Somebody wanted.
I saw this phrase on my daughter’s reading response log paper the other day, and it struck me. On her paper, she was to fill out blanks next to each word for the story she was reading this week.
Somebody _______________________
Wanted _________________________
But ________________________
So __________________________
Then ________________________
But I immediately thought of Genesis, and the story of Cain and Abel. Because if we want to engage with the Bible, particularly its stories, this method is a really helpful option. Using this second-grade tool, we can boil down the story to its heart and see what’s really going on.
What somebody wanted.
Here’s the story from Genesis 4:1–12.
Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 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 for you, but you must rule over it.” 8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”
To begin, let’s fill out my daughter’s form from what we just read.
Somebody: Cain
Wanted: God to accept his sacrifice
But: God accepted Abel’s sacrifice
So: Cain killed Abel.
Then: God spoke to Cain.
Look Again
Somebody wanted. Cain wanted. But the story isn’t just about one person. So you can use the tool again to get a bigger, more complete picture.
Somebody: Abel
Wanted: To worship God.
But: His brother was jealous.
So: Cain rose up against Abel.
Then: Abel died.
Or how about this one:
Somebody: God
Wanted: Cain to be in a right relationship with him.
But: Cain blamed Abel for God’s disapproval.
So: Cain killed Abel.
Then: God demands righteousness anyway (but with grace vs. 13-16)
What “somebody wanted” is always key.
Do you see it? The heart of the story (Cain killed Abel) doesn’t change. But the motivations of the three characters, the interactions between them, the choices they made, the why of what they did are actually much clearer. Somebody wanted something. And they were willing to do certain things to get it. And what they do has consequences.
It’s the heart of all stories, really. Stories are about choices. God gave the man and woman a choice in the garden because choice is the only true measure of freedom. Your choices may be more limited than someone else’s. Cain wasn’t a shepherd, so he may not have had easy access to the offering God had established. But it wasn’t that he had NO choice. Fewer choices are not the same as no choice. Cain could have traded with Abel for a sheep. He could have simply asked his brother for a sheep. He could have stolen a sheep (not all choices are good ones, right?). But he didn’t. He looked at his choices, and like his parents before him, he did what he wanted instead of what God wanted.
Choice is the only true measure of freedom. God did not remove the ability to choose when he gave the curse in Genesis 3. Because choice is the only way to have a real relationship. And that is still what he wants with us.
Cain chose to do it his own way. He basically told God that he wanted not to follow God’s way. And though he received a curse for the murder he’d committed, God actually gave him what he said he wanted. In verse 16, “Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” He separated himself from God, and God did not go after him again. Kinda sad, actually.
God still does that for us, though. He gives us a choice. Maybe we have fewer choices because of our social, economic, or physical realities, but we always have at least one choice. Will we do it God’s way or demand our own? Will we focus on what God wants and pursue that, even when it’s hard? Or will we demand what we want, our own way, separating ourselves from God?
Somebody wanted…it’s the heart of every story. So, what do you want, today?
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