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Cain and Abel

The first murder: The Bible, Genesis 4

In the Story of Creation, we heard how God created the heavens and the earth, the whole universe and everything in it. The pinnacle of His Creation was us, human beings, and He created us to be like Him, full of love, meaning, and purpose, living vibrant lives and ruling with goodness and honor over all of Creation, taking care of it as God Himself would. Our ancestors, the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, walked with God and talked with Him face to face, but then last time, in the story What Happened in the Garden?, we heard how they came to a fateful choice. They decided to invent their own wisdom and reject God’s wisdom. They disobeyed God, thinking it would make them better, but instead, they lost everything and found themselves cursed, banished, and broken.

Adam and Eve had many children, and two of them were their sons Cain and Abel. Cain became a farmer, and Abel became a shepherd. One day, Cain and Abel both brought offerings to Yahweh God. Abel brought the best of the firstborn of his flock, but Cain just brought some plants from the ground. Yahweh was pleased with Abel, because he had given his best, but He was displeased with Cain. This made Cain very angry, so Yahweh said to Cain,

“Why are you angry? If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door, and it desires to control you, but you must master it.”

Then Cain said to Abel, “Let’s go out to the field,” and there, when they were there in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel, and killed him!

Then Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“How should I know?” Cain responded. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

But Yahweh said to Cain, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are cursed and banished from the field, and it will no longer produce food for you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”

But Cain said to Yahweh, “My guilt is greater than I can bear! You have driven me away from the face of the earth, and I will be hidden from Your face; I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me!”

But Yahweh said, “Not so! If anyone kills you, then I will avenge you seven times over.” And Yahweh put a mark on Cain, a symbol of His protection, so that no one who found him would kill him.

So Cain left his family and went and settled to the east of Eden, in the land of Nod, the land of wandering. For that is what we all do who are separated from God: we wander the earth, lost and alone, looking for life, purpose, love and meaning, finding nothing but a shadow.

Wrap Up

Thank you for joining me for this story from the Bible, the story of how one man’s anger led him to murder his brother, and how he was riddled with guilt, fear, and shame, cut off from his family, and cut off from God. God, in His love, warned Cain in advance not to sin, but Cain sinned anyway. Even so, God still loved him, and He protected him from the vengeance of others. God knew that humankind was trapped, and that sin would have its way, but He also knew that one day, He would save the world.

This story was brought to you by Trailblazers Church, a church dedicated to bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to the farthest reaches of heaven and earth. Thank you for joining me, please, like this video, subscribe to our channel, visit our website at tblz.org, and come, visit us in person, because we want to get to know you. We believe that God has an incredible adventure planned just for you, an abundant life full of love and meaning and purpose that’s unique to you. We believe that God wants to speak to you right now, and you can hear Him yourself. In fact, every Sunday when we gather together, we practice helping each other hear God’s voice for ourselves. Come, try it out, and meet God for yourself. Thank you for joining us. We’ll see you again soon. Farewell.

Summary

What happened to Adam and Eve's children? Their first two sons, Cain and Abel, brought offerings to God, but Cain's was rejected. Becoming angry, he murdered his brother Abel and was banished.