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The First Family: Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel

According to the Judeo-Christian tradition of faith and the record of Holy Scripture, Adam and Eve were the first couple in human history. They were also the first couple to have children: Cain and Abel.

They are the first human family, the first parents. How would they reflect the Divine Family?

The First Family becomes a living image of God in relationships with one another.

“You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.” – Desmond Tutu

In Genesis 4, the story of Adam and Eve’s family begins to unfold in a less-than-perfect environment. Sin has entered the story and begins a trend toward departure from God’s design for humanity, and the consequences that follow include rebellion. The First Family begins to multiply, find their vocation, engage in worship by presenting offerings to God from the fruit of their labor, and experience the first homicide recorded in human history.

Cain, the first son, is a tiller of the soil – a farmer, like his father, Adam. Abel, on the other hand, finds work as a keeper of the flocks, a shepherd. Work was part of the life experience of the First Family.

As the family grew and multiplied, family members expressed their vocational choices with yield from the land and livestock. Patterns of worship and thanksgiving became part of family life.

Each brother brought an offering appropriate to his occupation. Cain brought “some of the fruits of the soil as an offering,” and Abel brought “fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.” (Gen. 4:3-4)

The Lord looked favorably toward Abel’s offering but didn’t respond the same way to Cain’s offering. While Cain’s offering expressed his vocation, he brought neither firstlings nor first fruits. Cain reacted angrily, “and his face was downcast” (v. 5).

The Lord is attentive to Cain’s response. He is present and available as a heavenly father. What matters most at this point is the management of Cain’s emotions, feelings, and thoughts. He can change his trajectory if he will.

Cain appears to ignore the way out and the recommendations provided by God and moves out in his own way to resolve the emotions he felt at that time. Cain invites Abel out to the field. While they’re in the field, Cain attacks his brother and kills him.

This story is a shocking reminder the heart of every human is vulnerable to sin. When a man commits murder, he attacks God’s right of possession. According to Old Testament tradition, blood and life belong to God alone.

God issues a curse as punishment for Cain’s vocation, providing no further yield from the ground through crops. The deepest impact of this punishment is the banishment of Cain from his family.

Cain's relationships with his family and God are broken. He loses all sense of belonging and identification with a community. He becomes rootless and detached. Cain leaves Eden for the land of Nod, east of Eden, to begin the rest of his life.

But Cain doesn’t have the final word in this matter; God does.

Questions for Reflection:

- In what ways are you surprised that the first murder in human history started out as a worship service?

- How is worship connected to family relationships?

- How do we know Cain had a way out to avoid murdering his brother Abel?