Advanced Level, Block 1—Result of Fall
Week 5
Jealousy and Anger—Cain and Abel
Point to Emphasize: We need to be warned about our anger and learn to control it.
Reference Reading: Genesis 4:1-15; Life-study of Genesis, msgs. 22, 24
Memory Verse: Be angry, yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your indignation, Neither give place to the devil. (Ephesians 4:26-27)
Story Sample
Have your parents shared with you stories of the time they were growing up? Parents enjoy telling stories of their childhood. Parents also give us advice on what things to do and what mistakes they made growing up, so we don’t have to repeat them. This is also what happened in the very first family we see in the Bible. Cain and Abel were the first children to be born to Adam and Eve.
As parents, Adam and Eve certainly must have told their children their story. They must have told their children how they were created by God, and that they lived in the garden and had disobeyed God. Then, because of their disobedience, God had to sacrifice a lamb on their behalf. The lamb skins were used to clothe them. Adam and Eve must have told their children to follow God’s way. God’s way was to sacrifice lambs for their disobedience.
Both Cain and Abel were taught to honor God no matter what they did. Abel became a tender of sheep and Cain became a tiller of the ground. When it was time to present an offering to God, Cain presented fruits of his labor and Abel presented a lamb, according to God’s way. Cain was proud and wanted to present an offering in his own way. He did not want to take God’s way. God was pleased with Abel’s offering, but He rejected Cain’s. When Cain saw this, he was angry; extremely angry.
Sometimes we, too, might take our own way at school. One time we were given a project in school and the teacher had given us specific instructions on how to do it. I wanted to do a better job than my classmate, who was pretty smart. I ended up doing other things that the teacher had not asked. I wanted to do it my way, and I thought it would be a better project. I was so proud! I thought my teacher would make such a big deal of it, but she didn’t. She didn’t say one word. I became angry inside, because I felt my effort wasn’t appreciated. Instead, the teacher made a big deal of my classmate who had done exactly what was asked, nothing more and nothing less. So I was not only angry, I was also jealous of my classmate who got the approval of my teacher. This is not a good place to be! [Storyteller, insert your example of feeling anger and jealousy. If possible, due to doing something your way instead of following the instructions.]
God knew Cain was angry, because his offering was rejected. So He came to talk to him. God asked Cain why he was angry. And He warned him not to let his anger control him. But Cain would not confess.
Cain’s trouble continued because he didn’t take God’s warning to control his anger. In his anger and jealousy he killed his brother Abel. Is this logical? Did his brother do anything that should cause him to be hated and murdered? No!
After this, God came to Cain again and asked him, “Where is Abel your brother?” This shows how merciful and kind God is. God came to help unload Cain of his guilt. Instead of confessing, Cain answered: “I do not know: Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). This answer was a big lie, the first lie in the history of the human race (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 24, p. 318).
We have all been angry and jealous at times. And we might have let our anger cause us to hurt someone or make them feel bad. This shows that our anger has controlled us, just as it controlled Cain. This is why the Bible warns us not to be angry. We need to limit our anger. We need to confess and say we are sorry, even before doing something out of anger and even if we feel we are right. No one feels good about themselves after they have been angry and jealous. [Lead the children into a discussion that would cause them to be convicted about not feeling right when they do something like this. Or discuss things they have done to control their anger.]