003 Cain and Abel - A Bible Story for Children

Genesis 4

Adam and Eve settled in a land east of Eden. There Adam worked the soil, bringing forth herbs and grain for them to eat.

Soon Eve gave birth to a boy, whom they called Cain. In time, Adam and Eve had a second son, whose name was Abel.

Now Abel grew up to be a shepherd. All day long he would follow his flock, letting his sheep graze through hills and meadows, and keeping them safe from harm. The family would often eat the meat he brought home, and Eve would make clothes and blankets from the soft lamb's wool.

Cain grew up to be a farmer like Adam. He worked in the fields from daybreak to nightfall, separating the green shoots and golden stalks from the sharp thorns and nettles that twined around them. When he came home at night, he was tired, and his hands were soiled and rough. Sometimes, wrapped in a sheepskin, he would lie awake in the moonlight, wondering why his father never complained about the hard work they did--much harder work, Cain thought, than the work of a shepherd.

Adam and Eve often thanked God for the two children he had given them. In Eden, they had spoken with God directly, but now they had a new way to show thanks. This was the sacrifice, a gift to God of something that was precious to them.

To offer their sacrifices, Adam and Eve built an altar of stones. On the altar they made a fire, and to this fire they brought their gifts for God. As the flames rose from the altar, they could see their gifts going up toward the heavens.

When the time came for the two brothers to make their own offerings to God, Abel laid on the altar a fat young lamb, the best of his flock. The flames leaped high, the fat crackled, and Abel knew that his gift was pleasing to God.

Then Cain brought to the altar the fruits of his harvest, grain and green herbs from the fields. Even as he knelt there, impatiently waiting for God to accept his gift, a steamy smoke choked off the flames.

Seeing that God had taken Abel's offering but not his own, Cain hardened his heart against his brother.

And God said to Cain, "Why are you so angry? And why do you look so sad? Know now that if you do well, your gift will be accepted. But if you do not do well, then evil lies waiting at the door. For though evil wishes to rule over you, you may yet be its master."

But God's words did not soften Cain's anger. Every time he thought of Abel's gift to God, hatred filled his heart like a raging fire.

One day, hiding his tru feelings, Cain lured Abel to a lonely field, and there rose up against his brother and killed him.

And God cried out to Cain, "Where is Abel, your brother?"

"I do not know," Cain answered. "Am I my brother's keeper?"

And God knew that Cain had killed Abel and said to him, "What have you done? I can hear your brother's voice calling to me from the ground."

Then God cursed Cain, saying, "Now you are more foul than the ground you stained with your brother's blood! No more shall you be a farmer, for the soil shall yield nothing to you. You shall become a homeless wanderer over the face of the earth."

Hearing this, Cain said, "O Lord, my crime is great, but the punishment is more than I can bear. You turn your face from me, and force me to leave the land where I was born. Wherever I go, people will look at me and say, "There goes Cain, an evil man, who killed his own brother. Let us kill him, too."

And the Lord heard Cain's plea, saying, "I will put a mark upon your forehead to let everyone know that whoever kills you, receives a punishment seven times worse than your punishment for killing Abel. This mark will protect you, but it will also remind you, wherever you go, of the great crime you committed."

And so Cain left the land of his birth, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. There he lived and married and had a son named Enoch and bore God's mark on his forehead to the end of his days.

Category: Children's Bible Stories