Abel was Able to Worship God

Cain Was Less Interested?

Of course no-one agrees whether there really WAS a first man called Adam and a first woman called Eve; but many ancient civilisations have similar stories, so there is some ancient truth in the back of people's minds. The important thing about the story of the Garden on Eden is that it begins to explain why things go wrong - why there is bad in the world.

Then Adam had intercourse with his wife, and she became pregnant.

The Bible's hot on sex then?

She bore a son and said, “By the Lord's help I have gotten a son.” So she named him Cain. Later she gave birth to another son, Abel. Abel became a shepherd, but Cain was a farmer.

And the next little story shows the troubles in the Garden beginning to get worse.

A picture of a man. Is he setting fire to an animal? And the second man has some corn. And the coloured picture with weird writing shows the men with animal and corn again? What's going on?

The men are offering sacrifices to God.

That is even more gross than God digging Eve out of Adam's belly!

You may not like it but it was how they did things in ancient times. The offer of a sacrifice was to say thank you to God; for a good flock of new lambs or a plentiful Harvest.

Like putting 10p in the collection at church?

Moe like that than you might think!

Cain brought SOME of his harvest and gave it as an offering to the Lord.

Then Abel brought the FIRST lamb born to one of his sheep; and gave the BEST parts of it as his offering.

Spot the difference?

Cain's offering, SOME of the corn, was all a bit casual, "Am I bovvered?", But Abel's, the lamb, was the FIRST and the BEST.

So, the Bible says, God rejected Cain's offering but accepted Abel's. So Cain became...

Jealous, OR, full of envy

Then Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out into the fields." Cain turned on his brother Abel and killed him.

All because he was jealous of a dead lamb?

There was more to it than that. Lets go back a bit.

The Lord said, "Why are you angry? Why that scowl on your face?" If you had done the RIGHT thing you would be smiling! SIN is crouching at your door and you must overcome it."

But he didn't. He committed the first MURDER in history!

You'll be having a go at me again, next.

The murder was bad enough but, in many ways, the punishment was worse.

 Next Bible Blog - Sunday 11th November