January 21

In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve fell from grace because they took the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil specifically after God told them not to. Because they were too prideful and self indulgent, they refused to simply love and obey God even though that would have been the best course of action for them. They broke the communion and unity between God and man because they were consciously disobedient and wanted God’s glory and power for themselves. To parallel this fall from grace, the narrative of Noah furthers the concerns present in the account of the first sin in Genesis 3 primarily because people continue to take the gifts that God rightfully gave them, rather than waiting to receive them. The actions that lead up to the flood explain context for why God felt the need to wipe the world clean and start over, creating a new covenant with man. The men involved in the downfall all come from the third creation story, a more factual genealogical account of the history of the tribes of the first men. After a while, the men fall into habits of sin because they realize the temporary nature of their lives. With mortality comes a newfound appreciation for beauty and pleasurable things in life. While an appreciation of beauty is good in itself, the conquest and desire to own that beauty for oneself is sinful and inherently bad. Instead of appreciating the gifts of beauty that came with the daughters of God in Seth’s line, the sons of Cain start to try to capture that beauty for themselves. They take multiple wives, choose whomever they please to sleep with, and take advantage of these women for their own pleasure. These men fail to regard the women as children of God with a character and will for themselves. As Kass explains, due to the sin of murdering his brother Abel, Cain’s line is more self-sufficient, sinful, prideful, and far from God. The people in Seth’s line, like Adam and Seth, are more humble and  have much closer relationships with their creator. God used Noah and the flood as a way to recalibrate the state of the world, reminding people not to take advantage of the good things he gives them.