VERSES: Genesis 4:1-16, 25
MEMORY VERSE: Genesis 1:9
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Review Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus until everyone knows them well. These three are the foundation of memorizing the books of the Old Testament. Make sure the students know the three books pretty well.
PRAYER: Pray that we can all be kind and loving to each other.
SPECIAL SONG: Sing some of the new songs you have learned over the past few weeks.
VISUAL AID: Draw a line down the middle of the board. Write, "Cain" on one side and "Abel" on the other. Draw one altar made of stones on each side. Draw the wood on top of the altars. On Cain's altar, draw fruit and vegetables on top of the wood. On Abel's altar, draw a sheep on top of the wood. Keep the drawings simple. It may be beneficial for you to draw the picture in advance and only add the offerings as you tell the story or, if you choose and are able, draw as you tell the story.
LESSON POINTS:
- Have you ever seen a baby? Maybe you have a baby brother or sister in your family right now! Adam and Eve had never ever seen a baby, but they had a baby boy. His name was Cain. They also had another baby boy and they named him Abel. As they grew up, the Bible says they enjoyed different things. Cain liked to farm the land. He grew fruit and vegetables that grew in the ground, but Abel liked to take care of sheep. Who was a farmer? Cain! Who was a shepherd? Abel!
- One day Cain made an offering of his fruit of the ground to God. Abel brought an offering of a sheep. Let's turn to Genesis 4:4, 5 and see what happened. The Bible says that God had respect to Abel's offering, but not to Cain's. Cain got very angry! God asked Cain why was he angry? God said if Cain had done well, his offering would have accepted. Cain talked to Abel and one day when they were in the field, Cain killed Abel, his own brother! A very sad story! Let's put our bookmark right here in Genesis 4:4, 5.
- God asked Cain a question. He asked, "Where is your brother, Abel?" Do you know what Cain said? He said that he did not know! Was that true? NO! He lied to God. Did God know what happened to Abel? Does God know everything? God wanted Cain to tell him what he did to Abel, but Cain did not. God, the Creator of everything, asked Cain a second question. He asked, "What have you done? Your brother's blood cries to Me from the ground!"
- God knew that Cain killed Abel and He gives him the consequences of his sin. Cain's punishment was that when he worked in the fields, he could not grow anything because nothing would grow. Do you think that punishment hurt Cain? What did we learn that Cain liked to do? He like to grow fruits and vegetables! Now, because he killed poor Abel, he would never grow anything again. In fact, there was one more punishment. Cain would be "a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth." That meant that Cain would have to go away from his home and be a wanderer all of his life, never having a home of his own. How sad when we sin! Sin always grieves God. Just like we learned last week when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil: They sinned and had serious consequences. We should always obey God. Always.
- Then Cain tells God that he is worried about someone killing him because he had killed Abel. God said He would put a mark on Cain, so no one would kill him. We don't know what that mark was, but we know that God did what He said He would do.
- If Cain would have obeyed God, his brother would have lived and Cain would not have had to wander over the earth and be away from his family and could be a farmer, but Cain sinned, didn't he? Cain killed Abel.
- But there was a little happiness in the end because Adam and Eve had another little boy baby and named him Seth.
- God must have told Cain and Abel what to offer and how to worship Him because in Hebrews 11:4 says "By faith, Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice." When we look down two verses to Hebrews 11:6, it reads "without faith it is impossible to please God." We know that in Romans 10:17, it says that we get faith or faith comes by hearing God's Word, so God must have told Cain and Abel how to offer the sacrifices to Him.
- When Cain said, "Am I my brother's keeper?" the answer to his question is yes, we ARE our brother's keeper. We are to help and love our brothers and family, but Cain did not do that. He killed his brother, the second child that was born in the world.
- Do we know why Can killed Abel? Turn to 1 John 3:12 in the New Testament. There it says Cain's works were evil and Abel's were righteous. Cain knew what he was doing. Cain was filled with anger and jealousy and he killed his brother because Abel did what the LORD commanded.
- Did you know that from Seth's family lineage, Jesus was born? (Lk. 3:23-38)
ACTIVITY: Coloring Picture (Easy Activity)
Materials needed: white paper, crayons
- Students duplicate the picture you have drawn on the chalkboard or whiteboard.
- Students write "Genesis 4" at the top.
- Students draw a line down the middle of their paper and write "CAIN" on one side and "ABEL" on the other side.
- Draw a red "No!" sign on top of Cain's offering.