Cain and Abel — Genesis 4:1-15

Do you know what it means to be “jealous?” You might not know what it means, but I’m sure you have had the feeling of jealousy before.

When you are jealous, it means that you wish you had something that someone else has. Here are some examples:

If your mother buys your sister or brother a nice pair of shoes, but says your old ones still fit you, you may get jealous of your brother or sister—you wish you had new shoes like he or she! Or, if you and your friend draw nice pictures and everyone says your friend’s picture is really nice, but no one says anything about yours, you may feel jealous of your friend.

What happens when you become jealous? A lot of times you feel like doing something mean, don’t you? Maybe you don’t like your brother or sister then, or you want to rip up your friend’s drawing.

That’s why jealousy is wrong. It is a sin. It makes you want to do bad things.

In our next story we find out the awful thing jealousy made Cain do to Abel.

Cain and Abel were two of the sons of Adam and Eve. They were brothers, but they were not alike in all ways.

Cain was a farmer. He probably grew wheat and corn in his fields. But Abel was a gentle shepherd who took care of many sheep on the meadows.

One day Cain and Abel both made an offering to the Lord. This means to give to God the best of all the things they had made. It is a lot like the way we give something to God in the collection plate on Sunday.

First Cain gave his offering. He offered some of his corn and wheat, but he didn’t try to offer the best that he had. He just quickly offered the first corn and wheat he picked. He didn’t try very hard to please God.

But Abel was different. He was a God-fearing man and looked very hard through his flock to find just the perfect lamb to present to the holy God. Finally he found the best one. It was healthy, alert, and full of life. This is what he offered to God.

God wants us to give Him our best as well. He wants us to seek and to serve Him while we are yet young, healthy, and full of life. He doesn’t want us to wait until we are old and sickly before we seek Him. We may not even live that long. The Bible tells us to remember the God who made us, while we are still young.

What does the Bible say now about Cain and Abel? We find this in the book of Genesis again. The Bible tells us that God accepted Abel’s offering, but did not want Cain’s! God did not want an offering that was not given carefully and in love. God wanted the best from Cain.

This made Cain very angry. He became very jealous of his brother Abel. One day they were talking together, and Cain became so angry with Abel that he killed him! Jealousy made him murder his brother.

Then we read that God asked Cain, “Where is Abel thy brother?” Remember, God asked Adam the same type of question. Of course God knew where Abel’s body was, but He wanted Cain to say so.

What did Cain say? Cain was very angry at God and said, “I don’t know! Am I supposed to take care of my brother?”

As you know, this was a lie. Jealousy had made Cain sin again. Then God said, “What have you done to Abel! Think about it once.”

Then God put a curse on Cain. Remember, that means that He said something bad would happen to Cain. God told him that from now on, the ground would no longer make food and wheat for him when he farmed it. He wouldn’t be able to farm anymore. And worse yet, he would have to be a fugitive. This means that Cain wouldn’t have a real home anymore. He would often be hiding from people who wanted to kill him because he killed Abel.

What did Cain say when he heard God’s punishment? Was he sorry for his sin? No, not at all. The Bible says that he complained that his punishment was too hard! He told God that surely someone would find him and kill him.

Then God promised Cain that He would put a mark on him to keep him safe. When people saw that mark, they would know they could not kill him. We do not know what this mark was, but God said that anyone who ignored this mark would be severely punished.

Then Cain was sent away from his home to bear his punishment. So you can see, in this story, that jealousy is a sin and makes us do wrong things. God always punishes us when we sin against Him. Sometimes He punishes us right away; maybe we will get sick or hurt. But sometimes God waits and punishes us later. He may punish us in hell after we die. Hell is the place where Satan, all his bad angels, and the wicked live. There is no love in hell; there is only God’s hatred and anger forever. That is another reason why we must seek God’s favor while we are still young and alive.

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