The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1907-01-25
THE STORY OF
CAIN AND ABEL

Sunday School Lesson for Ian. 21, 1907
specially Prepared Tor This Paper

verses. $40 n
GOLDEN TEXr.-"Whosoeyer haieth
his brother Is a murderer John d.
TIME Unknown. although Osshei
chronology. which Is generally um"'l
stood not to be correct gives u as H.
PLACE Outside the Garden Of Eden.
hut probably In the same Ies''r .,., ~'' tbe
whole region was called tdeh. near '"'
Tigris and Euphrates rivers
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES. - Ihe
Fvn Hating the Good.-Psa. u 2. g
1895. Prov 2910. Jer. n .ls, Han. i..
Matt 1910: Acts as, oz j ne, ivo 9,5i'a
iO Is. 1921. 1850. Gal SIP. Phil -.--i.
] John 2i0 Show how love Us the cure
New testament Light-Cain was "l
that wicked one" q John S.l-i. Who WIS
murderer from the beginning ,'.iin
S.fO The reason Of the difference m lhe
sacrifices Is given IN Heb. ~ g. crimes
cry unto God JAS. So. Rev. 6iW Chri>i
blood speaketh better things OF louder
than the blood OF Abel Qieb. l22O.
Comment and Suggestive Thought
The picture Of Cain and Abel por.
trays how from the first opposition
has subsisted between good and evil
between faith and self-will, between
obedience and lawlessness. The two
brothers brought up IN the same fam
ily. became the types. the one OF sln'
the other Of righteousness. RYE.
The Two Sacrifices. True and False
Worship.-v. g. In process of time.
An indefinite note Of time. II prob
ably was many years. Cain brought
the fruit Of the ground" The products
Of his business, as was natural and
proper. "An Offering unto the Lord,
Jehovah, who had made himself
known in the garden. and probably
since.
Va. And Abel. he also brought Of
the frstlings of his flock" Either
the first born, which God afterwards
demanded (Ex. 1912. or the choicest
and best Job 1S:13)."-COok. And
the fat thereof" Literally. the fat
ness Of them. /. e. the latest Of the
firstlings. the best he had. or. as Dill
mann. their fat pieces" the part to
be burned. The Lord had respect
unto Abel and to his offering" 1T is
impossible to know In what way the
Lord showed his favor. but 1t was, in
any case. a visible sign Of sausfac-
ton. KEEL.
The Anger Of Cain. % It was
against his brother. (2) It was with
out good cause. CD It grew out Of
envy and Jealousy. (D 1t was inten-
sified by his own consciousness Of be
ing in the wrong. and the desire to
quiet his conscience by blaming 9th
ers. 60 1t was against God. Co 1t
was violent. nltempered. beyond the
control Of reason. CD 1t was the feel
ing OF hatred in the wicked toward
those who are better because they are
a continual reproof.
V. s. And Cain talked with Abel
and his brother" Hebrew. And Cain
said unto Abel his brother; after
which there is. in many of the Hebrew
copies. a blank space left. as II some
thing had been omitted. Bush. He
talked over the matter with his
brother. He went on In familiar inter
course with him. and It was during
one Of these conversations that his
anger was again lnflamed. Others rep
resent Cain as asking his brother to
90 away from the home into a lonely
field for the purpose OF doing evil to
him. Gain slew him" Whether
he intended to kill. or struck a blow
in anger. and the result was more
than he expected, we do not know.
Am | My Brothers Keeper?-Only
Cain.like men ask Gains question We
all are our brothers keepers. God has
made the circles Of family, friendship,
acquaintance. race. humanity, so that
each Of us has an influence in them.
and we are responsible for that infiu-
ence. No one lives or dies to himself
And God gives us wealth. position, in
tellect, not for ourselves alone. but
that we may be better keepers of our
brother. % We are keepers Of our
brothers. not by debating to them, but
by brotherly love; CD by helping
them, as the good Samaritan, or as
the righteous in Matt. 25:31-46; CD by
their welfare in all our
business relations: (D by using every
influence for their good. doing to 9th
ers In all relations "as we would that
they should do unto us"
The Voice of Abel Still Heard
The blood that speaketh better things
than that OF Abel" Heb. 1920. He
being dead yet speaketh" (Heb. 11:D.
Here Is a fine picture of Abel's work.
He is living and speaking down all
the centuries one long triumphal
march, scattering blessed gems Of
truth to all ages. like Prince Siddartha
in his fathers dream In The Light of
Asia.
Gains punishment consisted (D in
the strengthening of his evil charac-
ter. He added lying and selflshness to
murder. (2) He set himself in opposi-
ton to God and his laws. changing
from the light Of blessings to the evils
that are the necessary consequences
Of defying Gods laws. CD His life
work was a failure. (D He lost the
blessings Of companionship with the
good. He was lonely. estranged from
his kind. an outlaw. 60 Remorse and
The condemnation Of his conscience.
Practical Points.
The only explanation of the differ
snce between Cain and Abel lies in
heir freedom of choice. One chose
he way Of life, the other the way of
leath.
Byron in his Cain. pictures him as
empted by Lucifer to unbelief and re-
)ellion against Gods providence
"WhOsoever hateth his brother is a
murderer" O. John 3:15)
Envy Is the wickedest. the dead
lest. the most detestable Of all our
'inful passions. A coal from hell had
~ this time kindled hell in Gains
leart. Alexander Whyte.
LaGr1ppe Cough
tra.lr NIT NJ .F