Are You Your Brethren's Keeper?
Genesis 4:1-15 reads,
4:1The
man knew Eve his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Cain, and said, "I
have gotten a man with Yahweh’s help." 4:2Again
she gave birth, to Cain’s brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain
was a tiller of the ground. 4:3As
time passed, it happened that Cain brought an offering to Yahweh from the fruit
of the ground. 4:4Abel also brought
some of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat of it. Yahweh respected
Abel and his offering, 4:5but he
didn’t respect Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and the expression
on his face fell. 4:6Yahweh said to
Cain, "Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen? 4:7If you do well, will it not be lifted up? If
you don’t do well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire is for you, but you are
to rule over it." 4:8Cain
said to Abel, his brother, "Let’s go into the field." It happened,
when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and
killed him.
4:9Yahweh
said to Cain, "Where is Abel, your brother?"
He said, "I don’t know. Am I my
brother’s keeper?"
4:10Yahweh
said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to
me from the ground. 4:11Now you are
cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your
brother’s blood from your hand. 4:12From
now on, when you till the ground, it won’t yield its strength to you. You shall
be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth."
4:13Cain
said to Yahweh, "My punishment is greater than I can bear. 4:14Behold, you have driven me out this day
from the surface of the ground. I will be hidden from your face, and I will be
a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth. It will happen that whoever finds me
will kill me."
4:15Yahweh
said to him, "Therefore whoever slays Cain, vengeance will be taken on him
sevenfold." Yahweh appointed a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should
strike him.
Don't Yahweh's words in 4:9 imply, even as understood by Cain, that we are indeed our brethren's keepers? Shouldn't we be concerned for our brethren's welfare, seeing that we are indeed their keepers?
Don't Be Angry Without Just
Cause
Wasn't Cain angry without just cause? Wasn't Cain angry because Yahweh had regard for his brother's offering but did not have regard for his own offering? Wasn't Cain envious at his brother's better fortune? Didn't Yahweh's words to Cain show that it is not appropriate for one to be envious of another's good or better fortune? Didn't Yahweh's words to Cain also show that envy and unjustified anger are a prelude to committing sin outwardly? And didn't he show that we must rule over sin, which desires to rule over us? Doesn't this mean that we are to overcome the power of sin?
Didn't Cain disregard Yahweh's advice that he rules over sin trying to rule over him? Didn't he succumb to sin and thereby murdered his brother?
Curses Are The Consequence Of
Sin
Didn't Yahweh punish Cain greatly by cursing him on account of his sin? Doesn't this show that curses come over us on account of our sins? Doesn't this also imply that the manner to avoid curses coming over us is to avoid sinning?
Genesis 9:5-6 reads,
9:5I
will surely require your blood of your lives. At the hand of every animal I
will require it. At the hand of man, even at the hand of every man’s brother, I
will require the life of man. 9:6Whoever
sheds man’s blood, by man will his blood be shed, for in the image of God made
he man.
Doesn't Yahweh clearly show that human beings are to preserve the lives of their brethren - fellow human beings? Isn't it also the implication that we should do good to others, seeing that they are made in the Mighty One's image?
Genesis 9:20-27 reads,
9:20Noah
began to be a farmer, and planted a vineyard. 9:21He
drank of the wine, and got drunk. He was uncovered within his tent. 9:22Ham, the father of
"Cursed be
A servant of servants will he be to his
brothers."
9:26He
said,
"Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Shem;
Let
9:27God
enlarge Japheth,
Let him dwell in the tents of Shem;
Let
Didn't
Yahweh Separated Abram From
His Brethren
Genesis 12:1-6 reads,
12:1Now
Yahweh said to Abram, "Get out of your country, and from your relatives,
and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. 12:2I will make of you a great nation. I will
bless you, and make your name great. You will be a blessing. 12:3I will bless those who bless you, and I
will curse him who curses you. In you will all of the families of the earth be
blessed."
12:4So
Abram went, as Yahweh had spoken to him.
Doesn't Yahweh sometimes command people to depart from their brethren and dwell separately from them? Isn't this what he did with Abram? And doesn't Yahweh have a purpose for so commanding a person? Wasn't his reason for commanding Abram to separate from his relatives the commencement of the fulfilment of his will for Abram, a fulfilment that did not include Abram's brethren from whom he was separating? Shouldn't we therefore heed Yahweh's word to us to separate from our brethren, if and when he so commands us? Will not our heeding such a word of Yahweh allow him to fulfil his will for us, a fulfilment not involving the brethren from whom he has separated us?
Genesis 13 reads,
13:1Abram
went up out of
13:10Lot
lifted up his eyes, and saw all the plain of the
13:14Yahweh
said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, "Now, lift up your eyes,
and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and
westward, 13:15for all the land
which you see, I will give to you, and to your offspring forever. 13:16I will make your offspring as the dust of
the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then your seed may
also be numbered. 13:17Arise, walk
through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give
it to you."
13:18Abram
moved his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in
Humans Need Sufficient Living
Space In Order To Dwell In Peace
Isn't it the case that when human beings live together in congested conditions strife inevitably develops among them? Doesn't strife arise among them because the congested area is inadequate for their needs or aspirations? Doesn't this imply that human beings need sufficient space in order to live together in peace and harmony?
Relatives Should Dwell
Together In Peace And Harmony
Didn't Abram speak to
Abram Sacrificed Good
Property For The Sake Of Peace Among Relatives
Didn't Abram give his relative Lot the opportunity of choosing first which land he wanted for himself? Didn't Abram give Lot the opportunity of selecting for himself the best land, with Abram taking what was left over? Didn't Abram in this conduct reveal that he was not a selfish man but a selfless one, sacrificing property for the sake of peace and harmony among relatives? Shouldn't we emulate Abram's example, sacrificing gain for the sake of peace and harmony among relatives?
Yahweh Revealed To Abram His
Future Inheritance After His Separation From Lot
Didn't Yahweh reveal to Abram his future inheritance after he had separated from Lot? Didn't Yahweh wait for that separation to take place prior to revealing to Abram his future inheritance? Doesn't this indicate that Abram's inheritance was different from Lot's inheritance? Doesn't this indicate that Yahweh brought about the separation in order to execute for Abram and Lot what he separately willed for each of them? Doesn't this imply that when Yahweh separates us from our relatives it is for the purpose of fulfilling his respective wills for those relatives and for us?
Genesis 14:12-16 reads,
14:12They
took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who lived in Sodom, and his goods,
and departed.
14:13One
who had escaped came and told Abram, the Hebrew. Now he lived by the
oaks of Mamre, the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner; and these
were allies of Abram. 14:14When
Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he led forth his trained men,
born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan. 14:15He divided himself against them by night,
he and his servants, and struck them, and pursued them to Hobah, which is on
the left hand of Damascus. 14:16He
brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative, Lot, and his
goods, and the women also, and the people.
Didn't Abram's conduct show that he was indeed his brother's keeper? Didn't he go after Lot to rescue him when the latter was captured in war? Didn't he succeed in rescuing Lot and returning to the latter his goods and people? Doesn't Abram show us that being our brethren's keepers entails taking whatever course of action that is necessary for their welfare?
Jacob Did Not Act As Esau's
Keeper
Genesis 25:27-34 reads,
25:27The
boys grew. Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field. Jacob was a quiet
man, living in tents. 25:28Now Isaac
loved Esau, because he ate his venison. Rebekah loved Jacob. 25:29Jacob boiled stew. Esau came in from the
field, and he was famished. 25:30Esau
said to Jacob, "Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am
famished." Therefore his name was called Edom.
25:31Jacob
said, "First, sell me your birthright."
25:32Esau
said, "Behold, I am about to die. What good is the birthright to me?"
25:33Jacob
said, "Swear to me first."
He swore to him. He sold his birthright to
Jacob. 25:34Jacob gave Esau bread
and stew of lentils. He ate and drank, rose up, and went his way. So Esau
despised his birthright.
Did Jacob do right in not freely giving his brother food when his brother was famished? Shouldn't he have acted as his brother's keeper, doing whatever was in his power to preserve his brother's life? Wouldn't he have done better by freely giving his brother the needed food, without trading the food for his brother's birthright?
Jacob Deceptively Acquired
His Brother's Blessing
Genesis 27:1-45 reads,
27:1It
happened, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not
see, he called Esau his elder son, and said to him, "My son?"
He said to him, "Here I am."
27:2He
said, "See now, I am old. I don’t know the day of my death. 27:3Now therefore, please take your weapons,
your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and take me venison. 27:4Make me savory food, such as I love, and
bring it to me, that I may eat, and that my soul may bless you before I die.
27:5Rebekah
heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. Esau went to the field to hunt for
venison, and to bring it. 27:6Rebekah
spoke to Jacob her son, saying, "Behold, I heard your father speak to Esau
your brother, saying, 27:7‘Bring me
venison, and make me savory food, that I may eat, and bless you before Yahweh
before my death.’ 27:8Now therefore,
my son, obey my voice according to that which I command you. 27:9Go now to the flock, and get me from there
two good kids of the goats. I will make them savory food for your father, such
as he loves. 27:10You shall bring it
to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his
death."
27:11Jacob
said to Rebekah his mother, "Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I
am a smooth man. 27:12What if my
father touches me? I will seem to him as a deceiver, and I would bring a
curse on myself, and not a blessing."
27:13His
mother said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son. Only obey my voice,
and go get them for me."
27:14He
went, and got them, and brought them to his mother. His mother made savory
food, such as his father loved. 27:15Rebekah
took the good clothes of Esau, her elder son, which were with her in the house,
and put them on Jacob, her younger son. 27:16She
put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands, and on the smooth of his
neck. 27:17She gave the savory food
and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
27:18He
came to his father, and said, "My father?"
He said, "Here I am. Who are you, my
son?"
27:19Jacob
said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done what you asked
me to do. Please arise, sit and eat of my venison, that your soul may bless
me."
27:20Isaac
said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my
son?"
He said, "Because Yahweh your God gave me
success."
27:21Isaac
said to Jacob, "Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you
are really my son Esau or not."
27:22Jacob
went near to Isaac his father. He felt him, and said, "The voice is
Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau." 27:23He didn’t recognize him, because his hands
were hairy, like his brother, Esau’s hands. So he blessed him. 27:24He said, "Are you really my son
Esau?"
He said, "I am."
27:25He
said, "Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my
soul may bless you."
He brought it near to him, and he ate. He
brought him wine, and he drank. 27:26His
father Isaac said to him, "Come near now, and kiss me, my son." 27:27He came near, and kissed him. He smelled
the smell of his clothing, and blessed him, and said,
"Behold, the smell of my son
Is as the smell of a field which Yahweh has
blessed.
27:28God
give you of the dew of the sky,
of the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
27:29Let
peoples serve you,
Nations bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
Let your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
Blessed be everyone who blesses you."
27:30It
happened, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob had
just gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came
in from his hunting. 27:31He also
made savory food, and brought it to his father. He said to his father,
"Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that your soul may
bless me."
27:32Isaac
his father said to him, "Who are you?"
He said, "I am your son, your firstborn,
Esau."
27:33Isaac
trembled violently, and said, "Who, then, is he who has taken venison, and
brought it me, and I have eaten of all before you came, and have blessed him?
Yes, he will be blessed."
27:34When
Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding great and bitter
cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, my father."
27:35He
said, "Your brother came with deceit, and has taken away your
blessing."
27:36He
said, "Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two
times. He took away my birthright. See, now he has taken away my blessing."
He said, "Haven’t you reserved a blessing for me?"
27:37Isaac
answered Esau, "Behold, I have made him your lord, and all his brothers have
I given to him for servants. With grain and new wine have I sustained him. What
then will I do for you, my son?"
27:38Esau
said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even
me also, my father." Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
27:39Isaac
his father answered him,
"Behold, of the fatness of the earth will
be your dwelling,
and of the dew of the sky from above.
27:40By
your sword will you live, and you will serve your brother.
It will happen, when you will break loose,
That you shall shake his yoke from off your
neck."
27:41Esau
hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him. Esau
said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are at hand. Then I
will kill my brother Jacob."
27:42The
words of Esau, her elder son, were told to Rebekah. She sent and called Jacob
her younger son, and said to him, "Behold, your brother Esau comforts
himself about you by planning to kill you. 27:43Now
therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban, my brother, in Haran. 27:44Stay with him a few days, until your
brother’s fury turns away; 27:45until
your brother’s anger turn away from you, and he forgets what you have
done to him. Then I will send, and get you from there. Why should I be bereaved
of you both in one day?"
Deceptively Acquiring What
Belongs To Another Is Wrong
Did Jacob do right in deceiving his father and procuring from him the blessing his father had meant for Esau? Isn't it wrong to procure by deception what belongs to another?
Why was Isaac deceived?
Wasn't it because he was blind and therefore could not verify conclusively whether what he encountered was actually what he thought it was? Doesn't this show that those who are blind can indeed be deceived by others in a manner unlikely for those not blind?
The Penalty For Practising
Deception Is A Curse
Didn't Jacob realise that what he had purposed to do wasn't right? Didn't he realise that if his father had found out that he was deceiving his father he would have received a curse and not a blessing? Doesn't this show that the penalty for obtaining by deception what belongs to another is indeed a curse?
Esau Was Wrong To Hate Jacob
Despite Jacob's Misdeeds Against Him
Didn't Esau harbour hatred in his heart on account of Jacob's misdeeds against him? Did not the hatred become a resolution to murder Jacob after the death of their father?
Seeing that murder is against Yahweh's word, isn't it clear that Esau's heart was not right in his purpose to murder his brother, despite his brother's misdeeds against him? Doesn't this show that even when our brethren sin against us, it is still not proper for us to harbour hatred against them or bear murder in our hearts? Doesn't this mean that we are to remain righteous before Yahweh, not bearing sin in our hearts, even when our brethren sin against us? Doesn't this mean that we are not to take vengeance in our own hands, but leave the matter to Yahweh to deal with as he sees fit and at his own time?
An Uncle And A Nephew Are
Brethren
Genesis 29:13-15 reads,
29:13It
happened, when Laban heard the news of Jacob, his sister’s son, that he ran to
meet Jacob, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house.
Jacob told Laban all these things. 29:14Laban
said to him, Surely you are my bone and my flesh. He lived with him for a
month. 29:15Laban said to Jacob, "Because
you are my brother, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what
will your wages be?"
Weren't Laban and Jacob brethren, seeing that they were close relatives?
Genesis 30:14-21 reads,
30:14Reuben
went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and
brought them to his mother, Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give
me some of your son’s mandrakes."
30:15She
said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband?
Would you take away my son’s mandrakes, also?"
Rachel said, "Therefore he will lie
with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes."
30:16Jacob
came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said,
"You must come in to me; for I have surely hired you with my son’s
mandrakes."
He lay with her that night. 30:17God listened to Leah, and she conceived,
and bore Jacob a fifth son. 30:18Leah
said, "God has given me my hire, because I gave my handmaid to my
husband." She named him Issachar. 30:19Leah
conceived again, and bore a sixth son to Jacob. 30:20Leah
said, "God has endowed me with a good dowry. Now my husband will live
with me, because I have borne him six sons." She named him Zebulun. 30:21Afterwards, she bore a daughter, and named
her Dinah.
Did Rachel do right in monopolising her husband rather than fairly sharing him with her sister and fellow wife? Aren't brethren supposed to be keepers of one another? Wasn't Rachel supposed to so be Leah's keeper by ensuring that Leah's needs were fulfilled when it was in her power to do so? Wasn't the manner Rachel to do this ensuring that their husband also lay with Leah, rather than ignoring Leah yet she was also Jacob's wife? Isn't it clear that Rachel did not do right in monopolising their husband?
Yahweh Instructed Jacob To
Separate From Laban When Strife Was Developing Between Them
Genesis 31:1-3 reads,
31:1He
heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, "Jacob has taken away all that
was our father’s. From that which was our father’s, has he gotten all this
wealth." 31:2Jacob saw the
expression on Laban’s face, and, behold, it was not toward him as before. 31:3Yahweh said to Jacob, "Return to
the land of your fathers, and to your relatives, and I will be with you."
Didn't Yahweh instruct Jacob to separate from one group of relatives and return to another group of relatives? Didn't Yahweh instruct Jacob to separate himself from Laban's household at the time when Laban's household had ceased from regarding him well but harboured envy and hatred against him? Wasn't this a prelude to further trouble between Laban's household and Jacob if Jacob had continued to dwell with them? Wasn't it therefore more important, for the sake of peace and harmony among brethren, for Jacob to separate from Laban's household?
Yahweh Paid Jacob Deceptions
For His Deception
Genesis 31:4-7 reads,
31:4Jacob
sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field to his flock, 31:5and said to them, "I see the
expression on your father’s face, that it is not toward me as before; but the
God of my father has been with me. 31:6You
know that I have served your father with all of my strength. 31:7Your father has deceived me, and changed my
wages ten times, but God didn’t allow him to hurt me.
Wasn't Jacob also deceived in his dealings with his brother Laban? Did Yahweh allow this in recompense for his deception in obtaining from his father the blessing his father had meant for his brother Esau?
Jacob Was Paid Exploitations
For His Exploitation
Genesis 31:36-42 reads,
31:36Jacob
was angry, and argued with Laban. Jacob answered Laban, "What is my
trespass? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued after me? 31:37Now that you have felt around in all my
stuff, what have you found of all your household stuff? Set it here before my
relatives and your relatives, that they may judge between us two. 31:38These twenty years have I been with you.
Your ewes and your female goats have not cast their young, and I haven’t eaten
the rams of your flocks. 31:39That
which was torn of animals, I didn’t bring to you. I bore the loss of it. Of my
hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 31:40Thus I was; in the day the drought
consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from my eyes. 31:41These twenty years have I been in your
house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for
your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. 31:42Unless the God of my father, the God of
Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have
sent me away empty. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and
rebuked you last night."
Didn't Jacob experience, over 20 years, what it was like to be on the receiving end of a deception? Doesn't it appear that Yahweh paid him with deception against him seeing that he acted deceptively against his brother Esau?
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