To Luke,
“Vanity of vanities. All is vanity” says the preacher in Ecclesiastes 1:2. The Hebrew word used here for vanity (hevel) translates to breath, mist, or vapour. These things are with us only briefly. The other translation of the word is passing. The book of Ecclesiastes describes a man concerned only with himself and what he can accumulate in his life during his short stay on this earth. Some could say that in a world without meaning (which is how some people see the world we live in) one should merely focus on what is material in their lives. But to get to the meaning of meaninglessness, to try to reason with what appears to be a spinning rock of chaos circling the sun, we must return to the first time hevel is mentioned in the bible. Hevel appears in Genesis 4 as the name of Abel.
Cain
Before discussing Abel, however, we must first approach Cain. Cain’s name in Genesis Qayn can relate to the word qanah which means to acquire, to possess or to get. These words may not be inherently evil but under the wrong mindset and attitude we can get to the root of all evil. 1Timothy 6:10 says that the root of all evil is the love of money. Was this craving to want more, to acquire something outside of what God deems right for us, to possess our own godhood, was this stirring inside Cain? When God favoured Abel for offering the first-borns of his flock with fatty portion and ignored Cain, was that insidious craving eating away at Cain? If it were a pure craving, Cain could’ve bettered the crops he offered to God. But no. This type of love doesn’t create. It destroys. Murder. Chaos. Meaninglessness.
After murdering his brother, God curses Cain to wander the earth. I hadn’t revisited Genesis 4 in quite some time, so in my mind what followed immediately after in the text was the birth of Seth. I was wrong. God of course marks Cain to show people who may harm him that he is divinely protected and that “If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him seven-fold”. Under God’s protection, Cain had acquired a wife, had a son, and built a city named after his son. It seems as if Cain has a happy ending. Ecclesiastes 8:14 harkens back to the life of Cain. Cain’s son, Enoch, went on to have a son and then a grandson. Enoch’s grandson was Lamech. Genesis 4:23-24 sees that Cain’s bloodline kills once more. This time a young man, the text describes. And Lamech himself states that “if Cain’s revenge is seven-fold then Lamech’s is seventy-seven-fold”. The further and increasing perversion of sin is on display. A friend had recently described sin as a needle; it pierces once and a whole thread can follow. What a sad state of affairs. An apple leading to murder and murder to something far worse for Cain’s family.
Abel
But before the fate of Cain’s descendants, we must return to hevel – Abel. Not much is written about Abel. He appears and disappears from the text like vapour or mist. Genesis 4:10 has Abel’s blood crying to God yet Abel is not known to speak. All we know is that he was faithful to God and made offerings that clearly showed that putting God first in his life was important. Perhaps Ecclesiastes 12:13 alludes to this type of life. Fearing God and keeping His commandments. The author of Ecclesiastes (I will assume King Solomon) uses the word hevel, Abel’s name, 38 times. I believe it is safe to say that the allusions to Genesis 4 are intentional. Why is it then that most of what
Ecclesiastes describes as meaningless is more in line with the life of Cain? Solomon compares a long life filled with accomplishments to nothing more than a breath to hevel and that all men and women will see the same fate – the ground.
The consequence of Adam’s sin was death entering the world. For Cain, the consequences came far later and far greater than just death. What Cain brought upon his descendants and his city was elimination. Removal from the earth as easily as a breath disappears in the wind. God may have protected Cain from others who may do him harm. But that was not a dismissal of his sin. His sin was dealt with by a flood.
So where does that leave us? If humanity is destined to constantly destroy itself, if sin is ingrained so deeply into our skin, if this spinning rock we live on is so cursed then what is the point? Is there no meaning to any of this?
Seth
Genesis 4 ends with the birth of Seth – Eve’s third son. His name means appointed or placed. With Seth there is hope. Because the last words of Genesis 4 are “at that time people came to call upon the name of the Lord” when the new beginning started. This was the start of setting things right. See Cain wasn’t the only son of Adam to have a descendant named Lamech. Cain’s Lamech displayed the ever growing and ever twisting aspects of sin. But Seth’s led to deliverance. Seth’s Lamech had a son called Noah. Through his faith and the mercy of the Lord he had built a boat – an ark to save humanity.
So, this is what the meaning in meaninglessness is. Sin will be dealt with. The evil will not go unpunished. And the faithful – God’s people will find deliverance. The world was given a lifeline with the birth of Seth. So, the Lord has made it clear that to deal with sin in the world, he must involve a new birth. And the Lord has promised never to deal with sin using a massive flood again (gaze upon the rainbow in the rain if you forget). He will provide something far more powerful to deal with sin and He has brought us something far greater than an ark. Far greater than Seth. Far greater than Elijah, Moses, Adam. It is the second Adam Jesus Christ. A sacrifice of the choice lamb. Much like what Abel would offer God. Jesus Christ is our safety; Jesus Christ is our meaning. There is a light and He lives and He loves. Because we are not like Abel. We are like Cain.
Jesus
For believers, the name of Jesus is the sweetest thing we can use our breaths for. Through Jesus we have been given freedom from the bondage of sin and death. Free from the curse of Cain. Yes it’s true! We who are like Cain, Jesus came down to save. He took a look at every single one of us; he peered into every single malicious thought and deed and kept the promise. The promise of no more flood. He provided not a deluge of wrath but instead he arrived with baptism and living water. While Noah needed an ark to survive the waters, our ark – our Lord Jesus – walks atop the water Himself. Through Jesus, the walking dead – ourselves before we believed – were given a new breath of life. One with meaning and love and a gentleness that overcomes the nature we shared with Cain. So speak, whisper, sing His praises with the wonderful breath He gave you, In Jesus’ sweet name.
by Denzel Arevalo
Yes I Know The Way 