Becoming Shepherd

After having seen the hunter-gatherer society in the parents, now let's see how well it worked out for their children. Arguably, if gathering unnecessary resources is considered wasteful so is hunting them. After all, it takes some time for plants and animals to grow. Much longer, that is than the average person's ability to eat. Furthermore, it might be considered sustainable if a few humans traversed the globe in constant pursuit of their next meal. However, given Adam and Eve's children and the current population, that will not be sustainable.

While they likely had many, the Scripture focuses on two in particular. Their names were Cain and Abel. There is a reason we are stopping here, in fact. See, the children had mastered two talents in particular that were especially valuable. Abel became known for his animal husbandry while Cain was a tiller of the ground. Now that does not mean that Abel was in the business of breeding animals. Nor does it imply that Cain merely dug at the soil engaged in a never-ending pursuit of something more.

Animal husbandry or shepherding has been around for ages. Where did it all get started though? It's all Right here, right in this text. That's where it all got started. Shepherding means taking care of a large group of animals, usually of the farm variety. These are used to being around humans, often from repeated exposure. The shepherd watches over the animals carefully making sure that none get lost, killed, or eaten. He takes the animals to green pastures every day and fresh water for a graze.

The shepherd watches the animals carefully due, so he doesn't suffer loss. All the animals have value. Sheep are prized for their wool, the goats and cows for milk, chickens for their eggs, and so on. Also, they can be used judiciously for meat to prevent starvation and over-population of the herds.