The story of 
Cain and Abel is found in the fourth chapter in the bible in the Book of Genesis. They are the first and second children born into the world and are the sons of Adam and Eve. As they grew up we see Cain was a tiller of the ground and Abel was a shepherd and tended the sheep. “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother, Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.” Gen 4:1-2 NJKV
Although Abel was the second child he was the first to obey God. His sacrifices were pleasing to God. He was murdered by Cain, his older jealous brother. Both Cain and Abel knew what God expected of them but we do not know why God accepted Abel’s offerings and rejected Cain’s. Because of his obedience Abel is remembered for his faith and obedience. As a result, he was the first member of the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.” Heb 11:4 NKJV.
Since the beginning of time despite the effort of parents disagreements and conflicts between children within a family seem unavoidable. Relationships between siblings are there to teach the children both cooperation and healthy competition. As a result, in most cases, bonds between siblings grows stronger.
We do not know many of the details of the life of Cain and Abel. Both Cain and Abel separately made sacrifices to God and Cain’s sacrifice was rejected. With Cain’s response suggests that his attitude was most likely wrong from the beginning. It seems Cain had a couple of choices. He could have changed his attitude regarding his sacrifice to God or he could have decided to take out his anger on his brother, Abel. By his decision we are reminded by how often we have opposite choices and just like Cain we sometimes make the wrong choice. We see in 1 John 3:12, “not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.” NKJV
The Story of Cain and Abel: Abel
A few of the strengths and accomplishments of Abel are he was the first member of the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11, he was the first shepherd and he was the first martyr for truth as we see in Matt 23:35 – “that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.” NKJV
A couple of lessons from Abel’s life we should consider is that God takes notice of those who come to him and God identifies the innocent individual and sooner or later punishes the guilty.
The Story of Cain and Abel: Cain
Even though we do not know much about Cain and what we do know is negative he does have a couple of accomplishments which include that he was the first human child and he was the first to pursue his father’s business – farming. Besides Cain’s accomplishments we see several of his mistakes and weaknesses which include he reacted to anger when disappointed, even though a positive solution was available he decided on the negative option, and he was the first murderer.
A few life lessons we can take away from Cain is that although anger is not inevitably a sin. actions that are motivated by anger can be sinful. Anger should be the force behind good action and not behind bad action, what we offer to God should come from the heart – the best of what we are and what we have, and the penalty of sin may last a lifetime.
In conclusion the story of Cain and Abel is just the beginning of God’s expectations and guidelines for our lives. As Abel we must obey God despite the cost and trust that God would make things right.
Image courtesy of Matt Banks at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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