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Stories of the Bible, Volume 1: The People of the Chosen Land

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<h2 class="nobreak">THE GARDEN OF EDEN.</h2> When Adam and Eve looked out upon the world round about them; when they saw the flowers and the grasses; when they heard the splashing of the sun-lit waters, and the rustling of the soft branches,—then their hearts were filled with love for each other, for their home, and for the Father who had made all this joy for them. For a long time they wandered up and down the Garden of Eden, singing songs, and[13] ready always to hear the voice of God when he spoke to them in the soft winds that played among the tree tops. Now, there was a wicked angel, named Satan. He had been cast out from heaven, down, down from the blue sky. And in his own unhappy home he dwelt now, alone, wretched and revengeful. And when he saw this happy man and woman, so good and pure, their hearts bounding with love to God and joy in right doing, his cruel face grew black. "Such happiness shall not last," he said. So he crept into the Garden, took on the form of a serpent and spoke to Eve. "Eat of the fruit of this tree," he said, "and give it to Adam that he may eat too." "But we are forbidden," Eve said. "The fruit is like no other. Eat! Ye shall not die," the serpent answered. <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/fig_004.jpg" width-obs="358" height-obs="500" alt="THE EXPULSION OF ADAM AND EVE FROM THE GARDEN OF EDEN. (Dore.)" title="" /> THE EXPULSION OF ADAM AND EVE FROM THE GARDEN OF EDEN. (Dore.) </div> Then Eve gathered the fruit and ate of it. It was sweet, even as the serpent had said. Then she gathered more, and Adam, too, ate of it. Then darkness fell upon the earth. A great wind arose, the thunder rolled, and God drove Adam and Eve out from the Garden of Eden; and at the entrance He placed cherubims and a flaming sword for no one who had sinned could dwell in a land so beautiful and free from sorrow. But God pitied these children of his; and, although they had sinned against him, he saw that, after long years of suffering, One should be born, who would bring back to earth the joy and peace and happiness that had once been theirs, and which would have been to all their children in all the time to come, had not these parents sinned. And so Adam and Eve went out into the[16] world to work and struggle and build homes for themselves. <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/fig_005.jpg" width-obs="500" height-obs="435" alt="ADAM AND EVE. (Raphael.)" title="" /> ADAM AND EVE. (Raphael.) </div> By and by two baby boys were born to them,—Cain and Abel. Pure and kind and good these children should have been. But now they were born into a world of sin, and of the nature of sin they too partook. [17]When these children were grown men, Cain hated his brother. He grew sullen and revengeful towards him. The serpent that had tempted Adam and Eve now tempted him. He listened; and one day, when they were at work together in the field, Cain slew Abel and hid him in the earth. Then a great storm gathered across the sky; and a voice said, "Cain, where is thy brother?" Cain trembled with fear; for he knew it was the voice of God. But he raised his wicked face towards the heavens and cried, "Why should I know? Am I my brother's keeper?" And the voice said, "Thou art thy brother's keeper." Then God put a brand upon the brow of Cain, and drove him forth into the wilderness, to be a fugitive and a vagabond. <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/fig_006.jpg" width-obs="346" height-obs="500" alt="STATUE OF CAIN. (Giovanni Dupre.)" title="" /> STATUE OF CAIN. (Giovanni Dupre.) </div> <h3 class="pb">THE CURSE OF CAIN.</h3> [19] O, the wrath of the Lord is a terrible thing!— Like the tempest that withers the blossoms of spring, Like the thunder that bursts on the summer's domain, It fell on the head of the homicide Cain. And, lo! like a deer in the fright of the chase, With a fire in his heart, and a brand on his face, He speeds him afar to the desert of Nod,— A vagabond, smote by the vengeance of God! All nature, to him, has been blasted and banned, And the blood of a brother yet reeks on his hand; And no vintage has grown, and no fountain has sprung, For cheering his heart, or for cooling his tongue. The groans of a father his slumber shall start, And the tears of a mother shall pierce to his heart, And the kiss of his children shall scorch him like flame, When he thinks of the curse that hangs over his name. —Knox. <hr class="scr" /> <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/fig_007.jpg" width-obs="349" height-obs="500" alt="THE DOVE SENT FORTH FROM THE ARK." title="" /> THE DOVE SENT FORTH FROM THE ARK. </div> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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