CAIN AND ABEL

The First Children – Adam and Eve fell in sin and they were sent out of the Garden of Eden. It was sad that they could no longer walk in the beautiful garden; but something wonderful happened to them. Adam and Eve became parents. The first children born in this world were the children of Adam and Eve. When the first baby in the world was born, the parents had never seen anything like it before. Eve knew that God had blessed them. It was wonderful to have a baby boy. They named their first baby Cain. Later, another son was born. They named him Abel. Cain and Abel did not go to school but they were taught by their parents. There was much for them to learn. Cain and Abel had to learn about the animals. Some were kind and gentle for pets, and some were mean and wild. Adam and Eve taught them about God, the Garden of Eden, the serpent, the Devil and sin. They were taught about good and evil. Cain and Abel grew to be young men. Cain became a farmer. He liked to dig in the ground. He liked to work in the garden. He planted seeds in the ground, watered the ground and kept the weeds out of his garden. The plants grew and he later gathered fruit from his garden. Abel became a shepherd. He liked to keep sheep. He learned how to lead them to green grass and fresh water. He learned how to drive away the wild animals. Abel loved the sheep and he became a shepherd. Cain and Abel both had sinful hearts, the same as their father and mother (Romans 5:12). They both needed forgiveness.

A Gift to God – One day Cain brought a gift to the Lord. It was some of his fruits. But God was not pleased with his gift. God saw the wickedness in his heart “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” (I John 3:12). Cain was not sorry for his sin and he was not ashamed of his wickedness. God knew the heart of Cain and God refused his gift. Abel also brought a gift to the Lord. He killed a little lamb for an offering to God. God was pleased with Abel’s gift. God saw the heart of Abel, that his gift was offered in faith to please God “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise” (Hebrews 11:39). God accepted Abel’s gift and was pleased with him. Why was God pleased with the lamb? Because Adam and Eve taught both Cain and Abel that God killed an animal to cover their sin in the garden. In the Old Testament an animal was killed and offered to God for sin. When God saw the blood He was satisfied and pleased with the offering. When a lamb was offered as a sacrifice to God it was an act of faith that one day God would provide a lamb to take away all sin. “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Abel obeyed, but Cain tried another way to please God.

God accepted Abel but refused Cain. Cain became very angry. God told Cain that it was not too late to do right. God explained to Cain that he had sin in his heart which made him do wrong. Cain was given another opportunity to obey God but Cain refused to do right.

The First Murder – Cain refused to obey God. He became very jealous of Abel. One day, when he and Abel were in the field, Cain did a very wicked thing. He killed his brother, Abel. God spoke to Cain and asked,

“Where is Abel thy brother?” Cain told a very wicked lie. He said, “I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” God knew that Cain had killed Abel. God punished Cain for his sin. God made him a wanderer on the earth. Cain was sent into a far country away from people and God. He lived a lonely life. Abel believed and obeyed God. Cain refused the ways of God. You need to trust God as Abel. Do not follow the ways of Cain. “Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain” (Jude 11).

NOAH

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, …And it repented the Lord that he had made man…
And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created… But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” — Genesis 6:5-8

More than 4,000 years ago there was a man named Noah. During the days of Noah God looked upon the earth and saw that the people were very evil in their hearts. He saw their sin and said, “I will destroy man.” God continued to look. He saw Noah. Noah walked with God. God did not want to destroy Noah. Noah found grace in the sight of God

The Plan of God – God decided to save Noah and his family and give mankind an opportunity to be saved from punishment. God warned Noah that He would send a flood to cover the earth. He then told Noah to prepare for the flood and build an ark (a large boat) for safety. God promised that it would rain from Heaven and only the people in the ark would be safe. This was strange because in those days there had never been any rain. It had never rained. A mist or fog would cover the earth to water the land. The people did not believe that water would fall from Heaven. Noah still obeyed God. Noah began to build a very large boat – large enough to carry all the people who would believe God and enter into the boat. As Noah built the boat he preached righteousness. He warned the people of a coming rain. The people laughed and made fun of Noah. They thought it was silly to build a big boat on dry land. The people did not believe God or Noah. The boat was very big.

When the people saw the ark they were amazed. It was about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. As they saw the boat, Noah warned them of a coming flood. They would not believe that it would rain from heaven. What was rain? What was a flood? They had never seen rain before, so they would not believe Noah.

The Ark Finished – Noah continued to build the ark for more than 120 years. The people mocked him and laughed about rain from the sky. Finally the boat was finished. Noah pleaded with the people to come into the boat. The people refused. Then God told Noah to bring his family into the ark. Only Noah and his family, a total of eight people, went safely into the boat. Then the people saw a strange thing happen. Animals began to march into the boat. The animals that were good for food, such as sheep and cows and goats, went into the ark by sevens, the male and female. The animals that were not good to eat, such as horses, dogs, cats and foxes, went in by two, the male and female. The birds of the air entered the ark by sevens. This was to keep enough animals alive to populate the earth again after the flood. The people watched as the greatest zoo ever marched into the ark.

The Flood – When Noah, his family and the animals were all safe in the boat, God left the door opened for a short time for others to come inside. No one entered the ark. Finally, God closed the door. For the first time they saw dark clouds, saw lightning and heard thunder. The rain fell from Heaven. Then the people stopped laughing. Noah told the truth. The rain continued for forty days and nights. All the people outside the ark all drowned. Maybe many prayed, but it was too late. The rain continued to fall until all were dead. Those inside the ark were safe. All outside the ark died. (…continue next page)