Cain and Abel — TDW Kids

A gift from the Lord. When Cain was born, Eve said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord” (4:1). She knew every baby is a gift from God. Two brothers. “Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground” (4:2). A tiller is a farmer. Both jobs were good work. Two offerings. “Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord” (4:3). An offering is a gift given to God in worship. Abel's best. “Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat” (4:4). The firstborn and the fat were the best parts. Abel gave God first place. God looked at the giver. “The Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering” (4:4-5). God looked at Abel first, and then at his gift. “The Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). By faith. “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain” (Hebrews 11:4). Abel trusted God. Cain's “works were evil and his brother's righteous” (1 John 3:12). A lamb. Many Christians see Abel's lamb as a picture of Jesus, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). What this means for you. God wants your heart before He wants your gifts. Give Him your best, and come to Him trusting, the way Abel did.

Cain (4:1). Eve said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” The name Cain, Qayin (say: KAH-yin), sounds like the Hebrew word for acquired. Eve gave God the credit. Many Christians think she hoped he was the promised Seed of 3:15. Abel (4:2). His name, Hevel (say: HEH-vel), means breath or vapor. His life would be short, but Hebrews 11:4 says he “still speaks.” Two good callings. A keeper of sheep and a tiller of the ground. God had given Adam the work of tending the ground (2:15), so Cain's work was not the problem. The same word. Both gifts are called a minchah (say: min-KHAH), an offering or tribute. The difference was not grain against meat. It was the heart of the worshiper. Firstborn and fat (4:4). Abel gave the first and the richest part, trusting God to provide the rest. Cain's offering is described only as “of the fruit of the ground.” “Respected” (4:4). The verb shaah (say: shah-AH) means to look on with favor. God looked with favor first on Abel, then on his offering. God receives the person before He receives the gift. Faith (Hebrews 11:4, 6). Abel offered “by faith,” and “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6). 1 John 3:12 adds that Cain's works “were evil and his brother's righteous.” A picture. Many Christians see in Abel's firstborn lamb a picture of Jesus, the firstborn Son, offered as the Lamb of God. Why it matters. God cannot be impressed by religion without faith. He looks for a trusting heart, and that heart gives Him its best.

Eve was so happy when her first baby was born. She knew the baby came from the Lord. Her sons grew up and had different jobs. Abel cared for sheep, and Cain grew food. One day both brothers brought gifts to God. Abel brought the best parts of his very best sheep. The Bible says Abel gave his gift by faith. That means he trusted God and loved Him. Cain brought a gift, but his heart was not right. God does not only look at the gift. He looks at the heart of the giver. God wants us to give Him our best. Most of all, He wants hearts that trust Him.

Abel gave God his best. Abel trusted God. God looks at our hearts. We can give God our best too.

God came to Cain. “So the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?’” (4:6). Countenance means face. Cain's face showed what was in his heart. An open door. “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” (4:7). God was inviting Cain to turn around. It was not too late. Crouching. “And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door” (4:7). God pictured sin like a wild animal crouching by the door, ready to pounce. Sin wants you. “And its desire is for you” (4:7). Sin is not harmless. It wants to rule you and ruin you. Rule over it. “But you should rule over it” (4:7). God told Cain he did not have to give in. He could say no. Anger is a doorway. Anger by itself is not always sin. The Bible says, “Be angry, and do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26). But anger left alone opens the door to sin. “The wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). Help is near. “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able” (1 Corinthians 10:13). What this means for you. When you feel angry or jealous, stop and talk to God right away. He will help you shut the door on sin.

The fallen face (4:5-6). “His countenance fell.” The anger in Cain's heart showed on his face. God asked about it twice. Before Cain sinned against Abel, God came to him with questions, just as He had come to Adam. The offer (4:7). “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” The Hebrew word for accepted can mean lifted up. Cain's fallen face could be lifted if he turned and did well. Crouching (4:7). The word rovets (say: roh-VAYTS) describes an animal lying in wait. Sin is pictured as a beast crouching at the door of Cain's life. Desire (4:7). “Its desire is for you” uses teshuqah (say: teh-shoo-KAH), the same word used in 3:16. Sin wants to master a person. Rule (4:7). Mashal (say: mah-SHAHL) means to rule or have dominion. God did not tell Cain he was helpless. He told him to master the beast. The way sin grows. James 1:14-15 teaches that desire gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, brings death. Cain's story shows each step. Proverbs 4:23. “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” The battle with sin starts in the heart before it reaches the hands. Hebrews 3:13. We are to “exhort one another daily… lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Sin lies, and it hardens. Why it matters. God warns before He judges. He still speaks to angry hearts and offers a way out. In Christ believers are given power to say no to sin.

Cain was very angry, and his face looked unhappy. But God came to talk with him. God asked Cain why he was angry. God was being kind to Cain. He told Cain to do what was right. Then God would accept him too. It was not too late for Cain. God also gave him a warning. Sin was waiting at the door, like a hungry animal. It wanted to jump on Cain and hurt him. God said Cain must rule over sin. That means saying no to it. Angry feelings can open the door to sin. When you feel angry, stop and talk to God.

God gave Cain a warning. Sin was like a hungry animal. God wanted Cain to say no. God helps us say no too.

Sin grows. “Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him” (4:8). In one family, sin grew from disobeying God to killing a brother. Another question. “Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’” (4:9). God had asked Adam, “Where are you?” Now He asked about a brother. God gave Cain a chance to tell the truth. A lie and a cold answer. “I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?” (4:9). A keeper is someone who watches over and cares for another person. Cain lied, and then said he did not care. God hears. “The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground” (4:10). No one saw what happened, but God did. He hears the cry of everyone who is hurt. Hate is serious. Jesus taught that being angry with a brother and calling him names puts a person in danger of judgment (Matthew 5:21-22). The Bible also says Cain “was of the wicked one and murdered his brother” (1 John 3:12). Cursed from the ground. “So now you are cursed from the earth” (4:11). The ground would no longer give Cain its strength, and he would be “a fugitive and a vagabond” (4:12), a wanderer with no home. What this means for you. Yes, you are your brother's keeper. God made us to care for each other. When anger grows, ask Jesus to help you love.

In the field (4:8). “Now 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 killed him.” The word brother appears again and again in these verses. Cain's sin was against his own family. The seeking question (4:9). “Where is Abel your brother?” matches God's question to Adam in 3:9. God asks so that sinners can confess. Keeper (4:9). The word is shomer (say: shoh-MEHR), from the verb used in 2:15 when God put Adam in the garden “to tend and keep it.” People were made to keep, to watch over and protect. Cain refused to keep his brother. The crying blood (4:10). The Hebrew word for blood here is plural, the bloods of your brother. Abel's life and every life that could have come from him cried out. God treats every human life as precious. The ground (4:11). The ground “opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood.” Adam's ground was cursed for his sake (3:17); Cain is cursed from the ground itself. Fugitive and vagabond (4:12). In Hebrew, na va-nad (say: nah vah-NAHD), restless and wandering. Sin leaves a person without rest. Righteous Abel. Jesus called Abel righteous and spoke of his blood as the first of the righteous killed for doing right (Matthew 23:35). Why it matters. 1 John 3:12 sets Cain before us as a warning: hatred of a brother comes from the wicked one. Love for one another is the mark of God's children.

Cain did not listen to God's warning. His anger grew into hate. Then he killed his brother Abel. Sin grows fast when we do not stop it. God came to Cain with a question. He asked, “Where is your brother Abel?” God already knew the answer. He wanted Cain to tell the truth. Instead, Cain lied. He asked if it was his job to care for Abel. Yes, God wants us to care for each other. God said Abel's blood was like a voice crying out. God hears the cry of people who are hurt. Every life is precious to Him.

Cain did not listen to God. Cain killed his brother. God saw it all. God cares about every life.

Sorry for the wrong thing. Cain said, “My punishment is greater than I can bear!” (4:13). He was upset about his punishment, but he never said he was sorry for his sin. Afraid. “I shall be hidden from Your face… anyone who finds me will kill me” (4:14). Sin leaves a person far from God and full of fear. Mercy for a murderer. “The Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him” (4:15). God protected Cain. He warned that anyone who killed Cain would be punished “sevenfold,” seven times as much. God did not want killing to spread. Justice belongs to God. God did not let people take revenge. “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord (Romans 12:19). Away from God. “Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden” (4:16). Nod sounds like the Hebrew word for wandering. A city. Cain had a son, Enoch, and he built a city and named it after him (4:17). He tried to make a safe home without God. Patient love. The Lord “is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9). Longsuffering means patient. What this means for you. God's mercy is greater than any sin. Do not run from Him. Come back to Him and trust Jesus.

Cain's complaint (4:13). The word avon (say: ah-VOHN) means both guilt and the punishment that guilt brings. Cain felt the weight of it, but he did not ask for forgiveness. He was sorry about the result, not about the sin. Hidden from God's face (4:14). For Cain, being driven from God's presence was the hardest part of his sentence, yet he still did not turn back to God. A sign of protection (4:15). The mark is an ot (say: OHT), a sign. The same word is used for the rainbow, “the sign of the covenant” (Genesis 9:12). God's sign on Cain was mercy, not a badge of shame. The Bible does not tell us what the mark looked like. Sevenfold. God warned that anyone who killed Cain would face far greater punishment. Justice would stay in God's hands, not in the hands of angry people. East of Eden (4:16). Adam was sent east of the garden; Cain went further, into Nod, which means wandering. Sin keeps driving people away from God's presence. A city (4:17). The wanderer built a city, trying to make security and a name without God. Later his family grew proud and violent (4:23-24). Another seed. God gave Eve another son, Seth: “God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel” (4:25). Then “men began to call on the name of the Lord” (4:26). The promise of 3:15 went on. Why it matters. Jude 11 warns against going “in the way of Cain.” The way back is open: God is patient, and Jesus came for wanderers.

Cain was sad about his punishment. But he was not sorry for what he did. He was afraid someone would kill him. So God did something kind. He put a mark on Cain to keep him safe. God did not want more people to be killed. Then Cain went away from God. He lived far away, in the land of Nod. Cain had a family and built a city. But he lived without God, and that is very sad. God's mercy is bigger than our worst sin. Jesus came to bring people back who are far from God. You can always come back to Him.

God put a mark on Cain. It kept Cain safe. God was kind, even to Cain. God is full of mercy.