THE Bible

A Good Son, and a Bad One

LOOK at Cain and Abel now. They have both grown up. Cain has become a farmer. He grows grains and fruits and vegetables.

Abel has become a keeper of sheep. He likes to take care of little lambs. They grow up into big sheep, and so Abel soon has a whole flock of sheep to watch over.

One day Cain and Abel bring a gift to God. Cain brings some food he has grown. And Abel brings the very best sheep he has. Jehovah is pleased with Abel and his gift. But he is not pleased with Cain and his gift. Do you know why?

It is not just that Abel's gift is better than Cain's. It is because Abel is a good man. He loves Jehovah and his brother. But Cain is bad; he does not love his brother.

So God tells Cain that he should change his ways. But Cain does not listen. He is very angry because God liked Abel better. So Cain says to Abel, 'Let us go over into the field.' There, when they are all alone, Cain hits his brother Abel. He hits him so hard that he kills him. Wasn't that a terrible thing for Cain to do?

Even though Abel died, God still remembers him. Abel was good, and Jehovah never forgets a person like that. So one day Jehovah God will bring Abel back to life. At that time Abel will never have to die. He will be able to live here on earth forever. Won't it be fine to get to know persons like Abel?

But God is not pleased with persons like Cain. So after Cain killed his brother, God punished him by sending him far away from the rest of his family. When Cain went away to live in another part of the earth, he took with him one of his sisters, and she became his wife.

In time Cain and his wife began to have children. Other sons and daughters of Adam and Eve got married, and they also had children. Soon there were many people on the earth. Let's learn about some of them.