We know that “where are you?” means “you aren’t where you are meant to be.”
When we read “where is your brother?” the message is the same: “you aren’t where you are meant to be.”
And I think Sarah kicks Ishmael out because she knows the story of Cain and Abel. She’s afraid.
I think this is also a cipher. The text points back, not just to give us some extra character detail, but to tell *us* to look back at what is happening.
Ishmael and Isaac are linked to Cain and Abel.
We wonder about Cain’s offering and how God feels about him, but the text isn’t clear. We know that Cain left the face, or presence, of God, and God placed a mark of protection on him.
Does God love Cain? Is Cain in God’s heart, despite Cain’s wandering?
Perhaps this story of Ishmael’s exile gives us a clue.
Hagar and Ishmael are גָּרַשׁ (garash) “driven out” from Abraham’s household. It’s this same word in Gen 3:24 when Adam and Eve are exiled from the garden. It’s also the same word Cain uses when he wanders in Gen 4:13.
If these stories are linked, the way God treats Ishmael tells us how he viewed Cain and how he viewed Adam and Eve.
God heard the boy crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Get up, lift up the boy, and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
And God was with the boy, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness and became an archer. He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Genesis 21:17-21 (NASB)
And perhaps how he views us when we wander.
After sin, God said: I will know them. I will experience them. I will suffer with them.
And then Cain kills Abel.
Perhaps God is saying to Abel: I’m going to suffer your senseless death.
Perhaps God is saying to Eve: I’m going to suffer your heartache and loss.
And perhaps God is saying to Cain: I’m going to suffer being rejected and hated.
But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.”
Genesis 20:3 (NASB)
The rabbis suggest that the people of Abraham’s day believed that faithfulness is of such great importance that adultery was considered worse than murder.
Back in Genesis 12, Abram’s fear was that the men of Egypt would be willing to MURDER him, but he’s not worried that they’ll simply abduct Sarai and sleep with her or take her as their own wife.
It came about, when he was approaching Egypt, that he said to his wife Sarai, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.
Genesis 12:11-12 (NASB)
Perhaps part of this idea comes from seeing that God commanded faithfulness first in Genesis 2:24, but the story of murder isn’t shown until Genesis 4 when Cain kills Abel.
And perhaps this is why God warns Abimelech the way He does.
The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2 (NKJV)
The word “surface” is rooted in the latin “superfices,” or “upon the face,” which indicates the outward and visible portion of a thing.
The ancient Hebrew language uses this same concept with the word פָּנִים (panim). It means “face.”
But there’s another application of this word “face” in scripture that carries much more weight. When it applies to humanity and to God, it becomes a powerful theological word.
It is about the experience of acceptance and rejection.
In Genesis 1 & 2, we’re shown the face of the waters, the face of the deep, the face of the expanse of heaven, and the face of the earth.
But in Genesis 3, we encounter the face of God. Most translations say “presence,” but this is inaccurate.
Now they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Genesis 3:8 (NASB)
The phrase in Hebrew is מִפְּנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים, which is “the panim of YHWH Elohim.”
And it’s from this panim that the man and his wife withdrew. Not from God’s presence, but from his face.
So what does this mean? How can we hide from God’s face?
Perhaps we see it more clearly when we see the face of man, who is made in God’s image.
We first see man’s face when we get to Cain. In the Hebrew, we read that God did not “regard” Cain and his offering. Literally, God did not even look at him.
So Cain’s face fell.
But for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
Genesis 4:5 (ESV)
What does it mean that his face “fell?” It’s the word נָפַל (nephal). (Interestingly this is also the root of “nephilim.”)
In the next verses, we get a clue. Falling is met with Rising: שְׂאֵת (se’et). Most translations say “accepted” but it is “lifting up” or “rising.”
The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to[ you, but you must rule over it.”
Genesis 4:6-7 (ESV)
If se’et is tied to being accepted, naphal is tied to being or feeling rejected.
Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
Genesis 4:14 (ESV)
When Cain cries “I shall be hidden from your face,” this isn’t the same “hide” that Adam and Eve experience in Genesis 3:8. There, they withdrew. Here, Cain is concerned he’ll be obscured.
It feels linked to Cain’s initial lament: God did not pay attention to him or his offering. He wasn’t accepted.
So this is the understanding: God’s face represents acceptance. Our face reflects our position of acceptance or rejection.
When we’re in God’s face, and our face is lifted up, this is a picture of being accepted by God. When our face is down, we are experiencing rejection, but God can lift our face.
When Cain leaves, what he leaves is the opportunity for acceptance, choosing to wander instead.
Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod,[a] east of Eden.
Genesis 4:16 (ESV)
This usage gives us another hint about God’s reaction to Lot as he’s being rescued from the destruction looming over Sodom. Lot begs the angel to let him flee to Zoar, and the angel agrees to let him go there and also spare the city.
He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of.
Genesis 19:21 (NIV)
The phrase “I will grant this request” is literally “I have raised your face.” He’s saying: I have accepted you. I am saving Zoar on account of you.
Perhaps Lot’s hesitation back in verse 16 is really about wondering if he was accepted. He learns that he is.
And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
Genesis 19:16 (NKJV)
And I will make you into a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing;
Genesis 12:2 (NASB)
In Genesis 12, God mentions this word “great” twice to Abraham, and if you’ve been following along, you know this means we should look more closely. Perhaps there is something here.
God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.
Genesis 1:16 (NASB)
The very first time this word shows up in the Scriptures, it also shows up twice: the two great lights. And there is a mention of governing. Ruling. Something you expect a great nation to do well. So this feels related.
And God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind; and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:21 (NASB)
But in the same chapter, this word comes up again. The great sea creatures. Or perhaps great sea creature, which the rabbis suggest is the Leviathan: the great trouble of God’s people. And yet… given greatness. Authority. Like a kingdom of the sea. Or of darkness.
So we have these links between greatness and authority, and that all makes sense, although some will scratch their head at the Leviathan, unwilling to accept that the Serpent was also created by God. That’s fine.
But it’s the next instance of great that caught my attention.
Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to endure!
Genesis 4:13 (NASB)
Cain murdered his brother, and God assigned a punishment: the ground will no longer yield fruit. You will wander forever.
The verse says: וַיֹּאמֶר קַיִן אֶל־יְהוָהגָּדוֹל עֲוֺנִי מִנְּשֹׂא
“My punishment is too great to endure!”
We read this in English, and it feels like a complaint: “You are too harsh!” And then it appears that God provides a protection over Cain, to prevent anyone from killing him.
The rabbis see something else here. Something greater.
The word “punishment” is an odd translation choice. It is the Hebrew word עָוֹן (“ah-vone”), which means “iniquity.” It is almost always translated that way in the rest of Scripture.
So in actuality, it reads: “My iniquity is too great to endure,” and in these words, the rabbis see a question, not a statement.
Cain is not saying that it is too great for HIM to bear. He is asking God: “is my iniquity too great for YOU to bear?”
Cain knows the story: his father Adam brought death to ALL humanity through disobedience, yet God covered him. He continued to bless him. He continued to loved him.
So Cain asks God: Is my sin too great? Can I not also be redeemed?
And in response, God covers Cain, this time with a mark to protect him from death.
Perhaps this is God’s greatness: Even though Adam brought death to us all, God has authority over death to redeem. Even though Cain brought death to his brother, God has the authority to restrain death from seizing Cain.
You have not met someone God cannot redeem. He can save you. He can even save me.
However, this word “curse” here in Genesis 8 (kalal) is *not* the same as the one in Genesis 3 (arar).
The Lord smelled the soothing aroma, and the Lord said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.
Genesis 8:21 (NIV)
The Genesis 8 kalal means to make light or to render insignificant. To treat as worthless or despised.
The Genesis 3 arar means cursed and suggests a binding, or a punishment.
So when we read that Adam was a worker of the ground before sin entered the world, and then told that he will toil and struggle with the ground after sin, we see a change – the ground is cursed. Bound up. Not fruitful like it was before.
In Genesis 4, when we read that Cain was a “tiller of the ground,” we are supposed to see it and go “uh oh…” because we already know that the ground is cursed. And Cain’s labor leads to murder.
So when we read Genesis 9 and we see that the curse of Genesis 3 is perhaps not abated by Genesis 8, we should be startled to see how Noah is described.
Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.
Genesis 9:20-21 (NIV)
We should expect things to go sideways. And they do.
The first thing you may notice is that one says “all flesh” and the other says “all people.”
And God said to Noah, `An end of all flesh hath come before Me, for the earth hath been full of violence from their presence; and lo, I am destroying them with the earth.
Genesis 6:13 (YLT)So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.
Genessi 6:13 (NIV)
But look at this word “end.” This word, when it isn’t connected to a specific time (like “end of 40 years,” or “end of his reign“) has a much more… eternal meaning.
I. end
1. end, at the end of (of time)
2. end (of space)
H7093: קֵץ (qēṣ)
There are two places in the Torah where this word is not connected to a specific time. Here, and back in Genesis 4 when Cain and Abel offer an offering to God.
This is an eternal image. This is not only our past. It is our present and future.
This passage can be read: “the end of all flesh is before me because the earth is filled with violence through the works of the flesh. I will destroy all flesh with the earth.”
If you read my Ish/Isha (flesh/spirit) post about Genesis 2-3, you’ll see a connection here.
If the Flood is a symbol of death & picture of baptism, where the flesh dies and is raised again by the Spirit of God, the destruction of the flesh is not disaster. It is what we long for: Not the death of wicked people, but the death of our sinful selves… so we can live.
When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.
Genesis 6:1-2 (NIV)
There are 2 schools of thought on the “sons of God” in Genesis 6. This phrase “benei ha-elohim” can either be:
1. Angels who impregnated women
2. Men of Seth’s “godly” lineage who mixed w/ Cain’s line.
In interpretation 1, the Nephilim are monsters and giants. In interpretation 2, they are evil humans.
Either way, whether you believe the “sons of God” refers to angels or men in Seth’s line, neither position requires you to believe that the events actually happened.
The goal is to try to understand what the text intends to teach us, and the lesson may be the same either way.
That said, I strongly believe that Genesis 6 is meant to tell us a story about angels who took human form and impregnated women. Not that I think it literally happened, but I think that’s what the story is saying. And this is primarily because “daughters of Adam” cannot just mean “daughters of Cain.”
Besides, Jude and Peter aren’t going to quote from the Book of Enoch if they don’t think their audience is familiar with the book of Enoch and understand what says. And what it says is that angels impregnated women and those women gave birth to monsters. Later, war. And then the flood.
Genesis 5 lists the ages in the generations between Adam and Noah, and a few stand out. The youngest, the oldest, and the one with the strange number.
Methuselah lived the longest – 969 years. His name is linked to his long life, which was not just for his benefit, but for the benefit of humanity as God restrained the Flood until after Methuselah died.
Enoch notably never died.
And Lamech? He shares a name with a notable man in Cain’s genealogy. Cain’s Lamech is man of seventy-seven-fold vengeance. But the Lamech of Genesis 5 goes down a different path. Not one of vengeance, but of Comfort.