By Katie Ginn
Cyrus Trask is celebrating his birthday. His son Charles, a bundle of nerves, proudly presents his father with an expensive new knife. Cyrus says thank you but barely glances at the gift. Instead, he’s enamored with the mongrel puppy given to him by his older son, Adam – who found the animal in a trash heap.
Sound familiar? It’s a scene from John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, recently adapted by Netflix. Watch it on VidAngel, which should remove the nudity throughout the show. Better yet, read the book. It’s set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but the story strikes a chord with anyone who’s been in a parent-child relationship.
Charles longs for his father’s affection. Adam resents it. Adam’s favored position brings out violent jealousy in Charles. Are they doomed to play the roles of “bad son” and “good son” forever?
According to Steinbeck, the answer is no.
East of Eden’s main theme is timshel, a Hebrew word taken from Genesis 4:7, when God warns Cain that sin is lying at his door but “thou shalt rule over it.” In the novel, a supporting character named Lee says timshel actually means “thou mayest,” not “thou shalt.” In other words, it’s a choice; a person can choose whether to rule over sin; nobody is fated to be evil – or good, for that matter.
I don’t know if Lee/Steinbeck have translated timshel correctly. Either way, I love East of Eden, but it leaves out a crucial truth: A person is only able to “rule over sin” if they are in Christ. In Romans 8:7, Paul writes that the mind of the unbeliever “is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7, emphasis mine). In other words, apart from Jesus, there is no timshel. We are unable to be good on our own.
So why would God tell Cain, “Thou mayest rule over sin” – or “Thou shalt rule over sin,” depending on the translation – if Cain couldn’t actually do it? Probably so Cain would recognize his need for the Lord.
It’s like when Jesus started telling people to be perfect, as God is perfect (Matthew 5:48). Um, how are we supposed to do that? We can’t. We’re sinners. Jesus wants us to know that, know the consequences of it (“for the wages of sin is death,” Romans 3:23), and cry out to Him for salvation. “Whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
On the cross, Jesus paid for our sin, offering us the ultimate timshel: We can rule over sin and be free from it, but only if we let Christ rule over us. The other option is death at the helm of our own ship.
In another East of Eden passage, Adam’s son Cal expresses his fear that he’ll be evil like his mother, Cate. But Lee, who’s helped raise Cal, will have none of it. Lee loves Cal fiercely and tells him to stop talking that nonsense. He does not have to be like his mother.
The Bible states unequivocally that we don’t have to be wicked either – if we surrender to Christ. Apart from Him, we are slaves to sin (see Romans 6). In Him, we have “everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). Doesn’t matter who our parents are, what they did, or even how much our flesh rises up in opposition to God. We can be made new. And as new creations in Christ, we can have timshel. We can rule over sin.
I’m so grateful that Jesus is my timshel. That He loves me fiercely, like Lee loves Cal, and says no, you don’t have to be enslaved to your flesh! That He offers me forgiveness in His death, and new life in His resurrection.
Have you read East of Eden and/or watched the Netflix series? What about the 1955 film adaptation starring James Dean as Cal, or the 1981 TV miniseries starring Jane Seymour as Cate? Better yet, do you know the real translation of timshel? Shoot me an email.
PS: If you’re like me and enjoy nerding out on literature and the gospel, check out my podcast, Oh My Word with Katie, which is always a good time.
In this issue:
- Our Cover Story on Lee and Suzanne Walker – parents of 10 children, including seven adopted!
- How God the Father adopts us into His family
- Adoption resources in Mississippi
