him closely, looking him deeply in the eyes. The boy
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Speaker 1: glowed with promise.
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Speaker 3: We'll have to give him a name, just like the
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Speaker 3: Lord named me.
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Speaker 1: Eve rolled onto her back and reached for her son.
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Speaker 1: Adam rested him in her arms. She cradled him and
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Speaker 1: stroked his face. She remembered the promise made by God
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Speaker 1: before their exile. He promised that through her line a
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Speaker 1: hero would rise to crush the serpent's head and restore Eden.
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Speaker 7: It's you, little one, You are our great hope in
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Speaker 7: this broken world. Your name shall be king through you.
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Speaker 7: I have received help from the Lord. You are the
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Speaker 7: promised child, the one who will deliver us.
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Speaker 1: She pressed Cain against her chest, which quivered with tears
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Speaker 1: of grief, joy, and relief. Cain was the answer to
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Speaker 1: all her questions. His breath rose in tandem with hers.
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Speaker 1: The euphoria of birth and new life swelled within her.
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Speaker 1: Her mind's eye was filled with visions of Cain's rise.
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Speaker 1: Days rolled into months, which passed into years.
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Speaker 2: Daily.
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Speaker 1: Adam walked with Cain in the morning mist as the
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Speaker 1: Creator once did with him. He scooped up some soft
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Speaker 1: earth and held it in his palm.
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Speaker 3: I wasn't born like you, Kane. I was crafted from
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Speaker 3: the ground, and God gave me the ground to tend to.
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Speaker 1: Adam let the dirt fall out of his palm. He
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Speaker 1: sighed and wiped his hands. He pointed to the river
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Speaker 1: and traced an invisible line up stream. It led up
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Speaker 1: to a great mountain, its peak hidden by clouds, in
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Speaker 1: the light of dawn.
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Speaker 3: Weden, noise, sweat, and bleed. Kane, we were once on
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Speaker 3: that holy hill, surrounded by plants that gloomed without labor.
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Speaker 3: We were one with God, blessed. I wish you could
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Speaker 3: have seen it. Perhaps you'll know one day what it
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Speaker 3: means to be blessed by God.
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Speaker 1: Cain looked up at the mountain. A sense of destiny
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Speaker 1: came over him. He felt chosen, hand picked to receive
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Speaker 1: something great from God. Cain held that belief close to
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Speaker 1: his heart. The moon and stars shifted in the skies.
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Speaker 1: The heavens were untouched by tragedy, untainted by the sins
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Speaker 1: of man. Adam and Eve often looked up at them,
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Speaker 1: dreaming about what life would have been like if they
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Speaker 1: had never eaten of the tree. Eve touched her pregnant
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Speaker 1: belly and leaned her head against Adam's shoulder. They were
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Speaker 1: days away from having their second child.
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Speaker 7: What's going to happen to them, Adam? What will happen
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Speaker 7: to them when we're gone? What what if we die
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Speaker 7: before they can take care of themselves?
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Speaker 1: Worry overcame Eve. It was a part of the curse.
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Speaker 1: Cultivating a family was her greatest blessing and heaviest burden.
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Speaker 1: Marked with euphoric eyes and anxious loves, she pursed her
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Speaker 1: lips gaze stretching into the horizon. The stars were vast
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Speaker 1: and unsearchable, just like their fate.
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Speaker 7: Will they survived this world?
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Speaker 3: No, they won't, sooner or later. No Long returned the dust.
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Speaker 3: I just pray they get to teaste the goodness of
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Speaker 3: life before the inevitable bitterness of death.
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Speaker 7: Is there any goodness? Has the Creator reserved? Any blessing
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Speaker 7: for us? This side of you?
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Speaker 1: Adam looked forward at the planes, dimly lit by the
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Speaker 1: twinkling lights. He wrapped his arms around Eve. Adam wished
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Speaker 1: he had words to comfort Eve, long to ascend the
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Speaker 1: hills of Eden again and reclaim unity with God, not
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Speaker 1: just for him, but for his family. But he couldn't,
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Speaker 1: no matter how desperately. He longed for the tree of life.
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Speaker 1: It was gone, guarded by judgment.
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Speaker 3: I've been thinking a lot about that day, the day
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Speaker 3: we left the garden. I was thinking about how God
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Speaker 3: covered us with animal skins. He didn't have to take
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Speaker 3: care of us, but he did. He didn't have to
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Speaker 3: protect us, but he chose to. He's protected us since
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Speaker 3: that day, and maybe.
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Speaker 1: Adam stopped and looked at Eve. He pressed his hand
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Speaker 1: against her pregnant belly. His mind wared with itself. He
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Speaker 1: was oscillating between faith in God and fear for the future.
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Speaker 3: Maybe God will cover our children too.
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Speaker 1: He looked back the galaxies stretched over the horizon. Adam
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Speaker 1: was still struggling with who God was and who he
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Speaker 1: was this side of Eden. Since unity was severed in
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Speaker 1: the garden. Understanding God had been a struggle. He was
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Speaker 1: a captivating mystery. Yet, even though they no longer walked
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Speaker 1: with him in the cool of the garden, God felt
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Speaker 1: close during moments like these.
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Speaker 3: I don't feel him like I once did, but I
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Speaker 3: know he's still a here. Tomorrow, I'm going to kill
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Speaker 3: an animal for God, just like he killed one for us.
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Speaker 3: I will give him something precious, something we need to survive.
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Speaker 3: I will show God that I understand what he did
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Speaker 3: for us and what he can still do for us.
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Speaker 3: Maybe that will be how we can connect with him again.
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Speaker 3: We put our well being in our future in his hands.
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Speaker 3: Will declare trust in him, even though we only understand
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Speaker 3: him in part.
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Speaker 7: Teach our children to do the same. Tell them our story.
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Speaker 1: The following day, Adam marched up a mountain. The frigid
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Speaker 1: breeze cut his cheeks. He shivered at its summit and
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Speaker 1: laid a sacrifice on the ground. He gave him precious
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Speaker 1: resources of harvested crops and a spotless lamb from his flock,
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Speaker 1: things they needed to survive. It was a declaration of trust,
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Speaker 1: an acknowledgment that their lives were in his hands. It
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Speaker 1: was also a peace offering to reclaim the unity lost
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Speaker 1: in Eden. Days later, Eve felt the pangs of childbirth
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Speaker 1: again to bring forth her second born son, Adam held
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Speaker 1: him in the air, his heart fluttered in his chest.
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Speaker 1: Although Adam had lost much in his short life, he
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Speaker 1: felt he was fine, finally discovering what it meant to
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Speaker 1: be human. Adam beamed with delight, feeling a sense of purpose.
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Speaker 1: Although life had its struggles, it also had beauty. Just
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Speaker 1: because the land was harsh and sin was present didn't
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Speaker 1: mean there weren't pockets of paradise, slivers of eden.
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Speaker 3: We are multiplying, Lord, Just as you asked.
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Speaker 7: I'm going to name you Abel. Breath fleeting but filled
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Speaker 7: with energy, just like this beautifully tragic life we live.
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Speaker 1: Cain and Abel grew strong under their parents' care. Adam
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Speaker 1: taught Cain how to till the land and the reason
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Speaker 1: for his struggle. He also taught Cain how to war
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Speaker 1: and cooperate with the earth to make it yield crops.
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Speaker 1: Abel was taught how to tend to the livestock. Adam
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Speaker 1: showed Abel how to care for the sheep with dignity
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Speaker 1: as fellow creatures. Most importantly, Adam taught his sons how
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Speaker 1: to sacrifice to the Lord.
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Speaker 3: One day, you will make your offerings to the morning.
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Speaker 3: You will join us in our mission to reclaim our
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Speaker 3: relationship with the Creator.
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Speaker 1: When the boys became men, it became time to march
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Speaker 1: up the mountain and make offerings to the Lord. Both
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Speaker 1: prepared in their own way, crafting offerings with the skills
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Speaker 1: they had acquired from their parents, Cain scanned the crops.
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Speaker 1: He had done his best to master the land in
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Speaker 1: a way that flourished. Cain tied up some grains and
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Speaker 1: leafy vegetables he'd grown at the mountain's base. He plucked
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Speaker 1: berries from the trestles he built near their camp.
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Speaker 3: Just a few more and were done.
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Speaker 1: As Cain knelt in the dirt, a shadow emerged from behind.
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Speaker 1: It approached slowly, ready to pounce. Cain turned suddenly, but
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Speaker 1: it was too late. He was tackling to the ground.
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Speaker 1: The taste of dirt filled Caine's mouth. He rolled onto
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Speaker 1: his back, only to see his younger brother's friendly, bare face.
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Speaker 2: Ha, gotcha sneaking.
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Speaker 8: Up from behind? Eh, it's a dirty trick.
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Speaker 2: Try and face me like a man.
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Speaker 1: Abel playfully wrapped his arms around his big brother's shoulders.
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Speaker 1: Cain scoffed and tossed Abel into the ground. They wrestled
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Speaker 1: in the dirt until Cain pinned him down. He pressed
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Speaker 1: his elbow against Abel's collar bone.
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Speaker 8: Nice, try a little, lamb.
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Speaker 9: How are you going to protect yourself and the flock
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Speaker 9: from wolves if you can't even pin me from behind?
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Speaker 1: The sheep had me to protect them, but I have you,
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Speaker 1: Cain smiled, ruffled, Abel's hair and pushed him away. Brotherly
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Speaker 1: affection creased on the sides of Abel's eyes as he
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Speaker 1: looked up at his older brother. Cain showed him off.
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Speaker 8: Get out of here so I can finished my offering.
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Speaker 3: What are you bringing to the mountain?
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Speaker 2: Uh?
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Speaker 8: Grains, berries, and the other crops.
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Speaker 1: Cain bound some grains with twine and added some flower
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Speaker 1: seed grown nearby. Abel looked to the hills and furrowed
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Speaker 1: his brow. With sincerity in his voice, he mused about God.
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Speaker 3: I hope the Creator accepts our offerings. I want him
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Speaker 3: to know my heart. He deserves the best.
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Speaker 8: Well, the way I see it, all right, sacrificing us
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Speaker 8: a lot like farming. If you tell the land plant
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Speaker 8: the seed, you'll yield a good crop. If I give
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Speaker 8: an offering to God, then he'll bless me, you know.
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Speaker 8: I mean, if I give to him, then he gives
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Speaker 8: me something in return.
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Speaker 3: I'm not sure that's how it works.
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Speaker 9: Well, that's because you're not a farmer now, you play
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Speaker 9: with sheep all day.
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Speaker 1: Cain lifted his offering onto his shoulders, waved dismissively to
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Speaker 1: his brother, and began ascending the hill. Cain was a farmer,
00:17:58
Speaker 1: but he was less concerned about the art of cultivation
00:18:01
Speaker 1: and more concerned with the input output relationship of harvesting.
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Speaker 1: He put in the work, and the land gave him crops.
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Speaker 1: He saw his sacrifice to God in a similar manner.
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Speaker 8: I will give an offering, and God will give me
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Speaker 8: a blessing. What's my birthrate?
00:18:18
Speaker 1: Cain summited the hill where an altar of stone rested
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Speaker 1: at the peak. The wind whistled above. Cain pulled his
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Speaker 1: hair back and smiled. He was prepared to receive God's blessing.
00:18:31
Speaker 1: He was ready to step into his destiny as God's
00:18:35
Speaker 1: chosen hero. He stepped back, knelt on the ground, and waited.
00:18:41
Speaker 1: He stared at the offering, then up at the sky.
00:18:46
Speaker 1: Nothing just the silence, along with the high pitched whistle
00:18:51
Speaker 1: of the wind.
00:18:52
Speaker 3: Where are you?
00:18:54
Speaker 1: Cain was unsure what he was looking for, but knew
00:18:58
Speaker 1: he would know when he saw it. There was only silence.
00:19:02
Speaker 1: Cain waited even longer, wondering what had gone wrong. Cain
00:19:06
Speaker 1: stood to his feet, frustrated and confused.
00:19:10
Speaker 9: I've done what you've asked. I put in the work,
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Speaker 9: I gave you what you needed.
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Speaker 8: Uh where are you?
00:19:16
Speaker 1: Still? There was only silence. Now, lightning flashed from the heavens.
00:19:21
Speaker 1: No voice bellowing with the wind, just the sound of
00:19:25
Speaker 1: the whistling peaks and the frustrated breaths rising from Cain's lungs.
00:19:30
Speaker 1: He dragged his feet down a small path and sat
00:19:33
Speaker 1: on a stone. He waited for something, anything, to happen.
00:19:38
Speaker 1: As Kane waited, he heard the faint bleating of a
00:19:41
Speaker 1: lamb in the distance. He looked back to see Abels
00:19:44
Speaker 1: scaling up the hill, cradling the first born of his flock.
00:19:49
Speaker 1: A dagger swung back and forth on his side. Kin
00:19:52
Speaker 1: observed the sorrow on Abel's face. His eyes were foggy
00:19:56
Speaker 1: with tears as he petted the lamb in his arms.
00:20:00
Speaker 8: Okay, lit a one, oh so sensitive, he is too
00:20:05
Speaker 8: sod for this world.
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Speaker 1: Tears rolled down Abel's face as he placed the newborn
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Speaker 1: lamb on the altar. He stroked his head and sang
00:20:13
Speaker 1: it a lullaby. His singing mixed with the gentle hiss
00:20:17
Speaker 1: of the wind. Abel loved every one of his sheep.
00:20:21
Speaker 1: He had a tender heart and understood the value of life.
00:20:25
Speaker 1: Abel brought the first born of his flock the best
00:20:28
Speaker 1: of what he had. It was an act of pure faith,
00:20:32
Speaker 1: faith in the future, and God's power to provide to Abel.
00:20:37
Speaker 1: God was worthy of the first fruits.
00:20:40
Speaker 3: Lord, please accept this gift. It's the best of what
00:20:45
Speaker 3: I have. Search me and know my heart.
00:20:50
Speaker 1: With a shaking hand, Abel raised his blade. The Lullabi
00:20:55
Speaker 1: leaped out of his quivering lips. Then, with a trembling hair,
00:21:00
Speaker 1: and in final cry, he drove the blade down into
00:21:03
Speaker 1: the lamb's throat. It didn't make a sound. Abel let
00:21:07
Speaker 1: it bleed on to the altar and sobbed. He offered
00:21:10
Speaker 1: the best parts of the lamb to God and burned them.
00:21:14
Speaker 1: He sang a song silently as the embers crackled and
00:21:17
Speaker 1: smoke slowly rose. Abel's faith was as pure as the
00:21:22
Speaker 1: lamb's fleece. Cain watched from a distance and waited for
00:21:27
Speaker 1: something to happen. He waited for God to move. That's
00:21:31
Speaker 1: when something changed in the air. An indescribable shift occurred
00:21:36
Speaker 1: in the atmosphere around Abel. The wind's chills ceased, and
00:21:41
Speaker 1: the sun's warmth rested gently upon him on that hill.
00:21:45
Speaker 1: It seemed like a sliver of Eden was reclaimed. Cain's
00:21:49
Speaker 1: eyes widened as he realized that God's favor was upon Abel,
00:21:54
Speaker 1: the younger brother, the soft shepherd, Abel, not Cain. Abel
00:22:01
Speaker 1: looked up. The sun's rays seemed to dance around him,
00:22:05
Speaker 1: drying the tears from his face. His brows curved upward,
00:22:09
Speaker 1: and a peaceful smile stretched across his smooth cheeks. He
00:22:14
Speaker 1: closed his eyes, feeling the euphoria of God's acceptance rush
00:22:19
Speaker 1: upon him. Abel rose and descended the mountain. He was
00:22:24
Speaker 1: surrounded by a holy glow of God's love and affirmation.
00:22:28
Speaker 1: Abel's joy was like a trickling stream falling from the hills.
00:22:33
Speaker 1: Cain emerged from his hiding place with his mouth agape,
00:22:38
Speaker 1: his jaw tightened in annoyance. Undoubtedly God had just accepted
00:22:43
Speaker 1: Abel's sacrifice above.
00:22:45
Speaker 9: Cane's hit him. You'd you'd you chose him? He isn't
00:22:52
Speaker 9: the one you're supposed to choose. I'm Cain, I'm the
00:22:56
Speaker 9: firstborn son of me I.
00:23:00
Speaker 8: I deserved more that.
00:23:03
Speaker 9: That weakling doesn't know his left hand from his right hand.
00:23:06
Speaker 9: He's a bleeding lamb in a world of wolves.
00:23:11
Speaker 1: Cain's frustrated prayers rose to heaven, but swiftly fell to
00:23:15
Speaker 1: the floor. Weighed down by entitlement and pride, he skulked
00:23:20
Speaker 1: to the altar and looked at the remaining coals. With
00:23:24
Speaker 1: a vexed swipe of his hand, he struck the coals.
00:23:27
Speaker 1: They fell to the floor. Cain watched their light fade.
00:23:32
Speaker 1: The black coals remained there. He turned his gaze from
00:23:36
Speaker 1: the altar and looked toward the bottom of the hill.
00:23:39
Speaker 1: He saw Abel run into his parents, tent to tell
00:23:43
Speaker 1: them what had happened. Seeing his brother's joy ignited jealous
00:23:47
Speaker 1: resentment within him. Cain didn't realize it, but something sinister
00:23:53
Speaker 1: was slithering from the reeds into his heart. Weeks and
00:24:00
Speaker 1: it became clear that God's hand was unable. His flocks
00:24:04
Speaker 1: multiplied and his strength increased. As Abel's prominence increased, so
00:24:10
Speaker 1: did Cain's jealousy. His bitterness was a poison, slowly eroding
00:24:15
Speaker 1: his heart. Whenever a crop didn't yield or a thorn
00:24:19
Speaker 1: cut his hand, Cain thought about how God had blessed Abel.
00:24:24
Speaker 1: Cain began to compare every inconvenience and struggle with Abel's successes.
00:24:30
Speaker 1: To Cain, each ounce of favor given to his younger
00:24:33
Speaker 1: brother was a slight against him.
00:24:37
Speaker 8: It should have been me. I was the chosen one.
00:24:42
Speaker 8: It was my blessing my reward. You stole it from me.
00:24:49
Speaker 1: His entire body vibrated with contempt. But Cain's hatred wasn't
00:24:54
Speaker 1: against Abel. No, Abel was just the recipient of the
00:24:58
Speaker 1: blessing God. God was the sauce and therefore the withholder.
00:25:04
Speaker 1: Cain's ire was directed upward. He blamed the creator. He
00:25:10
Speaker 1: wanted revenge, but how would he get it. Cain sat
00:25:14
Speaker 1: by the fire, lost in a whirlpool of inner rage
00:25:17
Speaker 1: and conspiring passively. Listening to his father mused more poetic
00:25:22
Speaker 1: praise for Abel.
00:25:24
Speaker 3: Oh, your flock has expanded further than our eyes can see.
00:25:29
Speaker 3: You see what's happening, Abel, God is blessing your work.
00:25:33
Speaker 3: This is what we're meant to do.
00:25:36
Speaker 1: It was a record month for Abel's flock. The entire
00:25:40
Speaker 1: family laughed and sang by the fire, joy rising alongside
00:25:44
Speaker 1: the smell of smoked meats and freshly baked grains.
00:25:48
Speaker 3: Cain was not amused.
00:25:50
Speaker 1: He stormed off to a solitary place. He paced around
00:25:54
Speaker 1: in the darkness, kicking dirt and punching the air. He
00:25:58
Speaker 1: slammed his fist against the cold stuff and shouted into
00:26:02
Speaker 1: the night.
00:26:03
Speaker 8: Blessant table, faithful, able pruitful abel please a fool.
00:26:09
Speaker 3: Nobody's sees it.
00:26:11
Speaker 2: But Caine, why are you so angry? Why has your
00:26:18
Speaker 2: face fallen?
00:26:19
Speaker 9: Oh?
00:26:20
Speaker 8: Now you speak?
00:26:22
Speaker 2: Why?
00:26:22
Speaker 8: Why now? O Creator? Why break the silence with such
00:26:26
Speaker 8: a stupid question?
00:26:28
Speaker 2: Your anger is misplaced, Kane. If you do well, will
00:26:33
Speaker 2: you not also be accepted like your brother?
00:26:38
Speaker 8: If I do well? If I, oh boy.
00:26:43
Speaker 9: If okay, I did what I was asked. I made
00:26:47
Speaker 9: an offering, and you didn't hold up your end of
00:26:51
Speaker 9: the bargain. Instead, you chose to bless that. That that
00:26:56
Speaker 9: that whim whimpering, soft fool.
00:27:02
Speaker 2: Listen to yourself, Kane. Your words revealed your heart.
00:27:07
Speaker 9: My words are true, and you know it. I deserve
00:27:12
Speaker 9: that blessing. It was me you should have chosen, not
00:27:17
Speaker 9: that blobbering shepherd.
00:27:19
Speaker 2: Be warned, Kane. Sin is crouching at the threshold of
00:27:24
Speaker 2: your heart. It desires to destroy you. It prowls at
00:27:29
Speaker 2: the borders of your soul, waiting for a moment to strike.
00:27:34
Speaker 2: But you can overcome it.
00:27:36
Speaker 9: Why should I listen to you? What good has that
00:27:39
Speaker 9: ever done me?
00:27:40
Speaker 1: Caine stormed down the hill, determined to leave a distance
00:27:44
Speaker 1: between him and the creator. God's word wasn't a comfort
00:27:48
Speaker 1: to Kane, but salt to his wounded pride. The further
00:27:52
Speaker 1: he walked, the darker his heart became. Rage against God
00:27:57
Speaker 1: went from a low simmer to a violent.
00:28:01
Speaker 2: You accept that he was blood offering.
00:28:04
Speaker 8: If it's blood you ought, then it is blood you
00:28:08
Speaker 8: all cat.
00:28:10
Speaker 1: The air was thin and freezing. Clouds rolled in from
00:28:13
Speaker 1: the east, blocking out the sun's warmth. Cain's breath rose
00:28:18
Speaker 1: like a specter in the chilly air. He paced at
00:28:21
Speaker 1: the pasture's edge like a wolf stalking, waiting. He remained
00:28:26
Speaker 1: there all day, in the shadows, watching abel. Corruption coiled
00:28:31
Speaker 1: around his heart like the serpent it squeezed, choking the
00:28:35
Speaker 1: humanity out of him. The sun began to set against
00:28:39
Speaker 1: the dark clouds, causing a crimson hue to splash over
00:28:43
Speaker 1: the horizon. Sin was hungry for Cain's soul. It hovered
00:28:48
Speaker 1: over him, jaws wide open and ready to strike. The
00:28:52
Speaker 1: creator's warnings echoed in his mind.
00:28:55
Speaker 2: Sin is crouching at the threshold of your heart, desires
00:29:00
Speaker 2: to destroy you, but you can overcome it.
00:29:04
Speaker 1: Cain wouldn't listen, He refused. He knelt and dug his
00:29:09
Speaker 1: fingers into the cold, damp earth. From it, he drew
00:29:13
Speaker 1: out a stone the size of his palm his father
00:29:16
Speaker 1: was hewn from the dirt, and from it a tool
00:29:19
Speaker 1: for death was taken. Abel knelt beside his sheep. He
00:29:25
Speaker 1: tended to one of the lambs, picking out some brambles.
00:29:29
Speaker 1: As he knelt, a shadow approached from behind. It crept slowly,
00:29:34
Speaker 1: ready to pounce. Abel turned and it was too late.
00:29:39
Speaker 1: He was tackled to the ground. Abel laughed at first,
00:29:43
Speaker 1: thinking it was another game, but Caine's grip hardened against
00:29:47
Speaker 1: Abel's shoulder and pressed him violently against the ground. Abel
00:29:51
Speaker 1: winced in pain and struggled to get free.
00:29:54
Speaker 3: Okay, okay, you pin me, now get off.
00:29:58
Speaker 1: Abel's eyes were as he saw Cain lift a stone
00:30:02
Speaker 1: high in the air to strike him. Abel panicked and
00:30:05
Speaker 1: kicked his brother off. He turned to run, but Cain
00:30:08
Speaker 1: bounced back up and hit his brother on the tempert,
00:30:11
Speaker 1: sending him flying onto the floor. Abel scurried backward with
00:30:15
Speaker 1: his arm up to Cain.
00:30:16
Speaker 3: Stop What are you doing getting my revenge?
00:30:22
Speaker 2: Revenge for what?
00:30:24
Speaker 10: Kine?
00:30:25
Speaker 3: What did I do?
00:30:27
Speaker 9: Oh? No, no, no, not you, baby brother. This isn't
00:30:32
Speaker 9: for you.
00:30:33
Speaker 1: Cain lunged forward at Abel and struck him again with
00:30:36
Speaker 1: the stone. Abel's face fell into the dirt. Cain turned
00:30:40
Speaker 1: him around and continued to attack.
00:30:43
Speaker 3: Please stop, What are you now?
00:30:47
Speaker 9: Abel?
00:30:49
Speaker 3: You still be up worst? Where is your God?
00:30:53
Speaker 5: Now?
00:30:54
Speaker 1: His anger wasn't directed toward Abel. It was directed at
00:30:59
Speaker 1: the creator or blow after blow came through spite at
00:31:04
Speaker 1: God by striking his innocent brother. When Abel was too
00:31:08
Speaker 1: neat to struggle, Cain pressed his thumbs against his throat
00:31:13
Speaker 1: and finished what he started. The breath of life left
00:31:18
Speaker 1: able with a strained sigh, the first death. Cain removed
00:31:24
Speaker 1: his hands, rolled his neck back, and exhaled quietly. He
00:31:28
Speaker 1: dared not look up at Heaven, but he dared not
00:31:31
Speaker 1: look down at his slain brother either. Cain couldn't face
00:31:35
Speaker 1: the creator of life, nor could he look down at
00:31:38
Speaker 1: the life he had taken. He was suspended in a
00:31:41
Speaker 1: space between heaven and hell. Cain stood up and dug
00:31:46
Speaker 1: into the earth. He buried his brother in the field.
00:31:53
Speaker 3: From the dust we are dere learns what the dust
00:31:57
Speaker 3: we shall return.
00:31:58
Speaker 1: Cain stormed back to his tent. Abel was dead, but
00:32:03
Speaker 1: his blood cried out from the ground, reaching the ears
00:32:06
Speaker 1: of the Almighty. The following day, Cain tilled his fields silently.
00:32:13
Speaker 1: Abel was buried only yards away from him. Echoes of
00:32:17
Speaker 1: his terrified screams reverberated in his mind. Cain pushed the
00:32:22
Speaker 1: guilt down, He buried it, just like he did to
00:32:26
Speaker 1: his brother. Then, cutting through the silence, God spoke Cain,
00:32:33
Speaker 1: where is your brother? God's question mirrored the question once
00:32:38
Speaker 1: posed to his father Adam, Where are you? God knew
00:32:44
Speaker 1: the answer. He was inviting Cain to dialogue with him,
00:32:48
Speaker 1: to acknowledge his mistake.
00:32:50
Speaker 9: I don't know.
00:32:52
Speaker 8: Am I my brother's keeper?
00:32:54
Speaker 2: What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood
00:32:58
Speaker 2: is crying to me from the earth.
00:33:02
Speaker 1: God's voice struck Cain like lightning. Cain was no longer
00:33:06
Speaker 1: pompous and irreverent. He fell to the floor and cowered
00:33:10
Speaker 1: in fear. Cain felt the presence of God's circling him
00:33:13
Speaker 1: like a bird of prey. Cain thought he was cursed
00:33:17
Speaker 1: before he felt that God's eye was directed at him,
00:33:21
Speaker 1: but it wasn't. But now that the Creator's justice fell
00:33:24
Speaker 1: upon Cain, he realized he was wrong, woefully and terrifyingly wrong.
00:33:31
Speaker 1: The earth vibrated, as if sobbing over able.
00:33:34
Speaker 2: The earth that has opened its mouth to receive your
00:33:38
Speaker 2: brother's blood will be cursed because of you. The earth
00:33:42
Speaker 2: will no longer give you its strength. You shall wonder this,
00:33:47
Speaker 2: learn hungry, starved, and deprived. You'll be a fugitive wherever
00:33:54
Speaker 2: you go, always turning your shoulders to see who's hunting you.
00:33:59
Speaker 3: Why punishment it's to I don't want it. It would have
00:34:03
Speaker 3: killed me. You're taking away everything you get wrong.
00:34:08
Speaker 8: Desserve with people wanting to kill me.
00:34:10
Speaker 2: You dare to beg for your guilty life after having
00:34:15
Speaker 2: taken an innocent one.
00:34:17
Speaker 1: Please, God's presence softened. A gentle wind blew in from
00:34:22
Speaker 1: the top of the mountain down to the valley. Cain
00:34:25
Speaker 1: looked up for the first time, his eyes watered with grief. Suddenly,
00:34:31
Speaker 1: like a stream of water cutting through an arid desert,
00:34:35
Speaker 1: he felt the grace of God upon him. Although his
00:34:38
Speaker 1: punishment would be severe, mercy would follow him. Cain felt
00:34:44
Speaker 1: a burning on his arm. He looked and saw an
00:34:47
Speaker 1: engraving etched on his skin, a mark. It was a
00:34:52
Speaker 1: symbol of God's judgment, but also a symbol of his mercy.
00:34:56
Speaker 1: It was a reminder of his exile, but a warning
00:35:00
Speaker 1: to anyone seeking to harm him. Although Cain was a
00:35:03
Speaker 1: man doomed for punishment. Providence also protected him. Such was
00:35:09
Speaker 1: the state of humanity. Their sins marked them, but they
00:35:13
Speaker 1: were also sealed by God beloved and chosen to be
00:35:18
Speaker 1: heirs of his mercy.
00:35:24
Speaker 6: Wow, what a dark, dark tale. The story of Cain
00:35:29
Speaker 6: and Abel as a tale as all it's time, itself
00:35:32
Speaker 6: engraved in the sacred pages of Genesis. It begins with
00:35:37
Speaker 6: two brothers and two offerings laid before God. One accepted
00:35:41
Speaker 6: the other Nut. Cain the elder worked the soil, toiling
00:35:45
Speaker 6: under the hot sun, hands deep in the earth. Abel
00:35:48
Speaker 6: tended the flox gentle creatures under his care. Their offerings
00:35:54
Speaker 6: were reflection of their lives. One was of grain and
00:35:58
Speaker 6: one was a flesh.
00:36:01
Speaker 11: We all know that God looked with favor on Abel's
00:36:04
Speaker 11: offering and rejected Kin's right after this event, Genesis chapter four,
00:36:10
Speaker 11: verse seven tells us, if you do what is right,
00:36:14
Speaker 11: will you not be accepted.
00:36:16
Speaker 6: But if you do not do what is right, sin
00:36:18
Speaker 6: is crouching at your door. It desires to have you,
00:36:23
Speaker 6: but you must rule over it. Here Cain was armed
00:36:28
Speaker 6: with the gift God granted to humans, the gift of
00:36:31
Speaker 6: free choice. If he had made the right choice of
00:36:36
Speaker 6: choosing good, then he would have been absolutely fine. But
00:36:41
Speaker 6: Cain did not choose good. Just as we do, Cain sinned,
00:36:46
Speaker 6: and just as we must do, Cain was expected to
00:36:50
Speaker 6: confront that sin, as the Bible says, he was expected
00:36:54
Speaker 6: to rule over it. Our tradition relates this to the
00:36:59
Speaker 6: Jewish concept of chuva, which usually translates as repentance. This
00:37:06
Speaker 6: Hebrew word actually literally translates as return, and so the
00:37:14
Speaker 6: Biblical word that is used to talk about repentance actually
00:37:18
Speaker 6: means return. So we have to ask the question return
00:37:24
Speaker 6: from where? A return to what.
00:37:28
Speaker 11: You see?
00:37:30
Speaker 6: We all sin, but we're taught that true chuva, true repentance,
00:37:35
Speaker 6: begins with recognizing that what we are really talking about
00:37:39
Speaker 6: is a return to our true selves. Each of us
00:37:42
Speaker 6: has a holy and pure soul, a soul that wishes
00:37:45
Speaker 6: to do the right thing, a soul that God created
00:37:50
Speaker 6: and therefore has a desire to remain pure and holy. Mimonodes,
00:37:55
Speaker 6: the Great Jewish sage, said that we know that we
00:37:58
Speaker 6: have repented completely when we are confronted with the same
00:38:02
Speaker 6: situation that brought us to sin, and this time we
00:38:06
Speaker 6: choose differently. This time we resist the temptation. This time
00:38:11
Speaker 6: we do the right thing. That is what Mamandi says
00:38:17
Speaker 6: is real repentance, to sin, to realize you sinned, to
00:38:22
Speaker 6: be confronted with the same opportunity to sin, and to
00:38:27
Speaker 6: choose not to, because then we know that we're doing
00:38:32
Speaker 6: the right thing. Well, right now, I believe we're doing
00:38:37
Speaker 6: the right thing. We're studying the Bible, God's Holy Word together,
00:38:41
Speaker 6: which is something we know that our souls want. We
00:38:45
Speaker 6: all know what we should be doing and what we
00:38:49
Speaker 6: should avoid. We all know that we can fill our
00:38:52
Speaker 6: times with wonderful things. And so I ask the question,
00:38:57
Speaker 6: even when we're doing things that we should avoid, is
00:39:00
Speaker 6: God ever really far from us? And the answer is no.
00:39:06
Speaker 6: God is always close to us. And we have to
00:39:10
Speaker 6: remember even when we sin, God is still with us.
00:39:14
Speaker 6: And so when we talk about schuva, which we call
00:39:19
Speaker 6: repentance or in Hebrew means returning, what we're really doing
00:39:26
Speaker 6: is returning to God. We're returning to our true selves.
00:39:32
Speaker 6: We're coming back, and we're saying, I know you were
00:39:34
Speaker 6: never really far. I'm coming back to you so that
00:39:38
Speaker 6: I could feel close. This is an amazing process that
00:39:43
Speaker 6: heals us. But Cain didn't do this. He became angry instead,
00:39:51
Speaker 6: and tragedy for his family and for all of humanity
00:39:56
Speaker 6: is what followed this moment. Right here in Genesis is
00:40:01
Speaker 6: where his heart starts to twist. To quote the famous
00:40:06
Speaker 6: pop culture icon master Yoda, fear leads to anger, Anger
00:40:11
Speaker 6: leads to hate, Hate leads to suffering. It's a line
00:40:16
Speaker 6: from science fiction, yes, but it's also deeply rooted in
00:40:20
Speaker 6: truth and reality. Hain's heart was caught in the snare insecurity,
00:40:26
Speaker 6: took root, grew into jealousy, anger, and then finally suffering.
00:40:33
Speaker 6: And isn't it always that way with humanity? And all
00:40:37
Speaker 6: the way from his time to this day? The tiny
00:40:41
Speaker 6: seed of fear sprouting into a forest of darkness. God,
00:40:46
Speaker 6: in his mercy, warned Kane. He said, sin is crouching
00:40:50
Speaker 6: at your door. It desires to have you, but you
00:40:53
Speaker 6: must rule over it. God pleaded with Cain to resist,
00:40:58
Speaker 6: to choose a different path, but Cain turned inwards instead
00:41:04
Speaker 6: of upwards. His brother Abel became the focus of all
00:41:07
Speaker 6: of his pain instead of God. How easy is it
00:41:11
Speaker 6: to turn our agony against something tangible, against some one
00:41:15
Speaker 6: that we can see and touch. Cain's anger wasn't actually
00:41:20
Speaker 6: directed towards Abel. He was angry with God himself, but
00:41:25
Speaker 6: of course he couldn't touch God. And so what did
00:41:28
Speaker 6: they do? They went to the field, two brothers, one heartbroken,
00:41:34
Speaker 6: one unaware, and there where no one could see, Cain
00:41:39
Speaker 6: killed Abel. God's voice thundered, not just in judgment, but
00:41:44
Speaker 6: in sorrow. If a ahria, It says in Hebrew, where
00:41:51
Speaker 6: is your brother? And he's asking us that today. God's
00:41:57
Speaker 6: question wasn't asked out of ignorance. He knew exactly where
00:42:01
Speaker 6: Abel was. But what God was asking Cain Marrey's the
00:42:05
Speaker 6: question he asked Adam after he sinned. Do you remember
00:42:10
Speaker 6: what God asked Adam? He said, Adam, where are you?
00:42:15
Speaker 6: This question was an invitation to dialogue. It was an
00:42:19
Speaker 6: invitation from God to take ownership over sin and repent.
00:42:26
Speaker 6: But Kain's anger boiled too hot for repentance, as sharp
00:42:31
Speaker 6: as the rock that took Abel's life. Kin answered, am
00:42:34
Speaker 6: I my brother's keeper? Yes, Kin, you are. We have
00:42:42
Speaker 6: to look at him in the eyes as we read
00:42:44
Speaker 6: this Bible story and say that, because we have to
00:42:47
Speaker 6: look at ourselves and say that we are all our
00:42:51
Speaker 6: brother's keeper, bound by blood, bound by the commandment of God.
00:42:58
Speaker 6: To care for one another. We are called to be
00:43:02
Speaker 6: our brother's keeper. We are all flesh and bone image
00:43:07
Speaker 6: bearers of God. We are all each other's keepers. From
00:43:13
Speaker 6: this ancient biblical narrative, the question lingers ringing in our
00:43:17
Speaker 6: modern ears. Can you hear it? Because here in Israel
00:43:23
Speaker 6: I hear millions of Christians asking that question, Am I
00:43:27
Speaker 6: my brother's keeper? And I hear them answering with a
00:43:32
Speaker 6: very prophetic and very excited and passionate and faithful Yes,
00:43:40
Speaker 6: I am my brother's keeper. To speak more on this
00:43:44
Speaker 6: is my good friend, Bishop paulineer.
00:43:48
Speaker 2: Well.
00:43:48
Speaker 10: I remember years ago somebody made a statement that.
00:43:52
Speaker 3: If we could scrip the scriptures of the.
00:43:55
Speaker 10: First eleven chapters, then somehow or another, we could get
00:44:00
Speaker 10: along better with this faith of unity. Now we know
00:44:05
Speaker 10: that's absurd, because nothing in the rest of scripture would fit,
00:44:10
Speaker 10: nothing would work, it wouldn't make any sense. And we're
00:44:15
Speaker 10: seeing that in chapter four. Wow, the situation has changed drastically.
00:44:21
Speaker 10: They had been in the garden, blessed and prospered, and
00:44:24
Speaker 10: every good thing had been lavished upon them. But they
00:44:30
Speaker 10: abdicated their position and identity, and they betrayed the covenant relationship.
00:44:36
Speaker 10: They had with God. Now they're outside the garden and
00:44:41
Speaker 10: we're being introduced to something that's very strange, very odd,
00:44:48
Speaker 10: but it will be a permanent fixture in our faith
00:44:51
Speaker 10: for the rest of time. It is the altar. The
00:44:57
Speaker 10: altar from Genesis for Christian all the way to the Revelation,
00:45:02
Speaker 10: we see an altar, and it really became the replacement
00:45:07
Speaker 10: of the garden. It became the place where God chose
00:45:11
Speaker 10: to reveal himself, his presence, his power, his promises to
00:45:17
Speaker 10: his people. It's there that we were to bring him
00:45:20
Speaker 10: our faith and our offerings. Now what's remarkable is nowhere
00:45:26
Speaker 10: do we see God sitting Adam and Eve down and saying, now,
00:45:30
Speaker 10: from now on, I want you to bring to me
00:45:34
Speaker 10: offerings on an altar. We don't see Adam and Eve
00:45:38
Speaker 10: sitting their sons down and saying, boys, I want you
00:45:42
Speaker 10: to bring God an offering through an altar. But here
00:45:47
Speaker 10: we are at this altar. Now, I'm just going to
00:45:50
Speaker 10: share something with you. I couldn't prove it, but I
00:45:52
Speaker 10: do believe it. I do believe that even in the
00:45:55
Speaker 10: garden there was an altar, not a bloody place, but
00:46:00
Speaker 10: a blessing place. I wouldn't be surprised if there was
00:46:05
Speaker 10: an altar there where. Adam and Eve so in love
00:46:09
Speaker 10: with God, so blessed by his bountiful hand, they would
00:46:14
Speaker 10: bring to him fragrant flowers and lovely vegetables, such beautiful fruit.
00:46:22
Speaker 10: It was only later when we get over to chapter
00:46:25
Speaker 10: three and we see in verse twenty one, the Bible
00:46:29
Speaker 10: says that God sent them out, but he clothed them.
00:46:33
Speaker 10: They had been clothed in the glory of the Lord,
00:46:38
Speaker 10: so you could not see the nakedness or their vulnerabilities.
00:46:42
Speaker 10: But it was when they did abdicate and they abandoned
00:46:45
Speaker 10: the glory that the glory was lifted from them, and
00:46:48
Speaker 10: you could see their nakedness. And now as God is
00:46:54
Speaker 10: about to banish them from the garden, he first clothed
00:46:59
Speaker 10: them in bloody skins. And again, I'm telling you, you
00:47:04
Speaker 10: know this. We're going to hear this motif, this type
00:47:09
Speaker 10: for the rest of our faith in the scriptures Abraham's altars.
00:47:13
Speaker 10: And then we of course get to Mount Sinai, where
00:47:17
Speaker 10: God establishes this extravagant and sophisticated sacrificial system, and we
00:47:25
Speaker 10: see the tabernacle and the temple, and of course we
00:47:29
Speaker 10: get for Christians in the New Testament, and we hear
00:47:33
Speaker 10: words of Jesus when someone looks at him and says
00:47:37
Speaker 10: of him, behold the lamb, lamb of God who takes
00:47:43
Speaker 10: away the sins of the world. So this idea of
00:47:47
Speaker 10: bloody skins and sheep and lambs and altars is just
00:47:52
Speaker 10: so huge in our Hebrew faith, in our Christian faith. Well,
00:47:59
Speaker 10: as we find this Cain and Abel, these two brothers
00:48:03
Speaker 10: standing at the altar together, We've wondered, and I've had
00:48:07
Speaker 10: good people ask me the question, so why did God
00:48:12
Speaker 10: accept Abel's offering but he wouldn't accept Cain's offering. Well, Christians,
00:48:19
Speaker 10: we look in the New Testament at a book called Hebrews,
00:48:24
Speaker 10: and in chapter eleven it says by faith, Abel offered
00:48:30
Speaker 10: a more excellent sacrifice, that it was in his heart,
00:48:34
Speaker 10: it was in his spirit. But when we do look
00:48:37
Speaker 10: at chapter four and we watch both these brothers approach
00:48:40
Speaker 10: the altar, Cain brought an offering that was a part
00:48:45
Speaker 10: of the older revelation of God and their conversation from
00:48:50
Speaker 10: the garden of fruit and vegetation. But Abel brought an
00:48:55
Speaker 10: offering from the newer revelation that knew it was required
00:49:00
Speaker 10: a blood sacrifice. Oh, how wrenching it is to realize
00:49:07
Speaker 10: that the first murder to take place in the Bible
00:49:11
Speaker 10: took place at the altar of worship. And we see
00:49:17
Speaker 10: this motif over and over in the scriptures, don't we
00:49:22
Speaker 10: Noah's sons brothers didn't get along. We see Abraham's two
00:49:30
Speaker 10: boys Isaac Nishmiel, and we look at Isaac's sons, Jacob
00:49:35
Speaker 10: and Esau. And then we look at Jacob's sons Joseph
00:49:40
Speaker 10: and his brothers. We even look at King David and
00:49:44
Speaker 10: his brothers. And do you know in the Christian scriptures,
00:49:47
Speaker 10: in the Book of John, we are told that Jesus'
00:49:51
Speaker 10: own brothers didn't believe in him. I can't think of
00:49:56
Speaker 10: anything more wrenching in my life, in your life life,
00:50:00
Speaker 10: than when families are in turmoil. Can I pray for
00:50:05
Speaker 10: you right now, your heart, but even more for your home.
00:50:10
Speaker 2: Lord.
00:50:10
Speaker 10: I thank you for this moment. Now touch each one
00:50:13
Speaker 10: of us, all of us, let us feel you in
00:50:16
Speaker 10: the deepest part of our spirit, but also touch families.
00:50:21
Speaker 10: Overwhelm them with your love and your peace.
00:50:27
Speaker 2: Amen.
00:50:30
Speaker 6: In the days and weeks and months since the terror
00:50:32
Speaker 6: attacks of October seventh left thousands in Israel dead and injured.
00:50:37
Speaker 6: It would have been so easy to be consumed with
00:50:39
Speaker 6: hatred and to lose hope. But the International Fellowship of
00:50:44
Speaker 6: Christians and Jews, thanks for our loving and faithful supporters
00:50:47
Speaker 6: around the world, not only continued our work of helping
00:50:50
Speaker 6: the least of these, but we did more of this
00:50:54
Speaker 6: holy work to save lives. We fought the death and
00:50:58
Speaker 6: destruction and wrought by Hamaus with love, with giving, with
00:51:05
Speaker 6: care and aid. In this ancient heavy Biblical tale of
00:51:10
Speaker 6: Cain and Abel, we are given a choice, my friends,
00:51:14
Speaker 6: a choice between retaliation and forgiveness, a choice between conquering
00:51:19
Speaker 6: by force and conquering by love. If you are struggling
00:51:24
Speaker 6: and bitter about life, like Cain, understand that no pain
00:51:28
Speaker 6: inflicted upon others will ease your own pain. If you
00:51:32
Speaker 6: are appalled the type of evil people are capable of,
00:51:36
Speaker 6: let it be a catalyst for you to look at
00:51:38
Speaker 6: yourself and counteract that evil with good, God tells us
00:51:43
Speaker 6: Ava Shemsinora. Lovers of the Lord despise evil, How do
00:51:48
Speaker 6: we despise evil by forming a pact with good? With
00:51:53
Speaker 6: people of God? If you, like me, want to have
00:51:57
Speaker 6: an impact on this world. Let's resolve to replace our
00:52:01
Speaker 6: bitterness with the drive to see the world made new
00:52:05
Speaker 6: in God's image, in an image that cherishes and sanctifies life.
00:52:12
Speaker 6: I want to leave you with a final blessing in
00:52:14
Speaker 6: English and then in Hebrew. May the Lord bless you
00:52:18
Speaker 6: and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine
00:52:20
Speaker 6: upon you and be gracious unto you. May the Lord
00:52:23
Speaker 6: turn his face towards.
00:52:25
Speaker 7: You and give you peace.
00:52:27
Speaker 6: Yvoresa hashen vishmerecha ye hear chempave le ye saaempavelele Shalon
00:52:37
Speaker 6: with blessings from here in the Holy Land Shalon.
00:52:44
Speaker 1: You can listen to The Chosen People with You Isle
00:52:46
Speaker 1: Exstein add free by downloading and subscribing to the pray
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Speaker 1: dot Com app today. This prey dog comproduction is only
00:52:55
Speaker 1: made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve
00:52:59
Speaker 1: Katinax bad Zach Shellabarger and Ben Gammon are the executive
00:53:03
Speaker 1: producers of The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, edited by
00:53:07
Speaker 1: Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by
00:53:12
Speaker 1: Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold,
00:53:17
Speaker 1: Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore.
00:53:21
Speaker 1: Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Bree Rosalie and
00:53:25
Speaker 1: Aaron Salvato. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin,
00:53:30
Speaker 1: Kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team at International Fellowship
00:53:35
Speaker 1: of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot
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