In the beginning, after Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, they had two sons named Cain and Abel. Cain was a tiller of the ground, working hard to cultivate crops, while Abel was a keeper of sheep, tending to his flocks with care. Each of them brought an offering to the Lord. Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil, but Abel brought the firstborn of his flock, the best he had.
The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but he did not look with favor on Cain and his offering. This made Cain very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, ¡°Why are you angry? Why has your face fallen? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.¡±
Cain, however, did not heed the Lord’s words. One day, in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. This was the first murder in human history. The Lord then said to Cain, ¡°Where is your brother Abel?¡± Cain replied, ¡°I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?¡± The Lord said, ¡°What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.¡±
Cain was filled with fear and said, ¡°My punishment is more than I can bear. Anyone who finds me will kill me.¡± But the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. Cain then went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
This story teaches us about the consequences of jealousy and the importance of heeding the Lord’s guidance.