Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
Genesis 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
2 And she again bare his brother, Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering.
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. and unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
8 And 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 slew him.
9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand.
12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
1 John 3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
MEMORY VERSE: By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous: God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. Hebrews 11:4
CENTRAL THOUGHT: We do not have to do evil and sin against our fellow man and our creator. Abel did what pleased God because he had a strong desire to do so. He had faith and confidence that God would bless him. Cain could have obtained the right sacrifice to offer unto God but instead he took his own way and that led to jealousy and hatred and the murder of his righteous brother.
WORD DEFINITIONS
Genesis 4:2, “keeper of sheep”: A shepherd of flocks. “tiller of the ground”: One who works the ground to grow fruits and vegetables.
Verse 3, “an offering unto the LORD”: A gift in the form of worship.
Verse 4, “firstlings of his flock”: The first lambs to be born. “the fat thereof”: The richest, best, and choicest of all the lambs. “had respect”: Looked upon it well pleased with favor.
Verse 5, “very wroth”: Glowed with anger. “his countenance fell”: His face greatly filled with anger.
Verse 7, “sin lieth at the door”: Sin is crouching to come in. “unto thee shall be his desire”: Toward you is sin’s target and aim. “thou shalt rule over him”: Yet you should ride over it; and not let it overcome you.
Verse 11, “cursed from the earth”: Cursed more than the ground that received your brother’s blood.
1 John 3:12, “of that wicked one”: The evil one: Satan.
LESSON BACKGROUND
Adam and Eve, the first man and woman that God created, had been deceived and beguiled by Satan to partake of the fruit from the tree that God had forbidden them. Therefore, God had sent Adam forth from the beautiful garden of Eden to till and work the ground, the dust that he had been taken and formed from. God had Cherubims, or Angels, placed at the east of the garden and a flaming sword to keep man from partaking of the tree of life. Thus man had to work hard to produce from the ground what fruits and vegetables needed for his body’s nourishment. In time, God gave Eve conception to bring forth children. She brought forth two sons, Cain and Abel, and said, “I have gotten a man from the LORD.” We are sure that Adam and Eve enjoyed their two little boys as they grew up to manhood. Just how old they were at the time our lesson tells we do not know, but they were old enough to take on work and responsibility.
Cain was a tiller of the ground. He could grow and produce fruits and vegetables were which were vital to their health and strength. Abel was blessed to have under his care sweet sheep and enjoyed their little offspring of lambs. Somehow Adam and Eve sought to teach their sons about the Almighty God and what to do to gain His mercy and favor. That is why the boys each brought something from their produce to be presented to the LORD as an offering and sacrifice. While Abel brought lambs who were the first to be born and the very best, he offered with them earnest and sincere prayer. I am sure that he did this, even though the scripture does not tell it. God was very pleased with Abel’s sacrifice and somehow let His favor and acceptance be known. But while Abel was sincerely presenting his offering, his brother Cain brought of the fruit of the ground and offered it to God. Somehow Cain did not bring with his offering the sincerity, earnestness, and humbleness of heart that God was looking for.
It is the same today. The sacrifices of prayer, obedience, and faith that we present to the Lord must be backed by repentance, sincerity, and submission to His will. Sad to say, as our lesson tells, Cain reacted so ugly and displeasingly in God’s sight. He was very angry, and instead of amending his ways and seeking God’s mercy and favor, he took it out on Abel and ended up killing him. God was greatly moved with displeasure toward Cain and compassionate remembrance of Abel. Thus the voice of Abel’s blood cried out to God.
It was the faith and obedience and sincerity of Abel that has put his name in the book of records of the godly and righteous people before God. It is a vital lesson for us today. How earnest and sincere should be the sacrifice of our lives before our gracious Creator! —Bro. Leslie Busbee
QUESTIONS:
- What made the difference before God between Cain and Abel?
- What reaction should Cain have made for his rejection by God?
- What attitude and spirit did he allow to fill his heart and soul?
- What lesson can we receive and be benefited by God’s dealings?
- How should Cain have reacted for his failure instead of bitterness?
COMMENTS AND APPLICATION
God is still today looking at the offering that people bring to Him. What is well-pleasing to Him? Let us notice Romans 12:1,2: “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove [find out and experience] what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
To gain the favor and acceptance of the Almighty God is the greatest and most rewarding quest and effort we can make. It is worth it all to give all to God and receive all He has for us to be blessed with and enjoy. To go through a form and fail to present to God true sincerity and submission and faithful obedience is a drastic and tragic mistake that many have made through the years of time. Even as Christ made the supreme sacrifice of letting those ungodly men take him out and hang Him to the cross as an offering for the sins of mankind, even so must we, as our scripture says, present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. We must deny the flesh, the world, and the current of society around us and strive to live and conduct ourselves in godliness, holiness, humility, meekness, faith, and true submission to His kingdom and will.
And, just as Abel received witness and testimony from God of His acceptance and well pleasing, so can we be richly blessed with the Holy Spirit to bless and guide and fill our hearts with joy, gladness, and rejoicing! —Bro. Leslie C. Busbee
REFLECTIONS
When the Lord asked Cain of the whereabouts of his brother Abel, Cain retorted with a question to the Lord, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Cain demonstrated by the hatred in his heart and his murderous deed that he was not a very good keeper to his brother Abel.
But maybe we need to ask ourselves, “Are we our brother’s keeper?” And what does the Word of God say about this?
I Peter 1: 22, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.”
Romans 14:13, “Let us not therefore judge one another, any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.”
John 13: 35, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
I Cor. 8:12, “But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.”
So we see that we are our brother’s keeper! Sis. Angela Gellenbeck wrote it well in the song, “We Need Each Other Brethren.” “Lord, give us true warmth and affection, when one fails, help us rescue his soul; ‘He’s not heavy, for he is my brother.” let us cry as we carry his load.” —Sis. LaDawna Adams
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