The Curse

In the begining God was in perfect communion with all of his creation. But, that relationship was destroyed by the actions of our ancestors, and it is continually eroded by our selfish actions in our lives today.

The story of Cain and Abel is a story of sin and the curse, which is punishment or consequences for that sin. As told in your average western context the story of Cain and Abel is problematic for nomads seeking to understand the story of the Bible. (If you are unfamiliar with the story it is found in Genesis 4) Told in its simpliest form it says that Cain brought the wrong gift to God, which God rejected, then Cain got mad and killed his brother Abel, so God punished Cain by exiling him and making him a wandering nomad. Without proper investigation it would be possible to conclude that nomadism is a occupation cursed by God. But this is a harmful over simplification.

Firstly, Abel himself was a pastoralist and his sacrifice (a lamb) and by extension his occupation were already acceptable to God. If anything, farming was cursed when God said the ground would no longer be usable for Cain.

Secondly, the words of Gen 4:12 say that Cain became a “homeless wanderer”. It must be understood that nomads are not homeless and they don’t wander, they have homes which they carry with them, and their movements are not random but planned for the sake of the herds. So it can not be taken to mean that Cain became a nomad at this point.

Thirdly, after his punishment Cain set out and established the first city. In a sense, he became the first nomad without a herd or mobility. And he would not be the last.

There are many nomadic people groups in the world today that are not able to practice their nomadism. Whether they have lost their herds to famine or have been forcibly settled they are now permanently settled in urban life. And generally, they are not happy about it. Their suffering is caused by the selfishness of others. They feel cursed.

Some nomadic groups have a myth or story about the origins of their people. Many times they recall a broken oath or a failure of loyalty. Sometimes they describe shame in their nomadic existance. This shame is seen as being a result of their own selfishness. They feel cursed.  

God’s punishments are always graceful and he uses them as opportunities to teach us about his character and his love for us. When God punished Cain he did so with grace, and put a limit on how much he would suffer, even for the serious act of killing his own brother.

Psalm 103

The Lord is compassionate and merciful,

slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

He will not constantly accuse us,

nor remain angry forever.

He does not punish us for all our sins;

he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.

For his unfailing love toward those who fear him

is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

He has removed our sins as far from us

as the east is from the west.

The reality is that nomadism is not a curse. Nomads are no more cursed than the rest of us. But, like the rest of us we are all descendants and participants in the curse of sin. Thankfully that is not the end. The curse is not the end. There is grace available to us in Christ Jesus. Whether our dispare is caused by our own sin or by the sins of others against us God offers us mercy. He is willing to remove both our guilt and our shame. We all need this forgiveness and release from the curse of human reality. We need it on an indiviual level and as a people.

We are all descendants and participants in the curse of sin.