The King James Bible: Genesis; Chapters 4-11

So far, the story of Cain and Abel is definitely my favorite that I’ve been assigned to read. Children to Adam and Eve, Cain was the first being to have ever been born. In a twist of fate, the second son of Adam and Eve, Abel, was the first being to die, specifically by murder. I found this to be extremely interesting, as Adam and Eve were both cursed in different ways, yet Cain was cursed in a completely different way, following the trend of committing sin and failing the tests of God. Cain and Abel were to bring different offerings to God based on their occupation, Cain bringing fruit while Abel delivers one of his own animals that he has killed, as well as its fat. It’s stated that “The Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering” (4:4). For sacrificing his own flock for God, He gave more respect for Abel than He did Cain, who simply grew fruit and gave it to Him. This, of course, had to be a test for Cain. It was possibly a test of how one may act when experiencing pure rage and jealousy; and Cain, much like his parents, failed miserably at this test. As someone who sometimes likes to ask ‘what if?’ questions, I can’t help but question: What if Abel survived and Cain had failed at killing him? What if Abel was instead in Cain’s shoes and was the one who was given the test? Not knowing much about Abel as a person, it makes me wonder how he would handle certain scenarios. Is he capable of murder like his brother? Or is he the type to just let things go? Perhaps God knew Cain and Abel’s personality types enough to specifically choose Cain for this test. Maybe he knew that Cain can easily become enraged and consumed by jealousy, doing anything to redeem his self esteem.