Genesis
Lesson 13Genesis 4:1 - 6:22
We will also begin looking at the chronologies and genealogies that begin early in Genesis and will continue to impact history right up to Christ’s second coming. As we review the lineage and study the timelines, God will open our eyes to see how all of his Holy Word integrates into one complete plan aimed at the redemption of mankind and His creation.
Just as Adam and Eve needed God to save them, so do we. So let’s get started and see how much we can learn from their experience in the Garden following their sin, and God’s reaction to it.
Today, as we reflect on our lives, we can only imagine what they would be like if we had no sin and if we lived in a world that had not been cursed as a result of sin. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Romans 3:23 tells us "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God", and 1 John 1:8 says "if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us". These days, sin and its effects are everywhere we look. How hopeless we would be without a redeemer!
Just as Adam and Eve needed God to save them, so too do we. Let’s see how much we can learn from their experience in the Garden after their sin, and God’s reaction to it.
Read Genesis Chapters 4-6 and consider the following:
- Was Cain the first child born to Adam and Eve after they were banned from the Garden of Eden?
- How old was Abel when he died?
- By simply studying the story of Cain and Abel, what can we infer about man, his abilities, his culture, and his family structure at this very early stage of God’s creation?
- Was Abel a man of faith, i.e., a follower of God? (see Hebrews 11:4, Matthew 23:35, and Luke 11:50-51)
- Since the Ten Commandments had not yet been given by God to Moses, did Cain understand that what he had done was wrong? (see Genesis 4:9)
- Had Cain been warned about his sin? (see Genesis 4:6-7)
- Because of Adam and Eve’s sin, had God withdrawn from mankind and not allowed anyone to approach him. (see Genesis 4:3-4)?
- Was Abel Cain’s only brother? (see Genesis 5:4)
- While not expressly stated, what could have been wrong with Cain’s offering? Or was there something wrong that did not relate to the offering, but rather the person making the offering?
- What was Cain worried about after God judged his sin? (see Gen 4:13-14)
- Cain feared for his life as he wandered the earth, afraid that others would kill him. Where would other people populating the earth come from? (see Genesis 5:4)
- The story of Cain and Abel is recorded in Genesis to illustrate the difference between those who worship God and those who do not. It also serves as a record of the first murder committed in God’s creation. Why is Seth’s name specifically included in the Genesis record?
- Enoch became the father of Methuselah in a bloodline leading to Noah. What else is noteworthy about Enoch? (see Genesis 5:24 and Hebrews 9:27)
- How much time elapsed between the death of Methuselah and the flood? (see Genesis Chapters 5 through 7)
In this lesson, we observe the evolving state of the world after "the fall", and already it isn’t pleasant. Murder, idolatry and all manner of sin are evident on the earth; and God is preparing to bring judgment on it through Noah and the flood.
We also see the importance of worshipping God both in spirit and in truth. To do otherwise will bring certain judgment and death, as our sin separates us from God. Conversely, there is also much hope provided to us in this lesson; as we see that, in spite of sin, God continues to commune with man and continues to offer reconciliation to man — but only if we are willing to repent and obey him completely.
Today we can praise God for Jesus and for the priceless blessing of salvation; Jesus having offered up the perfect sacrifice, something that we are incapable of providing. In our next lesson, we will look at God’s judgment on the earth, and the story of Noah and the flood.
Thanks for studying with us.
In Christ,
Wes
[2010]