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What Does The Bible Say About Abel And Cain?

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What Does The Bible Say About Abel And Cain

What Does The Bible Say About Abel And Cain? Abel and Cain are known to be the first two brothers of the first family in history. They were the first and second sons of Adam and Eve. History holds it that Cain was a farmer while Abel was a skilled shepherd who took care of the family’s animals. One day, Cain and Abel made sacrifices to the Lord as a way of worshiping and thanking Him. For this purpose, Cain brought some of the produce from the land while Abel brought the firstborn of his sheep. The Bible tells us that God showed favor to Abel’s sacrifice because it was an offering that came from the best that Abel had to give. Also, it was made out of Abel’s love and reverence for God.

God’s favor on Abel made Cain very angry and jealous to the point of planning evil against him. Cain lured Abel into the fields and killed him with a rock. The Lord God Almighty then called Cain asking what had happened to his brother Abel, but Cain lied about killing his brother Abel, an act which called down God’s punishment on him. God’s harsh punishment on Cain was that he would no longer be able to grow crops on his land. However, God did not promise Cain that no one would kill him. As children of God through Christ, there is much to learn from the story of these two brothers.

What Does The Bible Say About Abel And Cain?

What The Bible Says About Abel

Abel’s name means “a breath, or vanity, a grassy place, a meadow.” Abel is the second son of Adam and Eve. He was killed by his brother Cain who was filled with jealousy and bitterness about the favor Abel had gained before God (Genesis 4:1-16). Adam, their father, trained them in the duty of worshipping God. In the course of time (marg. “at the end of days“, i.e., probably on the Sabbath) each of the brothers offered up to God of the first fruits of his labors. Cain who was a farmer offered the fruits of the field; Abel who was a shepherd offered the firstlings of his flock. Genesis 4:3-5 says, “The Lord had respect unto Abel and his offering, but unto Cain and his offering he had not respect.” Following this, Cain was angry with his brother and conceived the evil of putting him to death.

The New Testament of the Bible features several references to Abel. Jesus Christ speaks of him as “righteous” ( Matthew 23:35 ). However, “the blood of sprinkling” is said to speak “better things than that of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24); that is the blood of Jesus Christ is the reality of which the blood of the offering made by Abel was only the type. It is important to understand that this comparison is between the sacrifice offered by Jesus Christ and that offered by Abel, and not between the blood of Jesus Christ calling for mercy and the blood of the murdered Abel calling for vengeance. We also made to understand in Hebrews 11:4 that “Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.” Abel’s sacrifice was one made “by faith;” this faith rested in God Almighty, as the Creator, Provider, and Redeemer. But Cain’s sacrifice had no such reference.

Important things that we know about Abel

  • Shepherd: Abel was a keeper of sheep.
  • Worshipper: The Bible tells us that Abel’s sacrifice as a way of thanking God and worshipping Him was accepted.
  • Righteous Man: Our Savior referred to Abel as a righteous man obviously due to his right mindset and reverence for God Almighty.
  • Martyr: Abel is regarded as the first martyr (Matthew 23:35), whose blood cried for vengeance (Genesis 4:10; compare Revelation 6:9,10) and brought despair (Genesis 4:13), whereas that of Jesus Christ appeals to God for forgiveness and speaks peace (Hebrews 12:24) and is preferred before Abel’s.

What The Bible Says About Cain

Cain’s name means “a possession; a spear.” He is the first-born son of Adam and Eve (Genesis 4). Cain became a tiller of the ground, as his brother Abel followed the pursuits of pastoral life. Cain was “a sullen, self-willed, haughty, vindictive man; wanting the religious element in his character, and defiant even in his attitude towards God.” It so came to pass “in process of time” (marg. “at the end of days“), that is, probably on the Sabbath, that both brothers presented their sacrifice in an act of worship and thanksgiving to the Lord God Almighty. The Scriptures tell us that Abel’s offering was of the “firstlings of his flock and of the fat,” while Cain’s was “of the fruit of the ground.” Behold, Abel’s sacrifice was “more pleasing” (Hebrews 11:4) than Cain’s, and was accepted by God Almighty. Following this, Cain was “very wroth,” and conceived evil.

Cain cherished feelings of murderous hatred against his own brother and was at length guilty of the desperate outrage of putting him to death (1 John 3:12). As a result, Cain was expelled from Eden, and henceforth led the life of an exile. Also, he was bearing upon him some mark which God had set upon him in answer to his own cry for mercy, so that thereby he might be protected from the wrath of his fellow-men; or it may be that God gave him this sign to assure him that he will not be slain (Genesis 4:15). Doomed to be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth, he went forth into the “land of Nod“, that is, the land of “exile,” which is said to have been in the “east of Eden,” and there he built a city which he named after his son, Enoch.

Things that we know about Cain

  • He worshiped in self-will
  • He got angry with God
  • Cain refused to bring a sin offering
  • Cain murdered his brother
  • He became a vagabond

Important Story Lessons To Keep

  1. We should offer to God the best of ourselves and our belongings
  2. Our offerings and worships should always be driven by love
  3. We should keep God’s commands
  4. We should love and treat each other well so as to avoid God’s wrath

What Does The Bible Say About Abel And Cain?

Genesis 4:4 – “Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering;“

Genesis 4:11 – “Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.”

Hebrews 11:4 – “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.”

Genesis 4:15 – “So the Lord said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him.”

Genesis 4:8 – “Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.“

Genesis 4:1 – “Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord.”“

Group 1 – What Does The Bible Say About Abel And Cain

Genesis 4:16 – “Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.”

Genesis 4:7 – “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

Genesis 4:26 – “To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.”

1 John 3:12 – “not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.”

Genesis 4:14 – “Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from Your face I will be hidden, and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

Jude 1:11 – “Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.“

Group 2 – What Does The Bible Say About Abel And Cain

Genesis 4:9 – Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Genesis 5:4 – “Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters.”

Matthew 23:35 – “so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.“

Genesis 4:12 – “When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.”

Genesis 4:24 – “If Cain is avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

Genesis 4:22 – “As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.“

Group 3 – What Does The Bible Say About Abel And Cain

Genesis 4:2 – “Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.”

Hebrews 12:24 – “and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.“

Luke 11:51 – “from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation.’“

Genesis 4:25 – Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, “God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.”

Genesis 4:16-17 – “Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son.”

Group 4 – What Does The Bible Say About Abel And Cain

Genesis 4:6-7 – Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

Genesis 4:23 – “Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, Listen to my voice, You wives of Lamech, Give heed to my speech, For I have killed a man for wounding me; And a boy for striking me;“

Ephesians 4:31-32 – “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

Genesis 4:3 – “So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground.”

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