CAIN AND ABEL
Genesis 4.1 to 15
=Interpretation.= The story of Cain and Abel is a study of sin,
remorse and repentance. There is a suggestion in verse 7, of evil
passions existing in Cain's heart even before the murder of his
brother, and, though the verse is obscure, it may be interpreted
as giving a reason for God's not accepting Cain's offering. Not
until after the deed is done is Cain made fully to realize the
significance of his act and then he is stirred by remorse and fear
until God reassures him of his protection. The sign that God gives
Cain is sometimes construed as part of his punishment but in the
Bible it is mentioned rather as evidence of God's acceptance of his
repentance.
=Aim.= The teacher should endeavor through this lesson to impress
on the child the danger of yielding to envy and anger and the
desirability of repentance and of confession of our sins to God
whenever we have done wrong.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= Sentimentalists sometimes object to
teaching this story to young children because of the sordid crime
that it relates. This objection however is not valid, because the
very ignorance and innocence of childhood rob the story of most
of its horror. Indeed, the teacher must rather guard against the
child's utterly losing the sense of the tragedy of the crime, the
universal tragedy by which passion leads men to commit acts which
they would later gladly retrieve if they could. In order to impress
this on the child the teacher must describe what the narrative of
the Bible but barely suggests, the wayward character of Cain before
the sacrifice which made it unacceptable. Devote some time to
characterizing Cain and Abel in such a way that the child pictures
the former as a sullen, discontented, envious man, who showed no
true appreciation of God's goodness to him and whose offering
was therefore not acceptable to God, while that of Abel, who was
sincerely grateful to God, was accepted. As this is the first time
that sacrifice is mentioned, explain the meaning of sacrifice as a
way in which men long ago used to show God that they were thankful
for his goodness in giving them their food, by not using all that
he gave them but burning some on a heap of stones called an altar.
Use some illustration from the child's life of how a gift is more
or less acceptable according to the motive which prompts it. You
might ask the children, "Which would please you more; if somebody
would give you a present on your birthday because he loves you, or,
because he thinks that when his birthday will come you will give
him one also?" and continue, "Now when Cain and Abel brought their
offering to God, God knew that Abel loved Him and always obeyed Him
and gave his offering because he was really grateful to God in his
heart, but Cain, who was always discontented and not very obedient,
God knew brought his offering only because he thought that if he did
so God might be pleased and so send him the rain necessary to make
his corn grow, that he would have plenty to eat during the year.
Therefore God accepted Abel's offering but did not accept Cain's".
Lay stress on God's warning to Cain, "Sin croucheth at the door",
which is to be explained as meaning that Cain must be very careful
how he acts and that if he feels like doing wrong to Abel, he must
keep back the feeling and not do it, or he might be doing something
which he would later feel very sorry for, after he could no longer
undo it. Remember that the very young child has no concept of death
and so relate the climax of the story somewhat in this manner; "Now
when Cain saw that Abel lay on the ground bleeding and could not
move or speak to him he knew that he had committed a great sin and
was afraid". The dialogue between God and Cain after Abel's death
should be quoted as nearly as possible in the language of the Bible,
particularly Cain's attempt at first to evade responsibility in the
words "Am I my brother's keeper?" followed later by his complete
confession, "My guilt is greater than I can bear". In enforcing the
aim of the lesson as we have given it, guard against merely making
didactic statements and rather bring out the point by questions,
after having concluded the narrative. The following are suggestive
questions:
Why did God accept Abel's offering and did not accept Cain's?
How did Cain feel when he saw that God did not accept his offering?
What did God say to Cain to warn him not give way to anger?
When Cain saw that he had killed Abel how did he feel?
Did God forgive Cain? How did God show that He forgave him?