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Genesis 4-5

Lesson 4

Children Born Verses 1-2 – Eve said, I have gotten a man

from the Lord--that is, "by the help of the Lord"--an expression of pious gratitude

She called him Cain, that is, "a possession," as if valued above everything else

While the arrival of another son reminding Eve of the misery she had entailed on her offspring, led to the name Abel, that is, either weakness, vanity (Ps 39:5), or grief, lamentation

Cain and Abel were probably twins ???

Offerings to the Lord Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the

ground to the LORD Abel also brought of the firstborn of his

flock and of their fat And the LORD respected Abel and his

offering But He did not respect Cain and his offering Cain was very angry, and his countenance

fell

Abel’s Offering Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a more

excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

Abel. Whose sacrifice was acceptable because it was offered in the right spirit (by faith)

Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Abel's faith was shown in offering just such a sacrifice as the Lord demanded, while Cain made an offering according to his own ideas.

Abel’s Offering Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a more

excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

Obtained witness. In some way the Lord testified his approval of Abel's sacrifice, and showed his disapproval of Cain's (perhaps by sending fire to consume Abel's).

By it; by his faith. His faith speaks to all ages.

Question for Cain Verse 7 – Ge 4:7 "If you do well, will you not

be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.“

If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?--A better rendering is, "Shalt thou not have the excellency"? which is the true sense of the words referring to the high privileges and authority belonging to the first-born in patriarchal times.

Question for Cain sin lies at the door--sin, that is, a sin offering--a

common meaning of the word in Scripture (as in Ho 4:8; 2Co 5:21; Heb 9:28). The purport of the divine rebuke to Cain was this, "Why art thou angry, as if unjustly treated? If thou doest well (that is, were innocent and sinless) a thank offering would have been accepted as a token of thy dependence as a creature. But as thou doest not well (that is, art a sinner), a sin offering is necessary, by bringing which you would have met with acceptance and retained the honors of thy birthright." This language implies that previous instructions had been given as to the mode of worship; Abel offered through faith (Heb 11:4).

Question for Cain Verse 7 – Ge 4:7 "If you do well, will you

not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.“

It was Cain’s choice. Do well, or not. The wrong choice would be sin. Sin had been introduced and was waiting on Cain. He was capable of ruling over sin.

Cain’s Choice Ge 4:8. And Cain talked with Abel his brother--Under

the guise of brotherly familiarity, he concealed his premeditated purpose till a convenient time and place occurred for the murder (1Jo 3:12; Jude 1:25).

1Jo 3:12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous.

of that wicked one--Translate, "evil one," to accord with "Because his own works were evil." Compare 1 Jo 3:8, "of the devil," in contrast to "of God," 1Jo 3:10.

Cain’s Choice Ge 4:8. And Cain talked with Abel his brother--Under

the guise of brotherly familiarity, he concealed his premeditated purpose till a convenient time and place occurred for the murder (1Jo 3:12; Jude 1:25).

1Jo 3:12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous.

slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous--through envy and hatred of his brother's piety, owing to which God accepted Abel's, but rejected Cain's offering. Enmity from the first existed between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.

Sins Multiply 9 Then the LORD

said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"

Wrong sacrifice Anger Jealousy Hatred Murder Lying

Cain’s Punishment Ge 4:10 And He said, "What have you

done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground.

God knew what Cain had done 11 "So now you are cursed from the earth,

which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

12 "When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth."

Too Much? Ge 4:13 And Cain said to the LORD, "My

punishment is greater than I can bear! What an overwhelming sense of misery;

but no sign of penitence, nor cry for pardon.

a mark--not any visible mark or brand on his forehead, but some sign or token of assurance that his life would be preserved

Enoch Ge 5:21 Enoch lived sixty-five years,

and begot Methuselah. Enoch ... begat Methuselah--This name

signifies, "He dieth, and the sending forth," so that Enoch gave it as prophetical of the flood. It is computed that Methuselah died in the year of that catastrophe.

Enoch 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked

with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters.

23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.

24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

And Enoch walked with God--a common phrase in Eastern countries denoting constant and familiar association

Enoch was not; for God took him--In Heb 11:5, we

are informed that he was translated to heaven--a mighty miracle, designed to effect what ordinary means of instruction had failed to accomplish, gave a palpable proof to an age of almost universal unbelief that the doctrines which he had taught (Jude 1:25,25) were true and that his devotedness to the cause of God and righteousness in the midst of opposition was highly pleasing to the mind of God.

Enoch Heb 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he

did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

Faith was the ground of his pleasing God; and his pleasing God was the ground of his translation.

translated-- (Ge 5:22,24). Implying a sudden removal (the same Greek as in Ga 1:6) from mortality without death to immortality: such a CHANGE as shall pass over the living at Christ's coming (1Co 15:51,52).

Enoch Heb 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he

did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

had this testimony--namely of Scripture; the Greek perfect implies that this testimony continues still: "he has been testified of."

pleased God--The Scripture testimony virtually expresses that he pleased God, namely, "Enoch walked with God." The Septuagint translates the Hebrew for "walked with God," Ge 6:9, pleased God.

Faith 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for

he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

without--Greek, "apart from faith": if one be destitute of faith (compare Ro 14:23).

to please--Translate, as ALFORD does, the Greek aorist, "It is impossible to please God at all" (Ro 8:8). Works not rooted in God are splendid sins [AUGUSTINE].

he that cometh to God--as a worshipper (Heb 7:19). must believe--once for all: Greek aorist tense.

a·o·rist expressing action…without further limitation or implication

Faith 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he

who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

that God is--is the true self-existing Jehovah (as contrasted with all so-called gods, not gods, Ga 4:8), the source of all being, though he sees Him not (Heb 11:1) as being "invisible" (Heb 11:27). So Enoch; this passage implies that he had not been favored with visible appearances of God, yet he believed in God's being, and in God's moral government, as the Rewarder of His diligent worshippers, in opposition to antediluvian skepticism. Also Moses was not so favored before he left Egypt the first time (Heb 11:27); still he believed.

Faith 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he

who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

and ... is--a different Greek verb from the former "is." Translate, "is eventually"; proves to be; literally, "becomes."

rewarder--renderer of reward [ALFORD]. So God proved to be to Enoch. The reward is God Himself diligently "sought" and "walked with" in partial communion here, and to be fully enjoyed hereafter. Compare Ge 15:1, "I am thy exceeding great reward."

Faith 6 But without faith it is impossible to please

Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

of them--and them only. diligently seek--Greek, "seek out" God.

Compare "seek early," Pr 8:17. Not only "ask" and "seek," but "knock," Mt 7:7; compare Heb 11:12; Lu 13:24, "Strive" as in an agony of contest.

Noah Ge 5:32 And Noah was five hundred

years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

From Ge 10:21; 1Ch 1:5 we learn that Japheth was the eldest son of Noah, but Shem is mentioned first, because it was from him, in a direct line, that the Messiah came.

Noah Ge 5:32 And Noah was five hundred years

old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Ham was certainly the youngest of Noah's sons, and from what we read, Ge 9:22, the worst of them; and how he comes to be mentioned out of his natural order is not easy to be accounted for. When the Scriptures design to mark precedence, though the subject be a younger son or brother, he is always mentioned first; so Jacob is named before Esau, his elder brother, and Ephraim before Manasseh. See Ge 28:5; 48:20.

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