Adam and Eve had two sons. The elder was Cain and the younger Abel. Cain was a gardener, but Abel was a shepherd and kept sheep and goats. The time came when Cain and Abel decided to bring an offering to God. Cain brought of the fruits he had grown in the ground. Abel brought a little lamb from his flock. God accepted Abel’s offering, but Cain’s He would not accept.
Abel understood he could only go to God through the death of another, so he sacrificed a lamb. Cain didn’t feel he needed a sacrifice; he thought if he brought the best of what he grew, even though the ground was cursed, God should accept that.
When God refused Cain’s offering, he was very angry and jealous of Abel. God said to Cain, “Why art thou angry? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?”
One day when Cain and Abel were out alone in the field, Cain rose up against his brother and killed him.
And God said to Cain, “Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?”
And God said, “What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto Me from the ground.”
“And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand.”
And Cain went out from the presence of God and built a city. He tried to make himself as happy as he could and to forget about God and the awful sin he committed.
ML-12/19/1976