Who was Cain's wife?

There are some trigger questions people will ask in an attempt to discredit the Bible.  Some sincere believers ask them too, because the questions are true puzzles.  Believers, not understanding, ask even in the face of their faith, because they want to be able to answer skeptics and critics.  It is in that light this morning I tackle the question my father posed to me 50 or so years ago, "Who was Cain's wife?"

Let's review:  Adam and Eve were the first humans, created by the hand of God.  The Bible also reveals they procreated, producing both Cain and then afterwards, Abel.  Were there other children born to Adam and Eve between Cain and Abel?  The Bible does not explicitly say.
Cain went on to murder Abel, both of them having been born with the sin nature, evidenced by Abel performing a blood sacrifice for the atonement of sin.  This lends credence to the fact both were born outside The Garden of Eden, after The Fall.
The Bible does not mention other children born to The First Couple, other than Seth, who is the progenitor of the Messianic line, the ancestral line which would produce Messiah.

But, let's back up a little more:
Remember that when God created all, He repeatedly pronounced it "good".  When He created man, He pronounced it "very good".  We cannot even conceive of (please pardon the procreation pun) life in such perfection!  It is beyond our thinking, because all we have known for thousands of years is life under the sin curse.

When God pronounced His curse on ALL of creation, in the aftermath of the Fall of Man, His splendid creation began to erode.  This statement of biblical fact flies in the face of the theory of evolution, which asserts that all the physical world is "evolving" from one state to a better, higher state.  Acute observation of the natural world reveals this is just not factual, but is instead wishful thinking on the part of those who wish to disregard creationism.

Fact:  when God pronounced the sin curse, His perfect creation began to slowly show the effects, over a period of years, decades, millenia.
Case in point:  how old was Adam (and Eve was of a similar age, according to scripture) when Seth was born?  Genesis 5:3 states this:

3When Adam had lived 130 years he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and he named him Seth.

Eve gave birth to Seth when she was WELL over 100 years old.  Is it reasonable to believe that Adam and Eve had no other offspring between Cain, Abel and Seth?  No.  Instead, it seems more reasonable to conclude that they did, fulfilling God's command to "be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth" (Genesis 1:28), even though the Bible does not explicitly mention those offspring by name.
"God did not forbid inter-family marriage until much later when there were enough people to make intermarriage unnecessary (Leviticus 18:6-18)."1
Essentially, these two people, created originally sinless by the hand of Almighty God, were, in a sense "superhuman".  Their bodies were originally perfect, with characteristics we cannot fully comprehend.  Furthermore, the newly-created world was vastly different from the one we experience today.

As the slow erosion of the now sin-infected creation progressed, creation, including man's DNA began to show the effects - - the slow, but inevitable, slide toward eventual physical death.  There is no doubt in my mind, in fact it must be so if the Bible is true, that Adam and Eve produced scores of offspring over their nearly 1000-year lifetimes, and those offspring similarly produced an "incredible" number of offspring - - by marrying their siblings and cousins.  Those offspring spread out and started lives on their own over the first centuries, building and populating cities, etc.

Before you think me completely crazy (because marrying close relatives today produces inevitable genetic abnormalities) keep in mind that early man's genetic composition was vastly superior to ours today.  Again, creation continues to deteriorate, to "groan" as the Bible puts it in Isaiah 24:4 and Romans 8:22.

Back in 2006, a theistic evolutionist named Dr. Francis Collins published a book called, The Language of God, in which he claimed that the human race could have been started by no less than 10,000 "founders" - - original humans simultaneously created by God, with Adam and Eve being the Bible's "Exhibit A" in an allegorical story.  This is a problematic theory, not to mention a false one, because if the ENTIRE human race had not been infected with the sin curse which Adam and Eve brought down upon their genetic line, there would have been no reason for Jesus Christ to come and redeem those "ALL" who have sinned (Romans 3:23).

Are two original ancestors (Adam and Eve) enough to eventually produce the entire human race?
I reference for your inspection this article2, under "Sources", by Dr. Elizabeth Purdom, a renowned molecular geneticist, who argues that, yes, two were enough.

The genetic evidence is consistent with human DNA being “young” and the human race beginning with a very small starting population (the Bible tells us the starting population was two people!).

The International HapMap project endeavors to study a select group of DNA similarities and differences between humans known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).5 The SNPs are believed to be representative of the genome (total human DNA) such that what is true for them would be true for the whole genome. These studies and others have shown that the difference in DNA between any two humans is amazingly low . . . only 0.1 percent.6

Reflecting on this very low percentage, some scientists posited, “This proportion is low compared with those of many other species, from fruit flies to chimpanzees, reflecting the recent origins of our species from a small founding population” (emphases mine).7 They also stated, “[Certain genetic estimates] tell us that humans vary only slightly at the DNA level and that only a small proportion of this variation separates continental populations.”8

These findings are consistent with the Bible’s history that humans were created several thousands years ago; in other words, a short amount of time has passed, so there is little genetic variation.

Astounding.  The genetic evidence argues that, not only did the human race originate from only two people, but the lack of genetic diversity argues for a "young earth".
So, according to the Bible and according to true science (science that avoids circular reasoning) Cain must have married either a sister, niece or a cousin.  And, such behavior was common in those days.  What a world it must have been!

Sources:

1
https://www.gotquestions.org/Cains-wife.html

2
https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/did-we-all-come-from-adam-and-eve/?utm_source=facebook-aig&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=facebook-aig

A Strange, New World

Genesis 2:4-25 is our text for today's post.  Along with Genesis 1, this passage reveals "a strange, new world".  The passage in Genesis 2 more or less goes back and provides a more detailed look into the creation of Adam on Day Six and first days after the first Sabbath.

Verses 5-7, while extremely troubling to those who hold to a creation over many years, make perfect sense when you accept a literal, six days of creation.  Here are the verses for your convenience:

5Now no shrub of the field had yet grown on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.6Springs would well up from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. 7The Lord God formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Genesis 2:5-7 (NET)

It is entirely reasonable, then, to accept God created plant life on Day Three, but that such plant life then began growing at a normal rate after its creation, watered by mists and springs.  Three literal days later, on Day Six, God created Adam.

Verses 9-14 describe Eden's location in that day, before the worldwide flood, described in Genesis 6.  This information was transmitted over the generations until Moses formally codified it into the book of Genesis.  The Tigris and the Euphrates rivers still exist to this day, giving us a general idea of the geographical location of the original Eden.  However, we are unable to pinpoint Eden's actual location due to the cataclysmic earth changes that resulted from the worldwide flood.

Moreover....

We would be making a serious error to look at our world today, even the wild "untouched" areas of Earth and deduce that "the heavens and the earth" today are very much like how they were at their original creation.  We tend to look at our current state of being as humans and make false deductions about the past, by observing the present.  This, of course, presupposes the past was exactly like the present, which is most certainly untrue (based on what we learn from Genesis).

Case in point:  take a look back at Genesis 1:29-30 (NET) - -

29Then God said, “I now give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give every green plant for food.” It was so.

We don't hear many sermons preached on this topic, but the truth is that, before the introduction of sin into the human race and, by extension, into God's original "it was very good" creation, all animal life was vegetarian; all were herbivores.  I'll delve more into that later.

Note also that rain did not fall from the skies to water the Earth in these days (Gen 2:5).  In fact, the first time rain fell on the Earth was when God initiated the process to produce the great flood of Genesis 6.

Adam spent some undetermined amount of time - - scripture does not say - - interacting with God's creation, tending the Garden of Eden, and naming the animals (Genesis 2:19-20 NET)

19The Lord God formed out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field, but for Adam no companion who corresponded to him was found.

At some point, Eve was created.  For some reason, God wanted us to know that Eve was created after Adam and that she was created from the body of Adam.  I'm glad Father in His divine plan chose to reveal this information to us.  Such does not imply Eve was in any way inferior to Adam, but merely that the male and female of our species are inextricably linked.  It also points out the very true differences between male and female.  (All this modern-day nonsense about allowing children to determine their own genders is just that - - satanic nonsense.)

We would also be mistaken to believe that our human biology today is anything more than inferior to that of Adam and Eve.  There is no doubt our race (in fact the entire creation) has been corrupted/diminished by the sin curse which Adam and Eve brought upon all of God's perfect work.  Keep in mind: Adam lived to be over 900 years old.  Living for hundreds of years was, according to scripture, commonplace in those days.  Over time, the sin curse produced more and more negative effects in this world, and not just on Earth.  The Bible says "the whole creation groans" under it (Romans 8:22).  Nasty, destructive "weeds" in the Garden of Life....

How long did Adam and Eve dwell in Eden before that great, fatal mistake was made?  We are not given that information.  But, in the next post, we will continue to look at the early days of Adam and Eve, while considering the question that has been posed by so many doubters:  "Who did Cain, Abel and Seth marry?"

Lying Around

Have you ever thought about what a marvel sleep is?  I think of it as God's way of turning off the human machine, so that it can recharge.  In addition, sleep cleanses the human mind and the body, down to the cellular level.  Amazing!  Scientists have not yet determined all that occurs when we sleep.

There is such a thing as getting too much of a good thing, however.  One of the signs of depression, for instance, is sleeping too much of the time.  Sleep becomes an escape or avoidance mechanism, keeping the sick person from dealing with the real world.  Too much sleep is also a symptom of laziness, although I think that "lying around" might be a more apt description of what the scriptures intend in Proverbs 6:6-11(ESV)

6Go to the ant, O sluggard;

consider her ways, and be wise.

7Without having any chief,

officer, or ruler,

8she prepares her bread in summer

and gathers her food in harvest.

9How long will you lie there, O sluggard?

When will you arise from your sleep?

10A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest,

11and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

and want like an armed man.

This is not to pick on modern ways at all; but, if we are honest, we will admit that "work" has changed a great deal in the past 50 years.  A huge amount of work has been transferred from the physical realm into the world of cyberspace, something King Solomon knew nothing about.  I don't think anyone would call the person who works at home in front of his computer "lazy" or as the Bible puts it "being a sluggard".  It is merely a different method of earning a living.

However, with the cyberworld at our fingertips (literally), it is seductive to jump into that world for pleasure's sake, when we should be doing something more productive.  Let's go back to the topic of sleep for a moment.

The human body is designed to wake with the morning light and to "head for the recharger" (the bed) shortly after dark.  God has given us the ability to manipulate that natural sleep cycle.  And, those who "work 3rd shift", for example in convenience stores and hospitals and factories, do so by necessity.  Huge kudos to them for their sacrifices!  Often, they do not get 8 hours of interrupted sleep, simply because they are trying to sleep while the rest of the world is up and about.  It's a huge challenge.

But, often (and honestly, this can occur via a good book, or even excessive knitting{!} so not picking on "technology" here) - - - we use our technology as an escape from other responsibilities, spending hours playing online games, immersing ourselves in virtual worlds, when that time could be put to much better use.  Often, we cheat our sleep to do this, and that is not only mentally unhealthy, we can reap negative consequences in our physical health.

All that being said, there are "morning people" and "night people".  As biological units (unique creations of the Master Creator, Jesus Christ), we usually figure out into which camp we fall. Furthermore, some of us need 8-10 hours of sleep each night in order to feel good and function at optimum performance.  Others, like my brother-in-law, can function perfectly well, thank you, on 4-5.  (I know you don't believe that, and it IS rare; but, he is in excellent health and has been doing this by his own choice for decades....)

God's creation is not perfect.  It became broken by sin, beginning in the Garden of Eden.  When Man fell, so did creation, and it has been "groaning" ever since (Romans 8:22).  Still, God's creation is pretty doggone marvelous!  You don't find many indolent, lazy ants, or bees (the Septuagint includes the example of industrious bees in vs. 11 of today's passage), or eagles or squirrels.  If they did not obey their God-ordained impulses to prepare for lean times, they would not survive!

The same scriptural principle applies to us as well.  If we spend all we have on the immediate, not saving for "a rainy day".... If we waste our health, not caring for it so that latter years can be enjoyed ... if we squander opportunities God puts in our path daily ... if we neglect our prayer life and Bible study ... will we then be prepared for when those times of testing and trial come?  No.  We won't.

So, I am going to think about this some more today and try to think more proactively, to use my time more wisely, to prepare for my future more intelligently, so that I can be of ultimate use to the Lord for as long as He allows me to remain here.   Here's one final thought....

The best "prep" or investment is in God's kingdom, serving others according to the spiritual gifts and earthly resources He has provided.  The ant, after all, worships God by doing what He created her to do and doing it with passion!  What a joy when each of us, God's own beloved children, can say and do the same!