The Sins Of The World's Oldest Profession

The English word "till" originated from an Anglo-Saxon word (Saxony is in Germany; the Anglos were a tribe of the Saxons), tilian, which meant to labour, as in to make good for use. The word "cultivate" is a Latin word that means to till.

The King James Version uses "till" to translate the Hebrew word, pronounced aw-bawd, which means to work. The first human to work, by means of tilling the soil, also happened to be the first human ever created. "Adam" is actually just the English rendering of the Hebrew word, pronounced aw-dawm, which meant "man," whether as a species, both male and female (i.e. "^1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" Genesis 1:27 KJV), or later, a male man specifically. As it is recorded in the Holy Scriptures, the LORD never used "Adam" as a personal name; He simply called him, and them, "man."

While other "professions" have been called the oldest, tilling the soil is in fact the oldest profession. "Man" was (or were) created "to till the ground" - the very substance from which they were created. As they well-knew, plants would grow up from the same soil that humans had grown up.

"^2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, ^2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. ^2:6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. ^2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:4-7 KJV)

The first female human was created specifically as a "help meet." While many interpret "it is not good that the man should be alone" to mean only that it is not good to be physically or psychologically alone, as it was written, it refers specifically that it was not good for a man to till alone.

"^2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." (Genesis 2:18 KJV)

"^2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; ^2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

^2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

^2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

^2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." (Genesis 2:21-25 KJV)

"There was not a man to till the ground ... the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground ... and man became a living soul"

The humans were to work to properly maintain what they were given to work with. They were to till (i.e. work) the garden that "the LORD God planted," "to dress it and to keep it." In return, for their living that they thereby earned, "of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat" - except one.

"^2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. ^2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil." (Genesis 2:8-9 KJV)

"^2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

^2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: ^2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:15-17 KJV)

The trouble began when Satan (see Do You Want A Servant Or A Serpent?) incited the tillers of the garden to take what did not belong to them - the one tree that they did not work. They never even touched it ("^3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die") up to that time - the LORD cared for it, just as He also had made their work very easy by not allowing weeds to be a laborious task. Nor was the tree poisonous - it simply did not belong to them because they didn't work for it.

"^3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; ^3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; ^3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (Genesis 3:17-19 KJV)

Tilling the soil has, for the most part, become an honest and honorable profession. But, as we've read, the first tillers of the soil were also the first thieves. The first second-generation tiller of the soil didn't do better - he became the first murderer.

Cain was "a tiller of the ground," while his brother Abel "was a keeper of sheep." All humans were at that time still vegetarian ("^1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat" Genesis 1:29 KJV); humans did not become meat-eaters until the time of Noah, after the Flood ("^9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things" Genesis 9:3 KJV), so Cain was the one who tilled, worked, to provide food for the family. That very likely produced some resentment in Cain toward his brother Abel, the shepherd (although the obvious use for the hides and wool of the sheep was clothing for the family, as the LORD had shown them i.e. "^3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them" Genesis 3:21 KJV).

Other things likely added to Cain's resentment, such as Abel's flocks occasionally trampling or eating Cain's crops. Building frustration from things such as that may have been the reason that Cain over-reacted when a particular offering of his tilled produce was viewed as less than an offering from the flock made by Abel. Even though the LORD encouraged and loved Cain, Cain murdered his brother Abel. Cain used a tool of tilling as a weapon - a trait of sinful mankind that will not be cured until the LORD returns and fulfills "... they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Micah 4:3 KJV).

"^4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. ^4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

^4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. ^4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: ^4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

^4:6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? ^4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

^4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him." (Genesis 4:1-8 KJV)

When the LORD confronted Cain, Cain's reply reveals his bitter resentment toward his brother. Cain sarcastically replied with "Am I my brother's keeper" - as in, "am I my brother's shepherd?" He didn't use his own profession, by saying, "am I my brother's tiller?" - which shows how put-down he had allowed Satan to make him feel.

Thereafter, Cain's tilling work, just as his parents before him when they sinned, became much more difficult. The land would produce even more weeds for Cain to till, until he himself returned to the soil from which he came and worked. The weeds themselves were an object lesson of sin consuming good soil.

"^4:9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother?

And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?

^4:10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. ^4:11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; ^4:12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth." (Genesis 4:9-12 KJV)

Fact Finder: (a) Where does the "soul" come from? (it's no coincidence that "soul" sounds like "soil") Where does it return? (b) When will all souls be resurrected?
(a) See What Does The Bible Really Say About Your Soul?
(b) See When And Where Your Eternal Life Will Begin and The Eighth Day: What Does It Mean?

This Day In History, October 30

539 BC: Cyrus the Great of Persia (known today as Iran; see Ancient Empires - Persia and Iran's Greatest Leader Was Pro-Zionist) entered Babylon (see Ancient Empires - Babylon) and brought Babylonian imperialism of the Near East to an end - exactly as prophesied (see Nebuchadnezzar's Dream).

130: The Roman emperor Hadrian (see Ancient Empires - Rome and New Testament Roman Emperors) founded Antinoopolis, Egypt. He named it after his homosexual lover Antinous who had drowned in the Nile River near the site earlier in the year.

1270: The Seventh Crusade ended with the Treaty of Barbary (see Constantine's Crusades In History And Prophecy).

1340: During the Spanish-Muslim Wars, an army under Alfonso IV of Portugal defeated the Moors under Abu Hamed at the Battle of Salado.

1470: Henry VI of England returned to the throne after Earl of Warwick defeated the Yorkists.

1485: Henry VII of England was crowned.

1536: Denmark adopted Lutheranism as the official state religion.

1697: The Treaty of Ryswick ended the war between France and "the Grand Alliance."

1864: The Peace of Vienna was signed; Denmark ceded Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg to Prussia.

1905: Czar Nicholas II issued the "October Manifesto" offering extended suffrage, an elected parliament (Duma) with legislative powers, and guaranteed civil liberties. Nicholas and his entire family were executed in Russia's communist revolution a decade later.

1918: At the end of the First World War, Turkish acceptance of an armistice marked the end of the Ottoman empire (listen to our Sermons The European World Wars and The Ottoman Empire).

1918: The Slovaks agreed to a union with the Czechs under the national name Czechoslovakia.

1922: The fascist Benito Mussolini became Prime Minister of Italy.

1938: Orson Welles' radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds caused panic among thousands who misunderstood it be a genuine invasion from Mars.

1939: At the start of the Second World War, Hitler's Germany (see Presidential Quotes On War, Terrorism, Religion) and the Soviet Union agreed on partitioning Poland between them.

1961: The Soviet Union detonated its 50 megaton Tsar Bomba ("Caesar's bomb") hydrogen bomb - the largest explosive device ever detonated.

1985: The Space Shuttle Challenger was launched on its last successful mission. It was lost on its next launch.

1990: Engineers digging the Channel Tunnel from both directions connected Britain with the European continent for the first time since the Ice Age when they linked up under the seabed of the English Channel.