Cain's Responsibility of Abel

Responsibility plays a key role in the Bible, as it was a time at which humans were close to leaving the state of nature. Humans had to look out for one another in order to survive, therefore, being responsible for them in some way. When a commitment was made to someone to protect them, and something tragic happens to them, you are to be held responsible, because you did not protect them. In the story of Cain and Abel, Cain, being the elder brother, shares the same blood as his younger brother, Abel. According to God, this suggests a blood related promise that Cain will always be the protector of Abel, and likewise, as they both share the same blood. However, when Cain kills Abel out of jealousy and favoritism, it is a violation of this assumed covenant between them. This was included in the Bible to account for the responsibility of the family towards other members of the family. Brothers, must remain brothers and must look out for one another. This carries on today in modern society, as a brother, you must look out for your siblings, as you all carry on your family bloodline. It has grown beyond biological brothers, and to very close friends, for whom you choose to take a vow to protect them. Your brother is your closest friend, and throughout your life, you will always have them, so it is a responsibility to look out for and protect them.

Responsibility for One's Family

In Genesis, the theme of responsibility for one’s siblings is very great. From the story of Cain and Abel to the story of Joseph and his brothers who sold him into slavery, God upheld a certain standard of responsibility for not only oneself but also his brother. God expected brothers like Cain and Abel to work together as a team, helping each other along the way and contributing to each other’s success. When Cain killed Abel because he had fallen into the coveted favor of God and was then questioned by Him about the whereabouts of his brother, Cain responded indignantly, “I am not my brother’s keeper.” Not only was God angry with Cain for ending his brother’s life, God was upset with him for disregarding the expectation that he would look out for his brother’s safety being a member of the family. There was a core belief that since a blood of a brother is the same blood that you carry, you have a familial obligation to treat that brother as you would treat yourself by caring for and protecting. In the story of Joseph and his brothers, the wrongdoing brothers were eventually punished because they had breached the idea of trust responsibility that was bestowed upon them by God because of the inherent fact that they were the older brothers, and thus the caretaker of Joseph. In our lives this relationship is relevant because our parents for the most part expect us not only to be responsible for ourselves but also responsible for our siblings to some degree, whether they are older or younger. For instance, if a younger sister or family member were to lose her path and get in trouble, most of us would feel obliged to have a certain degree of responsibility to help her out. The ideas of familial unity, responsibility and strength were very closely related as they are today.

Genesis/ Responsibility

Genesis means "the origin" or "creation", and in the Bible, Genesis describes the origin and creation of earth and life itself. God makes man, a species created in His own image, to be the dominant species of the earth. From this point, God already bestows responsibility onto man, granting him a greater existence. Throughout Genesis, man struggles to keep up with his responsibilities, becoming distracted by greed, evil, and the desire to obtain perfection. When man ignores his responsibilities, God becomes the responsible one, and his responsibility is to punish man for his ignorance. The big picture of Genesis is God teaching man to be responsible, so God doesn't always have to be responsible for them. It's almost portraying the relationship of God and man to parent and child. A parent teaches their child right and wrong, and in a way this is what God is doing. God is teaching man do good, and even though his teachings aren't always successful, like a child, man learns from his mistakes, and eventually gets it right.

Destiny

During the early tale of Jacob we see him lying and tricking his brother and father firstly getting his brother to sell him his birthright and secondly, tricking his father into blessing him and not his brother. Some of this deceit is due to god telling Rebbecka, Jacob’s mother, that the younger of her two sons, Jacob, will rule over the other. This brings up the question, what would have happened if Rebbecka had not taken any steps to insure that Jacob became the dominant son? Would things still have worked out so that Jacob ruled over his brother?
This is an increasingly interesting question because through this, the point is raised whether god is all knowing or not. Clearly if things turn out that Jacob, without any interference from his mother, becomes the ruling son, then god clearly is all knowing. However this is not the case, we have human interference, we potentially have a different future to the one, supposedly, god planned out. Jacob tricked his father into blessing him, which named him the dominant son. He would inherit all of his father’s possessions and his name, whilst his brother is left to fend for himself.
It seems the case that whenever literature brings in predictions and destinies, there is always a human inclination to make sure that outcome either happens or does not happen. It would be very interesting to find out what would happen if no humans interfere with their so called prediction everything would continue as the norm. It is my personal belief that these predictions, once told usually start a chain reaction where, through trying to prove the prediction false, the prediction eventually becomes truth.
Jacob could have let things continue as god had planned out however he chose, or more accurately his mother chose for him to take the route of deceit, which did lead him to the dominant position. However it had serious effects on his being. He lied, he lied to hoist himself to a position of power. He sabotaged his father’s wish of blessing his brother, because his father clearly favored Jacob’s brother. These decisions, once made, bound themselves to Jacob. He had to carry them through everything, and this outcomes really make you question, are taking steps to ensure your destiny will happen worth the burden you will have to bear with you for all eternity.