I recently returned from a trip to Greece and Italy. I had the opportunity to tour many museums and stand in front of amazing original pieces of art. One particular painting, Adam Weeping for the Death of Abel by Johann Carl Loth, had a profound impact upon me. In the painting, Adam is in the shadows sitting down, hands folded, head bowed staring at his dead son.

The Bible tells us how Cain’s action horrified God but it doesn’t tell us about the impact it had on Adam and Eve. 

“And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground,”

God told Adam that death would follow his Garden indiscretion. Adam was probably waiting to be struck down by God, but what he discovered to his shock was that he wasn’t the first victim of Original Sin, but rather the first witness. Adam found himself at the world premier of mankind’s first horror film, a film that sadly enough would end up coming to theaters near every one of us. His first thought must have been, “What have I done?” The ability to create life conferred upon Adam and Eve was transformed into the ability to introduce death. The first manifestation of original sin outside the Garden wasn’t running around with scissors in hand or using outdoor voices but was murder.

Adam must have experienced some survivor’s guilt and wondered why God didn’t take him instead of Abel. Adam had to witness the tsunami of sin that he had unleashed by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam was now confronted by the sin of his own flesh and blood, how would he respond to Cain, with anger or forgiveness?

I think we are often horrified by God’s decision to cause a violent flood, sparing only Noah and his family, but in the context of this painting I had a better appreciation for the Biblical description of this event. The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart (Gen 6:5-6). Despite the sorry state of man, God was still poignantly grieved. He then proceeded to set in motion the most comprehensive salvation plan ever formulated. We now have a choice, sign the Jesus paperwork and enroll in the greatest amnesty program ever offered by a kingdom or forever longingly peer over the fence into the land of milk and honey.