Lessons from the First Family: Adam, Cain, and Abel

Nothing in the Bible has been placed there by accident. There are no wasted words or wasted stories. That doesn’t mean that we always understand everything or even the purpose of each section. Some parts of Scripture even seem painful to comprehend, but that does not lessen the importance of it. 

In the beginning of the Old Testament, we read about creation. God even says it was good! God chose to create the first earthly family, knowing what would come of it. I’m so grateful God even chose to have this family, with their strengths and weaknesses, recorded in Scripture so that thousands of years later we could learn from them about human nature, sin, faith, and ultimately God's grace. 

Let’s look at a brief overview of Adam, Cain, and Abel and determine what we, as women, can learn from their lives, as it has been recorded in Scripture.

Adam: The First Man and the Weight of Responsibility

First we have the story of Adam. Adam was the first human on earth. He wasn’t birthed like we are, but instead he was created in the image of God by God’s own breath. We see most of his story in Genesis 1-3.

Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7 CSB)

I simply cannot imagine this scenario in my head. It seems so unique, which obviously fits with God’s MO. 

After God created Adam, he created the first woman, Eve. Together God gave them the authority and responsibility to rule over all creation. Adam named animals and was the caretaker over the luscious Garden of Eden.

God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28 CSB)

The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it.  (Genesis 2:15 CSB)

Many of us know what happened next, Adam and Eve fell for the lies that the serpent propagated. Adam, being the man of the family and God’s literal first created son, should have been more of a leader to Eve and protected them both from falling into the trap of a lie. Instead, he was passive and allowed sin, even partaking in it himself. 

The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3:6 CSB)

That’s not all. Later when Adam and Eve were called out by God for their sin, Adam did not take accountability for his sin, but instead blamed his wife. 

The man replied, “The woman you gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12 CSB)

Because of their sin, God issued consequences which included being banned from the garden and separated from God.

What can we learn from the life of Adam? 

Spiritual leadership and obedience matter deeply. While we fully believe that the husband should be the spiritual leader of the household, there are many situations where we, as women, have to be spiritual leaders, too. Being single, I don’t have a husband to lead me in this area. There are also many women who need to be spiritual leaders for their children or extended family members. We have to stand firm in our faith and not be swayed by appealing sin. 

Adam faltered. He chose self satisfaction over pleasing God. God didn’t ignore his sin and let him continue on. God sought him in the garden and called him out on his choice. Likewise, God holds us accountable for our sin. My how things may have turned out differently if Adam had chosen to be humble with God in that moment.

Cain: The Danger of Jealousy and Unrepentant Sin and Abel: A Life of Faith, Though Brief

The story of Cain and Abel can be found in Genesis 4:1-16. 

Cain is the first child we are told about, and he was born to Adam and Eve. He worked the ground and brought an offering to God. We are told that Abel was also a child of Adam and Eve, but he worked with the livestock. 

In the course of time Cain presented some of the land’s produce as an offering to the Lord. (Genesis 4:3 CSB)

Meanwhile, Abel also brought an offering of his flock to God. Genesis doesn’t tell us why, but God was pleased and accepted Abel’s offering and not Cain’s. Thankfully we find out more information in Hebrews. 

By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith. (Hebrews 11:4 CSB)

Abel’s offering was from the heart and selfless, while Cain’s motive was wrong. Cain reacted strongly and angrily that his offering was refused. 

However, what I think is amazing is that God recognized his anger and provided him instruction to improve. What amazing grace that God doesn’t leave us in our sin, but provides us with a better way!

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you furious? And why do you look despondent? If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6-7 CSB)

Cain didn’t listen to God, but instead followed his rage and jealousy, killing his brother Abel. Just like God did with Adam, He came to Cain and confronted him over his sin of murdering his brother. Cain chose not to repent, but to be separated from God’s presence. 

What can we learn from the stories of Cain and Abel? 

We must come to God with a genuine heart of faith and worship. Just as God knew the different intentions of Cain and Abel’s hearts in their offering, God knows our hearts, our desires, and our motives. 

We also learn that we must be humble and willing to recognize conviction when it comes. Pride and bitterness only lead to hurt and anger. God warned Cain about sin crouching at the door. When we respond with pride or bitterness, we are opening that door and allowing sin to act, which isn’t any way to live as a disciple of Christ.

Conclusion

After reading the stories of these three men, I am overwhelmed by the expression of God’s grace and mercy. We see unadulterated faith in the life of Abel. We see disobedience in the lives of Adam and Cain, but we see different responses to God’s calling them out on their sin. Adam responds in a way that blames others due to his shame, but Cain responds with a proud and unrepentant heart.  

Examine your own heart and ponder the following questions: 

Are you walking in obedience like Abel or harboring jealousy like Cain?
Are you leading your homes and lives with intentional faith like God asked of Adam?

Ask God to help you pursue a life of sincere faith with humble repentance.