Cain and Abel

Two of Adam and Eve’s sons were Cain (a farmer) and Abel (a shepherd). Abel was faithful and offered the best meat from the best lamb in his flock to God as a sacrifice. Cain offered some produce from his crops as his offering to God. God was pleased with Abel’s sacrifice but not with Cain’s. This made Cain so angry that he killed his own brother, Abel. In punishment, God exiled (or banished) Cain from the area he knew as home.

Bible verses used in this episode:

Genesis 4:1-16, 25

Colossians 3:23

Hebrews 11:4

Ephesians 4:26-27

Outline:

1. Two brothers offer sacrifices to God (Genesis 4:1-4a)
2. Cain is jealous when God only accepts Abel’s sacrifice (Genesis 4:4b-7)
3. Cain kills Abel (Genesis 4:8)
4. Cain is banished (Genesis 4:9-16)
5. Eve has another son, Seth (Genesis 4:25)

Tips for teaching children:

• To introduce the story, bring pairs of items and ask children to compare them and decide which is the best. Abel gave his best.
• Explain that an altar was a structure, usually made of stacked rocks, where people lay items and gave them up to show devotion to God.
• Talk about anger and how to diffuse it. 
• Half-fill one clear glass with water. Half-fill an identical clear glass with white vinegar. Tell the children that these glasses represent Cain and Abel’s hearts. (Point to the glass of water) Abel’s heart was good, and he wanted to give his best to God. (Put a drop or two of green food colouring in the vinegar glass and stir it.) The green glass represents Cain’s heart. He was jealous of his brother and didn’t give his best to God. Let’s see what happens to their hearts when they give gifts to God. Ask one child to put a teaspoon of baking soda in the glass of water (nothing will happen to the water). Abel gave his gift, and God was pleased. Abel felt good because he knew he had given his best. Now, let’s see what happened to Cain’s heart. (Have another child put a teaspoon of baking soda in the green vinegar glass). As the water bubbles and boils, talk about how jealousy made Cain’s heart upset and angry.

Tips for teaching adults:

• Cain responded to God’s acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice with anger and jealousy. Discussion questions:  
  • Why are anger and jealousy so bad?  
  • What advice would you give to Cain as he seethes with anger to diffuse and re-direct it?
• Although the text isn’t clear why God accepts Abel’s sacrifice and rejects Cain’s, the text in verses 3-4 does imply that Abel brought his best, Cain did not. Discussion questions: 
  • Why did God accept Abel’s sacrifice and reject Cain’s?   
  • What can we learn about how we approach God in our worship and in our service to him?
• Challenge the class to supply needed items for a mission church or food pantry.  The quality of the items should be what the class would want for themselves.

Full teaching instructions free from Mission Bible Class:

Scriptures quoted from the International Children’s Bible®, copyright ©1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Tommy Nelson. Used by permission.

Excerpts from Mission Bible Class used by permission.

For questions or comments email: mary@missionbibleclass.org