- ADAM
and Eve soon saw how much evil their sin would bring upon the earth.
Adam had to work hard to keep himself and Eve alive. He had to hunt for
food.
- The first children of Adam and Eve were
Cain and Abel. Cain grew up to be a farmer and Abel became a shepherd.
Cain was cruel and Abel was kind.
- Cain and Abel offered gifts to God as a
sacrifice. Cain offered fruit and grain; Abel offered a lamb of his flock.
- When God saw that Cain's heart was full
of evil, He was not pleased with his gifts. But God was pleased with
Abel's gifts because his heart was full of goodness, and he offered his
gifts to God with a better spirit. This made Cain very jealous. He
determined to kill his brother. One day when they were walking in the
field, Cain struck his brother and killed him.
The first murder had been committed. Then Adam learned what death meant.
God asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"
- He answered, "I do not know. Arq I my
brother's keeper?"
God was angry and said, "The voice of your brother's blood cries out to
Me. You shall be cursed, and you shall be a wanderer upon the earth."
Hearing how he was to be punished, Cain cried out, "My sin is too great
to be forgiven. I must hide myself from Your face. Anyone who finds me
will kill me." But God put a mark upon Cain as a, sign that no one should
kill him. Cain began to wander. over the earth and to suffer for his sin.
God gave Adam another son, called Seth, who grew up to be a good man.
His children honored God and lived according to His laws, and they were
called the children of God. Through Seth the worship of the true God,
with the hope of the Redeemer, came down to other people who were to live
many years later.
But the children of Cain grew up to be bad. Many centuries passed. The
human race grew both in numbers and in knowledge of the things which make
life easier. Some of the children of Cain built a city; others lived in
tents. In this way the first cities began, and men learned to live with
one an- other. They learned to plant and grow things and to make the
animals carry their burdens. But they forgot God.
After a while the children of Cain began to marry the children of Seth.
The sons and daughters born to these parents also became bad. Men began to
have many wives. They worshiped the sun and the earth as gods. They made
statues, called them gods, and even worshiped them. Evil spread through
the whole human race. Man became very wicked.
- Love is the best way to show other how
great our God is.
- Love, Tia Célia.
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