The Beginning of the World
Lesson 2

Life Before Sin
Suggested Bible Reading: Genesis, Chapter 2

The Perfect World

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to live in a perfect world? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live in a world where no one ever experienced trouble, sickness, disease, or death? Imagine a world that had no poverty, no struggle of war between nations, no criminals, and no tragedies. It is impossible for us understand exactly how a world like that would look, because the only world that we have ever experienced has been filled with these very things.

The Bible tells us in Genesis 1:31 that in the beginning, everything that God created was ‘very good’. After God created Adam, He put him in a perfect world; in the Garden of Eden. In this garden, God placed all of the vegetables and fruits that man would need to be strong, healthy, and happy.

The earth’s weather was perfectly controlled by a mist that came up from the ground to provide water for all the plants. It never was too hot, too dry, too cold, or too wet. The animals lived in perfect harmony with each other and with Adam. God had provided for every need that man would have. Everything was perfect! God made all of this for Adam, because He loved him.

The Bible says in Genesis 2:8, “And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.” God didn’t ask Adam where he would like to live. God was the One who had made Adam, and God had the authority to put him where He wanted him, and to tell him what He wanted him to do.

Did your father or mother ever plant some mealies or other vegetables in a garden at your house? What would they do if all of the neighbors in the village came, without asking, and began to take the food that grew in the garden? Does anyone have a right to come to your property and take the things that you own? Of course not! We need to understand that God is the maker and the owner of all things!

Most people do not want to allow God to tell them how to live. However, since God made the world and God made you, God has the right to do whatever He wants. God has the right to tell us what to do. God has the right to tell us how we ought to live.

The Choice of Life or Death

With every privilege comes responsibility. God had given to man the greatest privilege in all the world. He created a perfect world for him to dwell in, and had made provision for his every need. God gave Adam the job to take care of the Garden of Eden. This was not a difficult task, because everything was perfect.

It is interesting though that even in a perfect world, God gave Adam work to do, because it is good for a man to work! One of the best things that you can do for yourself is to learn to be a diligent, hard worker. Man can accomplish some amazing things when he works diligently at a task. If you have the physical strength to work, you ought to give thanks to God, and go do some work!

God created two trees in the middle of the Garden of Eden; one was called the Tree of Life, and the other was called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Bible says in Genesis 2:16-17, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

When Adam was first created, he was innocent and able to live without having to choose to sin. God wanted Adam to have what was good, and God wanted to guide Adam to make wise choices. God gave clear instructions to Adam. God did not leave it up to Adam to decide what was right, and what was wrong. God told him which trees he could eat from and which tree he must leave alone! God warned Adam that if he ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that he would surely die.

It was never God’s desire for Adam to die. In fact, God made Adam with the ability to live forever, without sickness or death. But God also made Adam with a special freedom to be able to choose his own destiny. God placed Adam in a perfect world, He gave Adam clear instructions of what to do and what not to do, He warned Adam of the consequences if he disobeyed, and He came each day to spend time with Adam. Now, the choice belonged to Adam, to see if he would choose to obey and please God or if he would choose to fulfill his own desires and ignore God’s instructions.

God is still the same today. He has not left us on our own to try to decide what is right and wrong. He has given us a Bible to tell us what He wants us to do, and what He does not want us to do. God has given us the warning, that there are consequences for our sin.

The Bible says in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Just as God warned Adam, He has warned us that we too will face the consequence of death because of our choices to sin against God. In the next lesson we will discover what God meant when He told Adam that he would die for his sin.

The Creation of the Family

There are many different ideas today about marriage and families. Some people think that a marriage can be between a man and a woman, others believe it is ok to have more than one husband or wife, others believe it is ok for two men to be married, while others just live together and don’t believe that marriage is even necessary. Did you know that God is the One who began the institution of marriage and families? If we will allow the Bible to shape our ideas, we will understand what God thinks about marriage, and how a family ought to be put together.

The Bible says in Genesis 2:18, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” God was Adam’s Creator, and He knew that Adam needed a wife to make him complete. God knew that Adam would not be perfectly fulfilled if he remained alone. God brought all of the animals to Adam, to show Adam that not one of the animals could provide the companionship that Adam needed. When Adam realized that he was without a companion, God then put Adam to sleep, and took one of his ribs, and formed a woman to be his wife.

God made the first woman as a gift for man, and He expected Adam to take good care of her and to love her. Marriage was God’s perfect plan for Adam and Eve. They were perfectly designed to complete one another and together to become all that God wanted them to be.

Even though thousands of years have passed since God made the first man and woman and began the institution of marriage, God still has not changed His mind or His rules about marriage. It is still God’s definition that a family is one man and one woman, lawfully united together in marriage, for the purpose of training up children to know, love, serve, and worship God. It doesn’t matter what your culture is, where you live, or what color your skin is; God’s rules are the same for EVERYONE. If we would simply follow God’s rules about marriage and families, we would have far less problems in our world today!

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. God created a perfect world for Adam and Eve to live in.
True or False

2. Why did God have the authority to tell Adam how to live?
(Circle the correct answer)
a. He was Adam’s Creator
b. He was smarter than Adam
c. He was bigger than Adam

3. God gave Adam and Eve everything that they needed to
have a perfect life. True or False

4. God desired to see Adam and Eve choose to sin and die.
True or False

5. God gave Adam work to do…. (Circle the correct
answer)
a. Because He hated Adam
b. Because He wanted to make life difficult for Adam
c. Because He knew that work was good for Adam

6. God’s instructions to Adam were not very clear and hard
to figure out. True or False

7. God has given us a ________ to tell us what He wants us
to do.

8. God’s definition of a family is…. (Circle the correct
answer)
a. One Man and One Woman lawfully united together in
marriage
b. One Man and One Woman sleeping together
c. One Man and Four Women with 20 children

9. God’s plan for marriage is different for Asian people than
it is for African people. True or False

10. Is it possible that AIDS is a result of people ignoring
God’s rules for marriage? Yes or No

The Beginning of the World
Lesson 3

Sin Enters the World
Suggested Bible Reading: Genesis, Chapter 3:1-8

The Deceitfulness of Satan

The events recorded in Genesis Chapter 3 are some of the saddest and most important truths in the Bible for us to understand. We know that God had placed Adam and Eve in a perfect, beautiful Garden. There was no sickness, disease, trouble, or worries. Adam and Eve had a perfect friendship with each other and they were in perfect fellowship with God. God had given them one command; they were not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The Bible says in Genesis 3:1, “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Satan is the enemy of God, and he knew that God had commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Satan hates God and he hates everything that God has made, so he made a plan to try to destroy Adam and Eve. Satan then took upon himself the form of a serpent and entered into the Garden of Eden, and began to talk with Eve. His plan was to trick her and make her think that she didn’t really need to obey God’s command. Watch how Satan succeeded in tricking Eve to sin against God.

When Satan found Eve, he asked her if God had really said that they could not eat of every tree in the garden. Satan already knew that God had told Eve not to eat from a certain tree in the Garden. He was not looking for information from Eve, he was trying to confuse her and make her question God’s instructions. He was trying to cause her to doubt God’s Word. Eve should have ended the conversation immediately, but instead, she thought about Satan’s question.

When Satan saw that he had succeeded in causing Eve to question what God had said, he then boldly suggested to Eve that God was really lying to her. In Genesis 3:4, Satan told Eve, “Ye shall not surely die.” God had clearly warned Adam and Eve that they WOULD DIE if they ate from the tree, and now Satan insists to Eve that she would NOT die. Now Eve had to make a choice if she would believe what God had said, or if she would believe what Satan had said.

Once Satan had her attention, he then suggested to Eve that God was being unfair and trying to keep her and Adam from becoming gods themselves. The Bible says in Genesis 3:5, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Now the Devil had deceived her. She began to look at the fruit on the tree, and she thought about how good it would taste. She began to think about how unfair God was really being by not allowing them to eat this fruit. She thought about how wonderful it would be to be as wise as God. The longer she thought about these things, the easier it became to believe Satan and to doubt God. In a moment of weakness, she took the fruit and ate it, and then shared it with Adam. Together they sinned by breaking God’s commandment.

Satan is still a liar and a deceiver today. The Bible says in John 8:44 that Satan is the Father of all liars. Satan’s desire is to trick you about what is right and wrong and to help you choose to doubt and disobey God’s commands. The Devil will encourage you to lie, steal, kill, cheat, smoke, drink beer, use drugs, commit fornication, and many other things. The Devil wants you to believe that you should put yourself first and do whatever is necessary to bring pleasure to your life. The Devil wants you to believe that real pleasure and joy in life is found in doing the things that God has forbidden. He wants you to believe that the Bible is a book of lies that God has written to make your life miserable. The real question is who will you believe? God or Satan. Who will you serve? God or Satan.

The Bible says in Hebrews 11 that there is pleasure in sin for a short time. It really is fun for a little while to do some of the things that God has commanded you not to do. However, there is a very high price to pay for choosing to sin against God. God has warned us in Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death”. Did you know that you will receive a paycheck for choosing to sin against God? God says that the paycheck for your sin is death!

The Death of Man

God told Adam and Eve that they would surely die if they ate from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. What did God mean when He said this? After Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree, they did not drop dead immediately. They were still able to think and they even tried to hide their sin from God. Did this mean that Satan was right, God had lied, and they would not die? Certainly not! The Bible says in Isaiah 59:2, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”

What does it mean to die? It is important to understand that, according to the Bible, death is separation. When God told them that they would die, He was saying that now for the first time ever, man would experience separation. This separation comes in two forms, both physical and spiritual. There is the physical separation that happens when a person dies. Adam and Eve did not immediately drop dead physically, but there was a day when they both died, and they were separated from their families physically by death.

Physical vs. Spiritual Death

We see physical death take place all of the time. Every one of us has experienced the terrible pain of separation that comes when a person dies. Did you know that if Adam and Eve had not sinned, they would have never experienced physical death. The Bible says in Romans 5:12, “By one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” The reason that we will all die physically, is because we are all sinners, just like Adam.

There is another death that God was speaking about in these verses, and that is a spiritual death. This spiritual death is talking about a spiritual separation between man and God. In other words, when Adam and Eve sinned they were no longer able to have the same relationship with God as they did before. Because of their sin, there was now a wall of separation between man and God. After they ate the fruit, their eyes were opened, and they were afraid of God. When they heard God coming, they tried to hide themselves from Him, because they knew they had disobeyed. For the first time ever, there was separation between God and man. They could no longer enjoy spending time with God, because they had violated His law. Before they sinned, they had relied on God to provide for all of their needs; but now they had to try to take care of themselves, because they were afraid of God.

Ever since the first sin in the Garden of Eden, there has been terrible fear in the hearts of people everywhere. Ultimately all of these fears come as a consequence for our own sin and spiritual separation from God. When we are born into this world, we are already spiritually separated from God. This is why Jesus taught that a man must be born again! The Bible teaches that the ultimate spiritual separation from God will come after you leave this earth. Revelation 20:15 says, “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

God has prepared a place called the lake of fire, where He will place every person who is spiritually separated from Him. This lake of fire will be a place of eternal separation from God. It will be impossible to ever get out of this lake of fire once God has sent you there. The good news is that God loves you very much! It is not the desire of God to have to put anyone into this lake of fire, and so He has made a way for us to be made right with God, before we leave this earth. The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9 that “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” We will explain more in another lesson about how we can make things right with God.

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of
Knowledge of Good and Evil. True or False.

2. Satan appeared to Eve in the form of….(circle the correct
answer)
a. A Dove
b. A Monkey
c. A Serpent

3. Satan’s goal was to help Adam and Eve to really succeed in
their life. True or False.

4. Satan was talking to Eve because….(circle the correct answer)
a. He wanted to know what God had said
b. He wanted to change his ways and follow God
c. He wanted to cause Eve to question God’s command

5. God had already clearly warned Adam that they would die if
they ate the fruit from the tree. True or False.

6. ____________ wants you to put yourself first and do whatever is
necessary to bring pleasure to your life. (Fill in the Blank)

7. God has warned us that the wages of sin is ____________. (Fill
in the Blank)

8. Adam and Eve dropped dead immediately after eating the
forbidden fruit. True or False.

9. When Adam died spiritually he……(circle the correct answer)
a. Tried to hide from God because he was afraid
b. Became like a god himself
c. Found real fulfillment in his own life

10. People that are spiritually dead will go to a real place called
the lake of fire. True or False.

The Beginning of the World
Lesson 4

God’s Promise and Curse
Suggested Bible Reading: Genesis, Chapter 3:9-20

God Will Expose Our Sin

We have already learned that God created Adam and Eve to know Him and enjoy a wonderful relationship with Him. He placed them in a perfect garden, and provided everything that they could need. In spite of all the goodness of God; they still made a choice to believe that God was hiding something from them, and they chose to disobey Him, and eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Immediately, after they sinned, they felt guilt and shame in their soul for the very first time. As a result, they tried to cover their nakedness and tried to hide from God.

The Bible says in Genesis 3:8, “And they heard the voice of the Lord God, walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.” Even though they chose to sin against God, God still loved them. Because God loved them, He came to find them and talk to them about the wrong choice that they had made. God loved them too much to allow them to continue trying to hide their sin from Him.

There are many strange ideas about love today. Many people believe that if you love someone, you could never bring them shame by dealing with sinful choices in their life. However, God is love, and God always confronts His children about the sin in their lives! If God had never come and found them, and made them face their sin, they would have lived a miserable life of guilt and fear. They would have always been trying to hide from their Creator.

The Bible says in Genesis 3:9, “And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, where art thou?” When God came to speak to them about their disobedience, He first began to call for Adam. God had given Adam the command to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and Adam was responsible to make sure that he and his wife obeyed God’s command. But when God asked Adam if he had eaten of the fruit of the tree, he immediately blamed his sin on Eve. When God asked Eve why she had eaten the fruit, she immediately blamed her sin on the serpent. Nobody wanted to accept the responsibility for their wrongdoing. People today are very much the same as Adam and Eve. We have mastered the skill of defending ourselves by lying about our actions, and by blaming our sinful choices on someone else. God did not accept their response though. He made them each face the consequences for their own sinful choices. When you sin, you must realize that God will not overlook that, nor will He put the blame on someone else. You are guilty before God for your own sins, and He has determined a judgment for each of us, because of our sin against Him.

God’s Curse Upon Sin

The Bible says in Genesis 3:17-19, “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” So what was the judgment that God placed upon them because of their sin? God cursed the earth to make it difficult for Adam to plant and grow food. His work would no longer be as enjoyable as God had originally planned, but now his work in the field would be hard and his job to provide food for his family would be difficult.

We can still see the effect of this curse all around us today. In Genesis 3:16, we read about the curse that God put upon the woman. Because of Eve’s sin, she was going to experience great pain and sorrow in childbirth, and she would live in submission to her husband’s authority. The end result of this curse is God’s promise that Adam would return to the dust. In other words, Adam was going to slowly struggle and eventually face physical death. We ought to remind ourselves often that we are made from dust, and one day our physical bodies will return to the dust. We must realize that there is much more to life that our physical existence. We need to come into a spiritual relationship with the Eternal God!

The reality of the curse upon the earth and upon man and woman is undeniable. We have all experienced the pain of this curse, and we continue to experience it every day that we live. God had never intended for there to be sickness, sorrow, struggling, and death to come upon the human race. It has only come as a result of our sin against a holy, loving God. Every time you struggle with sickness, or with providing food for your family, or with the death of a loved one, you ought to remind yourself of the awful price of your sin. Genesis chapter 3 is indeed a very sad chapter, but at least it does offer a wonderful glimmer of hope. In spite of the awful destruction that our sin has brought into each of our lives, there is a promise of hope that God gives in the midst of this curse upon sin.

God’s Promise of Salvation

In Genesis 3:15, the Bible says, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” God is speaking to the Devil who had used the body of a serpent to speak to Eve and deceive her and tempt her to sin against God. God promises that the human race and the devil’s kingdom would be enemies of one another. Certainly this is true. The devil has no greater desire than to deceive you and destroy you, just as he did with Adam and Eve. God also promised that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the devil, and that in the process the devil would wound the seed of the woman. The seed of the woman is a prophecy of Jesus Christ, who was born about 4000 years after Eve lived. Indeed, Jesus Christ was wounded when He died on the cross to pay for the sins of the world. However, when Jesus was raised again from the dead after 3 days, He destroyed, once and for all the power of the devil.

In the midst of this curse on man and on sin, this is indeed a beautiful promise that we don’t have to live in bondage to sin and the devil anymore, because Jesus Christ can give us the victory. If you are still living in bondage to your lusts and the will of the devil, you need to know that Jesus Christ wants to give you the victory over sin and over death. You can come into a real relationship with the living God, and find true freedom in Him.

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. If God really loved Adam and Eve, He would have just ignored
their disobedience of His command? True of False

2. True love is bold enough to confront someone about sin in
their life? True or False

3. When God asked Adam if he had eaten the forbidden fruit….
(circle the correct answer)
a . Adam honestly admitted his sin to God
b. Adam asked for God’s forgiveness
c. Adam tried to blame someone else

4. God made Adam and Eve each face the ___________________
for their own sin. (Fill in the Blank.)

5. God will probably just overlook the sins that you have
committed against Him. True or False

6. Match the appropriate curse with the correct individual:

____ Adam                   a. Crawl on his belly
____Eve                         b. Crushed by Jesus Christ
____Serpent                 c. Return unto the dust
____Devil                      d. Bring forth thorns
____ Earth                     e. Pain in childbirth

7. The Devil really loves you and wants to help you find true
fulfillment in life. True or False

8. The only One who can give you victory is Jesus Christ.
True or False.

The Beginning of the World
Lesson 5

The Birth of Cain and Abel
Suggested Bible Reading: Genesis, Chapter 4:1-16

The Gift of Life

After God announced the curse upon Adam and Eve for their sin against Him, He then removed them permanently from the Garden of Eden. Life became very different and very difficult for Adam and Eve because of their rebellion against God. Adam and Eve began to labor to grow their own food and provide the necessities of life. No longer did they enjoy the wonderful provision from God, as they had in the Garden of Eden.

However, in the process of time, God did bless their family with the birth of two sons, Cain and Abel. In Genesis 4:1, the Bible says, “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.” Adam and Eve recognized that the birth of their son, and the gift of life, was a gift from God Himself. It would do us well to remember that ALL life is a gift from God. We do not have a right to choose whether we will keep or destroy human life. God alone has the power to give human life, and God alone has the authority to take away human life.

Although the birth of these boys was indeed a great gift from God, they also did receive the curse of the sin nature of their father Adam. The Bible says in Psalm 51:5, “Behold I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” God’s Word teaches us that every child inherits a sin nature from his father, at the very moment of conception. This sin nature is a deceitful, wicked, love for sin that is bound in the heart of every person. As a little baby is born into the world, every parent thinks about how sweet and innocent their little child is. However, it does not take long to realize that in every sweet little baby is a sinful heart capable of committing great acts of sin, violence, and wickedness against God and others. The story of Cain and Abel demonstrates the sad reality of the wicked sin nature that is bound in the heart of every person.

Will you Agree with God?

As the boys, Cain and Abel, grew older, they began to develop skills to survive and provide the needs of life. Cain began to grow fruits and vegetables in the garden, and Abel began to raise sheep. The Bible says in Genesis 4:3-5, “And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” Both of the boys had been instructed by their parents that they were to worship the Lord with an offering. It was a good thing for Cain and Abel to bring an offering to the Lord. However, God did not want just any kind of an offering. God had given Adam clear instructions that the offering to the Lord was to be a blood sacrifice of an innocent animal.

Abel followed the instructions and brought a sheep for his offering to the Lord. As he killed the sheep and burned it on the altar, it was a picture that the only way for sin to be paid for was by the shedding of innocent blood. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:22, “Without shedding of blood is no remission (of sin).” However, not just any blood of any animal can pay the price for our sin. The Bible also says in Hebrews 10:4, “It is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin.” In order to pay for the price of man’s sin, there needed to be the sacrifice of a perfect man’s blood.

The only perfect man that has ever lived on this earth is the God-Man, Jesus Christ. He came with one purpose, to give His life as a ransom for many. Abel’s offering of a sheep did not really pay for his sin, but was a picture that he believed that one day the innocent Lamb of God (Jesus Christ) would sacrifice His own body and blood to pay for the sins of the world. As Abel gave his offering to God, God was well pleased with his faith and obedience and accepted the offering from him.

Cain also brought an offering, but he did not follow God’s instructions. He gave no regard to God’s instructions to bring an animal sacrifice, and chose instead to bring some fruits and vegetables that he had grown in his garden. Apparently Cain believed that the good will of his heart to bring an offering to God should be the only thing that mattered. However the Bible says that God did not accept the offering from Cain. Cain was quite displeased with God when he saw that he was not accepted with God, but that his brother Abel was.

Cain was acting in a similar manner to many people that live today. God has given very clear instructions that the only way to come to Him is by faith in Jesus Christ. However, there are great numbers of people today who are hoping to be accepted with God because of their baptism, church attendance, good works, or some other religious exercise. Jesus Christ said in John 14:6, “No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” God’s way is very clear, and Cain should have agreed with God and followed His instructions. God’s way for us is also very clear. Will you agree with God?

Cain Murders Abel

The Bible says in Genesis 4:8, “And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him”. God took the time to give Cain more clear instruction about how to bring a proper offering, however, Cain rejected God’s offer of help and killed his brother Abel! Cain was selfish and disobedient. His attitude turned into hatred and murder. Since we know Abel’s offering was accepted by God, we know he went to be with God in Heaven.

The Bible says in Genesis 4:9-11, 16, “And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; … And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden”. Although God asked this question to Cain, he already knew the answer and wanted Cain to confess. Any evil committed against another person is also committed against God, because He is the creator of all people.

Cain still would not listen to God and was removed from God’s presence. He followed Satan’s ways refusing to change his attitude toward God and toward his disobedience. He never admitted his guilt and need of forgiveness. As a result he was never accepted by God. When he died his spirit was forever separated from God and placed in the Lake of Fire. Cain should be a warning to all people. We don’t want to make the same choices Cain made. He was stubborn and selfish. He lost his opportunity to be with God after death. His decision was very foolish.

Let us think about a branch that has been broken off from the tree. It will die when it is separated from the life it received from the tree. There is no way to join a dead branch back onto the tree so it will live again. Man is born separated and “detached” from our source of life, who is God. Most people spend their lives trying to find a way to “reattach” themselves to the source of spiritual life, but there is absolutely nothing we can do on our own to restore us to God. Disobedience has broken us off from God just like the limb was broken off the tree.

God rejected Adam and Eve’s clothing and God rejected Cain’s offering because they tried to be accepted by God with their own works. Only God was able to make a way so they would be accepted. Every person born into this world is separated from God. However, God provided a way for all of mankind to be accepted by Him and after death live with Him for all eternity in Heaven. This is what the message of the Bible is all about.

God Gives Another Son

The Bible says in Genesis 4:25, “And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.” God gave Adam and Eve another child named Seth. God promised to send a Savior and would have come through the line of Abel, but Satan guided Cain to kill Abel. Satan tried in every way to hinder God’s plan to send the Savior, but no one can fight against God and win. God planned to bring the Savior through Seth’s lineage. Do you think Adam and Eve’s descendants learned from their mistakes and poor choices? We will find out in our next lesson how good or bad they became.

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. Every person that is born into this world begins life with a sin
nature. True or False.

2. God accepted Abel’s offering because…(circle the correct
answer)
a. It was bigger than Cain’s offering
b. God loved Abel more than Cain
c. Abel followed God’s instructions for the offering

3. God rejected Cain’s offering because…(circle the correct
answer)
a. Cain failed to honor his ancestors
b. Cain refused to follow God’s instructions
c. God doesn’t like fruits and vegetables

4. God gave Cain another chance to bring the right offering,
before he killed his brother. True or False.

5. Cain decided to reject his pride and follow God’s instructions.
True or False.

6. The only perfect man that has ever lived on this earth is
______________________. Fill in the blank.

7. What was God’s judgment on Cain after he refused to bring the
proper offering and killed his brother Abel?
___________________________________

8. Is there anything that you can do to restore yourself to God?
Yes or No. (circle the correct answer.)