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Joseph Taylor

Miss Akers

Honors English 9

19 October 2017

BAIL Essay - Cain and Abel

Cain is the son of Adam and Eve, brother of Abel. He is the first human to break the sixth

commandment, thou shalt not murder. He kills his brother Abel, because he is jealous that God

prefers his sacrifices of lamb over his sacrifice of vegetables. God punishes him by making sure

that he never reaps his harvest, and that he is an outcast to all of humanity by marking his

forehead. Cains conflicting emotions of wanting to please God verses his internal jealousy led

him to struggle about the fate of his brother.

Before Cain was tempted by evil and jealousy to kill, he was peaceful. He happily grew

his plants in his garden and offered them to the Lord. Jealousy first took root in Cain when God

preferred his brother, Abels, sacrifice of lambs to his own sacrifices of his best fruits and

vegetables. Cain became angry that he was not as favored as Abel by God. Abel brags about

being favored by the Lord, and that his lamb is superior to Cains vegetables. In addition to

Abels bragging, Adam and Eve favor Abel to Cain because God favors Abels offerings and

they also prefer Abels lamb to Cains fruit and vegetables. The preference of Abel brings

sorrow, and eventually jealousy to Cains life.

When Cain is upset after God regarded Able to have the better sacrifice, God speaks to

Cain. Why are you angry? Why are you scowling? If you do well, hold your head up; if not, sin

is a demon crouching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it. God is trying to

help Cain, telling him that if he does his best, he should hold his head high and be proud of what
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he has done. In this quote, he also warns him to be careful of jealousy, and to be stronger than

sin. Cain ignores Gods careful warning and jealousy overpowers Cain making him commit the

first murder.

Before Cain makes the choice to kill his brother, he undergoes much struggle and strife..

Cain loves his brother, but is also very jealous of him. Abel added to Cains struggle by mocking

and taunting him, making Cain angry and spiteful toward his brother. Also, Adam and Eve do

not help the situation. They agree with Abel that he is the better child, and that Cain was not

good in the Lord's eyes. With his parents and brother shunning him, he becomes hateful and

frustrated. In his frustration, God speaks to him warning him about his choices, and that he must

be stronger than sin. Abel does not heed his warning because at that point he was overcome with

jealously and hate and lures Abel into the forest and kills him. As soon as he murders his brother,

God senses what Cain has done, sealing his fate in suffering.

With no regrets, Cain admits to God that he killed his brother. In response God punishes

Cain for his sinful deed. God turns Cain into an outcast, forcing him to wander for the rest of his

life. In addition to this, no crop Cain raises will bear fruit. Cain is terrified, and asks how he will

not be killed by the first people he sees if he is now an outcast to humanity. God places a symbol

on Cains forehead, making sure that no people will kill him, but rather they will turn their backs

and cast him out. Defeated, Cain leaves his home and ventures far away, eventually dwelling in

the land of Nod, a place to the east of Eden. Until he died, he was a suffering outcast, his crucial

mistake haunting him for eternity.

Cain suffered because he wanted to please and obey God but the more success his brother

had the more jealous he became of Abel. In the end, sin in the form of jealousy overtook Cains
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mind and he killed Abel, committing the first murder in human history. His consequence was

becoming an outcast to the human race, always being rejected, never being able to call a place

home or have his own land to farm. Not obeying God caused him greater pain than if he fought

his feelings of hate as the Lord commanded. Not having complete faith in God led him to lose to

his internal struggle about the fate of his brother.