Who did Cain marry? And don’t you think it would be weird if Seth married his sister?

If Adam and Eve were the first people, then when Cain was banished, who did Cain marry? Wowee, what an awesome question!!! And, this question has been asked many times before by many different people in the past and was even part of the very important historical Scopes trial in Tennessee in 1925. Back then, poor William Jennings Bryan failed to answer the question adequately from the opposing lawyer, Clarence Darrow, which cast doubt on Christianity (A little history trivia for you!).

But, we know the answer because we can look to the Holy Bible for the answer. In order to do that, we must accept as true that Adam and Eve were the first people on this Earth, okay? We know it to be true because it says so in Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament. We also know that Adam lived to be 930 years old! During that time, Adam and Eve had a number of children. Even though the Bible only mentions Cain, Abel and Seth by name, it also says that he had many other children: “After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.” (Genesis 5:4) Remember also that God commanded that Adam and Eve “be fruitful and multiply.” (Genesis 1:28)

So, Cain’s wife was probably either another daughter of Adam and Eve or a close relative. The Hebrew scholars believe that Cain’s wife was his sister, based on the Hebrew word ishshah. Remember, that back in those days it was not weird or uncommon to marry your sister or close relative. The same situation applies to Seth. He also, most likely, married his sister or niece. It wasn’t until Moses came along in the Book of Leviticus (Chapters 18-20) that God made the law forbidding close relatives to marry.

Of course, we look at it today and think, “Ewwwwww!” But, that’s because we live in a different time and with different standards and laws prohibiting such practices. We look at the beginning of the human race and we tend to apply today’s laws or today’s problems that are associated with close relatives marrying and try to interpret Genesis based on our present situation. But, we must look at it from a Biblical historical standpoint and the customs and practices of that time.

Remember, too, that back then Adam and Eve were created perfectly by God. There was no sin on Earth when they were created. There were no impurities in the gene pool, so to speak. So, the chances were that their children, and maybe even their grandchildren, were a purer race and could create a human population without fear of birth defects.

Why do we do offering?

We do an offering because it is a way that we show God that we love Him. It is a practice that was established way back before the time of Moses. Abraham, the father of the Jews, gave back to God in Genesis 14:20 when he gave God a tenth of everything he had. In fact, the word “tithe” (which is another name for an offering) means “a tenth.”

Look at what it says in Leviticus, "A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.” (Leviticus 27:30) “The entire tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod—will be holy to the LORD.” (Leviticus 27:32)

Jesus continued to preach and reaffirmed the value of tithing in the New Testament when He said, “Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices — mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law — justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” (Matthew 23:23)

Did you know that by faithfully tithing, God promises you a blessing? In fact, God says it this way in Malachi 3:10, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” This is the only place in the entire Bible, Old and New Testament, where God says to test Him.

But, here’s the key: You must do this joyfully. Don’t do it begrudgingly. Don’t do it because you feel you are forced to do it. God would rather you didn’t give at all. He wants you to do it because you love Him and want to give back to Him. Remember what it says in Proverbs 3:9, “Honor the Lord with all your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.” And here’s what it says in Luke 12:34, “For where your treasure is, your heart will be also.”

How did Cain’s wife come if Adam and Eve were the first people created?

Wowee, what an awesome question!!! And, this question has been asked many times before by many different people in the past and was even part of the very important historical Scopes trial in Tennessee in 1925. Back then, poor William Jennings Bryan failed to answer the question adequately from the opposing lawyer, Clarence Darrow, which cast doubt on Christianity (A little history trivia for you!).

But, we know the answer because we can look to the Holy Bible for the answer. In order to do that, we must accept as true that Adam and Eve were the first people on this Earth, okay? We know it to be true because it says so in Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament. We also know that Adam lived to be 930 years old! During that time, Adam and Eve had a number of children. Even though the Bible only mentions Cain, Abel and Seth by name, it also says that he had many other children: “After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.” (Genesis 5:4) Remember also that God commanded that Adam and Eve “be fruitful and multiply.” (Genesis 1:28)

So, Cain’s wife was probably either another daughter of Adam and Eve or a close relative. The Hebrew scholars believe that Cain’s wife was his sister, based on the Hebrew word ishshah. Remember, that back in those days it was not weird or uncommon to marry your sister or close relative. It wasn’t until Moses came along in the Book of Leviticus (Chapters 18-20) that God made the law forbidding close relatives to marry.

Of course, we look at it today and think, “Ewwwwww!” But, that’s because we live in a different time and with different standards. We look at the beginning of the human race and we tend to apply today’s laws or today’s problems that are associated with close relatives marrying and try to interpret Genesis based on our present situation. But, we must look at it from a biblical historical standpoint and the customs and practices of that time.

My cousin doesn’t know if he wants to divorce or not and I want to help him with that decision by using Bible verses. Can you help me find some?

Thank you for your courage in asking a difficult question.

I suggest you go an excellent Christian website called Bible Gateway. Go to http://www.biblegateway.com/ and enter the Keyword “divorce” into Quick Search.

Quick Search allows you to see how many times any one word (like divorce) is used in the Bible. It shows every verse where that word is used. When we plug in the word divorce, we get 33 Bible verses. That’s a lot of Bible verses!

First, if you look through all those verses, a lot of other questions and issues will pop up, and I think it would be a good thing if you used Bible Gateway with your mom or dad so that they could help you right away with other questions that might come up.

There are a couple of big ideas that come out of all these verses. Here are a few of the important ones – (1) divorce happens, even in the Bible, even with God’s people (2) there are certain times when God allows divorce Matthew 5:32 (3) God still hates it, though Malachi 2:16 (4) divorce is not God’s plan for a marriage Matthew 19:4-6.

Much of what the Bible has to say about divorce comes from the perspective that God wants the very, very best for His people. He asks His people to be holy (set apart, committed to him, different than the world) because He is holy (perfect and pure). The whole book of Leviticus (which talks about divorce a lot) can be summarized in one verse "Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy" Leviticus 19:2. So God asks for His people to live to His high standard, not the world’s standard, because He is our Creator, He loves us, and He wants the very best for us.

Since your cousin may not know what the Bible says about divorce, probably the best way you can talk to him about this is to let him know that you care about the trouble he is having in his life. By showing him that you care, you will be the light of Jesus and the love of God to him. Even if it is not possible to prevent this divorce, we can always know that no sin is too much for Jesus to forgive. And please don’t give up on him. And please continue to pray for him. Most of all, I hope that your cousin can learn about how much God loves him, and begin to make his choices based on a relationship with God.

Even though I do encourage you to know what the Bible says about divorce, and I do encourage you to connect with your cousin and share your concern about him, the responsibility for how this all ends up belongs to God. It won’t be your fault if you try to reach him and he still gets divorced. That is God’s responsiibilty. I am proud of you. I will pray for you. Keep in touch. Let me know if I can help you. Thanks for a fantastic Apple Box question.