Cain and Abel: The fate of man
Jeffery D. Stowe
REL 250
Prof. Chadron Hazelbaker
Aug 7, 2007
Throughout time, tragedy has been a major part of our society. This has been the case since the beginning of time. Stories in the bible are no different. One of the more famous stories from the bible dates back to Adam and Eve’s first and second born children: Cain and Abel.
The beginning
Adam and Eve were warned by God that eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil would result in death. However, Eve gave in to temptation and ate the forbidden fruit, from the tree in the Garden of Eden. God was angry for their disobedience. As a result, sin became part of human nature. This became evident with Adam and Eve’s children. As with most siblings, they each chose different vocations to pursue. Their oldest son, Cain enjoyed watching things grow. He became a farmer. Their youngest son, Abel became a sheepherder. Both were very respectable professions. Each of them knew the Lord, from firsthand stories that their parents told them. From the stories, the boys learned of God’s power, goodness and mercy. They also learned of the importance of giving offerings. Cain and Abel offered the results of their hard work as offerings to the Lord. Abel took the finest animal from his flock and earmarked it for dedication to the Lord. Cain on the other hand, took his best crops and set them aside for his family, and gave vegetables of lesser quality to the Lord. God was pleased with Abel’s offering; not so much with the offering of Cain. “Abel, by faith, offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Jesus called Abel, Abel the Righteous.” (Matt 23:25) Cain became very jealous of his brother and the attention that he was getting from God. Cain walked around harboring anger for Abel and God. God spoke to Cain, telling him to stop walking around being angry. This anger would manifest itself into Sin....