Genesis. Lesson 4: Cain and Abel

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Frederick Gibson
5 years ago
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1 As you study this lesson, take the time to look up the highlighted scripture references and also read through Genesis 4. This will increase your understanding and help you prove this material for yourself. After Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate some fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, God banished them from the Garden of Eden. They had chosen the way of living that leads to death, so He couldn t let them stay in the garden in case they ate some of the fruit from the Tree of Life, which would have enabled them to live forever (Genesis 3:22-23). Adam and Eve must have been heartbroken to leave the beautiful garden which had been their home and where food had been so plentiful. Life now became a struggle as they worked hard to cultivate the ground and grow enough food to eat (Genesis 3:17-19). They got very tired and at times they were hungry. But they survived. And after a while they had their first baby, a little boy, who they named Cain. Later on they had another son. They named him Abel. Growing Up When Cain and Abel were growing up there weren t any other children for them to play with, so they played with each other. And when they got old enough to go to school, they couldn t of course, because there weren t any schools! But this doesn t mean they weren t educated. They still had a lot to learn. Cain became a farmer, so he had to learn how to grow fruit and vegetables. He had to learn how to get the ground ready to plant seeds or seedlings. He had to learn how much water each plant needed to grow. He had to learn about insects, and which were good for his plants and which weren t. He had to learn how to protect his plants from the bad insects and find ways of preventing wild animals from eating the growing shoots. He had to learn the best time to harvest each fruit and vegetable, how to store it, and how to use it as seed for the next year. It was hard work! Especially with all the digging and weeding he had to do. Abel became a shepherd, looking after sheep and goats. He had to learn how to take care of his animals and where to find the best grass, fresh water and shelter for them. He had to learn what to do if an animal was injured or got sick, and how to look after them when they were giving birth. He had to learn how to keep them safe and protect them from wild animals. He had to learn how to milk them and how to turn that milk into cheese. He had to learn how to shear their wool and tan their hides (skins) so that they could be used for clothing. Being a shepherd wasn t easy work either! 1

2 Cain and Abel also learned about God while they were growing up. 1 You see, even though Adam and Eve had disobeyed God, He hadn t forgotten about them. He still loved them and was watching over them and their children. Adam and Eve knew this and would have explained this to their sons. I expect they also told their sons about the two trees in the Garden of Eden and what had happened when they disobeyed God. They might even have taken Cain and Abel to the entrance of the garden so they could see the angels that were guarding it and the flaming sword that flashed back and forth in every direction! (Genesis 3:24). By the time Cain and Abel were grown up, they knew all about God and probably understood that it was important to obey Him. The Offering In the course of time (Genesis 4:3, ESV), the two brothers decided to give God an offering (the Bible sometimes calls these sacrifices ). At the time Cain and Abel lived, these offerings were placed on an altar, which was usually a pile of stones. The Bible doesn t tell us what happened to these offerings, but they were probably burned up, as later offerings were (see Exodus 29:18 and Leviticus 9:17, for example). Cain brought God an offering of the fruit of the ground (in other words, some of the fruit or vegetables he had grown), and Abel brought God some of the firstborn of his flock (Genesis 4:3-4). Later on in the Bible we discover that all of the firstborn male animals belong to God (Exodus 13:12) and that we are to honour the Lord with all our wealth and with the firstfruits of all our produce (Proverbs 3:9). So it s possible that Cain and Abel were obeying these commands and bringing God their firstfruits at the time of the harvest. God was pleased with Abel s offering and was happy to receive it, but there was something about Cain s offering that He didn t like, so He didn t accept it. The Bible doesn t tell us exactly why God didn t accept Cain s offering - it just tells us that Abel s was better (Hebrews 11:4). Why was it better? We don t know for sure, but perhaps it s because Abel offered young lambs and goats. You see, when animals were offered to God, they had to be killed first (sacrificed) and that means their blood was shed. We understand from what the Bible tells us later on, that the shed blood of a lamb was a picture of the wonderful offering that would be made thousands of years later by Jesus, the Lamb of God (John 1:36). Jesus offered Himself for us when He was sacrificed so that our sins could be forgiven and we could have the opportunity to live forever as part of God s family! 2 And that s possibly why Abel s offering was better. 1 This is implied by the context. For example, they knew about giving offerings to the Lord and when God banished Cain, he was upset because he knew that he was being banished from the Lord s presence (Genesis 4:3-4; 13-14). 2 You can learn more about this in the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread Lesson in the Holy Day series. 2

3 Hebrews 11:4 also tells us that Abel was a righteous man and that he gave his offering in faith. This speaks volumes about the kind of man that Abel was and implies that Cain was totally different. And indeed, it does seem that Cain s attitude or way of thinking was wrong. The Bible tells us that Cain was of the wicked one and that his works (the things he did) were evil (1 John 3:12). The wicked one, of course, was Satan, the devil the same one who deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden! So maybe Cain was already listening to Satan and his way of thinking, and maybe he didn t give his offering with a right attitude, something that is very important to God (see Leviticus 22:29 NLT, NIV, ESV, etc and 2 Corinthians 9:7). This might explain why God didn t accept his offering. When Cain found out that God wouldn t accept his offering, he was VERY angry. But God didn t want Cain to be angry because He knew that if Cain remained angry and didn t change the way he was thinking, then he was going to sin and do something wrong. You see, anger is not good for us (James 1:20). There is a good kind of anger, of course, but it s the kind of righteous anger that God has when we break His laws, and hurt ourselves and others in the process. BUT, the kind of anger that most people have is NOT good. It comes from our own way of thinking, which is influenced by the wrong ways of this world and by Satan the devil. And it can make us do things that we shouldn t (see Proverbs 29:22). God was very concerned about Cain s attitude. He didn t want Cain to sin, because He knew that if Cain did, it would make him and those around him very unhappy. So God talked to Cain and told him to control his anger and do what was right, so that sin wouldn t rule over him (Genesis 4:6-7). These few verses are very interesting because they reveal that Cain had some kind of relationship with God, just as Abel obviously did. 3 However, Cain didn t listen to God. Instead of controlling his anger, he let it fester and he became angrier. And he became very jealous 4 of Abel because God had accepted Abel s offering, but not his own. (People who are wicked often become jealous and angry when righteous people do what is right and are blessed for it!) Cain s anger and jealousy continued to grow until he completely lost his temper one day and killed his brother which was a terrible thing to do! God makes it very clear in His Law that we are not to kill anyone! (Exodus 20:13). 3 Abel could not have given his offering in faith and been considered righteous by God unless he had a relationship with God! 4 This is inferred by the text. Also, rather interestingly, the Hebrew word for Cain (Strong s 7014) is linked to another word (Strong s 7069), which can mean provoke to jealousy. 3

4 Interesting Facts and Consequences Genesis The Bible tells us that Cain killed Abel in a field. It doesn t tell us any more than that, but an ancient history book mentioned in the Bible (The Book of Jasher, see Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18) gives us a few more details, which may or may not be true. It tells us that Cain was working in his field one day when Abel came through with his sheep. And something happened that apparently made Cain extremely angry. Perhaps the sheep trampled all over Cain s plants and vegetables! But whatever happened, it was the last straw for Cain. He was so angry that he picked up the farming tool he was using and hit Abel over the head! When he realised that he d killed Abel, the history book says that Cain was very sorry and upset at first, but then he became frightened so he buried his brother and tried to hide what he had done. Later on that day, God asked Cain where his brother was. Of course, God already knew because God knows everything. But He wanted to see what Cain would say. Would he tell God the truth? Would he tell God that he had killed his brother? Well, no, he didn t! Cain didn t tell God what he d done or tell God how sorry he was. Instead he lied and told God that he didn t know where Abel was. Is it my job to look after my brother? he asked (Genesis 4:9). God was already angry that Cain had killed Abel, but He was VERY upset when Cain lied about it as well. And God was probably sad too. He now knew that Cain wasn t going to listen to Him or obey Him. Cain was not going to change his thinking or act in the right way. So God decided to punish Cain to teach him a lesson. Read Genesis 4:11-12 to find out what that punishment entailed. And as you read it, remember that God doesn t punish people because He hates them or because He s mean. God punished Cain because He LOVED him (see Hebrews 12:6-11; Revelation 3:19) and wanted him to learn that if we want to be really happy and live fulfilling lives we should always obey God and do what He tells us to do (Psalm 1:1-6; Proverbs 3:1-2). However, when Cain heard what the punishment was, and that he was being sent away, he was frightened and upset. My punishment is too much to bear! he told God. You have banished me from my land and from your presence. 5 You have made me a fugitive and I m afraid 6 that someone will kill me when they find out what I did to Abel (Genesis 4:13-14, paraphrased). But God reassured Cain and said that he didn t need to worry about being killed because He would let it be known that if anyone killed Cain they 5 This is sadly what happens when people refuse to obey God and sin instead (see Isaiah 59:2). The antidote to this is to repent when we sin and ask God for His forgiveness (1 John 1:9) and for a clean heart and a clean spirit (Psalm 51:10-11), something that Cain didn t do. 6 It s possible that Cain was frightened because he understood that the penalty for taking another person s life was death (see Genesis 9:6; Leviticus 24:17). 4

5 would be severely punished. And then God put a special mark on Cain to warn anyone who saw him NOT to kill him (Genesis 4:15). Life Goes On After Cain left, Adam and Eve were alone again and they must have felt very sad. They had lost both of their sons. Abel was dead and they would probably never see Cain again. But after a while they had another baby, a little boy, who they believed God had sent to take the place of Abel (Genesis 4:25). Their new son looked just like Adam, and they named him Seth (Genesis 5:3). The Bible tells us that Adam lived for another 800 years after Seth was born and that he and Eve had other sons and daughters (Genesis 5:3-4). And that s how the earth was populated. Adam and Eve s children grew up and got married and had children. Then their children grew up and got married and had children and it continued that way until the whole earth was full of people! You might be wondering who Adam and Eve s children married? Well, they married each other of course! Today it s not right for brothers and sisters, or close relatives, to marry each other, but it was okay then because there wasn t anyone else for them to marry. But after there were lots of people on the earth God told them that they were no longer to marry members of their own family. 7 Conclusion This true story about Cain and Abel shows us what can happen if we let our anger control us. Cain didn t control his anger and it resulted in the very first murder. Yet if Cain had listened to God and obeyed Him, then he would never have done anything to hurt his brother. And there s a lesson here for us. You see, it s only natural that we will feel angry with our brothers and sisters at times. But when we do, God tells us NOT to be like Cain! (1 John 3:12). He wants us to learn to control our anger. He wants us to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry (James 1:20). God wants us to love our brothers and sisters so much that we will learn NOT to fight and argue 8 or do anything to hurt each other (Philippians 2:14; 1 John 2:10). Sometimes that s hard, but if we love God, and want to live His Way of Life, then we will do our best to obey Him and try to be nice to our brothers and sisters at all times (1 John 4:21) even when we are feeling angry or upset with them! 7 This is implicit in the commands that God gives in Leviticus 18: See Philippians 2:14 and 2 Timothy 2:

L E S S O N L E V E L. Cain and Abel

L E S S O N L E V E L. Cain and Abel K 3 3 L E S S O N L E V E L K Cain and Abel Cain and Abel Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God punished them by expelling them from the Garden of Eden