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